Stony Point's Rose Library wants $6 million for new building on current site

Rose Memorial Library Association has announced a $6 million plan to fulfill a long-sought expansion by constructing a new building on its current site at 79 E Main St. in Stony Point.

The library’s building was last expanded in the 1960s, during which time the town’s population has almost doubled, according to a press release from the library association.

The new building would accommodate extended hours and increased and larger capacity programs for an underserved community, said library Director Alice Meacham.

“It breaks my heart that we have not been able to provide the residents of Stony Point with the appropriate, modern facilities and library services they deserve,” Meacham said. “This library has all the potential to be the vibrant, bustling heart at the center of this community, and this carefully developed plan provides what is needed to make that happen.”

Rose Memorial Library has spent years exploring options for growth via conversations with patrons, community members, and staff, as well as consulting with local leaders in real estate, architecture, engineering and government.

The library twice failed to gain support for purchasing and renovating a vacant, 125-year-old brick building at 117 W. Main St. Town Supervisor Jim Monaghan has in the past opposed Rose Library's plans.

This time around, the Rose Library Association determined the most cost-effective and efficient action is to stay on the property owned by the library, demolish the current building and rebuild on the site. The proposed plan adds an additional 6,500 square feet of space.

Highlights of this new proposal include:

• Extended hours
• Increased programming, special events, security and staffing
• Temporary space rental during construction

A fully accessible and sustainably designed 10,000-square-foot building featuring:

• A teen room, a recreational and learning space dedicated exclusively to the needs and interests of teenagers. It will be staffed by a full-time teen librarian.
• A large meeting room for library programs, events and community meetings
• Separate spaces for quiet work, group study and comfortable reading
• An all-ages experiential learning studio for programs in arts, cooking, play-based learning, science, technology and engineering
• A local history archive
• A garden for small programs, gathering, and reading
• A children's room featuring an early literacy play space, reading nooks, and a floor-to-ceiling view of the garden
• Study rooms for public use

“In my 55 years as a resident of the town,” said Dick Eggers, treasurer of Rose Memorial Library Board of Trustees, “I find it almost unimaginable that we were never able to have a library expand in consort with our growing population. … We are now presenting our neighbors with an opportunity to build a library facility on par with others in Rockland County.”

The budget for the new building, including everything from demolition, to furniture, to the rose bushes in the learning garden, is $6,073,000. This is $3.4 million or 36% less than it would have been to purchase and renovate the last proposed option at 117 W Main Street in 2022, according to library officials.

The exact overall funding request, which will include the new library building, moving costs, and post-construction operations, is being finalized by the Library Association’s financial advisors and confirmed with the relevant taxing authorities. It will be announced within the next two weeks.

Approval for the funding request is contingent upon a public vote. The first step is collecting and submitting 25 valid signatures of Stony Point voters by Aug. 5 to qualify for the ballot. After qualifying, the funding referendum will be placed before town voters on Nov. 5.

Founded in 1949, Rose Memorial Library Association now serves a population of 14,800.

Visit rosememorialibrary.org and Rose Memorial Library Association’s social media channels for more information and updates on this project.

Robert Brum is a freelance journalist who writes about the Hudson Valley. Contact him and read his work at robertbrum.com.