ROCKPORT — The Friends of Rockport, an informal group of local citizens, has proposed its own preliminary plans for expanding the Rockport Public Library. Contrary to another idea that has the library relocating to a larger piece of town-owned property on West Street, the Friends’ plan shows enlarging the library on its existing footprint.

Rockport architect John Priestley drew the plans for the Friends of Rockport. The Friends, according to spokesman Jim Ruddy, is “an informal email based group of about 200 Rockport citizens and Rockport Library patrons. Many of our members signed last year's petition and the more recent letter to the Select Board in support of keeping the library at its current location and making reasonable improvements to the building and site.”

Planning for the library’s future has become a contentious issue in a town whose population is approximately 3,300, and whose residents are passionate about their public facility.

Some citizens have adamantly supported a proposal to build a larger new library on the former Rockport Elementary School site on West Street, while others just as adamantly advocate that it remain in its current location on the corner of Russell Avenue and Union Street.

In July, the Library Committee’s chairman Kathleen Meil had asked the Rockport Select Board to place a question about the future of the Rockport Public Library on the town’s November warrant, saying, “the Library Committee respectfully requests that all Rockport voters have the opportunity to vote for or against developing a plan for a new library on a portion of the RES site, adjacent to the ball fields, this November.”

The Library Committee had said it needed public input from a broad range of townspeople before it could consider how to move forward with either pursuing plans for a new library at the RES site, expanding at the existing site, or considering something else entirely.

In August, the town’s Select Board approved placing two referendums concerning the future of the Rockport Public Library on the Nov. 4 warrant. The Library Committee has also endorsed the new referendums.

At a Sept. 15 meeting, the Select Board approved 5 to 0 to place on the Nov. 4 municipal the referendum: “Do you agree that the town of Rockport should develop a plan for a new library, taking into account community input on design and budget?”

The board voted 4 to 1 to recommend the referendum: “Do you agree that the town of Rockport should primarily consider the former Rockport Elementary School site as a location for a new library, provided the current ballfields are preserved?”

Select Board member Geoffrey Parker voted against that recommendation.

He said on Oct. 6: “At this point in the game we still should be considering the option of building between the Shepherds Block and the Rockport Opera House, which is a potential site for the library. I think it was premature to knock that out.”

That option had appeared earlier in a document prepared for the Library Committee by a subcommittee tasked with evaluating ideas about the future of the library.

Parker added: “And because there was a large group of people in the village who had some considerable issues with the process of getting to a single location directive. I had to give voice to those people, whether they are right or wrong.”

That group of people — the Friends of Rockport — said in a news release issued Thursday, Oct. 2, that it “is opposed to the Rockport Library Committee’s proposal to build a new 10,000 to 14,000 square-foot multi-million dollar library at the former RES site on West Street.”

The Friends of Rockport plan proposes its own expansion plans that include building a 20-foot by 25-foot addition to the Marine Room at the front of the building, “and by adding a set of doors at its interior entrance, it will become a private meeting room, larger that the Picker Room at the Camden Library, that could accommodate 75 people. Total addition, 500 feet.”

The plan also calls for building a 40-foot by 20-foot one and one-half story addition to the Limerock Street side of the building.

This would hold two new public bathrooms, additional children’s area space, and a staircase to the second floor.

The second floor would accommodate staff offices, a small kitchen and break area, and a staff bathroom. Total addition, 1,500 square feet.

And, the plan proposes a 40-foot by 15-foot addition to the back of the building for a private reading room and/or meeting room. Total addition, 600 square feet.

The Friends of Rockport spokesmen Jim Ruddy and Bill Leone have opposed the move of the library from the center of Rockport Village.

“Moving the Library out of the center of the village is a terrible mistake,” said Leone, in the release. “It would change the character and damage the integrity of our downtown area. Rockport is one of the loveliest and most desirable villages on the coast, why would we want to remove one of its most important and vital assets?”

Ruddy said in the same release: “Rockport does not need a library several times larger than its current size. With predicted population increases of only 15 people per year, which is less than one half of one percent per year, for the next 20 years, why are we planning such a large and expensive facility? Last year, we voted to change the zoning of our current library site to allow us to make additions and improvements that are sensible and appropriate for our library and for our town. We think we should take a closer look at our current library site before we make any further commitments or plans at other locations.”

The Friends of Rockport will be sending a newsletter to all Rockport residents outlining the basic elements of their proposed renovation plan, as well as urging to voters to vote no on the two library questions on the upcoming November ballot.

When asked if the Friends of Rockport will be presenting the alternatives to the Library Committee and Select Board, Ruddy responded: “We hope that the citizens and officials of the town will consider this a reasonable alternative to the RES proposal and develop our plan further.”

Related stories 

Rockport leaders approve two library referendums; next stop, voting booth

Reach Editorial Director Lynda Clancy at lyndaclancy@penbaypilot.com; 207-706-6657