There were some minor renovations to the building carried out with the help of another IBM grant, fundraising efforts and hands-on work from volunteers, but it was a continual struggle to keep things going in the space. The small library continued to grow, however, acquiring more books and offering a variety of activities throughout the 1980s, including a computer course from the community college and assistance filling out tax forms. Hospice training was even offered by a local registered nurse.
By the end of the ’80s, Lotvin — who had become the Gardiner Library’s director by this time — proposed that the library apply for a state charter as a legislative district library. The advantages would involve paying lower fees to the Ramapo System and would make the library independent, with its own budget apart from the town budget that residents could vote directly on. Applying for such a charter required a special act of the state Legislature.
Then-town supervisor Mike Moran had misgivings about the process, however, and feared that the library proposal would create “a whole new layer of government,” according to Mabee’s account. Moran favored the library becoming a municipal library, with the Town Board controlling the finances, and since the Town Board’s approval was necessary to become a legislative district library, the library temporarily acquiesced and applied for a municipal library charter, which was granted provisionally in 1990 and permanently in 1996.
But a year earlier, then-Governor George Pataki had signed a new law authorizing municipal libraries like Gardiner’s to go over the heads of their Town Boards, if they wanted to, to ask the town’s voters to approve their budget. So by 2003, the Gardiner Library decided to present their first budget to town voters, and it was approved, setting the stage for future financial independence.
Structural issues
By 1991 there had been issues raised about the safety of the former firehouse that the library was housed in. The wheels were set into motion all throughout the decade to find a larger and safer building, but the process went on for years, with numerous buildings proposed and rejected for various reasons. Gardiner’s population was growing, and along with it the library’s membership, but by 2004 the library had been actively seeking a new home for 12 years without success.
Finally, in December of 2004, town supervisor Carl Zatz signed over the almost-two-acre property formerly the location of the highway garage to the library, at $1 cost, and advised the board to cut through red tape to get a new library built. The transfer of land was provisional on a new library being built on the site; if not, the property would revert to the town. The library accepted responsibility for demolishing the old town garage and the town would take care of removing the oil tanks. (Eventually, in 2006, George Majestic Jr. demolished the old garage at no cost.)
The architectural firm of Butler, Rowland and Mays was contracted to build a library — the same firm that will build Highland’s library should the voters approve a bond issue on March 17 — and a campaign to raise more than $1 million was launched.
The red tape surrounding various issues was cut through and the site was ready for construction by 2007. The small Town of Gardiner had raised $705,000 for its library, almost half of what it estimated to be necessary, and while not enough, it enabled the library to seek outside loans and grants to achieve the rest. The new library was dedicated on October 19, 2007.
Today
The Gardiner Library today is a comfortable space filled with natural light that offers all of the modern library amenities, including free Wi-Fi and the loan-out of Kindles, and some unique features like passes to the Mohonk Preserve that can be borrowed just like a book or DVD. Extensive programming for all ages is offered along with musical concerts and art exhibits, and the library appears to be so well established within the community, it’s hard to believe how far they’ve come in a matter of decades.
And a footnote to the firehouse: late in 2014, after six years of abandonment, the former firehouse-turned-library was sold by the town in an online auction. Skydive the Ranch owner Bill Richards purchased the structure for $100,000.
The Gardiner Public Library is located at 133 Farmer’s Turnpike. For more information, visit www.gardinerlibrary.org or call (845) 255-1255.
This is the third installment in a five-part series featuring the history of local libraries. Next week, the spotlight will be on the Rosendale Library.
