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STONE HARBOR
- County library officials presented designs to Borough Council on Tuesday
for an 11,000-square-foot, two-story brick library that includes space
for the Stone Harbor Museum. The designs included a meeting room and
coffee bar inside the library, located on the beach block of 96th Street
and occupying a portion of a public parking lot.
This was the second public presentation county library officials made
of their plans for new library buildings in Stone Harbor and Sea Isle
City. Both libraries are expected to cost $8.5 million. Neither municipality
has approved a proposal.
Sea Isle City, following a meeting last month, set up three commissions
to consider library issues, including one to explore leaving the county
library system. At about $1.4 million each, Stone Harbor and Sea Isle
City are the biggest contributors to the county library tax, which relies
on ratables.
In 2002 voters in Avalon, previously the largest contributor, approved
leaving the county system and opening their own library, which happened
in 2005.
On Tuesday, architect Bob Garrison displayed plans for a Stone
Harbor library that includes 1,200 square feet of space for the Stone
Harbor Museum, which is currently located on 93rd Street.
Initial plans for the library did not include the museum. But borough
officials asked for the additional space for the museum, which increased
the size of the building, Garrison said.
If approved, the building could open by spring 2009. The county needs
to enter a lease agreement with the municipalities for the placement
of the county building on municipal land, county Administrator Stephen
O'Connor said.
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