Pike library to present alternative design

Plans change before review board submission

By TOM KANE

MILFORD, PA - As a result of several recent meetings, the Pike County Public Library (PCPL) has come forward with adjustments to its controversial plan for the new library.

“We have made significant alterations to the building plans in response to input from the community, the Milford Architectural Review Board (ARB), the Milford Borough Council and to increase functionality,” said a PCPL press release.

PCPL is expected to submit an application to the ARB on November 24.

The alterations include a reduction of the building size, proposed landscaping that will be a better link with surrounding buildings, a gabled entranceway trellis that repeats the motif of peaked roofs seen in many Milford Borough buildings, the inclusion of a deep eave to reflect emphasis through shadows, a reduction of the building’s glass area and a change in the building siding to tongue-in-groove wood.

The original design met with some opposition from borough residents when first introduced because of its post-modern design. The alternative design is meant to respond to those concerns, said Maleyne Syracuse, president of the library board.

“The meetings with the ARB have been informal,” said Kevin Stroyan, ARB chairman. “They have not submitted an application to us so I find it hard to comment. We have been told that they have made alterations but we have not seen them.”

There have been two years’ worth of informal discussions, he said.

“It’s bewildering to me that they have proceeded the way they have,” Stroyan said. “They make presentations to the public before approval by the municipality. They’re presenting something that they might not be able to build.”

Syracuse said this is a public building being built for use by the public with public money from individuals, as well as state and local government funds.

“The public has the right to know what PCPL’s plans are,” Syracuse said. “PCPL believes the process should be as transparent as possible and it was made very clear to everyone at the October 23 meeting on the

updated design that PCPL did not yet have the ARB’s certificate of appropriateness, but PCPL was seeking final public comment before submitting its application to the ARB.”

The October meeting referred to was an informal meeting with ARB, not an official meeting. Stroyan was not in attendance.

Stroyan further objected to the fact that the application process was taken out of order. “They dealt first with the issues of zoning and septic systems,” he said.

Syracuse said that the borough council gave them permission to change the order of the permit process to deal with issues of zoning and the septic system first to avoid excessive costs overrides. PCPL is working with all due haste to submit its zoning permit.

Puzzled by the change in the order, Stroyan said that he feels that the ARB should know about any zoning and septic arrangements before the application came before his board.

There would be a pre-application meeting by members of his board before the full meeting on November 24 to be sure that the application was complete, he said.

The decision to approve the building is the function of the borough council. “Our role is advisory,” Stroyan said.

The new plan is available at the library website at www.pcpl.org.