Union Vale trustees outline charter, costs and next steps as residents press tax and seniors‑space concerns

Greg Beler, the newly appointed director of the Union Vale library, urged residents on Thursday evening to help shape a local library that he said could be “a real community center,” offering programs for children, seniors and homeschoolers while providing digital resources and volunteer opportunities.

The informational session, led by library trustees and hosted at Tymore Park, focused on two practical questions: how Union Vale would join broader library services and how much the arrangement would cost. Trustees and presenters described two cost paths that residents had heard about: a widely circulated figure of roughly $93,000 to join the Mid‑Hudson system (a figure speakers said could rise to about $108,000 over five years under one negotiation) and much lower entry estimates for a municipal chartered library reported in the meeting (speakers cited typical one‑time or early costs in the $4,000–$8,000 range, with a mid‑point example of $6,000). The board also reported operating expenditures of roughly $42,566 year‑to‑date and gave a prior‑year figure spoken in the meeting as about $47,794.

“Libraries are more than books,” Greg Beler said, urging residents to consider programs, digital access and community uses. He framed the effort as incremental: the session was informational and not a vote to renovate or spend money for upstairs construction. Trustees repeated that any construction or renovation would follow separate engineering, bids and funding decisions.

Residents raised two recurrent concerns: tax impact and the use of the single meeting room that seniors rely on. “What is the worst case scenario in my taxes that could occur within the next two years?” asked Paula Young, identifying herself as a local business owner; trustees answered that the immediate budgeting baseline for a municipal (chartered) library involves state per‑capita budgeting requirements but emphasized that the renovation funding the library fund seeks would come from separate fundraising, not the town’s operating tax levy. Meeting speakers said the $50‑per‑capita budgeting figure required by New York state library rules would be applied using the census population the trustees cited during the session (speakers referenced a 2020 census population number in discussion; the meeting did not provide a formal citation).

Several seniors said they felt crowded and unsafe in the room shared with the library’s temporary setup and asked that library shelving and furniture be arranged so weekly senior activities remain possible. “I slipped and I fell and I have 45 stitches in my face,” one senior said, recounting a previous fall as part of the argument for preserving clear circulation and safe seating. Trustees committed to a follow‑up meeting with seniors to make immediate, practical adjustments and to pursue longer‑term plans to move the library to an upstairs space if and when funds allow.

Carol Fortier, director of the Beekman Library, told attendees Union Vale residents have asked for museum passes, e‑book and audiobook access and other services available through a participating system; trustees said joining Mid‑Hudson or operating as a municipal charter would change what resources are available and how those resources are funded and governed.

Speakers also described early fundraising and volunteer leadership for a separate library fund. Meeting presenters said donors had made pledges (the DeForest family was named in the session as having pledged $20,000), and trustees outlined an active volunteer fundraising team and plans for construction oversight should fundraising reach the needed targets.

Organizers noted that a nonbinding survey or proposition would appear on an upcoming ballot (the meeting repeatedly described that vote as advisory rather than binding on the town board). Trustees urged residents to attend a scheduled Friday meeting between library staff and senior center representatives to resolve immediate safety and space‑use concerns and to help craft short, shareable bullet points for neighbors about what the library would provide.

The meeting was recorded for residents who could not attend; trustees said they will continue outreach and fundraising, and that any formal renovation or spending decisions would follow standard procurement, engineering and budgeting steps.