Residents press council on library repairs and reopening timeline

Residents pressed the council for an update on efforts to reopen the historic library building and to prevent the property from being sold or converted to noncommunity uses.

"My name is Bob Petroski," a resident said during public comment, and asked what progress had been made on getting the library back online. He said children depend on the space and urged prioritizing its reopening.

Council members said the borough is negotiating a lease with an operator and discussing Somerset County's potential contribution toward restarting the library. Officials also said the borough is pursuing grant funding but must address remediation needs — including asbestos removal — and make the building ADA compliant before large-scale reopening. "We're aggressively seeking grants and money from where we can," a council member said.

Officials said the historic-preservation community is preparing paperwork to nominate the building as a historic structure, and the council emphasized a preference for keeping the building in public or community-focused use rather than selling it. The council liaison to the library described prior efforts to find alternative locations and said some potential options were not viable.

The council did not set a firm reopening date. Members said they hoped to have more progress to report at future meetings and invited residents to share ideas about potential community uses if the building cannot immediately resume library functions.

The meeting included expressions of frustration from residents who said the building has been closed for an extended period, along with council assurances that they are working on remediation, ADA upgrades and finding funding so the structure can serve the community again.