Library elevator funding split: Selectmen urge larger withdrawal from reserve; trustees pressed to keep funds for other repairs

The Colebrook Selectboard presented a contested library warrant article at the Feb. 4 budget hearing after the Library Trustees requested funding to replace the facility's original elevator.

Article 12 requests $97,400 for purchase and installation of a new elevator: $25,000 from the library capital improvement fund, $15,000 in grants, and $57,000 to be raised from taxation. The Selectboard said it does not recommend Article 12 and urged using $50,000 from the capital reserve to reduce the tax impact; the trustees, represented at the hearing, preferred to withdraw only $25,000 and preserve the capital reserve for other needs.

Julie Colby (public commenter) said the library has ongoing maintenance needs — window replacement, new heating zones and prior furnace replacement — and warned that a large withdrawal would leave the reserve too small to address other projects. Selectboard members responded that they support replacing the elevator but disagreed with the trustees on how much to take from the capital reserve because of competing tax pressures from the school budget and Main Street project obligations.

The elevator is original to the building (installed in 1989), and Julie Colby asked how old it is during the hearing; the library trustee representative noted statutory elevator standards are a driver for replacement. The Selectboard emphasized it will respect the outcome voters choose at town meeting.