Library director urges larger maintenance fund after HVAC, elevator concerns

Julia Lanter, director of the Exeter Public Library, told the Planning Board on Aug. 13 that the library's existing $25,000 building and maintenance fund is insufficient to address aging systems and potential emergency repairs.

Lanter said the 2020 HVAC commissioning was never fully signed off, leaving 27 open commissioning items that have contributed to ongoing environmental-control problems in hot weather. She said the trustees and a facility advisory committee have worked with commissioning consultants and Unitil on an energy audit; Unitil found the building envelope is generally sound but the HVAC remains problematic. Lanter said her running list of potential catastrophic repairs totals roughly $332,000, with the elevator singled out at about a $62,000 estimate from Stanley Elevator if it were to fail.

"We have that $25,000 in the fund and that's it," Lanter told the board, emphasizing the fund's role in covering issues that arise between CIP cycles. She said the library is working to clarify when an expense should come from the CIP versus the maintenance fund and that the fund's purpose is to avoid one-off taxpayer shocks when emergencies occur.

The board asked whether any of the $25,000 had been used; Lanter said it had not. The presentation included a request to continue building the fund and to clarify fund terms with trustees so the library can respond quickly to failures without waiting for a capital warrant. No formal vote was taken at this informational session.