Mt. Pleasant Library Set to Close for Roof Replacement
The Mount Pleasant Public Library will be temporarily shutting its doors starting next week for the first phase of the roof replacement project.
On Monday, July 23, the main library at 350 Bedford Rd. in Pleasantville will be closed for an estimated two weeks that will also see asbestos abatement performed because the material exists in the current roof.
Executive Director John Fearon said that if the weather cooperates, the library will be reopened in less than two weeks but the closure could run longer. The entire project is expected to be completed in October.
“Every day of rain will extend the project,” Fearon said. “It’s an outdoor project so it’s susceptible to weather.”
To compensate for the closing, the branch library at 125 Lozza Drive in Valhalla will have its hours extended. It will open six days a week at 10 a.m. and have hours until 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday, until 5 p.m. on Fridays and 2 p.m. on Saturdays. The branch library will be closed on Sunday.
The $660,000 project will be funded through a $240,000 state grant while the Town of Mount Pleasant and the Village of Pleasantville will split the remaining cost. A cooling tower will be also be installed on the new roof for $120,000, with that money coming from the library’s fund balance.
The roof hasn’t been replaced since the library was built in 1965, though in the early ’90s a membrane was placed over the original roof. To install the new roof, the first surface and the membrane must be removed.
This is the first time in 10 years the facility will be closed. At that time, the children’s room was renovated and the circulation desk was moved. The library will use its website and e-blasts to inform the public. Fearon said he will change his outgoing voicemail message when a reopening date is known.
“We’re doing our best,” Fearon said. “There’s not much we can do.”
Fearon conceded there is no good time to close the library.
“We’re so popular now,” Fearon said. “We’ve been having one of our busiest years. It’s almost impossible to pick a month where it’s not inconvenient. We don’t have quiet months anymore. It will be great to have a new roof. It will be worth it. We just have to do what we can do.”
Adam has worked in the local news industry for the past two decades in Westchester County and the broader Hudson Valley. Read more from Adam’s author bio here.
