We're very excited to announce that the Town has hired Anne Dodd to be the Clerk of the Works for the Library build. Anne will oversee the progress of construction, testing and billing, and protect the Town's interests throughout the build. With Anne's decades of experience in the construction industry and service as a Daland Trustee, we can rest assured that we are in great hands. 

Progress continues on schedule at the job site: the footings and foundation walls have been installed. The well has been drilled and pressure tests indicate good flow. Underground plumbing is in progress and the slab will be poured shortly after Thanksgiving. Framing and post-setting will begin 12/9, at which point we'll really be able to see the structure taking shape up on the hill. 

The LBC would like to issue a friendly reminder to all town residents that access to the building site will remain restricted throughout construction. This includes the trails that run along the edges of the property. No one is permitted to walk or drive on this land without express permission from, and accompaniment by, members of the construction management team. These rules exist to prevent injury as construction sites are inherently dangerous. We appreciate our residents' cooperation in working to keep everyone safe. 

Off the construction site, the LBC is finalizing details for the security and AV systems. We've also formed a separate furniture committee that will be selecting all the furnishings based on the allotted budget. 

Turnstone has begun documenting progress with drone shots and we look forward to sharing some images soon!

Construction of the new library building officially started today with Turnstone's teams mobilizing for site preparation. In the coming weeks they will be excavating the footings and then pouring the building's foundation. The building inspector has issued a foundation permit. 

The Select Board has also finalized the name of the new road and the future address of the Daland Memorial Library will be... 8 Lilac Lane! 

Soon you will see this new sign at the start of Lilac Lane with details on the project and all the great team members that are working to bring this to fruition. We are so excited to reach this milestone after many years of hard work! 

The Mont Vernon Library Charitable Foundation sponsored a formal library groundbreaking ceremony to mark this important milestone in the project.

The ceremony attracted a large audience. Attendees were able to “tour” the new facility where flags had been placed to identify each area. 

John Quinlan, MV Select Board, described the years of work that led to this milestone and thanked the many community members who have given their time and talents to play a role. 

Michael York, NH State Librarian, spoke of the importance of libraries in NH’s small, rural towns and commented that every NH town has a public library – a feat that not even New England’s venerable Dunkin chain can match. He also noted that Mont Vernon has the best Library Director in the state! 

State Senator Denise Ricciardi, NH District 9, congratulated the town on its tenacity and community collaboration and shared a NH Senate Proclamation highlighting the event.

Tom Kearns, President of DSK | Dewing Schmid and Kearns Architects + Planners, who led the team that designed the new library, congratulated the group on this important milestone and reminisced on the collaborative design process that has taken place since their selection in 2018. 

Stacy Clark, President of Turnstone Corporation, thanked the town for entrusting this important project to Turnstone Corporation and pledged to continue the excellent partnership that has been a project hallmark to date.

Cindy Raspiller, chair of the Mont Vernon Library Trustees and MVLCF president, thanked the many groups who have worked tirelessly to contribute to the project’s success.

We’re off to the races! The Library Building Committee, Trustees and advisors continue to hold biweekly meetings with the construction manager Turnstone to prepare for the start of the library build and coordinate with the road construction. Some updates below:

• The construction of the road is nearly complete. Drainage has been installed, the base layer of asphalt has been laid and installation of the light poles is imminent. The parking areas and sidewalk will be paved as part of Phase 2, the construction of the Library.  

• The NH Municipal Bond Bank has delivered the proceeds of the bond, which covers both the Road and Library projects. The final rate is 3.85%, making the overall tax impact lower than what was projected at Town Meeting.

• The Library Groundbreaking ceremony has been scheduled for Thursday September 12th at 6pm. Our librarians have planned a wonderful event to commemorate this auspicious occasion. All members of the public are welcome to join the celebration.

The Library Building Committee, along with the Library Trustees and our advisors, have been hard at work preparing for construction on the new library to begin early this Fall. In addition to our regular monthly meetings, we've been holding biweekly meetings with our construction manager Turnstone to finalize all the necessary details ahead of breaking ground. A few highlights:

• The bonds have been finalized with the bond bank and funds will be released to the town in early August. 

• The NEPA review is completed and approved! All requirements for our NEH grant have now been satisfied. 

• Carter has been selected as the project's fire suppression subcontractor; they are working with Turnstone and the LBC to finalize pump and cistern requirements for the system. 

• Throughout the next two months, the architect DSK will be updating the plans and specifications with the minor modifications associated with the fire suppression system and other miscellaneous items. 

• The LBC and Trustees have met with the Town's new building inspector to discuss process, schedule and deliverables. The inspector will perform a thorough review of the plans and specifications when DSK's updates are completed. 

• Road construction will start mid-July. The Selectmen are overseeing the road project, which will be executed by Preston Excavation. Turnstone will work closely with Preston to ensure a seamless building process. 

• Longchamp has been selected as the project's electrical subcontractor, and is working with Eversource to secure the project's transformer. There had previously been very long lead times for transformers due to pandemic delays. We are very happy to report this will not be an issue for our project!

• The MVLCF is continuing to pursue additional grant opportunities to fund deferred items. We are happy to report that these efforts have been successful and over $100,000 in additional funds have been raised!

We will continue to update this page periodically as the project advances. Check back for progress, including a groundbreaking date soon to be announced! 

Because the library project received a National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) grant, NEH is required to engage in appropriate levels of public involvement for federal actions that require compliance under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA), EO 11988: Floodplain Management, EO 11990: Wetlands Protection, and EO 12898: Environmental Justice. The project NEPA review has been submitted and is posted for public comments until June 10th, 2024.  Read more here.

At the Select Board meeting on April 22nd, Jack Esposito confirmed that the Select Board submitted their applications to the NH Municipal Bond Bank on April 18th, one week ahead of the due date. The Board applied funds for both the library and access road projects as approved at Town Meeting on March 13th. If approved, the road bond will yield $683,600 to be repaid over 15 years, and the library bond will yield $1,990,000 to be repaid over 25 years.