Old Lyme — A request for the town to appropriate $1.75 million toward renovations of the Old Lyme-Phoebe Griffin Noyes Library that will update the building and respond to a demand for more space for people to meet, work and study will go to a town vote on Monday.

Voters at the special town meeting, scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Monday at Town Hall, also will vote on an ordinance to add an addendum to the town's Harbor Management Plan, according to the agenda.

Library Director Katie Huffman said the library was last updated nearly 25 years ago and is in need of basic maintenance work. The library is running into situations where replacement parts aren't available for some infrastructure. 

The library also is seeing significant changes in the way people are using the space, including more people coming to the library in need of technical assistance, meeting space or a spot to work remotely. The renovations would carve out more space to meet the current demands and perceived demands in the future, she said.

Huffman added that the library is already a lovely facility but there are opportunities to renovate it to make it more open and inviting and add more natural light.

The project will not expand the building's footprint but will open up 400 square feet of public space by moving some staff areas to other locations within the facility, she said in a previous interview.

Specific components of the project include the addition of a conference room; three small rooms for studying, tutoring or meeting; an outdoor patio; nine more parking spaces; a space for story time within the children's room, and a Young Adult room, according to the library's website. The library's technology area would be expanded, and the circulation and reference desks would be consolidated to provide one spot for service.

The library, which received a $1 million state grant and plans to fundraise about $300,000, is asking the town to contribute $1.75 million toward the $3.05 million project. The library is slated to remain open during the renovations, with construction anticipated to begin in the winter, Huffman said.

The library held a series of information sessions this spring on the plans, and the overwhelming response was positive, she said.

"We're just really excited that we’re so close to getting started," Huffman said. "We can't wait, and we hope that the community is as excited and supportive of it as we are."

More information on the library's renewal project is available at bit.ly/OLPGNL.

Addendum to Harbor Management Plan

After the vote on the library funding request at Monday's town meeting, residents then will vote on an ordinance to add a variance procedure to the Old Lyme Harbor Management Plan.

Harbor Management Commission Chairman Steve Ross said an addendum to the Harbor Management Plan established townwide standards for docks but does not include a procedure to grant variances for unusual circumstances related to the environment, safety, public access or a waterway condition, or some other hardship, he said. The purpose of the proposed addendum is to provide a process to grant variances to the dock standards for legitimate purposes and is intended to be used sparingly, he said. 

"Any changes we would consider would not be major and they would only be used when there is a specific hardship associated with it," he said. The proposed addendum states that "variances may be approved for minor modifications and criteria such as floating dock size and dimensions or accessory items and lighting on a dock structure."

For example, a person seeking to install a dock in an area prone to rough water might seek, for safety reasons, a variance to install a dock wider than allowable under the standard maximum of 100 square feet. Or a person with a disability might seek a variance that will enable them to build a configuration on a walkway or ramp that makes it safer for them to traverse it.

k.drelich@theday.com