Altogether the capital improvements to the library are estimated to cost $1.6 million. $1,235,000 of that came out of the town's 2003 capital budget and the other $130,000 came out of the 2005 capital budget. Of the $1.6 million, a total of $236,000 goes towards engineering fees for CMX. The rest goes towards the project's contractors, the largest being Envirocon Inc. of Hackettstown.

The primary purpose of the project is an overhaul of the library's heating and air conditioning equipment, along with new pipes and ducts, new steelwork for the roof, a new sprinkler and a fire alarm system. The project was originally slated to be finished on Feb. 27. Envirocon requested a 30-day extension, however, and Fisher said she expected the project to be completed by the end of March.

Recently CMX submitted a change order for an additional $30,000 for the project. Councilman John Genovesi objected to the request at a previous council meeting, saying that CMX's Ralph Tango, formerly the borough engineer, had assured him at a previous meeting that no change orders would be required. The request is currently being considered to determine whether or not it was due to unforeseeable circumstances, according to Hipp.

The mayor noted the delay in approving the change order wouldn’t affect the project's schedule, since the contractor is contractually obligated to continue the work before the board gives its approval. Hipp said the request probably wouldn’t be considered on the mayor and council's agenda until May.

"We're making inquiries into the rationale behind it," said Hipp. "To date, the amount of money for change orders has been very low." The order is for a number of smaller parts and items such as additional sheet metal, thermafusers, sprinkler heads, lighting fixtures and wiring. One part of the order, a request for warrantees on several smaller parts, has been denied, according to Hipp.

CMX didn't respond to inquiries by the South Bergenite as of press time.

The repairs have caused a few inconveniences at the library. For several months the lower floor of the library has been closed while work was being done. Consequently, materials from the children's room have been temporarily placed upstairs. Groups that met in the downstairs auditorium have temporarily been meeting in different locations across town while waiting for the repairs.

A request for a transfer of funds for $34,675 to the library budget in order to replace the downstairs carpeting was put off at the council's last meeting. Fisher said the carpeting is 30 years old and that now seemed like an ideal time to replace it since the area isn't being used. $26,842 was requested for the carpets in the 2007 budget, but was denied.