Thursday, July 14, 2011

The Fate of the Asylum


The Trustees of the Hudson Area Library met tonight, and because the thirty days during which 400 State Street was offered for sale ended on July 8, it was reasonable to expect that something substantive about the building's fate might be learned by attending the meeting. Not so. When, after approving the minutes of the previous meeting and receiving the treasurer's report, the president's report, the library director's report, and various committee reports, the board got to the topic of library relocation, they went into executive session, ejecting the two members of the public in attendance. 

Half an hour later, when they reconvened the public meeting, the board passed two resolutions--both of which were carefully worded to provide no real information. The first resolution authorized the building committee to enter into a lease for suitable space in the Hudson area, the terms of which would be subject to board approval. The "suitable space" was not identified, but it is generally believed to be Hudson Electrical Supply at 217 Warren Street. The second resolution authorized Virginia Benedict, the lawyer on the board, to enter into contract negotiations with the sole party interested in buying the building. The "sole party interested" wasn't identified either, but there's a rumor that Eric Galloway offered $470,000 for the building--$20,000 over the library's asking price.

After the two resolutions passed unanimously, board member Mark Orton opined enthusiastically, "We could have this all tied up in a month."

No comments:

Post a Comment