ORANGE — Adoption of two articles at Monday’s special town meeting will help advance Wheeler Memorial Library renovation work that has been years in the making.
The day of the meeting was rescheduled from today, April 1, to Monday because of the weather forecast of heavy snow.
One article asks voters to authorize the library trustees to apply for any state money that could help defray costs to design, build and equip the renovation project at 49 East Main St., and another can authorize the library’s board of trustees to accept the schematic design for a new library.
According to information from Library Director Jessica Magelaner, it is important to apply for state money as soon as possible because the grants are awarded only every six years and it appears more and more likely they will be pushed back to eight years after this round. The library was approved for this grant in 2003 and the state was prepared to reimburse the town for 80 percent of the project costs. However, residents rejected the project. According to Magelaner, the library is likely to get 50 percent reimbursement this time, and the work has gotten more expensive over the past 13 years.
The meeting is slated for Ralph C. Mahar Regional School at 7 p.m.