Atkinson officials work to clean up paper trail...

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Atkinson officials work to clean up paper trail
Donors gave $150,000 for new library


By Eric Parry
eparry@eagletribune.com

ATKINSON — Kimball Library opened a year ago, but the selectmen recently asked the library trustees to reveal all construction costs that were paid by a group of anonymous donors.

Residents approved spending $2.7 million to build the new library and tear down the old one, but that would only cover the bare necessities. To make up for extra items on the trustees' wish list, some 300 people donated about $150,000 through the Friends of the Atkinson Library to help pay for energy-efficient lights and carpet upgrades.

The problem is the extras were paid for by residents directly to the contractors, according to Selectman Bill Friel.

"None of the paperwork went through the town," Friel said.

The town needs to know exactly how much donors spent on the construction project and what improvements they paid for.

Selectmen also need to see all warranties, contracts and other documents associated with work paid for by the donors.

"The whole paper trail is missing," Friel said.

Until March, only the selectmen were given the authority to accept gifts and they couldn't do so without documentation, Friel said. At Town Meeting in March, residents approved a warrant article that gave library trustees the authority to accept gifts.

Once they have all the requested information, Friel said, the board won't have a problem accepting the donations retroactively.

But library trustees said at a meeting Tuesday night that they had already provided the selectmen with the information they requested.

"Their difficulty is they have a wretched retrieval system," trustee Chairwoman Kay Galloway said.

Ron Lamarre, the architect for the library, said the lowest bid came in about $200,000 more than what the town had approved, so that's why the donations were needed.

A ceremonial shovel, stained-glass window and an exterior clock all were donated to enhance the library, Lamarre said.

"I think there are many people who were happy to be part of the legacy fund," Galloway said.

Miscommunication between the trustees and the selectmen is nothing new.

Galloway said the selectmen were invited to all trustee meetings starting in 2006 during the planning for the new library until after it was opened in October 2008.

"One of the difficulties we've had is a selectmen's liaison that has been absent more often than present," Galloway said.

To resolve the issue, trustees said they plan to hold a meeting to make sure selectmen have all the information they need.

Friel said a meeting would be scheduled soon.