NORTHBOROUGH – The Northborough Free Library’s meeting room may soon be outfitted with AV equipment.
The Northborough Free Library and Northborough Cable Access went before the Select Board on Aug. 12, seeking $35,000 in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds.
“There is obviously a huge need for the town to have a second larger meeting space with AV installation other than the room that we’re currently in [the Select Board’s meeting room],” said Northborough Cable Access Director Dana Volke.
He said people often stand in the hall outside of the Select Board’s meeting room because there isn’t enough seating. Plus, the cable department covers “a ton” of meetings at the library as the meeting room is larger, and it will be great for library and public events, he added.
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“It takes a tremendous amount of time for myself and my staff to outfit that place for a meeting,” he said of the library meeting room.
According to Library Director Jenn Bruneau, last year there were 664 public meetings in the room in addition to the 614 library programs.
The equipment in in the library’s meeting room would include three robotic PTZ cameras, a wall mounted projector, wired and wireless microphones and speakers. According to Volke, they hope to add acoustic paneling in the room to help with echoes and reverberation.
“It’s going to greatly increase the quality of our audio and video capture in that room,” said Volke.
According to Bruneau, the total cost of the project is about $95,000. The library could cover the remaining cost, pending trustee approval, through trust funds and a grant.
Senior Center receives ARPA funds
The Senior Center requested ARPA funds to be able to strip, wax and have sealer applied to the vinyl floors; vacuum and clean the carpet and have the tile and grout cleaned.
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a regular cleaning schedule which involved the floors being cleaned every year. According to Senior Center Director Kendra Faldetta, since 2021, the floors — including the tile, vinyl and carpeted floors — have not been cleaned.
She said the vinyl floor, which is where most of the center’s exercise classes take place, has been scuffed and marked due to sneakers, chairs moving for chair yoga and people walking on it. The carpet is stained in multiple places, she said.
“The floors are definitely showing their wear, and we want to keep what’s probably one of the town’s nicest buildings in good condition,” said Faldetta.
The Select Board ultimately allocated $11,510 for the project.
