The Board of Trustees of the Westhampton Free Library would like to express its appreciation to the community for its support of the Library’s tax levy increase on May 16th. We are all so fortunate to live in this beautiful area with the best of beaches, schools and libraries and a community interested in protecting its resources. Your vote represents your support of the modest increase in your taxes. Thank you!

We are also grateful to Ann Skovek for her generous donation of $1.3 million dollars dedicated to the building improvement project now in its planning stages. We invite you to come, if you have not already, to the June 14th charrette at 6:00 pm to hear from the architects, see their plans and to make suggestions if you have them. The building project plans are not approved by the Board without recommendations from the library staff and suggestions from interested patrons. Work is anticipated to begin in November and be completed by next summer. What a wonderful gift to the taxpayers, both year-round and seasonal, who will not be expected to pay for the development of an empty attic storage area and reorganization of the library space to accommodate different programs and to make the Library more comfortable for patrons and staff.

The Library will continue to economize next year as it pays down the principal balance of our ten-year-old bond at the earliest possible time to do so without penalty—June 2018. The Board of Trustees has been working hard to finalize negotiations of the first-ever labor contract with the Library staff. We have been hosting public meetings on the building renovation, examining finances to assure solvency and consideration of the taxpayers. As we begin the new fiscal year shortly, we hope to have much of this work behind us and we will be looking to fill the open Trustee position at that time.

Read our web page, visit the Library, take advantage of the programs, trips and museum passes the Library provides. This is your library. Enjoy it.