New library task force begins work

MILFORD - A special task force to oversee the design, fundraising and construction for the new Main Branch of the Pike County Public Library in Milford will be headed by Maleyne Syracuse, chair, with Amy Litzenberger co-chair for fund-raising, Barbara J. Buchanan, president of the library’s board of directors, has announced. “Members of the Task Force share a powerful vision,” Ms. Syracuse said. “In addition to housing a state-of-the-art library, we want the new building to be a resource for all of Pike County, incorporating space for educational programs, the performing arts and exhibitions. We want the building itself to be architecturally significant, one that will blend harmoniously with Pike County’s fine architectural tradition, but will be innovative and important enough to itself serve as an attraction for visitors to the region.” Ms. Syracuse is a Managing Director at JPMorgan in NYC and president of the Board of Directors of Peters Valley Craft Center in Layton, NJ. She and her husband, Michael Trenner, have had a home in Pike County for more than 15 years. Litzenberger, a retired investment banker, has lived in Pike County with her family since 1999. She is active with the Milford Music Festival and with the Kindred Spirits Music and Lecture Series at Grey Towers The new branch will be built on property on East Harford Street that the library recently acquired using a generous gift from the late Dorothy Warner. Ms. Warner’s gift carried the condition that the funds be used for a facility within the borough of Milford. Currently, the Main Branch and administration for the entire county library system operates from the Community House at the corner of Harford and Board streets. The task force is charged with planning the library, conducting a capital campaign to raise funds and hiring and supervising the professionals needed for the construction. Syracuse emphasized that this will be the county library system’s Main Branch and, as such, planning for it should constantly incorporate the varying needs of the entire county’s library patrons. Buchanan, who has been active with the Pike County Library for many years, has estimated that the complete process from start to ribbon-cutting will take as much as four years. “This is a proud and exciting moment for the Library board and, indeed, for anyone who loves books. We are going to build a new facility that will not only improve the quality of life in our community, but also make a statement about the kind of community we are and what we value,” she said. A search for a new library director is underway and the new director will have an integral role in the planning process, she added. Members of the task force include representation from the library Board of Directors and a number of community leaders from around the county. Representing the library board are: Barbara J. Buchanan; Bill Kerstetter, vice president; Chris Dunsworth, treasurer; Charles Eible, director; and Peter Loewrigkeit, associate board member. Representing the community are task force members: Ed Brannon, retired former director of Grey Towers; Davis Chant, President, Davis R. Chant Real Estate; Scott Eck, Architect; Candis Finan, Superintendent of Delaware Valley School district; Alastair Gordon, noted author and architectural critic; Jenny Hamill, community activist; Tom Hoff, President of the Historic Preservation Trust; Yvonne Inglesh, Attorney with Standard & Poor’s; Rebecca Lindsay, Attorney; Greg Lufty, Managing Director and Senior Portfolio Manager, The Biondo Group; Nick Niles, President of the Blooming Grove Club; Nancy Pinchot, historian; Ed Raarup, Century 21 Roy B Hull; Richard L. Snyder, Founder of Milford Enhancement Committee; Sean Strub, Editor-in-chief, Milford Magazine; and Joan Waldman, co-founder of the Pike County Health Fund.