By Rod Hansen
Staff Writer

Two items in the Goffstown Capital Improvements Program totaling $277,000 would allow for the purchase and construction of a new library parking lot, library officials say.

Set over two years, the projects include $212,000 in the 2007 CIP for the purchase of about two-thirds of an acre of land to the side of the library for a parking lot. An additional $65,000 requested for the 2008 CIP would fund parking lot construction, said Library Board of Trustees Vice Chairman Susan Osburn.

The proposed parking lot project addresses the problem of being a popular town service with limited parking space, said library Director Dianne Hathaway.

With only eight parking spaces at the library’s High Street location, patrons generally have to find parking spaces within walking distance of the building, she said.

“Parking has been a problem as long as I’ve been here,” said Hathaway, who has worked at the library for seven-and-a-half years. “Especially for parents with younger kids, we’d really like to have more parking available.”

The price of the land purchase was based on Town Planner Steve Griffin’s suggestion, Osburn said. The amount for the parking lot construction is based on an estimate by Director of Public Works Carl Quiram, Osburn said. Parking lot construction costs would include paving as well as drainage and infrastructure design, she said.

The property under discussion is owned by Raymond Donner, who told planning board members in April that he would consider selling the land to the town.

The same property being considered for the library parking lot is also the subject of a proposed 12-unit condominium complex, according to planning board minutes.

If the town does decide to proceed with the land purchase, selectmen would have to purchase the land on behalf of the town, rather than the library, Osburn said. Selectmen are currently in discussions with Donner regarding the land, Osburn said.

John Caprio, selectmen’s representative on the library board of trustees, could not be reached to comment.

The land purchase would have to meet voter approval as an article on the 2007 town warrant, Osburn said.

“If it comes about that we are able to go forward with this, we will be doing something to educate voters on the importance of additional library parking,” Osburn said. “The trustees feel it’s very important to keep the library downtown, and to have available parking.”

The parking lot construction project would likely appear as a warrant article the following year, Osburn said.

Increased parking lot space would meet a longtime need as well as the pressures of accommodating a growing number of library patrons, Hathaway said.

Hathaway said there have been 34,287 visitors to the library this year, up 9 percent from the same time in 2005.