On Aug. 14 the library board held an emergency meeting with six of its seven members present to discuss what course of action to take about a burned-out air conditioning compressor that cools the south side of the main floor. Business manager Neil Zitofsky told the board that three air conditioning companies had been consulted; all three had pronounced the old compressor deceased, beyond repair. The companies estimated that a replacement of the 50-ton unit would range from $17,000 to $37,000. One company, Systematic, recommended that the best solution would be to replace the one big unit with two or three smaller units instead, at a cost of approximately $70,000.

Arlene Nevens summarized the choices as being between a "big band-aid or writing off the rest of the summer and deferring a decision until later."

Since it might take between two to four weeks to correct the problem, it was agreed upon that it is now too late in the air conditioning season to make the replacement of the compressor viable. Instead the board voted 4-1 plus 1 abstention, to hire a mechanical engineer to "evaluate the air conditioning problem and to recommend the proper solution." It should also be noted that the 2007 budget, which was just approved a few months ago, does not contain monies for major emergency repairs although no reference was made to that fact in the meeting.

If it becomes unseasonably hot in the coming weeks and more fans circulating cooled air from the other working zone do not make the situation bearable, the board members tacitly agreed that the main library might have to be closed.

There was a heated exchange between board members and Karen Rubin who stated that the board was avoiding dealing with the larger issue of the renovation/expansion, saying that they would be "throwing good money after bad" and wasting time to employ an engineer to propose a plan for cooling a part of the building without knowing the extent of the renovation. She inferred that if the board moved expeditiously with renovation plans, the air conditioning problem might be moot next summer because renovation could be in full swing.

Martin Sokol and Norman Rutta concurred that an engineer could take the factors of a renovation into account and that unit(s) could most probably be reused. Linda Cohen, who voted against the engineer analysis, stated that if money were spent reworking the old system, board members would feel bound to make renovation decisions around that expense.

Marietta DiCamillo and Linda Cohen expressed concerns about a strain being placed on the remaining working compressor and worried that it might fail as well.

Mr. Rutta had invited David Werber, an architect, to attend the meeting for his professional advice on the matter. Mr. Werber told the board that simply replacing the compressor would not guarantee that the system would work properly, likening the compressor to a spark plug in a car's motor. He favored the engineer assessment idea.

At the conclusion of the discussion about the air conditioning problem, Linda Cohen asked if there could be a discussion about the "understaffing of the maintenance department." Mr. Kahn ruled that the matter was not on the agenda and would not be up for discussion.

The Record asked if the board had placed an ad in the search for a new library director. The board has not done so. Ms. DiCamillo moved to adjourn the meeting. Mr. Kahn banged the gavel and the meeting was over.