Investigators returned today to the blast-damaged Morristown & Morris Township Library for the first time in weeks, following removal of asbestos from the building. The library has been closed to the public since a basement explosion on May 3.
Library Interim Director Maria Norton said she still hopes part of the facility can reopen next month, although her initial target of Labor Day week now appears unlikely.
“The decontamination of the 1917 wing is ongoing, and will be complete in early September,” Norton said, explaining that decontamination consists of general cleaning of books, walls and ceilings.
Library staff are allowed inside the building during this phase; they were excluded during the asbestos removal.
The new wing is the portion of the library facing the Presbyterian Parish House. When it reopens, library patrons will have access to the first and second floors. As before, patrons will find the media department and nonfiction books on the first level, and the children’s department and fiction section on the second floor.
The computer training lab will serve as a temporary reference center.
Four- to six weeks after the partial reopening, the history center and reading room in the basement of the new wing should reopen, Norton said. It’s unclear when the 1917 and 1933 wings will return to service. Norton said she believes there has been “at least $1 million” of damage at the 50,000-square-foot library.
Library administrators and local history staff will continue to operate from a satellite office at 88 South Street, which is leased through December. Children’s programs that were relocated to St. Peter’s Episcopal Church probably will return to the library in September, Norton said.
The interim director said the summer went well, all things considered. While acknowledging that some staffers may have trepidations about returning to the library, she said most were “just anxious to get back into our building, and back to normal.”
THE INVESTIGATION RESUMES…
Morristown Mayor Tim Dougherty said investigators returned at 10 a.m., though he does not expect any feedback until next week. He said he will ask JCP&L to report to the town council at its Sept. 8 meeting.
“JCP&L and other interested parties were able to gain access to that area of the library today,” confirmed JCP&L spokesman Ron Morano, referring to the damaged basement of the 1917 wing.
“All the parties were there, including PSE&G, and we were performing additional inspections,” said Karen Johnson of Public Service Electric & Gas.
Both utilities have said they are not responsible for the explosion, which buckled a concrete floor and blew out windows and doors. Alert library staffers noticed telltale signs of trouble–the library experienced an explosion in 1994–and evacuated the building moments before the latest incident. Town officials have commended the staff for averting disaster.
“Our position remains that our facilities did not contribute to or cause the damage at the library,” Johnson said.
Morano said JCP&L investigators entered the building some time ago wearing protective suits and respirators.
“Now that the (asbestos) abatement is through, we’re able to walk through,” he said. He could not estimate how long the investigation will take.
Representatives of the state Board of Public Utilities plan a walk-through on Friday, said spokesman Doyal Siddell.
The BPU has directed JCP&L to hire independent experts to investigate the blast, and the state board will review a report to be submitted by those experts and “then determine what measures are reasonable,” Siddell said.
Negotiations are ongoing about restoring electrical service to the library, Morano said. A generator has supplied power to the facility during the asbestos cleanup.
RECENT COVERAGE:
Report: $35K settlement in 1994 library blast–but still no clues to cause
Morristown library staff honored for swift evacuation moments before May 3 explosion
Morristown library, closed since May blast, is back in business (read the fine print)
PSE&G: We did not cause the library explosion
JCP&L says gas, not electric, to blame for library explosion
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