15 Comments so far ↓

• robert ament // Jun 14, 2012 at 6:44 AM

  Terry Buford and Mary Ellen Heyman’s Board members recently tried to fool the residents again by explaining why they chose the ugly brown carpet for the Cooper Rd branch as opposed to the attractive carpet in East Irondequoit. Unfortunately town residents are fooled time and again by systematic misinformation by unqualified single minded individuals who intentionally ruined the renovations at both branches to push for their new $16,000,000 library which is completely unnecessary. The lack of vision and lazy government ineptitide is common among Irondequoit and has led to our continuing decline as a new rental town and extension of the City of Rochester.

  I sat in a meeting with the entire Library Board as beautiful carpet samples were presented and instead of accepting the advice of a qualfied interior designer and businessman, they did the exact opposite and ruined the project out of fear that the newly remodeled space would end their ridiculous quest to spend millions of new tax dollars on the new $16,000,000 library.

• Terry Buford, Director // Jun 20, 2012 at 8:56 PM

  We stand by our original statements about the remodeling of the library branches which can be found in the Building FAQs section of this website. The link to the FAQs is below. He also chose to email this statement to the entire library board. Included in his email was the following preface.

  “Dear Terry and Mary ellen heyman appointes:

  Your continued lies are disgraceful. The old hags have ruined our town, the Gantzes, Larossas, Jones, etc and just look where we are now. Our town is ruined.

  I can’t believe that you can actually write that absolute dribble with a straight face. Unfortunately, many residents actually trust you. Shame on you.

  Robert Ament

  Please do not censor my comments online. refer to our constitution.”

  Mr. Ament’s statement has not been edited or changed in any way.

  http://www.irondequoitlibrary.org/welcome-to-the-irondequoit-public-library/library-board/library-buildings-and-faqs/

• Ralph Branca // Jun 22, 2012 at 10:53 AM

  After reading this it looks to me like he thought installing some new carpet would prevent the library from getting a new building. He obviously doesn’t want a new library and he seems bitter that his scheme didn’t stop those who do want a new library. Given what he has written he seems like an unreliable source for information on anything. I trust the librarians a lot more than I trust this person. How about a little civility. I think those kids on the bus in Greece learned their manners from people like this guy Ament. No cause or need for this kind of nastiness.

• Tim Golan // Jun 25, 2012 at 6:56 PM

  Gates NY recently moved to a new library building. The facility is leased at relatively low cost; especially when compared to the very very very high estimates suggested by Passero in the recent update.

  Would the Library Board and Town Board be supportive of the same type of financial structure and construction process that the Town of Gates used?

  To date this question is avoided by the Boards.
  Why would any Board be opposed to cost saving potential?

• robert ament // Jun 28, 2012 at 12:32 PM

  MPNnow.com —
  Government subterfuge from local officials is designed to confuse residents. Dishonest and inept government is commonplace among our Irondequoit town officials and has led to squandering millions of tax dollars and missed opportunities enabled by an apathetic and gullible citizenry.

  Terry Buford and Supervisor D’Aurizio’s Library Board appointees recently tried to fool the residents again by explaining why they chose the ugly brown carpet for the Cooper Road branch. Town residents are misled time and again by systematic misinformation from unqualified single-minded individuals who intentionally ruined the recent library renovations at both branches in 2010 to push for their new $16 million library, which would burden residents with yet another tax increase.

  I attended a meeting with the Library Board and Supervisor D’Aurizio January 2010 while top-quality, beautiful commercial-grade carpet, tile and matching paint were offered by a generous local businessman at cost. Instead of accepting his advice, they did the exact opposite and ruined the project out of fear that the newly remodeled space at both branches would end their ridiculous quest to spend $16 million (June 2012 estimate) on their proposed library. The entire library scheme is nothing more than a kickback to the unions led by Library Board president Irena Scrobach, who coincidentally is head of the Irondequoit Democratic Committee, and John Perticone, Town Board liaison to the library, who also coincidentally is ex-head of the Pipe Fitters Union.

  The lower levels in both branches have existing elevators and are in excellent condition but remain mostly vacant 90 percent of the time, contrary to their claim.

  ROBERT AMENT
  Irondequoit

  The Library Board also refused to replace the worn counter tops at both branches at cost donated by Dells House of Kitchens, but found $60,000 to pay their politcal consultant to try and con the residents into paying $16,000,000 for a new library. How about taking care of what you have and doing your job for a change. The level of incompetence is unfortunate. Also, the photos you posted online of the 2 branches are taken in the dead of winter in an attempt to make them look old. The worst offender of this fiasco was Miriam Gantz with her ” we have to control the conversation” quote on the record. Maybe Miriam Gantz should move to Russian with Irena Schroback since they both love Stalinst and oppressive methods and politics. Only government union workers could be so inept and still keep their jobs.

• Terry // Jun 28, 2012 at 1:18 PM

  The Irondequoit Library Board is in an information gathering mode and has kept a completely open mind about the various options available for a new library building. IPL trustees were so interested in the Gates project they toured the new library and interviewed library officials to learn as much as they could about it and the processes used to finance and build it. Certainly the library board is not opposed to cost savings as the comments above point out. Evidently, even saving large amounts of money is unpopular depending on one’s point of view.

• robert ament // Jul 1, 2012 at 3:13 PM

  This was an email sent to me by Terry Buford 2010:
  They had the cash on hand, and could have even replaced the counter tops. Instead of proceeding with the project as planned, Terry and his Board ruined the entire project, and wasted $50,000 on their “consultant” to try and convince the public to pay for their new $16,000,000 library. They weren’t interested in saving money, they are just not interested in servicing their community, and run the library like the “Dollar Tree” store , instead of an important public facility.

  Terry Buford
  4/9/10

  to me

  Hello Mr Ament,

  We are moving ahead with the project but we still have a few of the details to work out. The bids are in, Sheheens was low bidder, and we currently plan on doing the renovation of the Evans Branch in May/June and the McGraw Branch in September/October. I have begun talking with Dave Shaheen about the logistics of their portion of the work and nailing down some more exact schedules. We are still waiting for the final word from the town on how we faired with our 2009 budget. I believe the audit by the state
  comptroller is holding things up a bit. When we get that data we will have a better handle on how much money we have to spend on the project. I’m pretty optimistic that soon things will be looking very good for the project funding.

  I personally thank you for your efforts in getting this project started and especially in finding vendors like Dell’s and Sheheen’s who are willing to deeply discount their products and services to the benefit of the library. I expect that when we are finished with the project many residents, as you have stated, will be happy with the improved look of the library. I hope you will be also.

  Sincerely,

  Terry Buford, Director
  Irondequoit Public Library
  45 Cooper Rd
  Rochester, NY 14617
  585.336.6062

• Terry // Jul 2, 2012 at 4:52 PM

  Mr. Ament helped us by finding vendors willing to give us discounted prices for cosmetic improvements in the branches. As politeness dictates, I thanked him for it and gave him an update on any progress or potential problems. Again, we stand by the statements in the Library Building FAQs. Please read them for an accurate description of our actions. If you would like to ask questions about any of the FAQs please contact me. My office is at the Evans Branch and the contact information is on the home page. I’d be happy to speak with you.

• robert ament // Jul 21, 2012 at 9:03 PM

  What else is there to debate? You had the funds, you had access to a professional interior designer (free) and you were handed all the beautiful samples for Tile, carpet, paint etc. and you intentionally screwed it up. Miriam Gantz, Mary Ellen Jones and the rest of the old loyal lap dogs for Joe Morelle ignored the welfare of residents and ruined the project which would have restored the libraries to the 21st Century.

  Shame on you all. No wonder Irondequoit is considered a second rate town with people like you in charge.

• robert ament // Jul 21, 2012 at 9:06 PM

  For the record I would like to know if John Perticone has ever read a book without pictures over 200 pages long? Name one book John Perticone has read in the last year? – An actual book with a hard cover and small print. Judging from his inability to grasp the english language I would have to conclude Mr. Perticone has not read a book since his High School days.

• Terry // Jul 25, 2012 at 4:04 PM

  Creating a website with comments gives us the chance to offer another way to communicate with people who care about the library. Each comment must be approved by a moderator to avoid publishing the flood of advertisements, spam and other things that don’t pertain to the library. Many people have asked me why we continue to allow Mr. Ament’s comments to be seen. We don’t delete them because he is a town resident and they do somewhat pertain to the library. However, if you are interested in a fact based approach to what is happening with the library buildings we suggest reading the building FAQs. We stand behind the information you will find there. If you have questions about any issues raised here or anything related to the library please contact me using the information on our website. I’d be happy to discuss library issues with you.

  One of the most interesting things about working in the public library is that occasionally we encounter people who say or do weird things. State law prevents us from excluding anyone from the library unless they are disrupting our operations by violating laws or library policies. All must be welcome to enter. We are proud of the equality of access we offer. Although it sometimes leads to unpleasantness we wouldn’t be the public library if we excluded people because we disagreed with them, they insulted us or we thought them to be foolish. You might say, for better or for worse, that we are applying the same criteria here. Terry

• robert ament // Oct 27, 2012 at 12:27 PM

  Terry,

  Please try and work on behalf of the residents instead of making excuses for your inability to execute your duties. It is unfortunate you were allowed to retain your position after the renovation disaster you supervised.

• stephen schantz // Jan 15, 2013 at 9:35 AM

  In the age of the internet do we really need libraries? Who uses the library of today? Will future generations use it? The institution of the public library may have outlived it’s useful place in our society.

• LAZY LIBRARIANS // Jan 24, 2013 at 10:15 PM

  terry and the staff are all blood suckers who rob the library blind so was the last manager who gave herself a raise before retiring.the new manager with no managing experience 60k yr that does her errands on company time, they are all well paid lazy slobs that could’nt do this in another town that is managed right. terry does not deserve 80k a year look at library payroll you will see why they cant move forward they have been spending foolishly for many years and never cared the library is just a stomping ground for them to pad there pension.the poor library is used and abused like this poor town. what a shame this has been going on year after year supervisor after supervisor and nobody gives a crap 80 percent of town employees live in different towns. if you had people that really care this would be different. we need bright young new minds to move forward.not money hungry selfish people with grudges that cant decide on anything

• Terry // Feb 2, 2013 at 1:13 PM

  One of the best things about working in the Irondequoit Public Library is our relationship with the residents of the town who visit the library. It is very rewarding to help people enrich their lives through the materials and services we offer at the library. Recently a man thanked me because he found a job in a completely new field using the materials a librarian here helped him locate and the free broad band internet access we provided. A woman recently wrote me a thank you note praising the 3 different librarians who had helped her with learning how to use her new ebook reader and with the library’s free ebook download service. Another patron left me a handwritten note praising our staff for the professionalism they showed while dealing with a disruptive patron.

  I’m not going to run through this person’s list of grievances but after reviewing them I will assure anyone reading this that every one of them is either untrue or a gross distortion of the truth. After discussing this entry with our staff (some of them wanted it deleted because they thought it crossed some sort of civility line) I decided to leave it and reply although I agree it certainly crosses the civility line!

  Despite our best efforts some either don’t see the value we offer or somehow we manage to run afoul of them and become targets of their vitriol, so easily spread through the anonymity the internet allows. A thick skin is a prerequisite of public service. Obviously we wish this person did not feel the need to write these things but we know that pleasing everybody is impossible. However we strive toward that goal. The vast majority of our dealings with our customers are efficient and businesslike and many are pleasant and rewarding. We’ll stay focused on that vast majority while continuing to strive for even better results.

  Anybody who wishes to discuss this or any library related issues can email me directly at tbuford@libraryweb.org or phone me at 336-6064. I’m always eager to talk to customers about the library and I promise I’ll do my part to keep things on this side of the civility line!