Kingston Library Trustees Approve $74,500 Architectural Contract for Backroom Renovation

KINGSTON -- June 15, 2026, Kingston library trustees authorized $74,500 in state aid to hire an architectural firm and reorganized their board at the June 15 meeting. The board unanimously elected Lee Lewis as chair and Emily Curtin as secretary before voting to retain Khabib and Associates Architects, recommended by the Town Administrator, to complete schematic design, construction documents, bid-period services, and construction administration for a long-discussed backroom renovation project. Library Director Donald Cologne told trustees that preliminary estimates put the total construction cost at $350,000 to $400,000 above the design fee, and that the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners had called the current use of the space "the biggest misuse of the space" they had seen in a decade. Trustees also unanimously approved use of the Adams Center by the Library Foundation for a "Battle of the Books" fundraising trivia night on October 16, which will include alcohol service pending a liquor license from the Select Board. Two library staff positions, adult services librarian and youth services librarian, remain vacant heading into summer reading season.