By David Harry
Staff Writer

They are months away from a fully revised plan, have no construction cost estimate or a funding plan.
But architects Kevin Whitney and Lee Casaccio have enthusiasm as they plan a new and expanded Thomas Memorial Library in Cape Elizabeth.
“This is one of the most exciting buildings we have done,” Casaccio said.
Casaccio and Whitney, principals at Casaccio Architects based near Philadelphia, Pa., presented their vision for the library project last Thursday.
Town councilors Sara Lennon, Jessica Sullivan, Anne Swift-Kayatta and Frank Governali; Town Manager Michael McGovern; and Library Director Jay Scherma were among those who listened to the plan refined with input from public meetings held over the last two months.
Scherma said the plan reflects a variety of future demands on the library, including additional space for the Cape Elizabeth Historical Society. The society meets at the library, and future plans call for a dedicated office and storage space and display areas visible in a library hallway.
The new library will have an expanded community meeting room, accessible when the library is closed.
Inside the proposed 23,000-square foot building, plans call for a gas-fueled fireplace visible to people who pass by on Scott Dyer Road, post and beam cathedral ceilings, gabled windows to use as much daylight as possible and increased office and storage space.
Outside, the design is intended to attract patrons along brick and granite walkways to the library. Parking will be expanded, but the lot will be landscaped, a detail that pleased Swift-Kayatta.
“It looks significantly better because of the greenery. You won’t be looking across a sea of asphalt,” she said.
Robert Metcalf, a landscape architect with Portland-based Mitchell and Associates, said the granite portions of the walkway could be inscribed. Plans also include a path that leads to Pond Cove Elementary School.
Casaccio said a complete plan that includes furnishings, lighting, heating and cooling a new library is at least eight months away. Those details will help determine the construction cost.
Scherma last month accepted requests for proposals from six companies to conduct a feasibility study on private fundraising for the library project. A preliminary fundraising goal is $2.64 million.
Scherma said the requests were forwarded to library trustees and eventually will go to McGovern. He hopes a feasibility study can be finished by Thanksgiving.
McGovern said a council consensus on how to fund the library and if and when a referendum will be held is difficult without more specific financial information about the project.
According to the library website, the original Thomas Memorial Library is more than 160 years old and was moved several times before its final location next to the former high school on Scott Dyer Road in 1943.
The original library was expanded nearly 30 years ago to incorporate the annex for Pond Cove Elementary School.
Currently, the library has about 13,000 square feet of usable space and parking for 40 vehicles. The new library would require razing the current buildings, but the new design could provide parking for at least 70 vehicles,  Scherma said.
Casaccio said balancing how the library will be used with how it needs to look is the project’s  primary challenge.
“It all needs to work together. We are trying to make this timeless,” he said.