Making Visions Real

Cairo Public Library

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Location
Cairo, NY
Date Started
May 2011
Construction Management
The Palombo Group

Project Description

When the Town of Cairo required the construction of a new building for their library, they applied for Federal aid and were awarded with what was then, the highest amount of federal funding that had ever been given. Classified as a depressed area due to several storms that devastated the municipality, the Town of Cairo agreed to use only American made products as a funding stipulation. All items, down to their individual components were inspected to insure that no piece or part was made in any other nation. Despite the difficulty of such a task, as the Construction Manager, The Palombo Group worked hard to ensure that all the items that were purchased for the project met these strict guidelines.

The project came with a budget of $3,306,206 and included geothermal wells, which are a wonderful  option for supplying heated and cooled air. Typically, these systems cost less than electricity generated systems do. They also reduce the output of pollution from energy that is created by burning resources (such as trash, natural gas, oil, etc.) and eliminate the creation of toxic waste from nuclear power sources. With this type of system, water is pumped through pipelines into the Earth and then back up into the building’s system to be distributed throughout the building or to generate cooled/heated air. The water is either cooled in the summer by the lower temperature of the Earth’s lower layers, or heated in the winter by the Earth’s abundant and natural heat. This type of system ensures the comfort of the community without a high cost to the planet or the people themselves, making it a wonderful green alternative to other systems.

This project was fraught with difficulty as construction was taking place when hurricane Sandy hit, bringing further destruction to an area already decimated by two storms. Despite this major complication, work was still completed on time and under budget in July 2013.