Barbara A. Preston l Dec 30, 2019
The fate of the Mary Jacobs Memorial Library — which has served the communities of Montgomery and Rocky Hill since 1974 — is unclear.
Some will be surprised to see a “For Sale” sign erected on the front lawn, along Washington Street in downtown Rocky Hill, in early January. However, the MJML Foundation, which owns the building, says it is committed to keeping a library branch in Rocky Hill.
A MJML Foundation letter states that the Foundation “is not in a financial position to maintain the building, and wants to keep options open as to the future use of the property. As a result, the building will be put up for sale in the near future.”
Front of the Mary Jacobs Memorial Library in Rocky Hill
Foundation President Cary Dawson of Rocky Hill says the library property will be listed with local broker, Bill King of King Realty Group LLC “right after the new year.”
The asking price? “Anyone who is curious / interested can reach out to Bill King of King Realty Group and he can provide the information,” Dawson said.
Will there be any deed restrictions? “It is premature to know,” Dawson said.
Two Montgomery Township Committee members, Marvin Schuldiner and Catherine Gural, have put together a proposal for a joint Montgomery / Rocky Hill municipal library. Click here to read an article on the joint library proposal.
Given the timing of this development during the holidays, The Montgomery News was not able to get quotes from the Somerset County Library System (SCLS) or the Somerset County Board of Freeholders for this article.
Montgomery Mayor Sadaf Jaffer, when asked about the joint library proposal, said: “My primary goal this year has been to work with community members to improve our new municipal building project. I look forward to exploring and discussing options with the library patrons of Montgomery, with my township committee colleagues, and with the new Somerset County Freeholder administration, the Somerset County Library System, and the Mary Jacobs Library Foundation to ensure that we have access to the best library services in Montgomery and for our neighbors in Rocky Hill.”
See the latest architect’s renderings of the new Montgomery municipal complex, including the new library spaces, on pages 14 and 15 of the print issue of The Montgomery News.
The former Montgomery Township Committee and Somerset County Library System officials had announced publicly for the first time in January 2018 that they would be building a new library as part of the planned Montgomery municipal complex to be constructed on Orchard Road.
The MJML Foundation was surprised to learn that they would no longer host the Montgomery / Rocky Hill branch of SCLS.
Trustees have said they only learned about the project to move the SCLS branch out of Rocky Hill and into the new building after a decision had been made between the former Montgomery Township Committee and the Somerset County Library System. ■
