During a celebration for donors to the refurbishing of the Manalapan Library, librarian Mary Ann Kunkle said that she is very pleased with the work that was recently completed.
Photo by Jerry Lower

By Steve Plunkett

A 15-by-18-inch plaque at the library’s front door sparked a new rule that signs cannot be attached to public buildings without express permission from the Town Commission.
The plaque thanked some contributors to this year’s refurbishment of the J. Turner Moore Library, listing in silver letters on a black background 12 new “Friends of the Library’’ who contributed at least $5,000 and 11 “Benefactors’’ who gave at least $2,000.
But residents who gave smaller amounts complained to Vice Mayor Basil Diamond that the very public plaque ignored their gifts. Diamond said donors in previous fund-raising campaigns had been listed on framed certificates inside the library and urged commissioners to adopt a rule that no sign be put on a town building without prior approval. He also wanted the new plaque taken down.
He found an immediate ally in Commissioner Louis DeStefano, who grumbled that his mother was one of the aggrieved contributors.
Commissioner William Bernstein, whose wife, Joan, headed the fund-raising effort, argued that the plaque was tastefully designed and that this year’s donors deserved special recognition.
And Mayor Kelly Gottlieb said she was comfortable with the decision to recognize only the bigger donations.
“You don’t honor people who give $100. You honor people who give significant amounts,’’ she said.
But new Commissioner Donald Brennan, who took Marilyn Hedberg’s place on the dais, asked whether donors had been promised an outdoor plaque to tempt them to increase their gifts.
When Bernstein replied no, Brennan said he thought it was poor judgment to have some names displayed outside and some not at all.
And without a policy on getting town approval first, “I could put a picture of my dog outside,’’ Brennan said.
Mayor Pro Tem Robert Evans suggested that the new plaque be moved inside rather than discarded and that the names of smaller contributors be listed as well.
Commissioners agreed 5-1, with Bernstein dissenting.
By doing that, Brennan and Commissioner Howard Roder were opting to take their names out of the public eye. The plaque lists both as benefactors.
The refurbishment project collected $107,000 from 85 donors in amounts ranging from $20 to $10,000. The money paid for a new ceiling, new lights and carpets, a paint job and new furniture.
The library has 8,000 books and opened in its current location in 1981. It’s not part of the county library system; residents pay a $25 annual membership fee. In return, they do not pay the county library tax, which fund-raisers said was worth $550 for each $1 mil-
lion of assessed value.
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