The anticipated votes for the renovated Ridgefield Library -- that of the acceptance of an operating agreement and that of a possible date for a referendum -- have been pushed back at least one more week to Wednesday, Feb. 8.

The Board of Selectmen decided Wednesday evening for several reasons to push the decision back after a public discussion with library board leaders.

One reason to postpone the vote was for the absence of Selectwoman Barbara Manners, who attended the meeting via phone, but Manners felt she would not be able to contribute fully without being present. The four remaining selectmen agreed to grant Manners her request.

Manners was the most vocal member when the board discussed the implications of the $20 million renovation to the library, $5 million of which would be contributed by the town if approved. The other $15 million has been either raised or promised privately in a fundraising campaign by the Ridgefield Library organization. 

The main reason for the postponement, however, was due to a clerical error, First Selectman Rudy Marconi said, that prevented the other selectmen from seeing comments made by the library board regarding the operating agreement.

The Board of Selectmen have gotten the agreement to a place each member feels comfortable with, but without input from the library, both parties agreed it would be better to put the vote off until the selectmen have a chance to review the comments.

"The agreement we reviewed Monday does not reflect the library comments," Selectman Andrew Bodner said, "and we're not in a position to do something at the moment."

Members of the library board have said earlier that to put the public vote off until the regular budget referendum in May could cost $150 thousand extra -- for that reason, the board has been adamant about getting the selectmen's approval in a timely manner.

And frustrations rose Wednesday night on both sides as it became clear the vote would not happen.

"We need you to set a date for the referendum," Library Board member Philip Lodewick said. "The town needs to look at this as a standalone issue and decide whether or not it should happen."

"It's not that we're intentionally delaying the process," Bodner said. "But the people need to know what they're voting on."

Marconi and others in the audience showed concern for the ping-pong process taking place with the operating agreement and the number of times the agreement has gone from board to board.

"At the risk of continuing to go back and forth, back and forth," Marconi said, "we'll come to a decision next Wednesday."

"We're not trying to wear you down," Bodner told the library board. "But we have a broad responsibility to the community, and we have to honor that."