OPINION: JONES LIBRARY DEMOLITION/EXPANSION: HOW WILL TOWN COUNCIL DECIDE ON THIS CRITICAL EXPENDITURE WITH NO PLAN AND NO PUBLIC INPUT?
Atrium in the Jones Library constructed as part of a 1993 renovation. The atrium, which leaks, is slated to be demolished under the new expansion plan. Photo: Art Keene.
This coming July, the Town Council will probably have to vote on whether to accept a $13.8 million grant from the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners (MBLC) in support of the proposed $35.8 million Jones Library demolition/expansion project.
Acceptance of this grant would also require the Council’s approval of the draft FY 2021 capital request from the library of almost $22 million to pay for the proposed project. Although Jones Library Trustees hope to raise almost $6 million of this amount through other grants and a capital campaign effort, the Town Council must vote to cover the entire amount should fundraising efforts fail to meet this goal.
It’s time for Amherst taxpayers to ask how the Town Council can make a decision when there is still no schematic design and no public input into the final proposal. Most important, the library will be the first capital project to be voted on by the Town Council and will likely require an override. The project could apparently be undertaken without an override but that would then place serious constraints on the plans for the DPW and fire station and school. The school project will require an override in any case and it remains to be explored whether Amherst residents have the stomach for more than one override. So any decision about how the Jones project will be funded, and indeed what kind of project to fund, has significant implications for the other capital projects. Now that the Fort River Elementary School has been accepted into the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) school building program, it is crucial that the council has a clear understanding of the library’s impact on town finances and on all proposed capital projects.
Why the Design Delay?
Trustees have known since October 2017, that the MBLC grant award is contingent on moving a room of about 2,200 square foot, the “Large Meeting Room,” from the first floor to the basement, requiring multiple changes to the original plan. Although the Trustees and Feingold Alexander architects were informed of this requirement more than 14 months ago, no new schematics have been produced since then. In fact, Amherst residents were not told of this redesign requirement until December 2018. The MBLC has also requested that the front stairway be razed because it is a pinch point in the flow of patrons entering the building on the first floor.
Library Finances
The Jones Library system has been struggling with its budget for years (it’s had no significant maintenance since 1993), and last year had to cut two full-time staff positions and increase the draw on its endowment just to pay for health insurance, regular maintenance, and other costs. The Trustees simply could not afford an architectural redesign until August 2019, when a $273,000 unrestricted bequest was received from the Van Steenberg family. They then voted to allocate $41,000 for the architects to develop two schematic redesigns, as well as a conceptual cost estimate.
The Trustees have also allocated $75,000 from that bequest to pay consultants from the Financial Development Agency firm to conduct and market a capital campaign (now under the umbrella of Friends of the Jones Library). In sum, the library used $75,000 on the first set of incorrect designs — $50,000 from the MBLC and $25,000 from the Town of Amherst — and has already paid the Financial Development Agency more than $51,000 of the library’s own funds for marketing the proposed project.
Historic Preservation
The 1928 Jones Building is on the State and National Registers of Historic Places. State historic preservation law requires that the Trustees “adopt all prudent and feasible means to eliminate, minimize and mitigate adverse effects such as demolition and significant changes to the historic features.” This information was requested by the Massachusetts Historic Commission on December 23, 2016. A Historic Structures Report was funded in 2017 with $25,000 coming from Community Preservation Act (CPA) monies and $10,000 from the Amherst Historic Commission, but has not been completed, so many of the historical features of the building have not yet been documented.
Feingold Alexander Architects are nationally known for their historical preservation work. Yet architects do what they are asked, and the Trustees have not prioritized respect for historic features, preferring a vision of the Jones as a ”flagship library” with generous spaces for stacks and clear sightlines and generous spaces for programming.
The first set of designs revealed that the entire south-facing 1928 historic portion of the library would essentially be gutted, with almost all of the original wood stairs and paneling removed, and most walls on all four floors would be repositioned. Even more alarming, it appears that the architects have not been given the documents from a Historic Preservation Restriction for the library exterior that the Trustees approved in 2017. How can it be “historic preservation” when the architects are redesigning the building with no such guidelines?
Sustainability
The Trustees now realize that sustainability is a town priority, although they previously declined to pursue a $450,000 Green Library Incentive Award (in 2017) and, unfortunately, cannot do so now. After more than a year of planning, a newly-formed library sustainability subcommittee met for the first time in mid-October. Any energy-saving features will now have to come out of the proposed $35.8 million budget. At the initial meeting, member Chris Riddle, a retired local architect, stated that the best way to minimize the carbon footprint was to lessen the square footage. Riddle wanted to see the schematics for reusing the 1993 addition instead of totally demolishing it. Library Director Sharon Sharry responded that no schematics have been developed for reuse of the existing 17,800 square foot, handicapped-accessible 1993 addition, because the atrium leaks and the sight lines in the room are insufficient. Therefore, under current plans, the newest part of the building would be completely demolished, dumping over 1,600 tons of construction debris into a landfill (the proposed demolition entails both monetary costs and environmental costs), and then that square footage, along with an additional 17,000 square feet added would result in a 65,000 square foot Jones Library.
Meanwhile, the sustainability committee has made a list of possible ways to minimize climate impact. The architects are analyzing these suggestions and will bring cost estimates for possible sustainable features to a discussion at the library on Thursday, January 9, 5:30 to 6:30 p.m., during a joint Sustainability/Feasibility meeting. There are two agendas for one joint meeting and these can be found here and here.
How can the Town Council and Amherst residents make a decision about accepting the grant when there are no specifics? Even though last fall the Trustees discussed the need for extensive townwide input into plan revisions, no public forums have been scheduled. As someone who has followed this proposal closely for many years, I find it impossible to understand how the public can have confidence in the Trustees’ decisions, given the lack of information.
I too am concerned that a new school will be put in jeopardy if the library expansion project moves forward. Separate from the merits of expanding the Jones, I judge the project in the context of all the capital needs in town and the financial realities.
As Terry points out, the library project would come up first with residents asked to increase their taxes to pay for it. Then, less than two years later, residents will be asked to raise their taxes again to pay for a new school.
Is an expanded Jones library worth the risk of a school vote failing?
There is another option that will not put a school project at risk: Withdraw now from the library grant and request up to $5 million through the capital planning process for high priority repairs of the Jones building. Then the only tax override that will need to go out to voters will be for a new school.
Toni,
Thanks for commenting! Even with the four Capital Project Listening Sessions including the the Town Council, School Department, Fire/ DPW departments and the Library Trustees, our town remains in the same predicament. The Council has voted that they will address all four capital projects in some way yet there is still no clear commitment as to priorities as attendees to those meetings were steered away from such realities.
When one delves into the details of the Jones Library proposed demolition/expansion project, one discovers that it is too large for our actual user population (about 12,000 non-student residents) and will completely destroy a 1993 handicapped accessible addition, replace that square footage and add more space for a total library of 65,000 sq. ft. The Jones expansion is planned for 51,000 library borrowers.
This past weekend, we visited the Milton Public Library, as relatives just moved there. Milton has a diverse population of about 22,000 folks. The library kept its historic building intact, creating a space for reading rooms (general books and periodicals), an art gallery, and a cafe for food consumption. The second floor of the original building houses historic materials and study rooms.
In 2009, a well thought out expansion in the back resulted in a total library facility of just 40,000 sq. ft. including rooms for new materials, A/V, children, teens as well as fiction and non-fiction (with shelving at about 6 feet with all shelves full). Their community is actually smaller than our current flexible community Woodbury Room and amply awarded a full audience of kids and their parents for a Chinese New Year Dance program.
It’s all about setting priorities, sound planning and public input. I hope our town can work together to make decisions for ALL projects. The school project needs to come before the Jones Library demolition/expansion project.