Historic Commission Recommends Projects For CPAC Funding

Report on the Meeting of the Amherst Historical Commission (10/26/20)

The meeting was held as a Zoom webinar and was recorded. .

Participating: Members Jane Wald (Chair), Jan Marquardt, Pat Auth, Robin Fordham, Hetty Startup Staff: Nathan Malloy and Ben Breger

The Commission continued to review project applications for Community Preservation Act (CPA) funds falling under the rubric of “Historic Preservation.”

The first of these requests was for $40,000 for repairs to the historic North Amherst Library. Our first library, 35 years older than the Jones, the North Amherst Library was designed by local architect Roswell Field Putnam and built in 1893. Today, it defines a boundary of the North Amherst Historic District. 

The money would be used to restore the south foundation wall (under the main entrance), which had been poorly repaired in the past, and to replace a beam that was cut to install interior stairs to the basement. The first floor is being supported by two 2x4s. And one notices a 2-inch bounce in the floorboards near the Librarian’s desk.

Guilford Mooring, Amherst’s Director of Public Works, stated that these problems were discovered recently, when architects and engineers were developing plans for the proposed addition for public restrooms and a community room. The work needs to be done — it cannot be ignored — and it is best done while the cellar is open during new construction.

The usual comments arose about the former gas station north of the Library. It will be used during construction as a staging area and then removed as part of this project; the proposed rerouting of Route 116 will pass through the property. At the same time, three historic resources will be addressed there. The ball field, Library, and North Amherst school building will be reunited by grass and landscaping, part of what is left of the North Amherst Common to the south of the intersection.

Special Collections at the Jones Library is requesting $1 million, the same amount requested in the FY2021 CPAC budget. If the demolition/expansion project goes forward, Special Collections will be moved to the remodeled basement of the 1928 section of the building and will cost about $1.8 million. The Collections are currently under tarps due to deferred maintenance issues causing leaks in the air conditioning pipes. The CPAC budget prorates the costs of each system in Special Collections as a percentage of the total cost of the new library. Members of the Commission tried to determine how they should proceed when the historic building is being partially demolished and rebuilt/expanded. 

Kent Faerber, representing the Library Trustees’ fundraising arm, said that $1 million is part of the $6 million that the Jones has promised the Town. The Trustees had told the Town that they would raise this $6 million (toward the nearly $40 million project) from private donations, but they are now considering using money from the Jones Library Endowment to honor their pledge. In response to the many questions raised by the Commissioners, Faerber said, “The project speaks for itself.”

Lastly, Christine Brestrup, Planning Director, presented the project to restore the historic North Common and explained how the requested $250,000 would be used. The North Common is the “front yard” to Town Hall and dates from 1740 or earlier. Unlike most historic projects requesting CPA funds, this is part of the public way. The North Common is in poor condition due to a drainage problem that is connected to a 16-foot change in elevation, from northwest to southeast.

The enabling Statute for CPA funding  tequires 10% each for Preserving Historical Resources, conservation and affordable housing. The fourth category for which CPA funds can be used is recreation but is not required—it was enacted later than the first required three categories. LSSE evaluates applications under recreation as well as proposing its own projects. CPA can’t be used for anything else and is not to be used for operating budgets  so justification is  needed to differentiate between maintenance and restoration For the North Common project, the Town is requesting $500,000 from CPAC, with the other half coming from recreation. The total cost of the project is estimated at $1,900,000. The Town  hopes to receiving a $400,000 PARC grant  (Mass Parkland Acquisitions and Renovations For Communities Grant Program) from the Commonwealth as well.

The Historic Commission rank-ordered their recommendation to CPAC on all six Historic Preservation projects under consideration, which come to more than $2 million; available funds this year for all CPAC categories is about $1.1 million after debt service on existing bonded projects. The Historic Commission’s order for priority is: Goodwin Memorial Church, Town Common, North Amherst Library, Munson Library roof repair, and, lastly, the Town Hall front steps. Special Collections should perhaps ask for bond authorization since it is way over budget for CPAC resources. It was felt that the Mill River mill-site interpretation project was great but “planning a project” was not preserving a historic resource as required by government regulations. It was suggested that the District One Neighborhood Association (DONA) request funds under the Recreation rubric next year to complete the project.