Attorney General Reviewing Jones Library Hiring Approach
Jones Library. Photo: wilkipedia.org
Highlights of the Meeting of the Jones Library Building Design Subcommittee, March 4, 2022
Present
Austin Sarat (Library Trustee), Sharon Sharry (Library Director), George Hicks-Richards (Library Facilities Supervisor), Christine Gray-Mullen (resident member), Ken Romeo (Colliers Project Manager)
Meeting Agenda | Meeting Recording
Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey’s office is engaged in talks with Town and Library officials regarding the process to be used in hiring a designer for the Jones Library renovation/expansion project. OPM representative Ken Romeo of Colliers Project Leaders reported, “I’m reaching out to a few people and trying to understand the designer procurement approach that we’re going to have to take.”
Asked how long before a designer contract could be finalized, Romeo replied, “It’s going to depend on how things go with the Attorney General because there’s a discussion going on there on the procurement process.” He hoped to have a path forward decided within three or four business days, he said.
Recent discussions at Library Board of Trustees meetings have mentioned only Finegold Alexander Architects as potential designer for the building renovation/expansion.
The contracting for supplies and services by Massachusetts cities and towns is governed by the Uniform Procurement Act, or MGL Chapter 30B. According to an overview by the Massachusetts Office of the Inspector General, purchasing supplies or services costing $10,000 – $50,000 requires requesting three written quotes from vendors. Purchases greater than $50,000 require the solicitation of competitive sealed bids or proposals, with invitations advertised on the state’s COMMBUYS website as well as in a conspicuous place in town offices and in a local newspaper.
The state has advised that “any contract awarded in violation of Chapter 30B is invalid,” and government bodies engaging in procurement should “make all records available for public inspection.”
An online search for records documenting the recent Jones Library contracts with Colliers for project management services and Financial Development Agency (FDA) for fundraising leaves it unclear whether the Library complied with Chapter 30B regulations.
The question is particularly consequential regarding the hiring of FDA. The company’s principals are also on the leadership team of Amherst Forward, a political action committee that has worked to elect pro-library expansion project candidates to the Amherst Town Council and Jones Library Board of Trustees.
The Jones Library Building Committee’s Design Subcommittee chose Christine Gray-Mullen as subcommittee chair. Their next meeting will be on March 25.
While poking around the procurement documentation on the town website I came across a Powerpoint from the Inspector General’s office that indicates that there are exceptions to the general procurement rules for certain types of contracts, and designer selection is one of those exceptions. In fact there is a whole separate area of Mass. General Laws — Chapter 7C sections 44-58 — that deals with the procurement of designer services.
Rather than venture further down the procurement law rabbit hole, I would like to clarify that the exact nature of the discussion with the AG around a Jones Library designer contract has not yet been explained. When there is an absence of information made available to the public, it can lead to leaps of the imagination that may be inaccurate. I urge readers and engaged citizens to be curious about how municipal procurement works, but not to draw any conclusions without the necessary background information, and I hope that this information will be forthcoming.