History Museum Seeks Protections and Concessions from Library Project
Photo: https://www.joneslibrary.org/
Despite sailing through the Planning Board permitting process, the Jones Library renovation-expansion must receive approval and a construction easement from its neighbor to the west, the Simeon Strong House which serves as the Amherst History Museum and is owned by the Amherst Historical Society (AHS).
In early December the AHS sent a letter to the Jones Library Trustees, Town Manager Paul Bockelman, and Planning Board Chair Doug Marshall outlining terms and conditions they request in return for granting a temporary construction easement along their property line. The easement would allow construction vehicles to access the west side of the construction site and is required for the building project to move forward.
See related: Library, Historical Society at Odds over Easement and Protections for Strong House Were Delted in Latest Jones Library Permit
The letter describes a March 2022 meeting between Library Director Sharon Sharry, Project Manager Ken Guyotte of Colliers, and AHS President Gigi Barnhill which fostered the understanding that construction vehicles could approach from the east side of the library and no easement on AHS property would be necessary. More recently, the library has requested a 20- to 25-foot easement to allow heavy equipment access to the rear of the site. The letter states that the Historical Society finds this proposal “very concerning, particularly as it impacts the structure of the building, the security of the collection and our ongoing audience development and programming.”
In return for granting a temporary 15-foot construction easement for a fee of $1, the Historical Society asks for some concessions:
- The Jones Library should pay for 3-D scans of the 270+ year old historic Strong House which will enable damage resulting from the nearby construction project to be identified.
- The library should cover materials needed to pack fragile items in the Museum’s collection.
- The AHS must approve sections of the library construction contract related to damage and repair of AHS property
- The library or town should assume responsibility for mowing the History Museum south lawn and clearing its sidewalk along Amity Street in perpetuity.
At the January 4 meeting of the Jones Library Board of Trustees, President Austin Sarat was asked to negotiate with the Amherst Historical Society to acquire the necessary construction easement. He was also tasked with obtaining non-critical easements and access permissions from The Works and The Drake building owners.
Like the Jones Library, the Amherst Historical Society is a non-profit organization that provides a cultural resource to the public. Unlike the library, the society receives no funding from local taxation to support building maintenance, improvements, or operating costs.
Director Announces Jones Library Closure to Prep for Move on January 24
Director Sharon Sharry told the January 4 meeting of the Jones Library Board of Trustees that the library would be closed to the public on Wednesday, January 24 so that the staff may begin preparing for a move to temporary quarters during planned construction. The time will be used for planning and for the shredding and disposal of documents. Sharry described the closure as “the first of probably a few opportunities for the staff to start ,now that we know it [the renovation-expansion] is really going to happen.”
Sharry estimated that February would be devoted to packing the library collection, March to moving, April to unpacking the collection in temporary locations, and May to reopening library services to the public. “I hope to have a more solid timeline in a couple weeks,” she said.
The town continues to seek a temporary library location after a November request for proposals to lease a 28,268 square foot space within 20 minutes of downtown failed to produce a viable site. The space requirement in a new request for proposals has been relaxed to 15,000 square feet. The response period ended on January 5 at 2 p.m.
The property for lease must be available for move in by February 1, 2024 and remain available to the town until December 1, 2025 (22 months).
Hmmnnnn….
Shredding documents….
No place to store library materials….
What’s the hurry?
I would be most concerned about protecting the massive and majestic sycamore tree in front of the history museum from damage from heavy equipment traffic over its root system and how digging nearby may impact it. According to the History Museum website the tree is “known as the ‘Groom Tree,’ has stood in front of the Simeon Strong House, home to the Amherst Historical Society’s Museum since 1916. ” Does anyone know what the plan is around that? – The Museum structure can be repaired… the tree cannot.
RE Temporary Housing for the Jones Library: Maybe UMASS would be so kind as to host some part of the collection in one of its many buildings on campus…. such as the Old Chapel which was once a library. https://www.umass.edu/oldchapel/ or Amherst College would generously put the children’s collection into the Amherst Alumni House behind the Boltwood Inn. Seems the perfect time for the colleges to step up. Or just store everything and ask the colleges to extend library privileges to Amherst residents during the disrupted time and encourage folks to visit the North Amherst or South Amherst libraries and move the staff to cover extended hours in those locations.
These conditions were the protections for Strong House that were in the first permit for the original extension of the Jones Library-plus payment for damages and repairs. The Planning Board did not put them in the permit for the current expansion The Planning Board is tasked with considering a projects impact on historic resources. An oversight?
Oversight or conflict of interest? Planning Board Chair Doug Marshall who moderated the deliberation of the library project special permit is son-in-law of Honorary Co-chairs of the Jones Library Capital Campaign, John and Elizabeth Armstrong. At the very least Marshall should have recused himself from the discussion and asked another planning board member to take over as chair.