Councilors Press for More Information on Jones Library Project 

Report on the Meeting of the Amherst Town Council, May 20, 2024. Part 3

This was a hybrid meeting that was recorded. It can be viewed here.

Present
Lynn Griesemer (President, District 2), Mandi Jo Hanneke, Andy Steinberg, Ellisha Walker (at large), Freke Ette and Cathy Schoen (District 1), Pat DeAngelis (District 2), George Ryan (District 3), Pam Rooney and Jennifer Taub (District 4), Ana Devlin Gauthier and Bob Hegner (District 5). Hala Lord (District 3) was absent

Staff: Paul Bockelman (Town Manager) and Athena O’Keeffe (Clerk of the Council)

Councilors Demand Discussion of Increased Costs of Jones Expansion 
The fiscal crisis facing the proposed Jones Library expansion project was raised three hours into the four-hour meeting when Pam Rooney (District 4), liaison to the Jones Library Building Committee, reported that the library trustees had rejected the lone bid for the project at their May 13 meeting. That bid was $7.2 million over the money approved, meaning that the fundraisers would need to raise over $14 million from sources outside of the town. The architects told the trustees that it would be impossible to pare significant costs from the project, but they felt that the high bid was partially due to the fact that only one company submitted a bid. 

The trustees were unwilling to abandon the project and, by a vote of 4-1, recommended that the Town Manager ask the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners (MBLC) to extend the June 30 deadline for six months to allow the project to go out to bid again in the fall. Rooney noted that this extension would mean the accrual of more expenses in design costs and fees to the Owner’s Project Manager (OPM) and design team, which she said have been costing about $100,000 a month and are already substantially over budget.

Because of the uncertainty about the viability of the project, Jones Library Trustee President Austin Sarat asked the Buildings and Facilities Committee to develop a repair scenario for the library with a timeline and cost estimate. Ana Devlin Gauthier (District 5) noted that the estimate for repair done by Kuhn, Riddle Architects was from a couple years ago [actually June, 2020], so is probably not accurate. 

Jennifer Taub (District 4) said that many of her constituents are asking about the library project and wanted to know when the council would be involved in the decision-making. Town Manager Paul Bockelman said that the council would be involved if an additional appropriation was needed, but the library trustees could ask for an extension of the deadline without council approval. He did acknowledge that the additional costs for modifying the design and reissuing the bid documents would be borne by the town not the library, since the $1.8 million that the trustees pledged to contribute if the project did not proceed has already been exceeded by $500,000. He suggested that the town could lobby the MBLC, involving our state legislators, to forgive part or all of the $2.9 million from the MBLC grant that the town would have to repay if the project did not go forward. “We pursued this project in good faith,” he said, and then asserted that, “We’ve rejected the bid, so we don’t have a project, and there’s no additional cost being incurred at this time.” However, he admitted that there would have to be a new contract with the design team to redo the design. 

Cathy Schoen (District 1) stated that she asked that the library be on the agenda for this meeting, but Council President Lynn Griesemer (District 2) refused, saying the council had no options to discuss. Schoen again requested that the topic be on the agenda for the June 3 meeting “to lay out for us what sounds to me like financial risk for the town of Amherst taxpayers with very little of the risk right now in the library, because the higher cost is more than the total library endowment.” The town would need to borrow the full cost of the project up front and would be responsible for repaying the debt if library fundraising fell short. She also hoped that there would be a serious look at the numbers from the Kuhn, Riddle repair estimate, updating the costs for the HVAC, roof, and other systems to meet contemporary code. She noted that there is $1.2 million set aside for the library from the Joint Capital Planning Committee (JCPC), $1 million from the Community Preservation Act, and that the town could apply for more CPA funds this fall. All of these are potential resources to meet the costs of repairing the building.

Rooney agreed. She said she had asked to discuss the library at the May 6 meeting and was told it could be discussed in the Town Manager’s Report, and it would be put on the agenda for this meeting, but it was not. She asked Bockelman to require the Jones trustees to pay any additional design costs if the project deadline is extended. He did not respond.

George Ryan (District 3) and Mandi Jo Hanneke (at large) were unclear about the role of the council at this point. Ryan said, “Clearly the town can’t be on the hook for the costs, [but] at the moment we don’t have an understanding of what is going to happen. Until we find out, I’m not sure what we’re going to be talking about.” Hanneke agreed that “if no action of the council is being requested, it would just be 13 people talking about something they have no vote on.” She added, “I do hope the manager is carefully scouring the contract with the OPM regarding payments, especially if we’ve paid more than the contract says, and especially if the bid documents need to be reworked.”

Schoen said she was elected to be fiscally accountable to taxpayers. “This is a huge risk that we’re looking at, and at least we have to understand the risk. We don’t even own the building,”  she said, “We only have so much money, and the sooner we understand what the magnitudes of the financial risk are, the better.”

“It’s on the agenda for June 3,” Griesemer stated.

Council Votes to Accept Amherst Hills Roads. Sets Path Forward for the Meadows
With little discussion and no opposing votes, the council declared the roads in the Amherst Hills subdivision to be acceptable as town roads, ending a many year dispute between the residents and the developer, Tofino Associates.

Another Tofino subdivision, the Meadows, was still waiting for its roads to be brought up to the standard acceptable for public ways, even though the last house was completed almost 20 years ago. The town has about $41,000 remaining in escrow from Tofino, but the developer refused to increase its share of the costs of needed improvements. The homeowners’ association agreed to contribute $140,000. Bockelman crafted a memo recommending that the town pick up the remainder of the cost to fix the most glaring deficiencies on Kestrel Lane and Hop Brook Road  and then place the roads on the regular town maintenance schedule for roads. The cost for totally completing the roads is estimated to be $3.6 million. Bockelman acknowledged that this may open the door for other substandard private roads to apply for town acceptance, but he felt the Meadows residents were the victims of unfortunate circumstances on the part of both the town and the developer. The council accepted the memo with a 12-0 vote. They will vote on whether to make the roads public ways by November 1, providing the specified work is complete. 

New Eversource Pole for Stanley Street and Supplemental Funds for Pumper Truck 
Eversource came before the council to request permission to install a 45-foot electrical pole at the intersection of Tamarack Drive and Stanley Street so that a nearby customer can install rooftop solar. Although the council voted unanimously to allow the pole, Pat Ononibaku who lives nearby, said neighbors were not notified of the additional pole. Council Clerk Athena O’Keeffe said that notification of the hearing was sent to abutters within 300 feet according to information supplied by the assessor.

The council appropriated $725,000 to purchase a new pumper truck for the Fire Department in June, 2023. The cost of the truck has increased, so the council approved the additional cost as part of the consent agenda. The amount of the increase was $126,500.

The council also voted to purchase a property on Sand Hill Road in Shutesbury to protect the town’s watershed near Atkins Reservoir. The town will purchase the 11 acres from the Gage family for $108,000 with help of $65,000 from the State Department of Environmental Protection. The town’s share will come from the Water Enterprise fund. The property is appraised at $100,000.

Governor Stresses Housing Shortage as Economic Drain on the State
Bockelman said that he and a small group of municipal officials met with the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of Housing and Livable Communities to discuss barriers to creating housing. Governor Maura Healy said explicitly said that housing is the number one issue for the Commonwealth and the biggest barrier to economic development. She stated that the largest group leaving the state are the 25-to 36-year-olds, mostly because of the cost of housing, and that housing at all cost levels is needed. Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll noted that housing costs in California were eased by allowing accessible dwelling units (ADUs), which are permitted in Amherst.

Griesemer said the cost of housing was raised at her meeting with State Representative Mindy Domb and State Senator Jo Comerford. Comerford said that the Housing Bill in the legislature includes the ability to use state-owned land for housing, and that both UMass and Amherst College are interested in dealing with the housing shortage in the area.

Several councilors were interested in discussing housing in town at a future meeting. Pat DeAngelis (District 2) urged the council to include the Amherst Municipal Affordable Housing Trust in the discussion.

The meeting was adjourned at 10:35 p.m. The council will next meet on June 3.