Historic Commission To Hold Public Hearing on Changes to Jones Library in Late July
The architects have yet to specify which original millwork in the Jones Library is to be retained in the renovation and expansion. Plans are to remove and discard about 25% of the original millwork. Photo: amherstma.gov
Report on the Meeting of the Amherst Historical Commission, July 8, 2024
This meeting was held over Zoom and was recorded.
Present
Robin Fordham (Chair), Hetty Startup, Pat Auth, Madeleine Helmer, Antonia Brillembourg, Mikayla Rasnic.
Staff: Nate Malloy and Jacinta Williams (Planning Department)
Historical Commission Urged to Develop Guidelines for CPA Applicants
Senior Planner Nate Malloy said that the Community Preservation Act (CPA) Committee is starting to get inquiries from private property owners seeking CPA historic preservation funds to aid in maintaining their buildings. He would like the Historical Commission to develop some guidelines for eligibility for CPA grants, such as which features of a structure are eligible and what is the limit to the grant amount in relation to the value of the building and the amount that owners need to contribute to the restoration.
Historical Commission Chair Robin Fordham said she would like to have a narrow list of defining features that qualify for CPA funds. She suggested porches, windows, railings as examples of defining features. She also pointed out that many of the property owners who submit CPA applications may qualify for other grants from the Massachusetts Cultural Council or emergency stabilization funds. She said she would like to see applicants try to obtain money from those sources before applying to the CPA Committee.
Applications for CPA grants are due in September. The commission urges those applying for historical preservation funds from the CPA to come before the commission for feedback on draft applications in August before submitting their final application. The next regular meeting of the Historical Commission is on Monday, August 5.
All CPA applications for historical preservation are reviewed by the Historical Commission, which makes recommendations to the CPA committee. The commission will discuss guidelines for CPA applications at a future meeting.
Hetty Startup noted that she attended the dedication of the reconstructed steeple at the South Amherst Congregational Church this past weekend. The steeple was restored using a $250,000 CPA grant which dovetailed with 10 years of fundraising and work by the congregation. Startup said that a standing room only crowd attended the dedication. She worried about the state of the North Amherst Church, which has a much smaller and newer congregation. In public comment, Hilda Greenbaum also said she has noticed the church deteriorating “quite a bit” since the Congregational Church sold it 30 years ago. She said the church has been awarded CPA money to fix the roof, but no repairs have been made yet.
Process Begins for Wildwood Cemetery to Be Included on the National Register
Rebecca Fricke, General Manager of the Wildwood Cemetery, has been compiling a history of the cemetery and an inventory of those buried there. She would like the cemetery to be recognized for its historic significance. Fordham thought that the cemetery would be a candidate for inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places, because it is an example of a garden cemetery. She suggested that Fricke submit her completed inventory to Ben Haley who handles submissions to the National Register for the Massachusetts Historical Commission to begin the process.
Hearing on Changes to Jones Library Project to be Held in Late July
In public comment, Jeff Lee and Sarah McKee asked the Historical Commission to evaluate the proposed “value engineering” changes to the Jones Library Building Project in terms of the requirements for federal and state money awarded to the project and the 2017 Historic Preservation agreement with the town. Lee pointed out that a December, 2023 letter sent to the commission and the Library Director Sharon Sharry noted adverse effects to the historic library in the planned demolition, and he felt that these concerns had not been addressed in a required public hearing. Sarah McKee, who is a past President of the Jones Library Trustees, stated that the slate roof of the library was repaired with $100,000 in CPA funds in 2010 and was included in the historic preservation agreement, so replacing the roof with asphalt shingles would violate this agreement.
Malloy replied that the Historical Commission held three public hearings about the library plans last year and determined that there were no adverse effects, but those hearings involved preserving interior elements that are now slated to be destroyed. With the proposed value engineering changes, the commission will need to hold another public hearing. Because there needs to be a two-week notice, the hearing will be scheduled at the end of July.
Barn on Snell Street Can Be Replaced
Owners of a barn at 172 Snell Street want to tear it down and put up a shed. Abutters were not notified in time to hold a public hearing on the proposed demolition within the 45-day limit. If the commission does not act, the demolition can proceed. The history of the barn was uncertain. The associated house was built in 1920. Fordham said that it is hard to figure out the original purpose of the barn. It has a dirt floor, and the foundation is failing.
No one on the commission felt the barn should be preserved, so the demolition was
“constructively granted” because the commission did not hold a hearing or act on it.
Members Needed for Historical Commission
The terms of Brillembourg and Rasnic expired on June 30, but Malloy said that they can continue to serve until they are replaced, or they can reapply. It will be important for them to continue through the hearing on the library, he said, since Fordham must recuse herself and there will not be a quorum without them. There is a longstanding vacancy on the committee. Malloy said there has been an applicant who he hoped would have been appointed by now.
Brillembourg and Rasnic were reappointed at the July 15 Town Council meeting. Brillembourg’s term will expire on June 30, 2026 and Rasnic’s on June 30, 2027.
The next AHC meeting where the Jones Library will be on the agenda is now set for August 1.
“Malloy said there has been an applicant who he hoped would have been appointed by now.”
That applicant might be me. I applied and interviewed for an open position on the Historical Commission back in the summer of 2023 and I expect that my application is still open. I. hold a PhD in Anthropology from the University of Michigan, trained formally in archeology, spent the first 20 years of my career working in historic preservation (with the latter years in civic engagement and community organizing) and during those early years maintained collaborative relationships with the Massachusetts Historical Commission. In my interview, I emphasized that a Historic Commission has a responsibility to preserve not just old things and places but narratives and those stories should not be limited to those of the white, powerful ,and affluent. I noted that Amherst seemed to be starting on the right track of inclusive historic preservation with its North Amherst History Trail which focuses on working class history and with writers like Hetty Startup who had recently written a column for the Indy on early Chinese immigrants in Amherst. I noted that the Commission did not have a professional archaeologist and had not had one in my memory. I believe that I am qualified to serve on the Commission and able to add a helpful, and perhaps somewhat unique perspective to their work.
Town Manager Paul Bockelman chose to leave that position open rather than appoint me.
Art’s experience is just part of a larger pattern….
… and what are the reasons why the AHC Chair must recuse (even if one merely abstains from voting, there can still be influence on other committee members during deliberations or other “extracurricular activity”)?
So the Historic Commission findings will be at hearing scheduled after the Planning Board considers the Jones project changes?