Letter: Library Repairs a Fraction of Expansion Cost
The Jones Library atrium, part of the 1993 addition, is slated to be demolished in the planned Jones Library expansion. Photo: Hetty Startup
The following letter appeared previously in the Daily Hampshire Gazette.
The Jones Library’s “Plan B” does not have to be — and should not be — one that addresses every deferred maintenance need.
All town-owned buildings have millions of dollars worth of needed repairs. Why would a non-town-owned building get everything fixed before the schools, fire stations, and public works building?
The highest priority repairs of the Jones Library building are the HVAC system and the roof, estimated to cost a little over $2 million in 2020. With inflation, switching from fossil fuels to electric, and adding design fees and asbestos abatement, those repairs should be doable for less than $5 million. Of that, the trustees pay the first $1.8 million per agreement with the town, fundraising should be good for at least $1.5 million, and Community Preservation Act funds can be pursued, which leaves perhaps less than $1 million cost to the town.
Compare this to the $15.8 million currently earmarked for the overblown expansion project, plus about $3 million for short-term borrowing costs and necessary items that have been cut from the project (furniture, utility upgrades, etc.), plus the town is on the hook for fronting the fundraising gap of $8 million to $15 million or more, depending on the bid.
With a realistic Plan B, after addressing the most critical repairs, the library rejoins the capital planning queue, and the limited property tax dollars for capital projects can instead go toward a new fire station, public works building, or repaving roads.
When expansion proponents argue “repairs will cost more,” they are lowballing the true cost to the town of the expansion while exaggerating repair costs, interpreting the latter as addressing everything that has been neglected over decades.
When expansion proponents argue “repairs will cost more,” they are lowballing the true cost to the town of the expansion while exaggerating repair costs, interpreting the latter as addressing everything that has been neglected over decades. It is a red herring, and irresponsible to claim that everything everywhere all at once is the only alternative to full demolition-expansion. A real Plan B will cost the town a fraction of the expansion project.
Toni Cunningham
Toni Cunningham is a resident of Amherst’s District 1
The allusion to the film with same the title (“everything everywhere all at once”) is apt, but the destructive chaos which the Jones demolition/expansion will bring not only to the historic library itself, but also to the town’s present and future budgets — that is, to all the other vital public projects services supported by our local taxes — will make the destructive/creative chaos in that film pale by comparison.
The Canton Public Library, built in 1901, is replacing its roof and HVAC system for $3.1 million. The Canton library is somewhat smaller than the Jones — 35,500 vs 48,000 sq ft — but still…
Claims that Jones Library repairs will cost $20 million or more are simply a ruse to justify the over-the-top $46.1 million expansion project.
We already have construction drawings for an all-electric HVAC system for the original 1928 library building. Plan B is not starting from scratch. Continuing to pursue what is undeniably an untenable and unaffordable demolition/expansion project, and destroying much of what people value in the library in the process (historic woodwork, etc.), will only result in further delays and higher costs of a sensible Plan B, and possibly more damage to the building while we wait for cooler heads to prevail and fix what is very broken (roof leaks, etc.).
The Amherst capital budget simply cannot sustain the debt service that would be required for the demo/expansion. The best case scenario presented last November – which we now know for sure is not happening – was going to require 18% of the annual cash capital to pay debt for the library project. It is more likely to be double that if it continues.