Non-competitive Hiring by Jones Library Project Has Promoted One-sided Messaging

Public Records Point to Non-compliant Procurement Practices
The stormy history of the $46.1 million Jones Library renovation-expansion project stretches back to around 2012 when Austin Sarat was elected president of the board of trustees and Sharon Sharry was hired as library director.

Sarat and Sharry were central to the development of an ambitious plan to repurpose the historic and much-admired library into an expanding community center. They recognized the need to justify what would become the most expensive of 33 construction projects receiving grant money from the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners.  Toward this end, the Jones Library engaged two architectural cost estimators – Western Builders and Kuhn-Riddle Architects (KRA), and hired Financial Development Agency, Inc. (FDA) as capital campaign consultants.

Two oft-quoted memes used by project proponents to persuade the public and the Town Council that the costly building project is a worthwhile investment stem from the work of these three vendors.  “Repairs will cost more than renovation-expansion” comes from estimates produced by Western Builders and KRA. “Amherst taxpayers’ share of the project cost is not a penny more than the $15.8 million appropriated in December 2023” is a favorite slogan of the Jones Library Capital Campaign which has been advised by FDA since the project’s early planning stage.

To better understand the hiring of these three vendors, The Amherst Indy requested all solicitations, statements of work and contracts associated with the services performed by Western Builders, KRA and FDA.  Analysis indicates that while the Library did ask around for advice on whom to hire to estimate the cost of repairs and to assist with fundraising, contracts were awarded without the competitive process prescribed by Massachusetts Uniform Procurement Act (Chapter 30B). Other irregularities such as a practice known as bid splitting which avoids exceeding a threshold that demands a more robust procurement process, and potential conflicts of interest were also observed.

What are the Procurement Rules?
The most recent Chapter 30B procurement regulations went into effect in 2016 after the Governor signed An Act Modernizing Municipal Finance and Government.  The law implements three cost thresholds that determine what procurement process to follow.

Services costing more than $50,000 require solicitation of sealed bids or proposals.  Work valued at $10,000 to $50,000 calls for requesting at least 3 written quotes.  Work that costs less than $10,000 is expected to follow sound business practices.

An examination of the processes used by the Jones Library to hire Western Builders, Kuhn Riddle Architects and Financial Development Agency follows.

Western Builders
Jones Library Director sought a recommendation for a firm to estimate the cost of repairs from John Kuhn, principal of KRA.  KRA has performed design work for the library and town over the years.

Kuhn recommended three estimators and suggested that a fairly detailed estimate could be obtained for $2500-$4000.  In 2017 the library chose Western Builders of Granby, MA who quoted a price of $9250 for estimation of building repairs – just under the $10,000 procurement threshold over which 3 written quotes are required.

In an email to Western Builders, Jones Library Facilities Supervisor George Hicks-Richards refers to a list of repairs to estimate, but the list has not been provided to The Indy, nor has a Statement of Work or the final Western Builders report. 

It remains unclear what the Jones Library considered to be urgent repairs that would need to be addressed if the town chose not to fund the renovation-expansion.  However a KRA email later described the scope of work as a set of improvements consisting of the six items, not all of which appear to be critical:

• Replace the Skylight
• Replace South Elevator
• Interior Improvements
• Mechanical, Electrical and Plumbing Improvements
• Structural Improvements
• Exterior Improvements

Western Builders estimated that the cost for repairs and improvements requested by the library would be $8-$9.5 million.

Kuhn Riddle Architects
In 2020, the Jones Library asked KRA to prepare a proposal to update Western Builders’ cost estimate, adding the expense of bringing the historic building in line with state and federal accessibility guidelines.  Western Builders had initially been invited to continue its work, but responded that it was currently too busy.

KRA estimated that the work engagement would cost $18,600 which is above the $10,000 threshold for requiring 3 written vendor quotes. The response from the Jones Library to the Amherst Indy public record request included no written quotes other that the one from KRA.

Hicks-Richards had  expressed concern that engaging KRA for cost estimation could be considered a conflict of interest as KRA had been involved in the building project as an advisor to Finegold Alexander, the project architects.

John Kuhn, principal of KRA, responded, “I don’t think that our consulting with you will be construed as a conflict of interest. FAA did not include us on the most recent proposal for updating the design, so technically we are not working on the team at the moment.”

Evaluating all repairs and improvements, not just the most urgent, and looking out six years, KRA estimated that completing the Library’s desired work would cost between $14.4 million and $16.8 million, depending on how the work was phased.

Since 2020 when the KRA report was written, project proponents have advanced wild guesses at cost increases to argue that the Library’s wished for repairs and improvements would cost upwards of $20 million.

The Town of Amherst’s FY2013 5-year Capital Program included funding for roof and chimney repairs, fire system upgrade, HVAC improvements, new carpet, exterior lighting, upgraded insulation, exterior renovations and redesign of the interlibrary loan delivery room for a total cost of $735,000 – a tiny fraction of the cost to taxpayers of the now $55 million renovation-expansion project cost when interest payments are factored in.

Financial Development Agency
In 2012, the Jones Library Board of Trustees and new director Sharon Sharry decided to undertake applying for a renovation-expansion grant from the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners (MBLC).  Sharry was well acquainted with the MBLC construction grant program, having worked on securing grants for four previous libraries where she had worked — Lenox, Williamstown, Sunderland and Greenfield.  She knew that large amounts of grant money would be available, but that it would require an even greater commitment of town funds, supplemented by aggressive fundraising.

Library leaders recognized the need for professional fundraising help and the director received several referrals from the MBLC and librarians across the state.  Among the referrals was Financial Development Agency, an Amherst-based consultancy led by Matthew Blumenfeld and Claudia Canale-Parola.

Blumenfeld had led the capital campaign of the $14.5 million Holyoke Public Library renovation-expansion, and his firm came recommended by Holyoke library director Maria Pagan.

Between 2013 and 2017, the Jones Library signed annual contracts with FDA for the purpose of “enhancing the Library’s overall fund raising, marketing and communications capacity.” The contracted amounts ranged from $24,800 to $36,000.

Despite these contracts exceeding the state’s $10,000 procurement threshold beyond which 3 written quotes are required, Director Sharry has provided no evidence that quotes from other fundraising consultants were solicited.  Furthermore, the act of separating FDA engagements into annual contracts resembles the practice of “bid splitting.”  Bid splitting is defined as dividing  or splitting a procurement in order to evade a procurement requirement and is prohibited by Massachusetts law.

FDA’s five contracts total $137,950 which is well past the $50,000 threshold for requiring competitive sealed bids or proposals.

Blumenfeld attended Library Feasibility Committee meetings from the committee’s start in November 2014.  He helped inform the scope of the proposed library project and influenced the ultimate cost of the project.  “This is a chance to do something really astonishing,” remarked Blumenfeld at the first meeting.

The fact that the more astonishing and ambitious the library expansion, the more fundraising that would be required, and the more compensation Blumenfeld stands to receive would appear to represent a flagrant conflict of interest.

See related Library Project Fundraisers To Pay Themselves $1 Million Through 2027

Blumenfeld has also drawn criticism for making personal attacks on Amherst residents who have voiced opposition to the controversial library project.