Public Comment: Here Is What Will Bring Jones Expansion Design into Compliance with State and Federal Regulations
The office of Charles Green, the first director of the Jones Library. The office is slated to be demolished in the planned Jones Library expansion. Photo: amherstma.gov
The following public comment was submitted to the Amherst Historical Commission in writing for their meeting on August 28, 2024.
As a member of the Amherst Historic Preservation Coalition, I appeal to you to require the following changes to the Jones Library Building Project design to rectify the adverse effects found by the Massachusetts Historical Commission.
- Eliminate the new addition that covers, overwhelms and clashes with the historic building.
- Require the historic roof to be replaced with its original material, Buckingham Slate.
- Prohibit the removal or moving of interior walls and millwork.
- Keep original stairways intact.
- Require replacement of original windows with historically compatible double- or triple-paned sashes.
- Prohibit the unnecessary demolition of the 1993 addition that will impact adjacent walls of the 1927-28 historic building.
- Maintain the historic Whipple Window as a functional exterior window.
- Preserve the original Director’s Office.
- Disallow cutting a hole in the stonework of the original building’s main façade for a book drop.
To understand how these changes will mitigate the adverse effects cited by the Massachusetts Historical Commission please refer to State SHPO Brona Simon’s letters of November 22, 2023, December 29, 2023 and April 26, 2024 that are posted in the August 22, 2024 Amherst Historical Commission meeting packet.
You can also find An Illustrated Guide to Adverse Effects to the Historic Jones Library Resulting from the Proposed Demolition-Renovation-Expansion Project located in the meeting packet at https://www.amherstma.gov/DocumentCenter/View/74200/JLee-Letter3-HC-Jones helpful.
Jeff Lee
Jeff Lee is a career computer programmer and regular observer of local government. He has lived in Amherst since 1994 and in the Pioneer Valley since 1973 when he began grad work in mathematics at UMass. He formerly served on the Amherst Redevelopment Authority and as a member of Town Meeting. He is a frequent contributor to the Amherst Indy.