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Date: 9/27/2022
AMHERST – After months of uncertainty and debate, the Amherst Town Council voted to authorize Town Manager Paul Bockelman to enter into a memorandum of agreement (MOA) with the Jones Library Board of Trustees, which in effect will move the library expansion project into the design development phase, guaranteeing the project’s continuance until at least the bidding stage. The vote was passed at Sept. 19’s Town Council meeting.
After sharp increases in the cost estimates this past summer compared to initial projections, the library’s Board of Trustees, the Town Council and the town’s Finance Committee were left with a difficult decision to make. They could abandon ship, foregoing the massive renovation and expansion project for more moderate repairs within the building’s existing footprint, or stick to their original plan and figure out a way to raise the roughly $11 million extra required to fund the project.
At Sept. 13’s Finance Committee meeting, members of the trustees unveiled an ambitious fundraising plan, which aims to raise approximately $14 million by the end of 2026, and $6 million by the time the project goes to bid in summer 2023. The library has already raised a little over $3 million of its share. Though there was some wariness as to the plan’s feasibility, the committee seemed mostly in support of the effort, and voted to recommend the Town Council vote on authorizing Bockleman to enter into a new MOA with Jones Library Inc. at Sept 19’s meeting. The project cannot continue until Bockelman has signed certain contracts, which only the Town Council can authorize him to do.
There were some at the council’s meeting who felt that the fundraising goal was implausible, particularly when considered in the context of ever-rising construction costs and inflation. Councilor Cathy Schoen, who at the previous week’s meeting had been in support of the project, decided to retract her support, feeling that the project was too financially risky at a time when the town’s operating and capital budgets are already stretched thin with other projects such as the new elementary school and new Department of Public Works and fire stations. She thought it would be better to focus on a more affordable plan for repairs rather than a new building.
Councilor Dorothy Pam shared this standpoint and likened the project to the Vietnam War. When she was protesting the war, she and her fellow dissenters were met with statements of “we can’t pull out now, we’ve invested too much already,” in her words. She felt that this line of reasoning is as foolish now as it was then.
However, the majority of the council was in favor of moving forward and sticking to Plan A, for a variety of reasons. Council President Lynn Griesemer felt that a challenging fundraising campaign should not be the only reason the project is abandoned, saying that “when the going gets tough, the tough get going.”
Councilor Mandi Jo Hanneke was adamant that the council needed to trust the trustees judgment in the plan’s efficacy and necessity to serve the needs of the town, and her fellow councilor Shalini Bahl-Milne echoed this sentiment while also reminding the council that backing out would send a bad message to the MBLC and other donor organizations that the town cannot be relied upon to see projects to completion, potentially jeopardizing funding for future projects.
Board President Austin Sarat made it clear that the library cannot be made environmentally sound and sustainable within its current footprint, nor can it satisfy the needs of the townspeople for decades to come without the proposed expansion. Trustee Ana Lefebvre pointed out that every time the project is delayed, its total cost increases, as well as the fact that there are numerous sources of funding for renovation and expansion that will not be available for simple repairs due to the nature of the grants, so it makes sense to use all available funds while they are still accessible.
Following the lengthy discussion regarding the pros and cons of moving forward, the council eventually passed a vote by majority to authorize Bockelman to enter into an MOA with Jones Library Inc. The MOA will contain a bridging agreement allowing the board and the council to reconvene at the bidding stage once the exact cost is confirmed and decide if they would like to begin construction, which would result in a third and final MOA. In the meantime, once Bockelman signs the MOA the project will move into the design development stage, which is followed by the construction documents phase, after which bidding will occur sometime in summer of 2023.
Additional business
Following the library vote, the council attended to other items on the agenda. A vote was passed to approve the installation of a new Eversource pole on Pomeroy Lane. Another vote passed to approve the acceptance of a land gift on Vista Terrace. The 5.39 acres will be used to provide access to the Mt. Holyoke trail and town conservation lands, including a six– or seven-space parking lot.
The town manager’s office said that additional grant proposals had been submitted for the Hickory Ridge solar project. Due to changes in the global supply chain there has been some delay in acquiring solar panels, but they hope to have installed the panels by spring of 2023.
The Town Council will meet next on Oct. 3 at 6:30 p.m. Public attendees may choose to observe in person at Town Hall, or continue watching virtually via Zoom.