The following column was originally published Daily Hampshire Gazette June 11, 2024.
When we voted in December 2023 to support the Jones Library expansion project, we had a high degree of confidence in the total estimate of $46 million and were confident that the board would be able to close the remaining $7 million gap to pay its share of the total cost.
I was wrong on both counts: Just four months later, the only bid, in April, raised $6.5 million more than promised, and fundraising slowed rather than accelerated.
Alarmingly, the Board is now considering cutting key elements of the original expansion project design that would result in significant deterioration of the building. Cuts include using shorter-life, higher-maintenance materials, making the building less energy efficient, and passing on the costs of planned water and sewer upgrades to the Town.
Changes under consideration include eliminating solar panels, not replacing single pane glass in windows with double or triple glazing, removing and discarding carved wood paneling in historic parts of the building, and changing from durable, low-maintenance brick to a painted exterior. The proposed asphalt replacement for slate-like roofs would have a lifespan of only 15 to 30 years compared to slate’s 100 years or more.
Even worse, it will hurt your ability to add solar panels later, unless the roof’s lifespan is sufficient to justify a solar installation.
In 1993, the council made last-minute cuts to the extension’s budget and ruined the architect’s designs, and the extension has been plagued by problems ever since. We must learn from the past and not repeat the same mistakes.
More than $46 million would build a library that’s future-proofed with durable materials, low-maintenance design, well-insulated windows and solar power to supplement electric bills. Without these elements, the library’s annual operating costs would be higher and taxpayers would have to pay more for library maintenance and repairs.
Whatever taxpayers may have thought about the proposed 60,000-square-foot expansion, the changes under consideration would mean the building is not what taxpayers voted for.
With the Massachusetts State Library Board’s decision to allow a delay in rebidding the project in the fall, it is important that taxpayers, especially those who support the project, voice their concerns about proposed changes that will compromise the integrity of the building and increase costs for the town.
The time to voice our concerns is now. The architects are asking for the contract to close next week at an additional cost of $800,000 to reduce and modify the original design and necessary bid documents. Making hasty last-minute changes in response to construction bids will put a huge strain on all of us.
When I ran for Town Council in 2018, I promised to be fiscally responsible and scrutinize budgets and proposed project costs, and the Elementary School Construction Committee, which I chair, has been adamant that changes that reduce construction costs must be made while also keeping buildings durable, maintainable, and energy efficient.
We should expect more from the Jones Library trustees, who have been entrusted with the preservation of a valuable building and precious resource. It is time for them to live up to that trust and earn it.
Kathy Shawn, a longtime Amherst resident, has served on the Town Council since its inception and is chair of the Elementary School Building Committee and the Joint Capital Planning Committee. This column represents her views, but does not represent those of the Town Council.
