Letter: Should the Jones Library Project Be Blue Tarped?

When asked in an Amherst Indy questionnaire whether he would oppose additional borrowing for the $56 million Jones Library Renovation-Expansion project ($46.1M town appropriation + $8.7M interest + $1M CPA grant), District 1 Town Council candidate Vince O’Connor described what he would propose if the project ran into a catastrophic disaster during construction. 

“I would vote to blue tarp the building while insurance activities and litigation proceed – overseen by the council jointly with, not just by the manager,” he responded.

O’Connor used the term “blue tarp” to describe the action of halting construction and covering the site with a blue plastic tarp to prevent damage from the elements.

With the project threatening to place the town in a deep and long-term financial hole, other critics have suggested that it should be halted immediately while the ability of the library trustees to meet their $13.8 million fundraising commitment remains uncertain.

See related: Amherst Has Got Financial Trouble. We Deserve Full Disclosure

Amherst residents worried about the ability of the town to fix its crumbling roads, maintain the quality of its public schools and complete long-planned replacements of its ancient DPW Building and Central Fire Station may wonder if halting the costly library renovation is feasible.

Might the town council pull the plug and leave the partially demolished downtown building as a monument to poor financial planning, the out-sized influence of a PAC and the unchecked power of the town manager provided in Amherst’s new home rule charter?

It would certainly be a drastic and messy proposition, requiring the town to back out of a construction contract and come up with a plan to restore the construction site to a safe condition.

But on the other hand, passing a Proposition 2 ½ tax override which members of the Finance Committee have suggested may be necessary if Amherst is to bring its roads up to an acceptable standard – on top of a 2023 debt exclusion for the new Fort River School which is just beginning to show up in property tax bills – would also be drastic and overwhelming to many already stretched renters and taxpayers.

And Jones Library Director Sharon Sharry has repeatedly praised 101 University Drive which is serving as the interim location of the Jones Library while it awaits construction at 43 Amity St. to be completed.  At only $21,000 a month to rent the temporary library space, it is a bargain compared to the cost of completing the Jones Library project and possibly draining the $9.2 million library endowment to achieve it.  Consider that the library’s temporary home also has free parking, an amenity not planned for 43 Amity St., and the idea of halting construction of the controversial and very expensive library renovation and expansion may have merit.

Jeff Lee

Jeff Lee is a resident of Amherst’s District 5