Finance Committee Recommends $330,000 for Library Project on Split Vote
Historic millwork at the Jones Library, some of which was slated for preservation. The library has requested CPAC funds to pay for that preservation work, even though the costs were included in the orginal construction contact and that money has already been borrowed. Photo: amherstma.gov
Report of the Meeting of the Finance Committee, April 21, 2026
This meeting was held over Zoom and was recorded.
Present: Cathy Schoen (District 1, chair), Lynn Griesemer (District 2), Ana Devlin Gauthier and Sam MacLeod (District 5). Resident nonvoting members: Cathleen Mitchell and Tom Porter. Absent: Jill Brevik (District 1) and Joseph Jayne (nonvoting member). Staff: Sean Mangano (finance director), Paul Bockelman (town manager) and Athena O’Keeffe (council clerk).
Finance Committee Recommends Additional $330,000 for Library Project
At the April 7 Finance Committee meeting, all other projects recommended by the Community Preservation Act (CPA) Committee received unanimous support, but the vote on the $330,000 request for the Jones Library renovation was delayed because of questions about its eligibility.
After receiving mixed advice about eligibility, the committee voted 2-1-1 — Ana Devlin Gauthier and Sam MacLeod voting yes, Cathy Schoen voting no and Lynn Griesemer abstaining — to recommend the funding to the full council. The nonvoting members were also split, with Tom Porter supporting the funding and Cathleen Mitchell opposing. Porter informed the committee that he is treasurer of the Friends of the Jones Library.
The recommendation will now come before the full Town Council, which is expected to vote on these appropriations at its April 27 meeting. The vote on the library funds will be separate from the other CPA appropriations.
It was noted that preservation of the Philippine mahogany woodwork — for which the money would be used — was already included in the $46.1 million appropriation for the project, and the town had already borrowed that full amount. Although the town’s attorney, KP Law, had deemed the additional funding eligible, the Finance Committee sought more information from the state CPA Committee, the Department of Revenue (DOR) and the town’s auditor.
Mangano reported on the outside information he received but cautioned that none of the three sources conducted an exhaustive analysis of the project. Stuart Saginor, executive director of the CPA Coalition, told Mangano that because the work would be completed regardless, he felt the funding request fell into a “gray area in terms of the spirit of the law, and he did not like it.”
Mangano also consulted attorney Ken Woodland, bureau chief of the Municipal Law Division of the DOR. Woodland said the DOR does not police CPA projects but also felt the request fell into a gray area.
Tanya Campbell of CBIZ, the town’s auditor for several years, reviewed opinions from both KP Law and Anderson Krieger and agreed with KP Law that the project was eligible to receive CPA funds. Anderson Krieger had raised concerns about eligibility.
Porter said he considered it a “cut-and-dry issue.” After reviewing the Memorandum of Agreement among the Massachusetts Historical Commission, the town, and the Jones Library, he said: “It seems like the library had done its part and has been conscientious and diligent and open about the application. It ought not be a referendum on the library project, but more of a question of whether the council chooses to support the work of the CPA.”
Griesemer asked whether Mangano believed Saginor’s reservations stemmed from the view that the library should have applied for additional CPA funds earlier, before a contract was signed.
Schoen said: “I think it’s because the project is funded. The town has actually taken out debt to fund it. Most of the CPA projects, at least the times I’ve seen them, have come in at the beginning to secure the money so they could make a good case to other funders that the project was financially viable — seed money. I don’t think I’ve seen any other project where the town had already taken out the debt for it. It’s an unusual project, because we usually don’t take on this much debt for a building we don’t own.”
MacLeod, who previously served as chair of the CPA Committee, acknowledged that it was “not common” for a project at the Jones project’s current stage to request additional CPA funds. “It does happen, and members of the CPA committees during my time would have varying questions, and sometimes those questions would persist,” he said.
Griesemer then asked Town Manager Bockelman: “Do you feel that our passage of this would leave the town open to a legal question?” Bockelman replied: “Anything the town does is subject to anybody litigating anything. But in terms of whether it’s defensible, I feel very strongly that the town’s attorney has rendered an opinion. That is what we usually rely on when we are making legal decisions, making financing decisions.”
On the motion to recommend that the Town Council support the $330,000 in CPA funds to preserve the historic woodwork at the Jones Library, MacLeod said he supported it based on the CPA Committee process but noted that “councilors can make their own determinations.” Griesemer abstained, saying: “I would like the record to show that I’m totally in support of this. My only question is the legal issue.”
Porter reiterated his role as treasurer of the Friends of the Jones Library and said he “would not want for that to be an issue, but I am a nonvoter, so maybe that’s moot.”
Public Comment
Kent Faerber, former chair of the Jones Capital Campaign and a District 5B resident, reiterated remarks he had made at previous Finance Committee and Town Council meetings. He said: “The goal of the CPA is to encourage certain activity, including historic preservation, by helping to pay for it. Does funding the preservation of the historic woodwork at the library advance the purposes of the act? That’s the only issue. Denying support for this preservation work because the work will be done anyway and the library can pay for it out of its endowment does not fulfill the council’s responsibility under the act.” He added: “You will hear the legal opinion of the town’s lawyers as it addresses the unique terms of the bond authorization. This should be authoritative over a hardly independent legal brief commissioned and paid for by Jeff Lee’s Amherst Community Preservation Coalition, which as far as anyone can tell was formed only to oppose the library project.”
Financial Order for Regional Schools Capital Projects Passed
The Finance Committee unanimously approved the regional school district’s plan to borrow $497,000 for capital improvements at regional schools. The town has 60 days to act on the appropriation; otherwise it takes effect automatically. Mangano said the other three towns in the region historically have not taken votes and have allowed the money to be allocated by default.
The planned capital improvements are: domestic hot water heaters ($100,000) and HVAC ($80,000) at the high school; east wing roof patching ($10,000) and locker room and adult bathroom renovation ($10,000) at the high school; middle school elevator service ($10,000); middle school electrical service upgrade ($235,000); middle school wood shop door ($12,000); and DA work ($40,000).
Third Quarter Running Close to Budget
Mangano reported that the FY2026 budget is tracking largely as expected in the third-quarter report. The general fund has collected about 75% of expected revenue, compared with 80% at the same point last year, and he anticipates a smaller year-end surplus as a result.
The town has also spent 75% of its budgeted expenditures. Two collective bargaining agreements for Department of Public Works employees remain pending; those settlements may include retroactive payments, so funds are being held in reserve.
Two areas that deviate significantly from the budget are snow and ice removal, which is well over budget, and parking ticket collections, which are well below projections. Snow and ice removal, Mangano explained, is “one area where we are allowed to have a legal deficit at year end.” He expects the town to cover that shortfall with savings elsewhere but is also seeking state funds.
The drop in parking fine revenue has no clear explanation. There is no discrepancy in the number of tickets written among the three parking enforcement officers. Over the years, parking revenue has shifted from meters to kiosks to a primarily app-based system. The town also lost the parking lot in front of Town Hall, but Mangano said most of the shortfall stems from fines, not permits — revenue from permits has increased. He was uncertain whether the decline is an anomaly or a longer-term trend.
Mangano noted that investment income will decrease due to lower interest rates and the drawdown of reserves for large capital projects. The town will also begin making payments on loans for the library and the new elementary school. He added that Hampshire College’s closure at the end of the year will reduce water and sewer usage, affecting those enterprise funds.
As requested at the previous Finance Committee meeting, Mangano included a chart outlining the contents of each section of the report (see page 6).