The Town Council will discuss sending letters to legislators urging more state money be available to fund the Jones Library renovation and expansion project by using federal American Rescue Plan Act COVID-relief dollars.
A draft of the letter, due to be discussed at a meeting Monday and published on the municipal website, says that in addition to Amherst, 11 other public libraries across the state are banding together in the push for additional dollars. In the face of pandemic-related skyrocketing costs related to construction, the communities have seen the forecasted costs of their library projects rise significantly with the state grants allocated five years ago now covering only an estimated 30%.
The situation, according to the draft letter, is described as follows: “In 2017, the 12 municipalities of Amherst, Brewster, Deerfield, Fitchburg, Gloucester, Lynnfield, Orange, Seekonk, Sharon, Swansea, Westborough, and Westford applied for $96.3 million worth of (state Library Commission building) grant funding. At that time, the total cost for those 12 construction projects was $235.5 million. Due to pandemic-related supply chain disruption, escalation in labor costs, and the fact that six years have passed since the original cost estimates were created, the total cost for these 12 projects has increased to $323.2 million. To say we’re experiencing sticker shock is an understatement. The (state) funding has gone from providing our towns with 41% of the total project costs down to 30%.”
The letter states that the communities are asking for an additional $87.7 million of the state’s share of federal ARPA funds to be earmarked for the library projects. The argument being made is that the rise in costs is due to the “continued impacts of COVID-19 on the economy, public health, state and local governments, individuals, and businesses.’”
Monday’s meeting at Town Hall, 4 Boltwood Ave., begins at 6:30 p.m.
The existing grant for Jones Library from the state Board of Library Commissioners is for $13.9 million. Originally pegged at $26.9 million, the project’s costs grew to a $36.3 million figure that was approved by the Town Council last year after being approved by 65% of registered voters in a November referendum. Now, the estimated costs are up to more than $38 million and new estimates are the work could exceed $43 million by the time the project begins.
The plan included a $15.8 million municipal share, nearly $5.8 million in fundraising and $1 million in town Community Preservation Act money, in addition to the state grant funds.
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