Among the projects that Annual Town Meeting will be asked to approve this Saturday, repair of the old library’s slate roof is the most expensive and, some would argue, the most urgent. The money needed to do the work would come from two sources: a grant from the Community Preservation Fund and a borrowing of one-half million dollars as excluded debt, whose costs would be borne by taxpayers over the life of a 20-year bond.
Authorization to move ahead requires voters to pass Articles 23-3 and 26-1 in this year’s Annual Town Meeting warrant, as well as Question 4 at Town Election. As amended last week by the Community Preservation Committee (CPC), Article 26-1 would grant the town $100,000 for a structural analysis of the roof and adjacent portions of brickwork and for the cost of their repair. Article 23-3, which has been amended twice by the Capital Planning and Investment Committee, would authorize the town to borrow up to $480,000 for the project. The CPC grant requires a majority vote at Town Meeting. The borrowing recommended by the capital committee requires a two-thirds vote at Town Meeting and then a majority vote on Question 4 at the polls. The money would be spent by the Permanent Building Committee, which would oversee design and construction.
How these measures will be presented on the floor of Town Meeting remains to be seen. Two weeks ago, at the request of Town Administrator Tim Bragan, the CPC amended its grant to allow its use for a structural study of the roof and adjacent areas by an engineer. With the 2019 warrant booklet already printed and mailed, that’s a change that CPC Chair Didi Chadran will need to incorporate into his motion in favor of the grant at Saturday’s Town Meeting.
The capital committee, meantime, has reversed course twice, but finally voted 4-1 Monday to recommend that up to $480,000 be borrowed to repair the roof. At that meeting, the five CPIC members voiced support for having a structural study before beginning work, but they made no mention of that in their motion to approve the spending. The wording that appears in the warrant booklet for Article 23-3 makes no mention of a study either.
That’s fine with the Permanent Building Committee, which would oversee the work. The committee does not believe a structural study is necessary and that repair of the roof, gutters, and sections of masonry that are “part of the roof and gutter system” should proceed. But in a March 25 letter to the Select Board signed by Chair Cindy Russo, the committee also recommended that an architect or engineer be hired to write a specification and other documents needed before putting the project out for bid. Issuing an RFP for that work would delay the project, the letter noted. Was there money available for design? it asked.
“The PBC does not advocate for any project or funding proposal,” Russo said in a response to a Press query this week. “The Select Board asked the PBC for advice on how to proceed with the Old Library project and we gave written input. That is the only ‘advice’ the PBC has given as a committee.”
The Finance Committee, the town’s financial watchdog, believes the project is too expensive and has recommended it not be funded. The committee’s statement appears in the printed warrant booklet. But it meets one more time Wednesday night, May 1, and members could vote differently once they’ve heard from Bragan, who said he will pitch the plan he proposed weeks ago in response to the PBC letter. Bragan’s idea from the beginning has been to pay for a specification with CPC money and pay for the repairs with CPIC-recommended excluded debt.
If Town Meeting passes Articles 23-3 and 26-1, amended to reflect the wishes of their sponsors, and if voters approve Question 4 at the ballot box, then a total of $580,000 will be available to repair the old library roof.
The first step would likely be for the town to hire an architect or engineer to determine the scope of work necessary to fix the roof, as requested by the Permanent Building Committee. Given the time such work requires and the bid process that would follow, repair of the roof would likely start in the spring of 2020.
One benefit of the delay: The town would have time to apply for a Massachusetts Cultural Facilities Fund (MCFF) grant to help defray the cost. Mark Mikitarian of Fivesparks, Harvard’s cultural collaborative, has said that if voters approve the spending and the town applies to MCFF for a grant in January 2020, Harvard would be a strong candidate. The town has already been awarded $191,000 by the fund for the construction of a wheelchair-accessible front entrance to the old library. The fund favors towns that have shown a commitment to their historic buildings, Mikitarian said, and a follow-up grant to help pay for roof repairs would be likely.
