The Board of Selectmen Tuesday night authorized Town Administrator Tim Bragan to sign a one-year lease agreement with the Center on the Common allowing the cultural organization to rent the old library for $100 a month, plus the cost of utilities. Should the town require the space for temporary offices during the Town Hall renovation project, the town can ask the Center to vacate the premises given 30-days’ notice, according to the terms of the lease.
Bob Hubert, president of the Center on the Common, the cultural group that emerged from the Pilot Project at the old library, and Town Administrator Tim Bragan told Selectmen they had put together the language of the lease over the past few weeks. The lease was reviewed by the town’s attorney, they said.
“The way this lease is structured is as a true landlord lease,” Hubert told Selectmen, “so that the town, as the landlord, has the responsibility for the envelope of the building and the structure of the building, where the Center on the Common will have tenant responsibilities for taking care of the interior space of the building, keeping the building clean and the grounds clean, so it’s a very traditional commercial-type lease arrangement.”
An “unusual” aspect of the lease, Hubert said, is that, although the Center’s monthly rent is low, the Center is completely responsible for utility payments. The idea was Bragan’s, Hubert said.
“I thought this was a great suggestion because I know the few times I’ve walked into the building when they were using it and it was 80 degrees and nobody was in the building and it was in the winter,” he said. “This [lease agreement] will be a wonderful incentive to keep that cost low, especially since we’re a town that likes to keep things green.”
The Pilot Project opened in the old library on Fairbank Street in 2010 and has offered a range of cultural programs, including dance classes, yoga, and art exhibitions. Now as the Center on the Common, the group hopes to expand its offerings and become self-sufficient. It derives a large part of its income from rent paid by class leaders. It also receives funding through donations and is looking into governmental grant funding. A report issued by the Pilot Project in February estimates that revenue at the Center will double in two years and quadruple in four.
While Center leaders have said losing space in the old library could spell disaster for the fledgling organization, town officials have not eliminated the old library as a potential space for temporary offices during the planned Town Hall renovation. Hence, the “escape clause” in the lease agreement.
“I think we [Bragan and Hubert] spent quite a bit of time on that to make sure that the notifications and the amount of time we have to vacate the building would be appropriate,” Hubert said.
The town does currently use the building for some meetings and the Office of Veterans’ Services and Harvard Cable TV are housed in the basement. Under the lease agreement, the town would lease that space back from the Center on the Common.
“We would do a traditional sub-lease fee for the town for those spaces, and based on utilities use, come up with a fair formula for that,” Hubert said.
Selectman Tim Clark pointed out Tuesday night that the draft lease doesn’t address snow removal, a task currently handled by the town. After some discussion, Selectmen, Bragan, and Hubert settled on an arrangement whereby the town will do the first pass after a snowfall and the Center on the Common will take it from there.
“Let’s have one clean from the town and then we’ll maintain, because with a volunteer group, I don’t know what time someone’s going to be out there,” Hubert said.
Selectmen voted unanimously for Bragan to sign the lease after making a handful of small changes resulting from Tuesday’s discussion. The board instructed Bragan to send the final draft to each member individually and give them 24 hours to make any final suggestions.
The Board of Selectmen’s power to lease the building is contingent upon approval by the Harvard Public Library Board of Trustees. The trustees had the issue scheduled for a vote at their Wednesday night meeting this week, after the Press went to print.
