It was standing room only at Tuesday night’s public input session on future use of the old library, but it soon became apparent that most of the crowd was there in support of one group, the newly formed Harvard Cultural Collaborative. The group presented its business plan to lease the old library from the town to use as a cultural center. After the selectmen individually responded to the presentation, they decided that they needed time to compile questions for the collaborative, as well as devise requirements for any future tenants of the building. The selectmen plan to compile those questions and requirements and discuss them at their next meeting. In addition, the board voted unanimously to send one selectman and the town administrator to speak with the state’s Architectural Access Board (AAB) about the accessibility requirements for any future uses of the building.
The presentation began with a virtual walkthrough of a cultural center filled with art and music. But when Selectmen Leo Blair, Ron Ricci, and Ken Swanton spoke to the group, those peaceful images were replaced by discordant memories of the Center on the Common, the building’s previous tenant. Almost a year ago, the selectmen discovered that the center owed the town more than $9,000 in back rent and utilities and that it had allowed its liability insurance policy to lapse. The center left the old library in December 2014. Blair recalled the time when the Center on the Common came to the selectmen with its first proposal for a cultural center. “They were passionate,” said Blair. “It was going to be wonderful. Now we have to do some due diligence.”
Business plan questioned
The collaborative’s business plan included a three-year budget that projected enough income to cover expenses plus some improvements to the building. But both Blair and Swanton were skeptical that the organization could be self-sustaining, and both said they would like to see more money in the group’s bank account, which now has a little more than $26,000 in pledges. The selectmen also said they would require more transparency, including a possible liaison, from any new tenant in the building.
Funding for staff is not included in the collaborative’s budget until its second year of operation. The selectmen questioned the group’s ability to run its programs with just volunteers, but collaborative board members responded that they were aware of a lot of people who had expressed an interest in helping. Blair and Ricci also voiced concerns about the low rental fees in the proposed budget, which would be available for individuals running classes for profit. Ricci said that those rents would allow tenants offering classes to undercut businesses in town that offer similar classes, such as Bodylines Pilates or Koko FitClub.
While no other new ideas for the old library were brought forth at the input session, a few residents spoke about the importance of using the building for town services first. Peter Warren of Lancaster County Road mentioned the need for a new location for school administration offices, currently located in the aging Bromfield House. The School Committee has expressed interest to the selectmen in moving those offices to the old library, but in a previous meeting, the committee voted to hear what the community wants for the building before moving forward with that idea.
A decision in December
School Committee Chairwoman SusanMary Redinger was at the public input session, and although she told the selectmen she was there as an “interested bystander,” they pressed her for input. Redinger said that the School Committee has been asking for more than a year for representatives of multiple boards to get together and discuss the future use of all of the town’s old buildings. Ricci suggested that Redinger and Finance Committee Chairwoman Alice von Loesecke meet with him to discuss that topic. Redinger suggested that someone from the Capital Planning and Investment Committee should also be invited.
The selectmen will discuss the list of questions and requirements for old library tenants at their next meeting on Nov. 3, and they may also send their questions to the collaborative to give it time to prepare answers. The selectmen hope to have a decision about the next use of the old library sometime in December.
