Residents will get one more chance to vote to fund the old library accessibility project, thanks to a bid that substantially exceeded construction estimates. The amount appropriated by the town at last year’s Special Town Meeting, $472,000, was based on an estimate, but it is $200,000 short of what is actually needed for the project. While the Select Board and the Capital Planning and Investment Committee (CPIC) have both recommended passage of Article 3, which would mean funding the full $672,000 from a variety of sources (see table at right), the Finance Committee has voted to recommend tabling the article until Annual Town Meeting next spring.
The old library was never an accessible building, but no regulations were actually violated until it was renovated in 1982 to move the entrance of the building from the center to the side to create more space (see timeline below). That renovation triggered need for compliance with Massachusetts Architectural Access Board regulations, and while an accessible bathroom and an elevator were part of the renovation, an accessible entrance to the building was not. Instead, a path to a rear door was created for patrons to get to the elevator in the basement. The problem was that the slope of that path—as high as 12 percent in some spots—was greater than the maximum 8 percent slope that was, and still is, specified in MAAB regulations. While the MAAB does not go looking for noncompliant buildings, any accessibility complaint brought to that board is investigated, and building owners could be liable for hefty fines if found to be noncompliant.
The town continued to use the old library as a public building over the next three decades (see timeline), but when the Select Board decided to lease it to the Harvard Cultural Collaborative, one of the conditions was that the town either obtain a variance from the MAAB to continue to use the building or that the building be made accessible.
Meanwhile, the selectmen appointed the Old Library Accessibility Committee to look into options to make the building accessible. They came up with three. The first was to regrade the path to the rear door so that it would be compliant. The second was to install a ramp that would lead to the existing side entrance, and the third was to restore the center entrance and install a ramp to it.
The estimated cost of the regraded path was only $54,000, but the committee rejected it in favor of a single entrance for all. There were other problems with the rear entrance solution as well, including the proximity of the neighbor’s property line to the path behind the building, and the fact that the entrance opens directly into a room that could be in use. The cost of the side entrance ramp was estimated to be only about $75,000 less than the more aesthetically pleasing center entrance restoration, so the committee recommended the center entrance option. The selectmen and CPIC concurred, but the Finance Committee voted not to recommend the project on the grounds that the estimated cost was too high for a building the town had not identified a long-term use for.
Three steps forward, two steps back
In the summer of 2017, the town was granted the variance it needed from the MAAB for a period of three years. The variance required the town to perform only a few upgrades on the rear entrance, such as installing a push pad, a new grate, and a new exterior light. The Harvard Cultural Collaborative moved into the building a few months later on a three-year lease.
At Special Town Meeting in November 2017, the town voted to approve $472,000 to fund the accessible center entrance project, $383,000 of which could be borrowed with the provision that any grants received for the project would be deducted from the borrowing. In early 2018 the town received a grant from the Massachusetts Cultural Facilities Fund for $192,000, lowering the amount to be borrowed to $191,000.
But the project’s luck did not last. In May, the roofing contractor who has maintained the old library’s slate roof for years told the town that continuing to patch the leaky roof would be a waste of money and that the building needed a new roof, mainly because the felt under the slate had “turned to dust.” At that time the contractor’s estimate for the roof was about $336,000, but that figure was revised upward to $400,000 by the end of summer.
Select Board and CPIC yes, Finance no
The roof repair estimate, combined with the higher-than-expected bids for the accessibility project, brought the money needed to fix the old library to possibly more than a million dollars, a figure the Finance Committee is again saying is too high for a building for which the town has not identified a use. While some members of CPIC argued that same point, in the end, four of the five members voted to recommend funding the accessiblity project, including contributing $191,000 from the Capital Stabilization Fund to make up most of the shortfall. Member Alice von Loesecke said that if the building is to be used, accessibility needs to be done because it’s the law, and the new roof needs to be done to protect the building. She also said she would never support shuttering the building, a move suggested by CPIC Co-Chair John Seeley, who was the lone dissenting vote. The Select Board voted unanimously at its meeting on Oct. 16 to support the article.
Seeley is also a voting member of the Finance Committee, and he was instrumental in steering that committee to vote for tabling the article. Points made against the article included the likely need for further repairs to the building in the next 10 years, as well as the low rent being collected for the building ($7,200 a year) versus the maintenance and insurance costs ($15,000 a year).
If Article 3 passes, work could begin as early as November, according to OLAC Chair Lucy Wallace. If the article is tabled until Annual Town Meeting as recommended by the Finance Committee, the project would have to go out to bid again. In order for the town to know exactly how much the roof and the accessibility project would cost before voting, bids for both would have to be received in time for Town Meeting. If Article 3 fails, it would be up to the Select Board, with input from OLAC, to determine what happens next with the old library.
A quest for accessibility: The old library’s journey
1887: Harvard Public Library at 7 Fairbank St. opens.
1982: Library is renovated to move entrance from center to the side to create more space inside; the cost of the renovation triggers compliance with accessibility regulations. Town Meeting voted $88,000 for an elevator, but an article that would have funded a ramp outside the building for $37,000 was pulled before the meeting. From this point until a variance was granted in 2017, the building was noncompliant with Massachusetts Architectural Access Board (MAAB) regulations.
2007: Library moves to its new location on Pond Road.; old library is unoccupied for a few years.
2010-2014: Pilot Project followed by Center on the Common runs cultural programs in the old library.
December 2014: In advance of town employees temporarily moving into the old library, the Massachusetts Office on Disability evaluates the building for temporary use as a public building. It identifies four barriers to individuals with disabilities, including “no accessible route provided to either the main entrance or the basement entrance.” Its report recommends modifications before moving public services into the building.
April 2015: Town employees move into the old library while Town Hall is renovated.
January 2016: Selectmen appoint Old Library Accessibility Committee (OLAC).
June 2016: Town Hall employees move back into Town Hall; Council on Aging employees move into the old library while Hildreth House is renovated.
November 2016: OLAC recommends accessible center entrance to the selectmen and hires Abacus Architects & Planners to prepare schematic drawings and cost estimates.
March 2017: Selectmen agree to lease the old library to the Harvard Cultural Collaborative (HCC) on condition that the building either be made accessible or receive an MAAB variance.
April 2017: Town Meeting votes $50,000 to make the rear entrance to the old library accessible and to create an accessible parking space, as well as $20,000 for a design study to make the front door accessible.
June 2017: MAAB grants a three-year variance to allow rear entrance to be used as an accessible entrance with some minor modifications. Slope grading to make the rear entrance fully accessible is dropped from the rear entrance project, since the variance did not require it.
September 2017: HCC moves into the old library.
November 2017: Town votes $472,000 to construct a new accessible center entrance to the old library, and approves borrowing up to $383,000, minus whatever grants might come in.
January 2018: Town receives a grant of $192,000 from the Massachusetts Cultural Facilities Fund to be used to help fund the accessibility project, reducing the amount of borrowing needed to $191,000.
May 2018: Old library roof maintenance company tells the town the building needs a new roof; it estimates the roof will cost about $400,000.
September 12, 2018: Lowest bid for the accessibility project comes in $200,000 higher than the $472,000 estimate.
September 24, 2018: Capital committee votes 4-1 to recommend moving forward with the accessibility project and to transfer $191,000 from the Capital Stabilization and Investment Fund to help pay for the shortfall.
October 11, 2018: Finance Committee votes 6-1 to recommend tabling the project until spring when the cost of roof repairs can also be considered.
Source: The Harvard Press
—Joan Eliyesil
