Article 23-3, asking the town to approve borrowing $480,000 to replace the slate roof on the old library (subject to additional passage at the ballot box), was first up after a short lunch break. Select Board Chair Lucy Wallace explained the need for the roof replacement and said a later article would seek approval for spending $100,000 in Community Preservation Act funds for engineering or repairs related to the leaky roof and the damage it has already done. The funding was later reduced to $40,000.
Twelve residents came to the microphone to speak to the article: eight for and four against. Residents who spoke for the article talked about the old library’s historical value and how it contributed to the look of the town Common. Emma Franzeim of Eldridge Road said recent films shot in town were a testament to the uniqueness and value of Harvard’s “attractive and historic” town Common.
The majority of those against the article questioned whether continuing to spend large sums of money to fix the 132-year-old building was worth it. Finance Committee member John Seeley reminded Town Meeting that the Finance Committee had not recommend this article for that reason. He also reminded listeners of a recent review of the building that identified more than 40 items requiring replacement or repair, six of them major, such as the elevator and the electrical system, and he called for a committee to determine the value of the building to the town.
Seeley’s fellow committee member Mark Buell agreed, and said the old library had a large cost and “little to no income.” Buell also reiterated an idea brought up during discussion of an earlier article in which Joe Schmidt of Stow Road suggested tearing down the old ambulance building and moving the town vault, currently located there, into the old library. That brought Oak Hill Road resident Carlene Phillips to the microphone to say, “It’s not all about money,” and that she hoped others valued the town’s historical feel.
Codman Hill Road resident Nate Finch said the current tenant, a cultural organization called Fivesparks, serves about 300 people a month. Brad Besse of Westcott Road said adding another half million dollars to the half-million currently being spent on the accessibility project is a lot of money to spend on 10 people a day. The building “doesn’t bring value, it just pulls at heartstrings,” he said, and asked what the vision was for the building. Wallace responded that a municipal building study done seven years ago determined that the best use of the old library was as a community/cultural center.
Historical Commission Chair Pam Marston wrapped up the debate by saying, “It’s part of history, it’s part of the Common, and it’s part of why people move here.” The article passed by the required two-thirds majority.
