A mistake in calculations and a lower estimated budget have reduced the price of replacing the old library roof from $966,000 to $876,000. In addition, the Select Board has applied for a Massachusetts Cultural Council grant of $350,000 for the project, which could potentially lower the taxpayer cost to $526,000. The town will vote on the project at Spring Town Meeting, scheduled for May 15.
Select Board member Lucy Wallace told the Press an error was found in the calculation of the escalation cost that was done last year, a number that predicts how much an estimate will increase each year when a project is delayed. A new estimate for items such as insurance reduced the price further, as did lowering the soft cost contingency, which had been a whopping 37.8%. Contingencies are needed to cover actual costs that overrun the budget, and the primary soft costs for this project are for hazardous materials removal, insurance, and the salary of the clerk of the works, a person the state requires to monitor the project. The only figure that was raised in the new estimated budget is the construction contingency, from 10% to 18%. Wallace said Facilities Manager Jeff Hayes recommended the increase based on his experience.
Wallace also submitted an application for a Cultural Council facilities grant to offset the cost of the roof. An application for $600,000 to replace the roof was submitted last year and rejected, but Wallace said the town received good feedback about why that request failed. She solicited help from board members of the building’s tenant, Fivesparks, as well as Director of Community and Economic Development Chris Ryan, and she thinks the new application has a good chance of succeeding. But grants are not announced until May or June, so the town may have to vote on funding the roof replacement before it knows the fate of the application.
As with most building projects in town, it has been a long road. The town first voted $480,000 to replace the roof at Annual Town Meeting in 2019. In that same meeting, it also approved $40,000 in Community Preservation funds to further investigate the roof and other repairs that might be needed due to water leaks over the years.
That investigation resulted in a new estimate of $1.3 million to replace the roof and make associated repairs. The town approved the increase at 2020 Town Meeting, but the measure failed at the ballot box. In December, metal diverters were installed on the roof to protect the building from further water damage while the Select Board pondered its next step. At a meeting on Oct. 6, the board agreed to submit a new capital request for fiscal 2022.
In December, the Capital Planning and Investment Committee (CPIC) voted 3-2 not to recommend the roof replacement. The three members who voted against it said the old library is likely to require more work in the next few years, and the rent the tenant is paying doesn’t justify the funds needed to keep it in good repair. But CPIC member Alice von Loesecke voted for the project, saying, “Until we have a vote where the town says we don’t want that building, we need to maintain it.”
