By DAN TOMASELLO
LYNNFIELD — Fall Town Meeting narrowly rejected two warrant articles associated with the $34 million Lynnfield Public Library project on Monday night.
Library Trustee/Library Building Committee (LBC) Chairman Russell Boekenkroeger, LBC/Finance Committee member Joe Gallagher, Library Director Abigail Porter and William Rawn Associates architect Kevin Bergeron gave an overview of Articles 10 and 11 to Fall Town Meeting. Article 10 sought to send the library project to a townwide debt exclusion vote and Article 11 designated that the new facility would be built on a portion of the Reedy Meadow Golf Course.
“This new building would offer the Lynnfield community more programming, more technology and more space for people,” said Porter. “Unfortunately, there is no cheaper time to do this than today.”
Gallagher agreed.
“Renovating the current library is not an option,” said Gallagher. “There is no room for expansion. The building is not Americans with Disabilities Act compliant. There are numerous structural issues with the building. The building no longer fits our community.”
While giving an overview of the proposed library’s design, Bergeron said the new facility’s design is still in the conceptual design phase.
“The vote tonight is not about the design,” said Bergeron. “The design hasn’t even begun.”
Due to the $9 million provisional Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners (MBLC) grant that the town received, Town Administrator Rob Dolan said that the tax impact will be based on $25 million as opposed to $34 million.
“The average per house cost would be $295,” said Dolan. “That does not mean everyone will be paying $295. That is based on a home that is assessed at $891,000.”
The Select Board voted 3-0 not to recommend Articles 10 and 11. Select Board member Dick Dalton recalled that voters approved the $18 million elementary schools’ expansion project three years ago and the $63.5 million public safety buildings and Town Hall (PSB) project last year.
“Both of those projects were clearly a need and not a want,” said Dalton. “They added $207 and $365, respectively, to the average household real estate tax bill. And keep in mind, as you sit here this evening, you haven’t yet felt the impact of the public safety project on your tax bill. Now you’re being asked to approve a project that is not a need, but instead a want that is going to cost another $295 per year for the average household. For those of you who live in the Lynnfield Center Water District, you’re going to be taxed an additional $315 per year to fund critically important upgrades to the water treatment and distribution system.”
Dalton also said the Select Board is concerned that the library will need to hire additional staff members if the building project moves forward.
“Your Select Board is convinced that the new library will require additional staffing,” said Dalton. “In fact, we are estimating that the library’s annual operating budget will most likely need to increase $300,000 to $350,000 per year. Where do we get the funding for that? Do we cut the schools, public safety and other key services to fund the ongoing operating budget of the library? Or do we come back to Town Meeting and ask you to approve an override? I don’t think either of those alternatives is an option that the taxpayers of this town would want to consider. It will create a structural deficit that we may never get out of.”
The Finance Committee voted 6-5 not to recommend Article 10. Chairman Chris Mattia said he is concerned about the proposed $34 million library’s price tag.
“When this project began a little over seven years ago, the estimated cost of the building was $18 million and the grant was $8 million,” said Mattia. “Forty-four percent of the project was being covered by the grant. Fast forward to today, the total project’s cost is 88 percent higher than when we first discussed this.”
Mattia said he agreed with the Select Board’s assessment that the library would need to hire additional staff if the project got approved.
“We need to be conscious of ensuring we are allocating funds and resources appropriately,” said Mattia.
LBC Chairman Russell Boekenkroeger said he disagreed with Dalton’s and Mattia’s assessment that the new library will require additional staffing. He said William Rawn Associates worked to create site lines that would ensure the library’s current staffing would be maintained.
“The suggestion of adding staff is completely inconsistent,” said Boekenkroeger.
While Mattia and five other FinCom members voted against recommending the library project, Vice Chairman Tom Kayola urged Fall Town Meeting to approve Articles 10 and 11.
“I hope we all aspire to be lifelong learners,” said Kayola. “What libraries are now are not what they used to be in the past. What this building would allow us to do is change the way Lynnfield Library services this community. It opens up new spaces for new programming. It will provide access to new technology. This new building allows us to do that, which we cannot do at the current facility.”
Chairman Brian Charville said the Planning Board unanimously recommended the library project. He said a large number of people who responded to the Visioning Plan survey last spring advocated for building a new library.
A woman in attendance recalled that the isolation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has hampered the development of children’s social skills.
“A library of this size would allow our children to have more exposure to multiple generations,” said the woman.
Patrice Lane resident Pat Campbell said she opposes the library project, which she said made her “feel like a wreck” because she frequently visits the building with her son. She expressed concerns about rising property taxes.
“You are going to owe $867 per year for the next 30 years,” said Campbell. “That doesn’t include the fact that in order to develop the budget, they add 2 ½ percent increases because that is the maximum allowed under Proposition 2 ½. The architect did a beautiful job designing the new building. However, it is more suitable for Los Angeles, Pebble Beach or somewhere else in California. It’s not meant for our town. We have a beautiful little library. I really appreciate it and I really appreciate the staff. It pains me to have to speak against them.”
Friends of the Lynnfield Library Co-President Anne Malenfant urged Fall Town Meeting to approve Articles 10 and 11. She has been volunteering at the library since her children were very young, and noted her son now works as a page at the library.
“Throughout that time and since I have become more actively involved with the ‘Friends,’ I have learned more about the challenges that the library’s staff deal with each day to provide a warm and welcoming place,” said Malenfant. “Imagine what can be done without those roadblocks? The MBLC found that after a library construction project, attendance has grown by 30 percent on average. Attendance doubles at programs. The new library would provide additional programming with the existing staff. And the free meeting space that will be provided will be a welcoming space for all groups, all activities and all students. A new Lynnfield Library would provide a place for us to gather, improve student achievement and so much more.”
Board of Library Trustees Chairman Bob Calamari called the $9 million MBLC grant a “once in a lifetime opportunity.”
“If we reject it, the opportunity will be lost forever and will not be coming back,” said Calamari. “Libraries are intertwined with education. Lynnfield is a community that has always invested in educational excellence, and this opportunity fits that commitment like hand in glove. The notion that libraries are dead in the smartphone era is not supported by hard data for growing library services in our community. In the past 12 months, over 102,000 people have come through the library’s doors. That is truly amazing. It’s the highest level we have had in 15 years. It’s a testament to our staff.”
A Greenwood Road woman said children don’t have a place to go in town.
“I hope everyone votes yes because the children in our town are our future,” said the woman.
Main Street resident Patrick Sullivan said the $34 million library project should be sent to a townwide vote. He said he was torn on the project because he was concerned about rising property taxes, but he said the library project has been discussed since he served as the Planning Board’s chairman in the late 1990s.
“We have to bring this to the ballot box,” said Sullivan.
A resident called the question, which was approved by Fall Town Meeting.
While Article 10 received 293 votes in favor of the library project and 230 against, it did not pass by the required two-thirds majority that was needed.
Boekenkroeger encouraged voters to approve Article 11 because it would allow the Library Trustees to apply for an extension from the MBLC for the $9 million grant.
Fernway resident David Basile said he was disappointed that Article 10 was rejected.
“I think we should approve this article to preserve the opportunity to build something new,” said Basile. “Let’s pass this piece, keep it alive and see if we can move to a solution after 30 years.”
Planning Board Vice Chair Kate Flaws agreed.
“I firmly believe this is a need,” said Flaws. “If your children don’t play sports, there is nowhere for them to go and nowhere for them to learn. I hope we can revisit this decision because this is definitely a need.”
While Article 11 received 281 votes in favor and 148 against, it did not meet the required two-thirds majority to pass by 15 votes.