By DAN TOMASELLO
LYNNFIELD — The $32 million Lynnfield Public Library project is dead.
During a March 1 meeting that occurred at 8:30 a.m. on Zoom teleconference, the Finance Committee voted 7-3 not to allow a debt exclusion article on the library project to be placed on the warrant of the previously scheduled March 18 Special Town Meeting. The vote occurred less than 24 hours after the Library Building Committee (LBC) presented the revised project to the Finance Committee.
The Select Board voted to open and close the Special Town Meeting warrant during a Feb. 26 meeting. The Board of Library Trustees submitted the citizens’ petition for the Special Town Meeting in the wake of Fall Town Meeting rejecting two warrant articles related to the project last October.
Two days before the FinCom’s vote, Chair Brian Charville said the Planning Board voted 5-0 on Feb. 28 to allow a warrant article that would have designated the new library to be built on a portion of the Reedy Meadow Golf Course to be placed back on the warrant.
Town Administrator Rob Dolan informed the Villager that the Special Town Meeting will still take place on Monday, March 18.
“Since the first warrant article failed to get the necessary two-thirds plurality for passage at the Fall Town Meeting, the Finance Committee would have to have voted to recommend resubmission of the warrant article for any action to be taken on it at the Special Town Meeting,” Dolan stated in an email. “This requirement is imposed by the Town Charter, Chapter 2, Section 3-10: ‘The substance of any article entailing an expenditure of town funds which has been acted upon at any of the two regularly scheduled Town Meetings shall not again be voted on by the Town Meeting for a period of one year thereafter, unless the finance committee shall have recommended resubmission of the article.’”
While Finance Committee Chair Chris Mattia said at the start of last week’s meeting there would be no public comment during the Zoom teleconference call, LBC Chair Russell Boekenkroeger asked to make a few points before the vote. Mattia agreed to the request.
Boekenkroeger recalled that the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners (MBLC) approved an extension for the $9,077,464 provisional grant for the project in early January. The extension will expire on Tuesday, April 30.
“There were public forums that took place,” said Boekenkroeger, who also serves on the Board of Library Trustees. “The plan was changed and updated. The building cost and operating cost were updated. The Select Board unanimously approved the Special Town Meeting. The Planning Board unanimously approved hearing the land transfer article at the Town Meeting. The Library Trustees are requesting a voice vote and recording by name of the Finance Committee members participating, yes or no, in response to moving forward.”
Finance Committee Vice Chair Tom Kayola, who is the FinCom’s representative on the LBC, said he supported allowing the debt exclusion article to be included on the Special Town Meeting warrant.
“This vote we are taking today is not for or against the project,” said Kayola. “It is allowing the process that is in place to move forward. It’s not a financial decision. The Special Town Meeting is going to happen, so any costs that could potentially be incurred by hosting a Special Town Meeting are sunk at this point. The trustees have gotten their 200 signatures, and the Planning Board has approved moving their article forward. The only thing that we can stop is stopping that process. I don’t think a group of 11 of us should stand in the way of that predetermined process that allows these articles to move forward after being defeated once. I think we should move it forward.”
Finance Committee/LBC member Joe Gallagher, who is currently running unopposed for a three-year term on the Board of Library Trustees, said he opposed allowing the debt exclusion vote to move forward at the Special Town Meeting. He previously advocated for the library project at Fall Town Meeting.
“I don’t agree with the general idea that we should rubber stamp things to keep the process going,” said Gallagher. “I think that is part of the issue with the way that the town is being managed. I understand that the MBLC grant has long been delayed, but I do think we need to consider if this project is in the best financial interest of the town and is in the best overall interest of the town. Quite frankly, I don’t think it is.”
Gallagher also noted that Capital Projects Manager John Scenna informed the Select Board last week that value engineering is no longer available for the library project.
“This project’s budget has already been cut back to the bone, which introduces some risk because there is no more chance for value engineering,” said Gallagher. “As we all know with construction, the price will only go up.”
Finance Committee member Chris Caprio said he was against bringing the library project back to Town Meeting a second time.
“I cannot look at something on a singular nature,” said Caprio. “My issue with this project is no one knows what to do with the current building, and nobody knows what to do with the golf course. Nobody knows how much the new building is going to cost. I just don’t believe we can make a decision on a micro level. I believe that any vote we ever make should look at the macro level.”
Finance Committee member Julie Mitchell said the information provided about the library project is incomplete.
“I think the choice here is do we have a full and complete package of data and information, and context for the town to properly vote,” said Mitchell. “I think that is the question we have to ask ourselves.”
Finance Committee member Nick Connors, who also serves on the LBC, said he supported bringing the library project forward to the Special Town Meeting.
“I think we are ending a discussion started by citizens by doing this,” said Connors. “We are talking about things that should be part of our discussion on a recommendation right now as opposed to the Town Meeting itself.”
Finance Committee member Gene Covino reiterated his concerns about the library project.
“There are checks and balances built into the Charter and into town government,” said Covino. “There are folks who have been on the FinCom for many years and there were very smart folks who left because they felt our votes never actually meant anything. To me, this is a check and balance where FinCom has an actual duty to perform that is more than advisory. I wouldn’t feel comfortable moving a Special Town Meeting forward just because the 200 signatures were gathered. That defeats the purpose of the check and balance. To me, this project has all of the questions I raised before and I have more questions now. We know for certain that the cost for education is going up, new growth is slowing dramatically and the third macro thing I didn’t anticipate was the cut in state aid. To me, this is not fiscally responsible and is a luxury item for the town.”
Kayola repeatedly urged the rest of the Finance Committee to allow the article to be placed on the warrant.
After the discussion, Kayola made a motion to move the warrant article forward to the Special Town Meeting, which was seconded by Connors. Kayola, Connors and Finance Committee member Brian Moreira voted to allow the article to forward. Moreira previously voted not to recommend the library project before Fall Town Meeting.
Caprio, Covino, Gallagher, Mattia, Mitchell, Finance Committee member Sarah Kelley and Finance Committee member Stephen Riley voted not to bring the library project back to the Special Town Meeting. Kelley also serves on the LBC.
Finance Committee member Alexis Leahy, who is running for Select Board, was forced to drop off the call due to a work commitment. She emailed the Villager the following statement about her position on the library project.
“Personally, I want what’s best and most fiscally responsible for the library, the town use of the current building and/or what might be better as a new building,” Leahy stated. “However, I think we have a lot of archaic processes in this town, and the fact that we can’t have a vote where we have all of the options laid out for the town to choose from, with recommendations from the town committees, it seems like no matter what, people are going to feel uninformed about all options available and there will be no forward progress. The Library Building Committee has worked tirelessly and I think there are better ways to communicate more effectively and collaborate among the various committees and boards in this town.
Boekenkroeger sent the Villager a statement about the FinCom’s vote.
“We are disappointed that Town Meeting has been denied the opportunity to reconsider a new library that would have created endless possibilities for every member of our Lynnfield community for generations to come,” Boekenkroeger wrote in a text message.