By DAN TOMASELLO
LYNNFIELD — The Select Board grilled library officials about the proposed $34 million building project during a contentious Sept. 26 meeting.
Voters will be asked to approve two warrant articles related to the $34 million library project during Fall Town Meeting on Monday, Oct. 16, beginning at 7 p.m. in the Lynnfield Middle School auditorium. If Fall Town Meeting approves the library project by a two-thirds vote, a debt exclusion vote at a Special Town Election will tentatively take place in early December.
The Select Board’s joint meeting with the Board of Library Trustees and Library Building Committee (LBC) began with Library Trustee member/LBC Chairman Russell Boekenkroeger, Library Director Abby Porter, LBC/Finance Committee member Joe Gallagher and Associate Principal/Architect Kevin Bergeron from William Rawn Associates giving an overview of the project. The Select Board asked a series of questions and aired several concerns after the presentation concluded.
Select Board member Dick Dalton recalled that the $18 million elementary schools’ expansion project added an average annual increase of $207 to property tax bills. He said the $63.5 million public safety buildings and Town Hall (PSB) project will be adding an additional $365 per average household once the fiscal year 2024 tax rate is finalized later this year.
“The library will add an additional $295 per household in real estate taxes,” said Dalton. “When you add all of those things up, we are at $867. I think we have to be sensitive when you increase the tax burden by that amount in a short period of time. And it’s not just seniors. There are people in their 30s and 40s who are in their first house, and they are stretched.”
In addition to the elementary schools’ expansion and PSB projects, Dalton also noted that Lynnfield Center Water District (LCWD) ratepayers have approved the $20.5 million capital program. That project added an average of $315 annually to water rates. South Lynnfield residents are not paying for the LCWD project because that portion of town gets its water from the Lynnfield Water District.
Dalton said library officials should consider renovating the existing building because it would be more affordable than constructing a new facility.
“We can do a first-class renovation for $29 per average household as opposed to $295 per household,” said Dalton.
Dalton also recalled that the Strategic Planning Committee estimated three years ago that the library project would cost $21 million, but the net cost to the town would be $13 million due to a state grant from the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners (MBLC).
“The net cost has almost doubled in the last three years,” said Dalton. “The cost escalation is not just attributable to inflation because the pricing far exceeds what is going on with the economy.”
Dalton asked if library officials are “comfortable” with the $34 million cost estimate given that the building’s design is still in the “conceptual stage.”
“We have contingencies in the estimate that allows for the changes that are likely to happen as the design progresses,” said William Rawn Associates Architect Kevin Bergeron. “We have reasonable confidence in the numbers we have now.”
Dalton said it’s “reasonable to assume” that more librarians and custodians will need to be hired because the new library will be larger than the current facility. He said more librarians will be needed to make sure the building’s different areas, including outdoor spaces, are closely monitored.
“There is going to be an increase in the operating budget going forward,” said Dalton. “I haven’t seen a detailed budget and staffing plan. I don’t want to find out a year after the library opens that our operating budget has additional demands placed on it that we didn’t foresee. Do you have a staffing plan?”
Director Abby Porter said the new library will be able to open with its current staff.
“We are planning to shift our part-time staff around and walking around more often,” said Porter. “It’s very doable with our staff, and MBLC agrees with me on this. The architect has worked really hard to create site lines for this plan. Ideally, I would love a teen librarian and a custodian. Our tech support is provided through the NOBLE consortium, so that is not a concern at all. We can open with the staff that we have.”
Library Building Committee Chairman Russell Boekenkroeger, who is also a Library Trustee, said the staffing plan hasn’t been developed because only a “conceptual plan” for the library project has been developed. He demanded to know if the Select Board requested estimated operating expenses for the elementary schools’ and PSB projects before voters approved both of them.
“There are no direct costs for police and fire associated with the building project,” Dalton fired back in response. “The staffing is completely independent. The Fire Department could have an increase in staffing that has nothing to do with the building project, but rather has to do with a staffing model that might not be sustainable whether they are in the old firehouse or a new firehouse. So yes, we should take that into consideration.”
Dalton also criticized the proposed new library’s modern design.
“The facade is in complete contradiction to the character of the town,” said Dalton. “We stepped up as a town and bought Centre Farm because we wanted to preserve the town’s old New England character. I think this flies in the face of that.”
Select Board member Phil Crawford said the proposed new library’s outdoor courtyards that would be behind the building are in close proximity to the Reedy Meadow Golf Course’s fairways. He expressed concerns that patrons sitting outside will be in the “firing zone.”
“Have you looked at anything to address that?” Crawford asked.
Bergeron said not yet.
“It’s something we are going to continue to research and work on,” said Bergeron. “We have moved the building closer to Summer Street. We have room to move it a little bit further without impacting parking. We are all committed to making sure the library and the golf course can coexist safely.”
In response to a question from Crawford, Porter said the new library would allow staff members to expand programming for children, teenagers and adults because the building will be bigger than the existing library.
LBC/Finance Committee member Joe Gallagher added that the new library will have designated meeting spaces for community groups such as Lynnfield for Love and the Lynnfield Moms Group to use.
“Those groups in town have nowhere to go,” said Gallagher. “They can meet at MarketStreet or somebody’s house. The idea of having a public building that everyone can go to is very appealing to me as a resident and as a volunteer.”
Crawford said the PSB project will include a new H. Joseph Maney Meeting Room that will be much larger than the current space at Town Hall. He said community groups will be able to use that new room along with the Al Merritt Media and Cultural Center and the Meeting House to hold meetings.
Echoing Dalton’s concerns, Crawford said the Board of Library Trustees has to create a staffing plan for the proposed new building sooner than later.
“That is a big deal to us,” said Crawford. “If you need four new people, that is $300,000 on top of what we are already spending.”
Crawford asked Boekenkroeger if the LBC is going to hold workshops in order to get feedback from residents on the proposed new library’s design and programming. He said those workshops were supposed to take place earlier this year, but they “never happened.”
“When is that going to happen? Is that going to happen before the Oct. 16 vote or after if this gets voted in?” Crawford asked.
Boekenkroeger said the workshops will take place after the Fall Town Meeting vote.
“Those detailed discussions and any changes that occur would be subsequent to approval from the town,” said Boekenkroeger. “That has been the process followed by every town accepted into the MBLC’s construction program. We are abiding by their guidelines.”
Select Board Chairman Joe Connell said he doesn’t believe the new library can operate with its existing staff because the new library is going to be 11,000-square-feet bigger. He inquired when library officials will be providing a staffing plan containing cost estimates to the town.
A livid Boekenkroeger countered by asking Connell if the DPW has made a recommendation on how many custodians will be needed for the new library. The DPW oversees the town’s custodial program.
Town Administrator Rob Dolan anticipates between one-and-a-half and two full-time custodians will be needed to clean the building.
“We want the building to be well-maintained so it can be used for the next 75 to 100 years,” said Dolan. “Our middle school is well-maintained after being open for 20 years. If we are not making that investment, we are wasting taxpayer money.”
Connell asked why the library project’s $34 million price tag has increased 72 percent over the past seven years.
“It has outpaced inflation by 2.5 percent. How is that possible?” asked Connell.
Bergeron did not answer the question, but said the current $34 million cost estimate for the new library is “based on today’s dollars.”
Boekenkroeger said the original estimate for the library project was identified in 2016.
“The numbers today are what they are,” said Boekenkroeger. “The numbers didn’t fall out of the sky. They are based on real costs and were carried over a couple of years.”
There were no members of the public who weighed in on the library project even though there were a group of residents who attended the meeting.