Shutesbury remains divided on new library after Select Board allows revote
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SHUTESBURY - Shutesbury readied itself for a revote on a contentious $3.5 million library project this week, as supporters and opponents geared up for another confrontation over a proposal that has sharply divided residents of this small town.
Those preparations came after the Select Board voted 2-1 last week to put the issue to a second town-wide referendum, a decision that followed the plan's defeat in a Proposition 2½ debt exclusion override vote Nov. 8. An Oct. 25 special Town Meeting saw residents approve the plan in a vote that paved the way for the ballot question.
After a last-minute campaign by opponents, 60 percent of the town's registered voters turned out to reject the plan to replace the 900-square-foot M.N. Spear Memorial Library with a new building by a 423 to 382 margin.
"Basically, the action of the Selectman was really unfortunate and unfair," said Bob Groves, who opposes the library. "The crux of opposition to the library, in my opinion, is it's way too big, particularly in light of the financial straits we are in."
Groves said opponents would be meeting in the coming weeks to discuss their strategy for the next vote. He noted the challenge will be to get those who voted against the library to the polls once again, while figuring out how to reach residents who have not voted yet.
"What I think is interesting about our group is that we have people that are professionals and people that are working class, people that are elderly and people that are younger," Groves said. "It's a diverse group."
Supporters, however, say the Select Board's decision is warranted to give voters a second chance to consider a complex proposal.
"Having another vote is allowable under law when a big project is at stake, and this is a big project" said Karen Traub, a member of the Library Capital Fundraising Committee.
She expressed confidence that voter turnout would be high, something that should favor proponents of the plan, she said.
"People were saying that they didn't realize that they needed to vote. They thought it was a done deal and was going to go through," Traub said. "If everyone votes I feel really confident it will pass."
The date of the second election is expected to be set by the Select Board, which will meet Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. at Town Hall.
Town officials have until Dec. 19 to schedule a second election which must be held no later than Jan. 23.
Select Board chairwoman Elaine Puleo, who cast the deciding vote in favor of a second ballot question, said she would remain on the sidelines during the coming campaign.
"I totally want to take myself out of the discussion of for or against the library. The community has to decide," she said. "Even though it's going up for another vote, if the true sense of the community is we really don't want it then I'm OK with that."
Cost laid out
The 5,800-square-foot project would be financed by a $2.1 million grant from the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners, with the town paying the remaining $1.4 million for the project. Supporters have sought to reduce the town's share through fundraising, raising over $146,000 as of Monday. Of that sum, $127,000 was in the form of pledges, while $37,000 represented contributions already made.
If built without fundraising, the average Shutesbury property owner with a home valued at $243,814 would see their annual tax bill increase by an average of $113 per year. However, because the town would pay for the project with a municipal bond, the library's cost, and thus the impact on taxes, would decrease over a 20-year borrowing period, officials say.
Thus the average homeowner would pay a maximum of $153 in additional taxes in 2016, the first year the library bill is on the town's books, and $79 in 2034, the loan's last year, according to Finance Committee projections. Over 20 years, the average property owner would pay an additional $2,269 in taxes.
Groves contends that the project is too big for Shutesbury, pointing out that the town already has one of the highest tax rates in the state and the highest tax rate in Franklin County.
Shutesbury's property tax rate of $18.76 per $1,000 in fiscal year 2010 was the second highest in the state, according to a review of municipal tax rates by the Boston Globe.
Groves said opponents also worry that the project's site on Leverett Road is too wet and the roof line design would cause water to pool in the center of the building.
"We don't know the design so we don't know what we're getting into," Groves said. "And with the fundraising numbers incomplete, we really don't know what the budget for this project is." He said cheaper alternatives, such as using space at the elementary school or old Town Hall, have not been adequately considered.
Response to concerns
Mary Anne Antonellis, Shutesbury library director, said that fundraising efforts have been gaining steam. She noted that an event Saturday at the Shutesbury Athletic Club netted in excess of $1,000 while an additional $1,000 pledge was made on Monday, she said.
"All but a thousand dollars of the donations have come from Shutesbury, so that says to me that there are a lot of people in Shutesbury who believe in this project and think we need a new library," Antonellis said.
To concerns over the library's size, she noted that Wendell's new library is 5,100 square feet while Leverett's new library is 4,600 square feet. The Shutesbury library was designed for a town population of 2,490 people, compared to a design population of 1,200 people in Wendell.
"We're building a library for twice as many people that's only a little bigger," she said.
And she noted that the library's designs submitted to the state are only preliminary. Aspects of those plans must largely remain the same, such as the building's square footage, which can increase or decrease by just 5 percent. But other aspects, such as the roof line can be addressed, while other amenities, such as the $308,000 photovoltaic system called for, could be eliminated altogether, Antonellis said.
"The roof line will absolutely be addressed," Antonellis said. " I think now people are really involved and I appreciate this level of involvement. It's now a community project."
