HADLEY - Select Board members sought a resolution Wednesday to an ongoing dispute between the Hadley Historical Society and the Board of Library Trustees over the use of space at Goodwin Memorial Library, suggesting that a new home for the society could be found in a different town building.

Library trustees say they need the second-floor area that has been used by the society, a private organization, since the 1970s.

Select Board chairman Brian West requested that the society provide a list of needs for the continued upkeep of the exhibit it maintains in the library. West noted that the Select Board is in the midst of developing a plan for the future use of several of Hadley's historic buildings and that the town could help move the society.

"We need to find a home for the society that works for the society, the library and the town," West said.

Historical Society President Gordon Smith said his organization primarily needs a building made of "brick and mortar" in order to protect its possessions. A house it owns on Middle Street provides insufficient security because, as a wooden building, it is too easy to break into, Smith said.

Tom McGee, another society member, listed heating controls as another requirement.

Not all board members appeared to back the idea of moving the Historical Society to another municipal building.

Selectman Gloria DiFulvio questioned whether the town should accommodate a private organization.

"You're just shifting the problems elsewhere," DiFulvio said of West's suggestion.

West responded by saying that the society maintains an exhibit that is part of the town's history. As such, it should be maintained in a public space, he said.

Town Administrator David Nixon cautioned town officials to be wary of running afoul of the state's procurement laws, noting that the society does not lease the second floor or pay utilities for its use of the building.

The society's use of the library's second floor has long been a contentious issue here. Controversy flared anew recently when the society changed the locks to the library's second floor and did not provide library staff or town officials with a key. That prompted the library trustees to write the Select Board requesting support to their bid to remove the society from the building.

Jeffrey Roberts, an attorney for the society, said Wednesday that the key incident represented a "miscommunication" between society and town officials. He said the society had been worried about having the same lock on the library's front and second floor doors, saying the group was only trying to safeguard its possessions. He said the society is seeking an orderly resolution to the dispute.

In other action, the Select Board and Finance Committee voted to spend $43,000 from the town's emergency fund to replace the roof of the Senior Center on Middle Street. The vote is contingent on state approval. Under state law, municipal officials can only access their town's emergency account in the case of imminent public safety concerns.

The roof at the Senior Center has been leaking and its capacity to handle snow is questionable, town officials said. The building's current slate roof would be replaced with a metal one under the proposal.