The Jones Library’s “Plan B” does not have to be — and should not be — one that addresses every deferred maintenance need.

All town-owned buildings have millions of dollars worth of needed repairs. Why would a non-town-owned building get everything fixed before the schools, fire stations, and public works building?

The highest priority repairs of the Jones Library building are the HVAC system and the roof, estimated to cost a little over $2 million in 2020. With inflation, switching from fossil fuels to electric, and adding design fees and asbestos abatement, those repairs should be doable for less than $5 million. Of that, the trustees pay the first $1.8 million per agreement with the Town, fundraising should be good for at least $1.5 million, and Community Preservation Act funds can be pursued, which leaves perhaps less than $1 million cost to the town.

Compare this to the $15.8 million currently earmarked for the overblown expansion project, plus about $3 million for short-term borrowing costs and necessary items that have been cut from the project (furniture, utility upgrades, etc.), plus the town is on the hook for fronting the fundraising gap of $8 million to $15 million or more, depending on the bid.

With a realistic Plan B, after addressing the most critical repairs, the library rejoins the capital planning queue, and the limited property tax dollars for capital projects can instead go toward a new fire station, public works building, or repaving roads.

When expansion proponents argue “repairs will cost more,” they are lowballing the true cost to the town of the expansion while exaggerating repair costs, interpreting the latter as addressing everything that has been neglected over decades. It is a red herring, and irresponsible to claim that everything everywhere all at once is the only alternative to full demolition-expansion. A real Plan B will cost the town a fraction of the expansion project.

Toni Cunningham

Amherst