GREENFIELD — The City Council is planning a forum where outside financial advisers can explain exactly how building a new library might impact the citdy’s finances and local taxes.
On Feb. 27, a week after this month’s Greenfield City Council meeting, a forum for city councilors to get answers to their lingering financial questions will be held. Expected at the meeting will be the city’s financial adviser, who coordinates all bonds and borrowing, and the city’s bond counsel, both of whom Mayor William Martin heralded as “cream of the crop” in their profession.
The intent, unlike the meeting held in December that acted mostly as a rally for a new library, will be specifically for councilors to have a chance to ask any money questions they have — especially, those councilors who have yet to make up their mind on a new library.
The decision to hold a meeting at the end of the month came following a request at the monthly Committee Chairs meeting this week by Ed Berlin, the vice chairman of the Greenfield Library Board of Trustees and chairman of the Library Building Committee. The council vote is expected in March or April.
At January’s council meeting, he said he wanted to know what it would take for councilors leaning toward “no” to come around and approve the library, which appears to still be at least one vote short of the nine needed to set it into motion.
“Part of this comes down to public relations, and its incumbent upon us as government that everybody has all the information before making a decision,” Precinct 7 Councilor and Chairman of Ways and Means Otis Wheeler said at the meeting. “I agree that we could do a better job of putting that before the public.”
Precinct 6 Councilor and Chairwoman of Appointments and Ordinances Sheila Gilmour agreed that the council should help facilitate this meeting in an effort to promote transparency.
“There’s some very bad information going around right now through the rumor mill,” Gilmour said, “so, I think it would be great to just get facts about what’s happening, and not what people are afraid of.”
The council has a chance to approve a new public library for Greenfield, which comes in at a total cost of $21 million. Martin cut the cost to $19.5 million, requesting the library supporters raise $2 million for the 26,800-square-foot proposed project.
The cost of the library will be further reduced by a $9.4 million grant from the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners that was secured in July, meaning local taxpayers would be asked to borrow something closer to $10.1 million.
The library would be built adjacent to the current 15,300-square-foot library in the historic landmark the Leavitt-Hovey House, which was built in 1797 and incorporated as the town’s library in 1908. The new library would be handicap accessible, which is a constant criticism of the current building. There are different plans with what to do with that town-owned building, including selling it to a local business.
To build a new library, the current fire station would have to move. Building a new library and fire station at the same time has raised concern from some residents about a potential strain on the taxpayer, which has been the crux of concern from some councilors about this project and its viability.
Martin has repeatedly stated, based on his finance team’s numbers, that it would not hurt the city. In fact, he said it is a smart thing to do, because the city should continue to borrow to maintain its good bond rating, which is “AA-.”
Martin said his independent financial advisors responded to the critique that a new library could hurt the city’s financial standing, saying “What are you building? A skyscraper?”
At-Large Councilor and Chairwoman of Economic Development Ashli Stempel said she is in favor of the meeting, as long as it sticks to the purpose. She helped host the December meeting, which she had hoped would be like this meeting in getting financial information out.
“I’m still feeling a little burned from that,” Stempel said. “I will only support this, if this is what this meeting will be.”
You can reach Joshua Solomon at:
jsolomon@recorder.com
413-772-0261, ext. 264