AMHERST — Three members of the Town Council have called for an emergency meeting on Monday at which councilors will decide whether to rescind all funding for the controversial Jones Library renovation and expansion project, which has been in the works for than a decade.

The meeting comes about three weeks before an April 30 deadline to hire a general contractor for the $46.1 million project. Several residents and at least one Town Council member are expressing concern about whether there will be sufficient funding for the project.

With Town Manager Paul Bockelman informing the Town Council on April 7 that a contract with low bidder Fontaine Brothers, Inc. of Springfield might be signed before the council’s next meeting on April 28, District 4 Councilor Jennifer Taub suggested holding an emergency meeting to address her worry that the funding plan is problematic.

That meeting is now set for Monday at 6:30 p.m. at Town Room at Town Hall, with virtual participation also available. Taub, joined by District 1 Councilor Cathy Schoen and District 5 Councilor Bob Hegner, this week used a section of the town charter that requires three councilors to call a special session for any purpose. The Town Council meeting will be held jointly with the elected trustees for the Jones Library.

The special session will act on a proposal to rescind $35.28 million in borrowing for the project approved and authorized by the Town Council in April 2021, as well as the rescission of the 2023 supplemental borrowing authorization of $9.86 million. The remaining money for the building project is $1 million from the town’s Community Preservation Act account.

Last June, the Town Council, whose makeup has not changed since that time, voted 7-6 against a motion to stop the library project over concerns about continued cost escalation.

At last Monday’s meeting, Taub said $6.9 million still needs to be raised by the library’s capital campaign, and the $4.8 million already collected or pledged could be at risk due to the seemingly soft U.S. economy, along with threats to federal grants coming for the project. That would supplement the $15.8 million committed by the town and the $15.6 million grant from the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners.

“The idea that at the next meeting we could be told a contract is signed and there’s all this uncertainty about funding, I think that would not be responsible for us to just end this meeting and hope for the best,” Taub said.

But Bockelman said the low bid of $35.77 million hasn’t changed and that Bob Peirent, the town’s special capital projects manager, is working with Fontaine and staying up to date on whether the bid will be honored.

District 3 Councilor George Ryan said councilors should not impede this process to getting a contract so that the project, which will enlarge the building from 48,000 square feet to 63,000 square feet and renovate the building, can proceed. Ryan said it is up to the town manager to be responsible when signing a contract.

“The town manager’s very aware of all the concerns, and he is empowered to make the decision,” Ryan said. “At this point, it’s in his hands.”

Ryan added that concerns about whether there’s been enough fundraising and whether library trustees would have to tap the Jones Inc. endowment to bolster the capital campaign are premature.

“Repeating the same objections over and over again is not moving us anywhere,” Ryan said.

At Large Councilor Mandi Jo Hanneke asked Bockelman if there was any update regarding a $1 million award from the National Endowment for Humanities award, observing that some similar grant recipients have been notified the money is no longer available.

Bockelman said that money remains intact.

Whether or not a contract is signed prior to the Town Council’s April 28 meeting, Hegner said at Monday’s meeting he would like the financing for the project to be a discussion item on that evening’s agenda.

“I think if Mr. Bockelman hasn’t signed a contract, I think it would be helpful for us to weigh in on our concerns about the budget and the risks to the town,” Hegner said.

If Bockelman feels a contract can’t be signed, Hanneke said she would like the discussion to instead be on how the Jones Library can be renovated and improved, likely without the MBLC grant, and how the town can pay for that work.

Residents speak out

During public comment at the meeting, a few residents called for halting the project, saying it is compromising funding for town and school operating budgets, and is a looming financial disaster.

Those writing to the council included Ira Bryck of Strong Street, who cited a possible funding gap and potential cost overruns as reasons not to sign a contract, and doing so “would be premature and risky.”

Mickey Rathbun of South East Street wrote that signing a contract “would be reckless… given how dramatically circumstances have changed since October 2024 when the project went out to bid.”

Ken Rosenthal of Sunset Avenue said a contract can’t be signed.

“It’s not just that the library’s costs have outgrown the original plan,” Rosenthal wrote. “The funds expected to be contributed simply will not be available, not from private sources and, probably soon, not from public sources as well considering the radical reduction of federal library contributions.”

Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.