HADLEY — After Town Meeting voters nixed a proposal to build a new library on the Hooker School site, Goodwin Memorial Library trustees are assessing the feasibility of building beside the old Russell School.
Jo-Ann Konieczny, a library trustee, said the board is working with members of the School Committee to explore the idea. She said parking and traffic are concerns if the proposal advances, which trustees are hiring a civil engineer to assess. The site is close to Hopkins Academy.
“Are those things that can be addressed?” asked Konieczny. “We felt it was up to a professional to look at that.”
Ideally, said Konieczny, engineers and architects involved can devise a mechanism to address traffic issues affecting that lot.
“If we could help (the school), it would be wonderful,” she said.
After the Town Meeting no vote on May 5 — the article was defeated 206 to 139 with 13 abstentions — trustees conducted a survey to tease out whether residents were against the library altogether or simply the proposed site.
Of the 381 respondents, 31 percent said they did not attend Town Meeting and if they had they would have voted yes on the library, 22 percent said they voted yes, 18 percent voted no, 17 percent said they did not attend but would have voted no, 6 percent expressed uncertainty, 4 percent said they abstained and 3 percent said they weren’t registered to vote.
Of the no-voters, 81 percent called the lack of a town-wide plan for all buildings “very important” in their decision to vote no, 67 percent said the cost of a new library was important, and 64 percent reported the choice of the Hooker School site was an important factor in their decision.
An additional 52 percent of voters who reported rejecting the proposal said they like the Goodwin Memorial Library as it is.
In response to voters, the Select Board is working on a town-wide plan to release in advance of Town Meeting in the fall, which Konieczny said will be the last opportunity for trustees to appeal to voters before a grant window closes.
“There’s an awful lot more work to do,” said Select Board Chairwoman Molly Keegan, including ranking projects and services in a way that minimizes tax increases for residents. “And we’re trying to do as much as we can before fall Town Meeting.”
Amanda Drane can be contacted at adrane@gazettenet.com.
