AMHERST — Nearly a year after Town Meeting recommended that trustees for the Jones Library minimize the impacts of an expansion and renovation project on the Kinsey Memorial Garden, the elected trustees are aiming to ensure there is more care for the green space surrounding the main branch.
The Jones Library Gardens Advisory Committee was recently created by the trustees to “assist in the planning, development, and maintenance of all library owned and/or maintained green spaces.” The committee will be under the direction of George Hicks, the facilities supervisor, and Library Director Sharon Sharry.
Trustees President Austin Sarat said the committee will exist regardless of whether the project moves forward, with Town Meeting next week scheduled to consider whether the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners should fund the first major improvements to the 43 Amity St. building since the early 1990s.
Town Meeting last May voted that trustees should “substantially preserve” the garden and create a committee of horticultural and gardening experts to help maintain what was created by Carol Pope in memory of her late husband, David Chapin Kinsey. It was given to the Jones Library as a gift in 1999.
Sarat said he is grateful to Pope for suggesting the idea and the opportunity to form the committee.
“I’’m glad it came back to us,” Sarat said.
If the expansion project goes forward, the committee may be responsible for cataloguing existing plantings and determining their condition and ability to be transplanted; developing and implementing a plan for removal and temporary relocation of viable plantings during the duration of the construction process; and working with architects, trustees, library committees and residents to design, develop and implement future green spaces.
Representatives from a group that is opposing the project, known as Save Our Library, referred to its website for their response. There, the group notes that the garden’s mature trees “would not survive the massive demolition and would be replaced by terraced plantings and generic landscaping.”
The members of Save Our Library are also skeptical that this committee will be able to care for what they refer to as a “botanically sophisticated garden.”
“The garden’s mature trees, ornamental shrubs, diverse plantings, stone walls, walkways and benches, providing a rare contemplative space in the heart of downtown Amherst, would be lost to the demolition-expansion.”
In an email, Pope said she wouldn’t comment on the new committee, instead pointing people to the Save Our Library group.
The committee will be made up of six people appointed by the president of the trustees. Members will bring expertise in the field, as well as availability, a commitment to develop and maintain green spaces, and appreciation for public library services.
Seasonal gardeners on staff, and contractors, will work with the committee.
Among other duties will be participating in upkeep and care of all library gardens from spring through fall, making recommendations on short- and long-term plans and maintenance needs of all library owned or maintained gardens and offering advice on privately funded library gardens projects.
Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.