On Nov. 2, Amherst voters will be asked on a ballot question whether they support the Town Council’s vote to fund an addition to the Jones Library. I voted against this project as being unneeded and unsustainable in 2017 as a Town Meeting member. I continue to think that is true. I hope you will agree.
Yes, it would be nice and wonderful, but we must look at what is environmentally sustainable. The “never leave money on the table” argument that some are using is like saying, “How can you possibly not buy this item? It’s on sale!” Because we don’t need it and because the town’s money can go toward other things we need.
There are six libraries in Amherst, all for which an Amherst resident can get a library card. And of course, we have excellent school libraries in five schools for our K-12 students. Please study the website “Vote No, Start over Smart” for facts about per capita space needs, population, etc., and see why we don’t need a building that is 25% larger.
Being in a climate emergency is going to necessitate thinking outside the box about how we can share library resources as well as other resources across town/gown lines. Our town has many buildings, schools and churches that aren’t being used during parts of every day and have space for things like holding English as a second language classes and tutoring.
A climate emergency is going to require us to prioritize which capital projects — a school, a fire station and a Department of Public Works building and other priorities coming to the fore post-pandemic — should be funded. Our town dollars need to be allocated to needs. How about roads and sidewalks? How about fully funding the CRESS program or creating a resilience hub or a community center at one of the schools to help manage future climate disasters? How about funding solar canopies or rooftop solar on our existing buildings? How are we going to pay for more staff to carry out our new energy and climate plan, plus the myriad of things in the plan which we will not be able to depend on state or federal money to pay for?
Retrofitting the existing library building would be the more sustainable option, particularly in the next 10 years when fossil-fuel emissions need to be rapidly decreased to meet our town’s carbon emissions 25% reduction by 2025 and 50% by 2030 targets.
The Jones Library Sustainability Committee worked hard to provide green options for the expansion project, but unfortunately, that committee wasn’t asked to look at emissions for the most climate-friendly option — renovating/retrofitting the existing building to make it more energy efficient, using renewably-sourced energy.
The library trustees got numbers for us but didn’t give us the information we needed to make an honest comparison of options. Comparing the building as it is to the expansion is not relevant because electricity emissions are slated to be reduced to zero in the next five to 10 years when Community Choice Energy comes on board and because the town climate action plan will dictate transitioning all town buildings to electric heat. An immediate retrofit would avoid the near-term emissions cost of demolition and construction.
So, what is the best strategy for building or renovating in this new era? The National Trust for Historic Preservation has stated that the greenest building may be the one you already own. A new building that is more energy efficient than the average building could take up to 75 years to overcome the negative carbon impact that comes with new construction versus retrofitting and sourcing it with renewable energy.
There is an immense amount of energy and carbon dioxide locked into existing buildings that provide a savings in CO2 compared to the demolition (energy to demolish and haul away) of an existing structure, the energy to make new materials, transport of the materials and then creation of a brand-new building. The library expansion plan includes demolishing 40% of the existing building — creating an estimated 1,600 tons of debris and then creating a building that is 25% bigger than what is currently there!
I would like to see the library staff and trustees engaged in educating the community about climate change. The American Library Association has funded 25 grants to libraries so they can engage their communities in programs and conversations that address the crisis with film screenings, dialogues and resources. Free programming resources will come out of this pilot.
Please look at each candidate for Amherst Town Council to see what their commitment is to sustainability, especially to their commitment to reducing town emissions in the next five to 10 years. For a move against climate change, I urge you to vote “No” on the ballot question.
Lydia Vernon-Jones is a retired social worker and a member of the Amherst Zero Energy Task Force, Mothers Out Front and Climate Action Now.
