AMHERST — With concerns over how long it’s taking to complete a mandated federal historic review of the planned renovation and expansion of the Jones Library, town and library officials are requesting an extension of up to three months for hiring a general contractor.

Town Manager Paul Bockelman and Trustees President Austin Sarat recently sent a letter to Vicky Biancolo, who chairs the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners, asking that the deadline for having a signed contract be pushed from Dec. 31, 2024 to March 31, 2025.

Commissioners will meet Dec. 5 to consider the appeal.

The request comes following a series of cost-cutting measures over the summer, and a recently received $35.77 million bid from Fontaine Brothers Inc. of Springfield, for the $46.1 million project. The low bid is $231,000 below the advertised cost of the work and, factoring in project expenses to date and contingency costs, the low bid places the total project cost about $1.6 million under the bond cap approved by the Town Council.

But the letter references the so-called Section 106 process that is in progress to access federal grants for the project. The review is required because the project is receiving federal funds, including a Challenge Infrastructure and Capacity Building grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities and an Economic Development Initiative grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, as well as a hazardous waste removal permit from the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection.

This process requires the town and library officials to identify an adverse effect on historic properties and then reach a memorandum of understanding for how to respond to this. The memorandum will focus on various mitigation measures aimed at limiting the known adverse effects.

“This extension will allow the time required to complete this process,” Sarat and Bockelman wrote.

This is the second request for an extension. The MBLC in June, in a unanimous vote, gave the extension through the end of the year after the initial bids for the project came in at least $6.5 million beyond what the town could afford for enlarging the building from 48,000 square feet to 63,000 square feet, overhauling mechanical systems and doing other renovations. That led Bockelman to reject the bid.

The project is being funded by $15.8 million committed by the town, which is being leveraged for support from other sources, including an MBLC grant, federal money and private fundraising.

Bockelman told the Town Council last week that he doesn’t expect the full three months will be needed, and hopes that the outcome of the Section 106 process will be known by mid-January, which is how long the bids are being held.

“We’ve asked for a three-month extension, just to give us more time,” Bockelman said.

During a Library Building Committee meeting last week, Sarat referenced the bids and how the extension paid off.

“That decision turned out to produce a good result, it wasn’t an easy decision to make and I think we just need to note it turned out right for us and for the town,” Sarat said.

During the initial consulting parties meeting for the Section 106 review, both the Amherst Historical Commission and the Local Historic District Commission advocated for more significant changes to the project to be part of the agreement, such as introducing an architectural hyphen so the addition doesn’t overwhelm the original library building. In turn, library officials have said they would photograph and document and put up a display at special collections.

District 4 Councilor Pamela Rooney, who is on the building committee, wondered if alternatives that may be proposed by the Massachusetts Historical Commission could cost money.

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