SHUTESBURY — A hundred feet or so from the M.N. Spear Memorial Library, on the town common, is a “wish tree” where people of all ages can use magic markers to write their appeals for services that should be at a new town library.
These ideas — such as more books, toys and board games for the collection and a place for parents with young infants to gather — are being incorporated into plans for a new building that could be largely funded by a Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners construction grant, replacing the aging 768-square-foot library that was given to Shutesbury 119 years ago.
“This is really an exciting opportunity that the state is providing for the town,” Library Director Mary Anne Antonellis said.
Antonellis said the new Small Library Pilot Project program, which Town Meeting in June authorized officials to pursue, shows that the state recognizes how challenging constructing new libraries can be for towns with low populations. The grant would be for up to $3 million and would cover 75% of eligible costs for new construction.
Shutesbury is one of four towns, along with Chester, Florida and Otis, seeking the fast-tracked grant.
The last time Shutesbury was prepared to build a new library, in 2012, a divided town narrowly rejected a $3.5 million borrowing authorization in a Proposition 2 ½ debt-exclusion vote. Another plan developed in the late 1990s and presented in 2001 would have expanded the existing building onto the common, but that was withdrawn before a Town Meeting vote due to concerns about shrinking the greenspace.
Antonellis said town officials and supporters of a new library have done significant work over the past decade, including setting aside $520,000 for a project, and additional fundraisers are coming in September and November.
Antonellis said a new library would have the services the community demands, not only books and videos, but also a meeting room and study space, and place for fitness classes and programming. There are no cost estimates or plans yet for how large a building would be needed, though the last project would have been a 5,500- to 5,800-square-foot building.
In addition to the wish tree, library officials have begun to solicit other input, including at a recent in-person meeting at the Shutesbury Athletic Club, where people met with state library officials. Antonellis said there also may be mediated sessions over Zoom.
A building program has to be developed and submitted by Sept. 30, with a site for the building to be selected by Dec. 3.
Antonellis said much of the focus since Town Meeting has been on identifying a site, with environmental assessments being done at two locations.
“When we select a site, we want to have good information,” Antonellis said.
One is called Lot 032, a 22-acre site at 66 Leverett Road, and the former location of a home and garage acquired by the town in 2004. There will be targeted soil testing there. An advantage of the site is that the library would be set back, but visible from the road, according to town officials, though it might not be walkable from town center.
The other lot is behind Town Hall. There, a new town green and municipal complex would be developed. The town is doing percolation tests, a Phase 1 environmental assessment and monitoring wells to make sure that there is potable water.
A decision on the site will likely be made by the library trustees as a recommendation to the Select Board, with input from the public.
If accepted into the state program, Shutesbury would be notified by February 2022 to proceed and then determine if the project can be supported financially by the town.
Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.
