AMHERST — A memorandum of agreement reached between the town, Jones Library trustees and the Massachusetts Historical Commission is among the final steps for accessing $2.1 million in federal grants that will go toward the $46.14 million expansion and renovation of the library at 43 Amity St.

The completed agreement, signed by Town Manager Paul Bockelman, Jones Library Trustees President Austin Sarat and Massachusetts Historical Commission Executive Director Brona Simon in late March, allows the town to request access to both 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.

It also brings to a close the federal Section 106 review, which has considered the impacts to historical features of the existing library, which opened in 1928 and was previously expanded in the early 1990s.

A next step for the town is get a contract signed with a general contractor by the end of April, Bockelman said. Fontaine Brothers Inc. of Springfield, with a $35.77 million bid, was one of two companies that submitted bids for the project and came in at $231,000 below the advertised cost of the work.

The memorandum of agreement calls for recording aspects of the Jones Library through both narratives and photographs, completing interpretive presentations and abiding by design standards that include a natural slate roof and no book drop cut into the front of the building. It also stipulates that the project preserve as much of the building’s historic millwork as possible.

The town also placed a legal advertisement in the Gazette on March 28 titled “combined notice of finding of no significant impact and notice of intent to request release of funds.” That states that on or around April 14, the town will ask for the release of the federal funds needed for the project, which supplement the $15.75 million from the town and $15.57 million from a Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners construction grant.

That ad identifies the library as a contributing resource in the Amherst Central Business Historic District and, while there will be an adverse effect, cites the memorandum of agreement as addressing those concerns.

In addition, “The town of Amherst has determined that the project will have no significant impact on the human environment,” meaning no environmental impact statement under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 is needed.

Amherst will continue to accept comments through April 12, with those to be sent to Robert Peirent, the special capital projects coordinator, at peirentr@amherstma.gov.

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