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Library trustees ask Nahant to consider $1M to unlock $2M private match for $4M restoration
Summary
Trustees of the Nahant Public Library presented a $4 million restoration plan addressing fire safety, electrical, HVAC and preservation of rare collections, and requested the select board set a special town meeting to consider a $1,000,000 contribution to match a pledged $2,000,000 private gift.
Trustees of the Nahant Public Library asked the select board to put a $1,000,000 town contribution before voters to unlock a $2,000,000 private challenge match toward a $4,000,000 restoration and renovation plan.
Anne Brommer, a library trustee who delivered the trustees’ presentation, described the 131‑year‑old building as “a beacon of learning” that faces multiple life‑safety and preservation problems, including an undersized 200‑amp electrical service, lack of sprinklers and a climate control system, and an aging plumbing and heating system. “We have an original 1819 collection that began this library donated by William Wood, and this is in great jeopardy,” Brommer said, noting books have been discarded after moisture damage.
Trustees proposed a two‑phase plan: Phase 1 would address critical historic restoration and utilities (electrical, fire suppression, plumbing and HVAC); Phase 2 would add a privately funded children’s wing. The trustees cited a 2025 master plan estimate of $4,000,000 for the full scope and said an anonymous donor has committed $2,000,000 as a challenge match. “We have secured a commitment from an anonymous donor for a match of $2,000,000 of the $4,000,000,” a trustee told the board.
Town staff and board members discussed available funding sources and legal limits: the town administrator reported the net balance in the Coast Guard‑housing sale fund is just over $2,000,000 after loan payoffs and demolition expenses, and said state municipal finance law requires capital appropriations be voted at a town meeting. Trustees and a volunteer financial adviser outlined a tranche approach in which private funds would be spent first and town tranches would follow after private milestones are met.
The select board supported moving forward with a request for a special town meeting and asked staff to work with the town clerk and town administrator on timing and warrant language; the board did not set a final date during the meeting.
The trustees said envelope repairs already paid by the town and CPC left about $139,000 remaining of prior town appropriations, and that design and bidding documents are ready if private and town funding are secured. The trustees emphasized the project would not use town operating dollars and said the addition would be privately funded.
