Beverly Public Library Closes In Heat Amid HVAC Debate
BEVERLY, MA — During a week in which many North Shore cities and towns invited residents to their public libraries as they acted as cooling centers for those in need during a heat wave, the Beverly Public Library main branch location remained closed on Thursday because of the heat.
The city cited “the inability of the 31-year-old HVAC system to effectively cool the building,” as the reason the main branch was closed on Thursday.
This comes two months after the City Council voted to reject an $18 million project — which included $10.5 million in authorized city funding along with grants and other incentives — to renovate the library’s HVAC system with a new green geothermal system, as well as fix the roof and add some needed accessibility improvements.
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“The bottom line here is an addition was built 30 years ago — poorly,” Mayor Mike Cahill said in making the case for the authorization on April 8. “The building hasn’t performed for 30 years.”
Cahill later sent an open letter to Patch pushing for the renovations in the wake of the vote failure.
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“Although I still believe the library renovation and geothermal HVAC is the right project for our community, a majority of the City Council voted otherwise,” Cahill said in the letter “Therefore, I am now working with Councilors to find a way forward, because our library matters to our community.
“It is one of few places where people can access resources and knowledge for free; it provides access and equity for all, and we together are responsible for safeguarding it now and into the future for all residents of Beverly.”
Council members cited the lack of rising cost transparency in the two years leading up to the proposal — which saw the price tag leap from $3 million for the HVAC only to the full-scale $18 million renovation — at the same time the city is looking to also renovate City Hall, a fire station and pursue other capital projects as the reason they voted down the library project.
The new Beverly Police Station and the Greater Beverly YMCA were opened to the public as cooling centers this week.
The BPL was closed on Wednesday regardless of the HVAC effectiveness because of the Juneteenth holiday.
(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. X/Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)
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