TEMPLETON — The Templeton Community Preservation Committee (CPC) voted unanimously on September 11, 2025, to approve an additional $60,000 in Community Preservation Act (CPA) funds to help complete the long-planned rehabilitation of the historic Boynton Public Library.
The funding, which will come from the CPC’s unbudgeted reserve, brings the project closer to a construction start date. Committee members praised the project’s value to the town and the efforts to preserve the iconic structure’s integrity while improving safety, accessibility, and usability.
“I think it’s a good deal,” said committee member Carrie Novak. “It looks like you’re getting a lot of money and a lot of in-kind [work] for a project for a building that I think is very important to the town of Templeton.”
The total cost of the project is projected at $385,000. So far, the town has approved $70,000 in CPA funds, and a private family bequest has contributed an estimated $260,000, leaving a gap the committee sought to fill.
John Henshaw, CPC chair and library trustee, explained that about $18,000 of the original $70,000 allocation was committed to a contract with an architectural firm. That firm has since completed the design and layout for the interior improvements, which include ADA-compliant bathrooms, updated HVAC, revised book stack layout, and the replacement of antiquated knob-and-tube wiring.
“The shelving will be all the way around the perimeter,” Henshaw said, noting that the new design will optimize space and improve flow through the stacks.
The remaining work was recently put out to bid. “The low bidder bid $265,000 for the project — that did not include the alternative bid,” Henshaw said. That alternate bid, which covers construction of custom shelving, came in at $120,000. Together, those two components total $385,000 — well above current available funding.
Additional costs not covered in the construction bid include the temporary relocation and storage of library books during renovations, estimated at $15,000, and heating work pegged around $10,000. “Then there’s a contingency for the project as well for the unfound things that will crop up,” Henshaw added.
The trustees are also hoping that Montachusett Regional Vocational Technical School (Monty Tech) may assist by building and installing the shelving, which could significantly reduce costs.
“They basically do it for the cost of materials,” Henshaw said. “They would make the shelving at their shop at Monty Tech and then do the installation work in coordination with the general contractor.”
While CPC members acknowledged the financial complexity of the project, they agreed the library is a vital public institution worth investing in. “In the whole scheme of this entire project, it feels like a really good deal,” said committee member Novak.
Following discussion, the committee voted unanimously (6–0) to approve a motion allocating $60,000 from the unbudgeted reserve for the Boynton Library Historic Rehabilitation Project, which will be under the jurisdiction of the board of trustees in conjunction with the select board.
Per CPC rules, the $60,000 amount approved cannot be altered on the floor of Town Meeting. Residents will vote to authorize the appropriation during the upcoming Fall Town Meeting on Nov. 12, 2025.
If the article passes, the rehabilitation work will proceed under the oversight of the library’s Board of Trustees, with the architectural firm FSB continuing to assist with project management and coordination.
Henshaw stressed that the goal remains to complete the work with minimal disruption. “The hope originally was to do it around Thanksgiving,” he said, estimating a one-month closure.
