Adams Library Trustees Agree To Proceed With Holocaust Exhibit
 The trustees are seeking a member to fill a vacancy after the recent death of Trustee Joseph Greenbush Jr. |
ADAMS, Mass. — The library trustees agreed to a proposed Holocaust exhibit to be placed in the trustees meeting room.
Town Administrator Tony Mazzucco sent an email to the board Thursday that said the town is ready to go forward with the proposed exhibit and has secured an agreement that covers the town and library of all legal and liability concerns.
Darrell K. English, whose museum had been located on Eagle Street in North Adams for three years, has collected thousands of World War II artifacts that include Nazi uniforms and propaganda and Holocaust artifacts.
The "hold harmless agreement" will end July 1, 2017, at which time the town hopes to have secured a permanent location in Adams for the collection.
The trustees said they were ready to move forward and have no concerns but would like to see the agreement.
"I think we should see the agreement … even if we are aren't the ultimate signatories, before it is signed ideally," Chairman James Loughman said.
Library Director Deborah Bruneau said English is leaning toward being open in the afternoon when the library is open or by appointment.
Bruneau announced that the final items on the punch list for the library renovation project are just about complete.
"It is just about finished. The painters did come in to do a few things so we are pretty close," she said.
Bruneau added that the library failed its town building inspection and has until June 30 to make corrections.
She said "it wasn't too bad" — there are a few askew tiles and some emergency lights that need new batteries. She said the Historical Society hallway must also be cleared.
She said many of the items are connected to the renovation and have been added to the punch list.
Because of the sudden passing of Trustee Joseph Greenbush, the trustees have opened up the board for appointments.
Bruneau said according to the bylaws if an officer resigns or leaves, the board's quorum is changed to the majority of serving members. The board now has five members now so needs three for a quorum instead of the previous number four.
"I can easily envision if we had a quorum of four we might not be able to get it, and I think we frequently come close on that so the pressure of filling the position rapidly is off," Loughman said.
Bruneau said she will be researching people counters for the library.
"It is one of the statistics that we should report to the state but we don't because we don't have a people counter," she said.
She said the counters range between $300 and $500 and the library would need two. She anticipated using state aid for this purchase.
Tags: adams library, historical exhibit, Holocaust,
