GREENFIELD — The short stay of one of the city’s newest bee sculptures outside the new Greenfield Public Library has come to an end, a change that has stirred opposition among residents.

Although the bee sculpture, dubbed “Take Flight with Books,” was unveiled for the May 20 Bee Fest and was temporarily located in the plaza in front of the new library on Main Street, it was moved to the Greenfield Savings Bank lobby out of concern over traffic flow in the plaza and because it needs to be bolted to the ground for safety reasons.

“The plaza was designed to be a public space,” Library Trustee Doris Cowdrey said on Tuesday afternoon. “We can’t have anything that impedes the flow of traffic around the space or the use of that space by the community. What we’d like to do, and will do, is find a place where the bee is visible to folks but is not in a spot that’s going to impede the flow of traffic. The trustees support having the bee [on library property], it’s just a matter of having a little time to think this through and get to the right decision.”

The sculpture will stay at Greenfield Savings Bank until the library trustees have reached a decision on a permanent location for it on library property, according to Rachael Katz, who sculpted the bee. It was painted by Greenfield resident Mary Chicoine, commissioned by Studio Seven/The Greenfield Gallery and funded by Greenfield Savings Bank.

Cowdrey explained the request to put the bee sculpture in the library plaza came before the trustees in early May. The trustees agreed it could be placed there on a temporary basis until they’ve had time to consider the most appropriate location to place it permanently. Following a conversation with Katz, however, Cowdrey understood the bee could not remain at the plaza long-term without being bolted to the ground for safety reasons, prompting its removal last week.

“Until the library is open and we see the traffic flow and how the space is being used, it would be difficult to find the appropriate location,” said Library Trustee Ed Berlin, who is also a member of the Library Building Committee. The new library is set to open on Thursday, July 13, at 9:30 a.m. “If we put it [in the plaza] in a permanent manner and want to change it, it will require filling holes in the concrete.”

That type of repair would leave the concrete open to further damage, he added.

“Nobody is against the bee,” he emphasized. “The only thing the trustees are trying to do is make sure the location picked is an appropriate location.”

Concerns about the sculpture’s removal were first raised on the Citizens for Transparency Facebook page, where a clip of an April meeting of the Library Building Committee was shared.

During that meeting, which took place in advance of Bee Fest, Mayor Roxann Wedegartner told committee members the bee could not be placed on the concrete area in front of the new library, per the recommendation of the landscape architect.

“We think we’ve come up with a different location that ... doesn’t involve the new library,” she said on April 6.

On Tuesday, Wedegartner clarified that at the time, there were earlier discussions between herself and Katz about placing the bee between the old building and the new building in a way that “honors both libraries.” Where it ultimately ended up on a permanent basis would require a vote by the library trustees, she said.

“The moving of the bee was always meant to be temporary,” Wedegartner said on Tuesday, speaking of its location for Bee Fest. “It didn’t mean it wouldn’t go right back there in a more permanent way. It would move until a new location at the library was determined.”

Katz said she has heard from a number of people that they were disappointed the bee was only placed there temporarily. Cowdrey also said she’s received numerous messages from the community that the bee’s intended home was the library.

“I’m very grateful for Greenfield Savings Bank’s gift and I think Mary has made a beautiful piece, well-suited to the library,” Katz said. “I’m hoping for a satisfactory decision as soon as possible.”

Reporter Mary Byrne can be reached at mbyrne@recorder.com or 413-930-4429. Twitter: @MaryEByrne.

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