Bok Says Local Groups Could Halt JFK Archives

President Bok said yesterday that if community groups insist on participating in its detailed planning, the archival portion of the John F. Kennedy Library will probably not be built at Harvard.

Bok said in an interview yesterday that the Kennedy Library Corporation is "likely to take the project to another location" if it "faces the prospect of continued negotiation and repeated redesigning of the facility or the threat of further lawsuits."

He said the library corporation is "anxious to move ahead with the project and avoid further escalation of the costs."

Oliver Brooks, chairman of the Harvard Square Development Task Force, said last night his group would like to meet with Bok "to discuss exactly what he means." He declined to comment further on Bok's statement.

Pebble Gillord, chairman of the task force's policy and planning committee, said, however, that it would be contrary to the group's charge from the mayor if it did not have a voice in planning for the library.

In response, Bok said he is not dictating to the community groups, but making a prediction about what the Kennedy Library Corporation may decide.

The corporation announced two weeks ago that it had abandoned its plan to construct the JFK museum at the site across from I hot House but was still considering whether to build the other parts of the memorial complex there.

'Sufficient Community Support'

Bok said the corporation's final decision will hinge upon whether there is "sufficient community support" for the archives and whether the developers find a way to split the archives from the museum "without resulting in costs for the peoject that exceed available funds."

He said he has "talked to a lot of the people involved" in trying to rally community support for the archives.

Five neighborhood associations, the Cambridge Civic Association the Harvard Square Development Task Force and Mayor Walter J. Sullivan have all endorsed constructing the archives in Cambridge

Sullivan said yesterday that "I m all the way for the Kennedy Library and the community groups are certainly not giving it a break at all."

He added, however, that the community groups have to be consulted on the library. "They're citizens, too, and have to be in on development," he said.

Councilor Saundra Graham said last night that Bok should have "no say on citizen participation" and should "mind his own business."

She called his prediction that the Kennedy Corporation would pull out completely if faced with community interference "just a threat."

Paul R. Lawrence, head of Neighborhood Ten and Donham Professor of Organizational Behavior, said yesterday he would have no reaction to Bok's remarks until he meets with the leaders of other civic groups.

Neighborhood Ten is suing the General Services Administration for access to the preliminary drafts of the agency's environmental impact statement on the Kennedy Library. Its $10,000 fund to fight the Kennedy Library--in the courts if necessary--may have been a factor in the JFK corporation's decision not to build the museum in Cambridge.