This just in from the Wicomico County PIO:
Wicomico County Executive Richard M. Pollitt, Jr., announced today that he has received a letter from Valerie Murphy, Chair of the Wicomico Public Library Board of Trustees, in which the trustees recommended suspending consideration of a site for a new county library headquarters in order to concentrate on the delivery of basic library services. Ms. Murphy stated, “With great reluctance, the Library Board has voted to withdraw from its $375,000 site acquisition grant award from the state and allow the funds to revert while reserving the right to reapply in the future. The Library’s 39% cut in County Operating Funds has created a crisis which makes even this preliminary step toward construction of a new Main Library impractical and inadvisable at this time.”
Mr. Pollitt reacted to the statement by saying, “Under the circumstances, I agree with the Library Board’s position and understand our immediate priority is to continue to make our county library viable and accessible to our citizens. I see this not as abandoning a noble cause but, to use a sports metaphor, it is a ‘rain delay’ until the project can resume when economic conditions warrant. I applaud the hard work and dedication that has brought us to this point and I continue to strongly believe that it is our duty to develop and work toward a vision that improves the quality of life for our residents. That part of the effort will continue.”
Pollitt stated that he will not pursue acquisition of a site for future library operations at this time but will work with the Library Board to make short-term improvements to the existing facility.
Obviously that will come as a relief to those who try and figure out our capital budget, but it would also be worth following up as to what the library and county consider “short-term improvements.” I have the question in to Library Director Tom Hehman regarding this priority list.
On the other hand, I could’ve done without the complaint about a 39% cut in county funding since everyone needs to tighten their belts. I don’t think anyone is going to get their full wish list in this county budget, and the library likely has pondered several areas where it can cut back or raise a little bit of revenue. You might have to wait a little longer to borrow that best-seller and I wouldn’t hold my breath on a fine amnesty, that’s for sure.
So it looks like local fiscal conservatives have carried the day on this front. While the Wicomico Library may need a new facility sometime in the future, the future isn’t now. Of course, I’m sure the state doesn’t mind getting back $375,000 in the short term either. In a time when priorities are the key, having an older library isn’t going to tip the “quality of life” scale all that much to the negative.
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