District Library board authorizes signing of agreement with county

At a previous meeting, the Belleville Area District Library Board approved setting up a proposed settlement agreement with Wayne County indicating how the overpayment of penal fines will be repaid.
At its July 8 meeting, the board voted to authorize chairperson Sharon Peters to sign the final agreement that had been negotiated by the attorney hired by the board for this issue, G. Hans Rentrop.
The overpayment will be reimbursed by the library over time so the amount of penal fines the library is entitled to receive will be withheld by the Wayne County treasurer and applied to the overpayment amount until the overpayment is paid in full.
There is no interest or penalty due from the library under this agreement and Wayne County shall take reasonable measures to ensure the future apportionment of penal fines is correct.
Executing this agreement is not an admission of liability by either party and each party releases the other from any claims related to the overpayment.
Over a ten-year period, from 2014-2023, the library was overpaid a total of $122,733.64 because of errors at the county treasurer’s office. Other libraries also were either underpaid or overpaid during that period.
In other business at the 39-minute meeting on July 8, the board:
• Noticed the city water bill for $1,771.87 on the list of checks was marked VOID because the library was told by the city that it was wrong and not to pay it;
• Heard library director Mary Jo Suchy report that she received more information on the State of Michigan updates to the elevator code. A door-lock monitoring system will need to be in place by January 2028. She is obtaining additional quotes for this to compare with the quote received from Otis Elevator;
• Heard Suchy report the equipment for the vape detectors has been installed in the restrooms and O’Neal Construction will work with the library staff to set up the software. Joy Cichewicz said when the vape detector was put in the Ypsilanti Library on Michigan Avenue the sensor was set so that the fire alarm went off when someone vaped and the building was evacuated. Be careful with the setting, she warned;
• Was informed the library is looking into the dying bushes at the library parking lot. It was suggested it might be a boxwood disease and they might want to replace the bushes with another kind of bush;
• Learned former staff member Harper Klotz is returning temporarily as a part-time circulation clerk to help out while another staff member is on maternity leave;
• Was informed the summer reading program started off with a bang: staff talked to more than 400 people at its Lake Fest booth; and about 125 people were in attendance for the library’s Bluey party, making him almost as popular as Santa;
• Learned almost 300 people voted to name the rescued baby tortoise that now lives on the desktop in the Youth Department and the winning name is Tort-ellini. Its favorite foods are lettuce, kale, bananas, and kiwi. The tortoise will be about a foot across at age seven and it won’t be until then that they can tell whether it is a male or female. The tortoise was loaned to the library by a rescue group and the group is working to adopt it out;
• Was informed special events planned at the library include: Chess Tournament from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m., July 19; Summer Writing Workshop with Dana Davidson, 1-4 p.m., July 19; Jazz Night with the RJ Spangler Quintet with James O’Connell at 7 p.m., July 30; and Comic Fest from noon to 5 p.m. on Aug. 2;
• Heard Suchy report that the library is working to get permission from Sumpter Township to use the fairground pavilion for outdoor events behind the Sumpter library building. The library is proposing astronomy and stargazing, movie night, or an evening of blues. She said the new Sumpter Township manager belongs to the Detroit Blues Society. The board talked about getting a new sign put up at the Sumpter library so drivers can more easily see it and agreed the library would pay for the sign. Library staff member Nikki Pickeral has been painting bright pictures on the library door to attract children. The new picture on the door is a sea creature;
• Heard Pickeral say staff is working on getting information together on how people can save money by using the library; and
• Agreed to cancel the Aug. 12 meeting. The next meeting will be Sept. 9.
Board members Alma Hughes-Grubbs and Don Fleming were absent and excused from the meeting.