Library board grateful for positive millage vote for operating funds

At its regular meeting on Aug. 9, Belleville Area District Library Board president Sharon Peters thanked the community for the positive vote in the August primary election that approved its operating funds millage.
She said now the library is on solid ground with its operating funds and that is a great relief.
President Peters especially wanted to thank the committee that worked to get out the votes. She said James Lenze was chairman of the committee and Rika Regentin was active along with Michelle Montour who shaped the messages and made them look good. She thanked the Belleville Beat for its July issue with an explanation of the election and the Independent for its editorial. She said John and Debbie Juriga hosted the committee meetings.
“The size of the support from the community makes me very grateful,” she said.
Peters thanked Barbara Miller for starting off the celebration of the positive millage vote by mentioning it first during the Public Comments part of the meeting. Miller said there is strong support from the community because people get such wonderful service from the library.
Miller also praised the work of the Friends of the Library who were out canvassing the community.
Vice president Mary Jane Dawson said the signs were in high demand and they didn’t have many. She said John Juriga put one at the corner of Madelon and Robbe and another in front of her house on E. Columbia Ave. Then, he came back and took one of them back for another location.
Board secretary Alma Hughes-Grubbs saying she appreciated the community coming out and supporting the library.
Library Director Mary Jo Suchy wholeheartedly thanked everyone who helped with the passage of the library’s operating millage restoration. She especially thanked the voters for their support.
“The staff and I look forward to continuing to serve our community for many years to come,” Suchy said, adding they are awaiting the final results from Wayne County, but the ballot measure passed with 4,846 yes votes (59%) and 3,385 no votes (41%).
When it was pointed out from the audience that Sumpter Township turned down the library millage in its vote tally, Peters replied, “We’re making progress in Sumpter,” and that the number of no votes was not as bad as it was before.
Suchy said now that she knows the millage has passed, she and the department heads can push forward with plans for expanded hours. She said later that they will be formulating the plans in September and probably wouldn’t open on Sundays until October.
At the end of the meeting, Peters said this is the first time the board didn’t have heavy, heavy lifting to do, referring to the planning and construction and financing of the new library, moving into it and dealing with construction issues, and then the grand openings. Now they can concentrate on services, she said.
“All I can be is happy, happy, happy,” Peters said.
In other business at the Aug. 9 meeting, the board:
• Heard Library Director Suchy report on the building committee meeting. She said they are getting an estimate on a French drain for the door that has drainage problems and the HVAC people came and found the temperature wasn’t set for the humidification system and that caused the flooding. They took care of that, she said. The local history room had a problem and they are taking care of that. She said there will be a big meeting in the fall with three different contractors who will go through everything. They concurred the library will not give the final payments until everything is done. She said there is no permanent damage from the water. Suchy said if they had been open on Sunday they would have found the leak a day earlier. She said the “I” in the blue library sign had the backing come off and that will be repaired and the furniture people came out and fixed the fraying chairs. She said they talked about the bollards and were told they have rebar inside and they are structurally sound and there is no need to seal them, as suggested;
• Heard Dawson report that Harper Mathis, the teenager who is undergoing alternative treatment for brain cancer at Sloan Kettering in New York City, had to stay completely still for two hours for an MRI and the family is hoping for good news. Dawson also gave kudos to Van Buren Township for landscaping the museum, but she would like to know when it will open again; and
• Heard Suchy announce that a “real, live mermaid” will be in the library for a visit with “her treasure chest of goodies” at 11 a.m., Tuesday, Aug. 23. Mermaid Molly will do book reading and meet and greet. Suchy also reported that there is a Michigan Public Library BOGO available at the Belleville Library where with the purchase of one general admission ticket to the Detroit Zoo, a ticket is redeemable for one child ages 2-18 for free. Tickets good through the end of the year.