Library board decides to let city hall settle in before review of contract

At the May 12 meeting of the Belleville Area District Library Board, member John Juriga voiced his concerns again about whether the parking lot contract with the city needs to be changed since the city moved in across the parking lot from the library.
He passed around the Sept. 3, 2020 Independent that had a big, front-page picture he had taken of the pipes for water retention in place before the area was paved. The pipes, now buried, are to filter the water drained from the surface before it goes into Belleville Lake.
He said there is 440,000 gallons of water under the 91-space parking lot in those pipes and if they ever needed to be repaired, he wanted the city to share in the cost. He said administrations change over the years and he would like how much the city would pay in writing.
Board chairperson Sharon Peters said the contract with the city is in writing, but not every little thing is mentioned. If there is repair needed to the parking lot, then the 59% library share and 41% city share kick in.
She said when the library was built, this site was Fourth Street and a city parking lot. The library struck a deal of collaboration with the city for a shared parking lot. They noted no one ever thought the city would move in at the other side of the parking lot.
“I’d like the city to take ownership,” Juriga insisted.
Board member Joy Cichewicz said that sometimes you can go down a rabbit hole when you start changing things.
“I’ve been on commissions 22 years and I know how the city works,” Juriga said. “I’m thinking of the future. We may be dead by the time it’s a problem.”
“The majority of the use is by the library,” Cichewicz said. “Let’s let the city settle in for a while.”
The rest of the board agreed to hold off on discussions with the city and Juriga pulled back on his issues for now.
In other business in the hour-long meeting, the board:
• Agreed the annual budget hearing would be at the next meeting on June 9;
• Approved a motion to change the official email address set in 2015 for the Freedom of Information Act requests, taking it out of gmail. The new address is [email protected] ;
• Heard library director Mary Jo Suchy say she wanted to brag about her staff. She said circulation department head Lindsay Lore just completed her Master’s Degree in Library and Information Science at Wayne State University. Also shelver Ross O’Brien just completed his undergraduate degree.
• Learned the library is hosting a temporary summer employee through the Michigan Rehabilitation Services Division of the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity. The program is designed to assist high schoolers and graduating seniors who need extra help in obtaining job skills;
• Was informed the library is rolling out LibConnect in May and June, where patrons will receive targeted emails, online newsletters, and information about the library’s events;
• Heard Suchy announce that class visits to the library are in full swing. She gave kudos to the youth services librarians for providing engaging, informative, and entertaining field trips to local students; and
• Heard Cichewicz report that she found out how one of her bee hives failed over the winter. She said a mouse got in the comb and ate up all the honey and the bees. When asked how she knew, she said she saw mouse droppings and did an autopsy on a mouse.