Library to memorialize Alma Hughes-Grubbs with art scholarship

People have donated money to the Belleville Area District Library in memory of the late library board member Alma Hughes-Grubbs, who died Jan. 7.
At the April 14 meeting of the library board, library director Mary Jo Suchy said she consulted with Hughes-Grubbs’ family and with Michele Montour, head of the art committee, and is pleased to announce that the library will award an annual art prize in Hughes-Grubbs’ memory to a student displaying art at the library.
She said details are still being ironed out for the Alma Hughes-Grubbs Art Award. It will be an ongoing art scholarship to a local student artist.
Suchy said Hughes-Grubbs was an original member of the library’s art committee and also sat on the Rotary Scholarship committee as a representative of the community.
“This is a nice way to keep her name alive,” said board chairwoman Sharon Peters.
In other business at the hour-long meeting on April 14, the board:
• Heard Suchy report that after questions at the last meeting about possible shared maintenance of the 90-slot parking lot since city hall has moved next door, she got out the copy of the library’s agreement with the city on ownership of the shared parking lot. The library owns 59% and the city owns 41%. She presented copies of the agreement to board members and said the agreement calls for the library to be responsible for the cost of routine maintenance such as snow removal. It calls for future capital improvements to be divided up in cost by the percentage of ownership. She said this arrangement seems to be working well. She said there are 35 parking spaces on the opposite side of their building, so she does not think use of the public lot will be a major issue. There were questions about whether there were enough handicap parking spaces now;
• Learned Suchy received quotes from two elevator companies for elevator maintenance and has engaged with City Elevator of Michigan for service beginning June 1. The low quote was $1,200 per year to perform quarterly service, much lower than the current company charges. She said the City Elevator representative was very good at explaining things and answering her questions;
• Was informed the library will be closed on Friday, April 24, for staff in-service training, which includes reviewing best practices, procedures, and safety training;
• Heard board member John Juriga ask when the bioswale will be harvested. Suchy said she is looking into that. He also said the EV charging units at the other end of the parking lot at city hall have plastic bags covering them, so he asked interim city manager Steve Jones about them. Juriga reported Jones said he learned DTE didn’t get a requisition to hook them up and the original person working on the project no longer works for that company;
• Learned the new vape detectors in the rest rooms got a lot of use when they were first put in, but now everyone knows they are there and they go off less often;
• Heard chairwoman Peters compliment library board treasurer Tanya Stoudemire, who also serves as the chief financial officer for the city of Detroit, reporting to the mayor and overseeing 400 employees. “Tanya is more than just a pretty thing,” Peters said. “The city of Detroit is lucky to have her and we as a city are lucky to have her,” she said, adding that she saw in a television report when Mayor Mary Sheffield made a statement and then turned to Stoudemire and said, “Right, Tanya?” Peters said that was just like she herself does at the library meetings, saying “Right, Tanya? … We’re so proud of you,” Peters said to Stoudemire; and
• Heard board member Joy Cichewicz, who lives in Sumpter Township, report that her honey bees that she first thought had died over the winter and then came back, didn’t make it after all. She said she has ordered two new hives that are coming; and
• Heard board member Dan Fleming report that he went to the library’s recent astronomy program at the Sumpter Media Center and there were 35 people there. He said they got to use some high-tech equipment and were able to see a number of interesting things in the sky.