Update: Library Board Ponders Reason For, Impacts From County’s Decision to Stop Public Works Maintenance of Library Facility

(Writer’s note: After publication of this story Library officials clarified that Cheryl Cullers had notified them of a scheduling conflict that would prevent her from attending the October 7 Library Board of Trustees meeting.)

Samuels Public Library may have recently been named The Virginia Library Association (VLA) 2024 state Library of the Year from over 400 public libraries across the state, but apparently that doesn’t guarantee you continuation of your facility maintenance agreement with the county you operate in.

In the wake of the celebratory Ribbon Cutting of its new Studio 330 Media-Memory Lab at 3 p.m. Monday afternoon, October 7, the Samuels Public Library Board of Trustees got down to some less pleasant business later that afternoon. That business was exploring options to fund some building and grounds maintenance projects in the wake of the Warren County Board of Supervisors unanticipated and un-publicly announced instruction to its Public Works Department to stop performing maintenance on the County-owned public library facility as has been done for a decade.

Cheryl Cullers, to the left behind the falling ribbon bow, was smiling at the Media/Memory Lab ribbon cutting, along with Town Mayor Lori Cockrell and Town Manager Joe Waltz, among others. But the county board chairman missed an emergency Board of Trustees meeting about an hour and a half later. That meeting focused on a sudden change in the County maintenance policy toward the library. Royal Examiner Photos Roger Bianchini

“The fact is that the prior County administration, as of 2014, established the system whereby the Library could utilize the County’s ‘Facility Duty’ program to request basic maintenance service. Services such as electrical, plumbing, miscellaneous maintenance, and lawn service, which were within their normal scope of work on other County-owned buildings,” Board of Trustees President and meeting Chairman Melody Hotek told her board in opening the 4:30 p.m. convened meeting.

According to information received by the Royal Examiner, when that 2014 change was announced in a letter from then-County Administrator Doug Stanley, it was cited as a money-saving option for the County in reducing the Library’s annual operational budget requests to the County for maintenance work done by private contractors on the County-owned building and grounds.

“Needless to say, we are confused about this change in procedure and can only ask — To What End? Why the sudden change after ten years? Without the benefit of being included in the County’s discussions or thinking on this matter, we have to make some emergency decisions at this point in time,” Hotek told her board as the meeting got down to business.

The Samuels Public Library Board of Trustees is briefed by its President Melody Hotek, center at the 3-seat table, on funding options for needed physical plant maintenance projects on the County-owned public library building and grounds.

It might be noted that over the past month, one topic of several County Board of Supervisors Closed/Executive Session meetings has been “library services.” As we reported on the supervisors’ “library services” Closed Session topic at their September 3rd meeting:

“As to the Closed/Executive Session item, in the wake of all the turmoil and conflicting messaging from some supervisors regarding operational control and content of Samuels Public Library materials last year, this passage got our attention: ‘… for consultation with legal counsel and the provision of legal advice regarding legal matters related to the providing of library services’.

“If it hadn’t been Closed Session discussion, we would have called Chairman Cullers for some clarity on exactly what kind of legal advice the board was getting regarding ‘the providing of library services’ in the future.”

Well, I guess now we know.

But as library Board of Trustees President Hotek asked, “To What End? Why …”

Interestingly, Board of Supervisors Chairman Cheryl Cullers was present and spoke at the earlier 3 p.m. Media/Memory Lab ribbon cutting. However, even though she represents the County at Library Trustees Board of Directors meetings, she was absent from the 4:30 p.m.-convened emergency Trustees meeting. We inquired of the board of supervisors chairman about the change of direction of the county’s library maintenance policy and the reason for her absence from Monday’s trustee meeting. However, we have not received a response by publication.

Among the emergency decisions the Samuels Library Board of Trustees meeting was called to authorize was the acquisition of independent legal counsel to help facilitate a review of the existing lease terms and any historical precedents in that regard from the amended operational arrangement in place for a decade. Up to $10,000 was unanimously authorized for the retention of legal counsel on the matter.

Other decisions approved included instructing Library Director of Operations Eileen Grady to explore pending maintenance costs and work with the Finance Committee on reviewing projected Fiscal Year-2025/26 budget request numbers to the County in anticipation of the impact of contractor charges for maintenance work. “Our request for funding will need to be increased with the anticipated increase in operating expenses,” Hotek reminded her board.

Also under the authorization for emergency funding were the cost of several maintenance items, all approved as presented. Those included roof leak repairs at $2,200, which Trustee Chairman Hotek noted Library Director Erin Rooney had executed the repair order on, which would be done this week, she said.

A heftier cost was tied to the library parking lot lighting system, and it was noted a replacement order was submitted on December 12, 2023, when 8 of 23 lights were out. Currently, all the lights are out, and the now-replacement cost has climbed from the $11,000 quote the County obtained in March to $12,500. That amount is beyond Library Director Rooney’s “spending authority,” requiring the Trustee’s Okay to pull from library reserve funds. There are adequate reserves to cover the cost, Hotek told the board, which approved the request to fund as soon as possible due to safety concerns as the days grow shorter as Fall moves toward Winter.

A final, non-emergency job was $3,500 for some indoor lighting replacements, which after some discussion on details appeared to be authorized as well.

In a concluding remark, Samuels Public Library Trustees President Hotek told her board that: “Going forward we need to keep in the back of our mind that fundraised money is not for operating expenses. Our donors do not normally make donations toward operating expenses. They anticipate that the County will cover those through their taxpayer dollars for the library, and rightly so.”

In response to a board member comment that the County already did not cover 100% of the library’s operating expenses, thus requiring some reserves already to be used in this regard, Hotek observed that currently the County covered 75% of its contracted public library’s operational expenses. To cover the difference the library pulls from State funding, its reserves as necessary, and occasionally endowment sources as allowable.

Two meeting room posts of past library facility locations, first in a portion of the current Warren Heritage Society complex off Chester St. (1952-1980), then a current County Community Center off Villa Ave. (1980-2009), followed by a front shot of the current County-owned building occupied by the Samuels Library non-profit since 2009. The continuous historical roots of a library in this community date to 1799.

After some subsequent discussion of the evolving situation and the county’s mixed messaging toward its public library, the meeting adjourned at 4:59 p.m.