Supervisors Authorize County Library Board to Negotiate Contract With RFP Applicant LS&S for Future Library Services

A Special Meeting of the Warren County Board of Supervisors called for Tuesday, April 29, at 6 p.m. included nine public hearings — See coming related story for a summary of the public hearings and consequent votes — and two items of “New Business”. Two additional items of New Business were added at the meeting’s outset.

Those added items were, one, an update on the County Administrator search being conducted by national municipal staffing recruiter Colin Baenziger & Associates. And two, a vote to delay penalties and interest on late County tax payments to June 24, to accommodate tech issues and holidays falling in the days leading up to the tax deadline. That delay of imposition of late tax payments was approved unanimously on a motion by John Stanmeyer.

Scott Krim of Baenziger & Associates contracted to find the most competent county administrator candidate available, explains the status of the search and scheduling options moving forward. Royal Examiner Photos Roger Bianchini

There was no action on the county administrator search, just discussion of maintaining a time frame to bring a recommendation to the Supervisors and a suggested salary range between $160,000 and $210,000 recommended by Baenziger representative Scott Krim for a candidate with experience. While saying he had no one in mind, Chairman “Jay” Butler launched a discussion on the possibility of selecting an applicant without experience, perhaps as a way to save money on the salary. Supervisor Cheryl Cullers wondered at the logic of hiring a national recruiter to bring the board the best available candidates, then going against their strong suggestion of hiring someone with experience, for the job.

If saving money on an inexperienced applicant was the board’s goal, wouldn’t it have made more sense to conduct the search themselves, rather than pay a national recruiter to seek out the most experienced and best applicants only to reject their suggested candidate, Cullers reasoned.

Library conflict escalates

What’s the old saying, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Unless apparently, as many Samuels Library supporters contend, they won’t ban the books you wanted banned two years ago. Below, the Samuels Library quartet, whose presence wasn’t even acknowledged by county officials, listen as the board majority authorizes movement toward a legal fight over this community’s public library future.

But as far as the overall agenda went it was the two “New Business” items already included in the agenda packet that were of particular interest to some present, including Samuels Library Board of Trustees President Melody Hotek, Samuels Operations Director Eileen Grady, Library Director Erin Rooney, and Circulation Supervisor Cheryl Harrison.

Those items were, first one brought forward by North River Supervisor Richard Jamieson, authorization to initiate and pay for “FOIA requests on behalf of the Warren County Board of Supervisors directed to Samuels Library, Incorporated (“SLI”) requesting the following information regarding” a variety of financial and operational items, which will be listed below.

The other library-related item was authorization for the County’s recently created and board-appointed Library Board “to commence negotiations of the terms of a contract for library services pursuant to the selection procedures of the Request for Proposals (RFPs), which contract shall be subject to approval by the Board of Supervisors.”

As anticiapted by many Samuels Library supporters those negotiations will be with Library Systems & Services (LS&S), the for profit company that submitted an earlier “unsolicited bid” prior to the launch of the Request For Proposals competitive bid process. Samuels Library did not submit an RFP in that process, asserting in place agreements and leases indicate previous board’s intention of a continuation of the existing highly successful Public/Private Partnership in place for decades.

The recommendation of the supervisor-appointed Warren County Library Board to negotiate with the Maryland-based LS&S company was presented by Library Board Vice-Chairman Dean Jaques. Questioned by Supervisors Chairman “Jay” Butler as to why Library Board Chairman Eric Belk wasn’t present to make the presentation, it was noted that Belk was overseas visiting his Rome-based daughter.

WC Library Board Vice-Chair Dean Jaques traces his board’s planned negotiation with RFP winner Library Systems & Services (LS&S). According to county officials two RFPs were received, the second from a company cited as “Moon, K”. LS&S’s original “unsolicited bid” expressed it looked forward to working with the supevisors to help them attain their library operational goals. With belived binding existing agreements in place and non-profit legal standards at play, Samuels did not particpate in the competitive RFP process.

Both Library-related “New Business” items were approved by 4-1 votes on motions by Vicky Cook (FOIA authorization) and Richard Jamieson (contract negotiations), with South River Supervisor Cheryl Cullers casting the dissenting votes. Cullers questioned her colleagues on the advisability of entering into negotiations on a new library provider contract with a number of outstanding legal matters remaining unresolved at this point. Those unresolved legal issues include library asset ownership of everything inside the library that Samuels asserts has been paid for with donations and endowment funds of the 501-C3 non-profit, as opposed to County tax revenue.

And while Jacques asserted that the supervisors have indicated the new vendor will come in and seize control of library assets, Cullers noted that legal ownership has yet to be established.

“There’s a lease to be considered,” Cullers added of the 14 years remaining on a 30-year lease to Samuels that a previous county board had signed off on at a dollar a year payment by Samuels for the County-owned Criser Road library building.

Cheryl Cullers, closest to camera, remains a lone voice in the wilderness of her colleagues’ desire to remove Samuels Library Inc. from what has been a long, dating at least to the 1950s, and successful Public/Private Partnership with Virginia’s current Library of the Year.

But it appears the supervisors majority and its appointed, politically-aligned library board are poised to move forward, unresolved legal issues or not. Stay tuned legal drama fans as the situation evolves as Fiscal Year 2026 approaches on July 1, 2025.

The promised list of Samuels Library FOIA targets authorized to be pursued at cost to the County include:

• Architectural and Engineering Services
• Capital Improvements from Lease/Purchase Agreement Proceeds
• Samuels Library Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) Funding
• Criser Road Construction Estimation
• Warren County Funds Investment Records
• Furniture Purchased During Criser Road Library Construction
• Pre-construction Furniture Fundraising
• Furniture Loan after Construction
• Request for Records Related to Allocation and Segregation of Public Funds

(the “FOIA requests”).

The staff-prepared “COST & FINANCING” guidelines read: “Reasonable charges not to exceed SLI’s actual cost incurred in accessing, duplicating, supplying, or searching for the requested records.”

So much for Good Faith negotiations

It will be noted here that the above-referenced Samuels Press Release noted that once again, as it did in reducing its FY-26 funding request to flat funding, Samuels officials have attempted to resurrect constructive dialogue with the county supervisors. It’s April 30 press release begins, “In a good faith effort to bridge the current divide and foster productive dialogue, Samuels Public Library has voluntarily withdrawn its legal filing that was scheduled to be heard in court on May 2, 2025. This decision was made in the hopes of renewing negotiations with the Warren County Board of Supervisors toward a new Library Funding Agreement or Memorandum of Agreement (MOA).

“However, the outcome of last night’s Special Board Meeting of the Warren County Board of Supervisors raised serious concerns about the future of these negotiations,” the release continued, observing of the building lease questions raised by Supervisor Cullers: “When asked where LS&S would conduct its operations, Mr. Jacques of the Warren County Library Board indicated that services would be performed at the current library facility using existing library assets.

“This statement came as a shock to Samuels Public Library. The Library operates at 330 E. Criser Rd. under a 30-year lease that extends until 2038, and it has no plans to vacate or discontinue service at that location. Furthermore, all assets belong to Samuels Public Library, paid through private monies and grants.”

It looks like the next involved library may be the WC Courthouse’s Law Library.

And onward toward the above-referenced legal drama four of the five county elected officials appear committed to against Virginia’s 2024 Library of the Year.

Samuels Public Library Urges County to Reconsider Privatization, Withdraws Lawsuit in Good Faith