Pike commissioners and library board make progress

Many issues remain unsettled

By TOM KANE

MILFORD, PA — At a special meeting held on New Year’s Eve between the Pike County Commissioners and the Pike County Public Library (PCPL) board, the two sides continued to work out a solution to their persistent disagreements. Nothing major was achieved, but a few minor conclusions and a commitment to continue talks were agreed upon.

Major among the disagreements are the number and selection method of board members, the status of the by-laws, the selection of a new library building and the sharing of county funding with other libraries that service Pike residents.

All these issues arose as the result of an overwhelming defeat of an imposed library tax of one mill that occurred on Election Day. The vote was followed by a public outcry against the library board and its plan to construct a new $8.5 million library building in Milford.

Many residents said that other county libraries should receive funds, new libraries should be built in the south and west of the county and the central library should be in a more populated township than Milford.

Two solutions that resulted from the meeting were an agreement on the number of PCPL board members—nine—(the county wanted more) as well as the agreement that the commissioners would name one additional board member to the two they already appoint. A fourth county appointee would be made when the library moves out of Community House, its current location. Community House now appoints one member.

Whether the other townships would appoint board members was not discussed and left for the next meeting.

The board also stated that it would like to work with the commissioners in establishing criteria for future board members, since the library needs certain skills and financial experience among its members.

“It would be very difficult to share the $200,000 grant from the county with the libraries in Hawley, Newfoundland and Delaware townships without seriously hurting the Milford library,” said Maleyne Syracuse, chair of the PCPL. “If the county wants funding to go to Hawley and Newfoundland, that’s up to them,” she said.

Even though the Hawley library is located in Wayne County, it services over 7,000 Pike County residents and supports an education program at the Wallenpaupack Area School District, a Wayne County school district.

PCPL has abandoned its construction project for a new library and must look for an existing facility. The donations of funds that were made to the building campaign will have to be reexamined, Syracuse said.

The commissioners suggested the Biondo building at 221 Broad Street in Milford as a potential site.

“The board has not made a decision to investigate that building,” Syracuse said. The Borough of Milford board has mailed a letter to the PCPL board advising them of the poor condition of the Biondo building and of the need for considerable work and expense to bring the building up to the borough’s building code.

The next meeting of the PCPL board and the commissioners is planned for Monday, January 25 at 10:00 a.m. at the county administration building on Broad Street.