Friday, July 1, 2005

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Library Board is back in business

By JOHN THOMPSON
jthompson@TheCitizenNews.com

The controversial Library Board for Coweta County's newest library near Thomas Crossroads is making a comeback.

Last November, the Coweta County Commission decided to dissolve the board due to controversies surrounding the building of the new facility.

But Tuesday, Coweta County and former board chairman Scott Stallings settled their differences in court and agreed to reconstitute the board. The parties agreed that one former member would be placed on the board and the four other appointees would be picked by the County Commission.

The board was put in place shortly after Coweta voters approved a special purpose local option sales tax that would allocate $6 million towards the construction of a new library near Thomas Crossroads.

But, after the board started having meetings, a difference of philosophy arose between the board and the County Commission, said county administrator Theron Gay.

"The board was committed to building a 22,000 sq. ft. facility, which is what the SPLOST would fund," Gay said.

But there was also word the county would receive $2 million in funds from the state for the library, so the board wanted to build a bigger facility. The board also wanted to play a key role in the hiring of personnel for the new library.

"When the board created the library board, they were thinking it would focus more on helping the library with programs," Gay added.

After the settlement was reached, Coweta County officials commented on the issue.

In a written statement, the commissioners said they were "anxious to move forward with the Coweta County Public Library as well as with library services in other areas of the county."

The statement concluded with the county's philosophy for the new center.

"It is the goal of the Board of Commissioners to provide the best library services possible to the greatest number of people by locating facilities that are sized to adequately serve the areas where they are located."