The City Council approved new members of The Public Library two weeks ago. The board members are:
- Herbert Cohn
- Tom Griscom
- Mai Bell Hurley
- Jim Kennedy III
- Chrystal Partridge
- Karen McMahon
- Theresa Liedtka
Source: Chattanooga
A new city-only Public Library board will meet for the first time within weeks and already has plenty to keep members busy.
They have to choose officers, hire a new director and approve charges for noncity library users.
"I would love to get some input," said interim library director Eva Johnston. "And some help."
The library is in the midst of transformation from being a city-county jointly funded facility to a facility supported with city money only. That shift occurred when a 45-year-old sales tax agreement between the city and county expired in May.
The city decided not to renew the agreement and instead said it would pay 100 percent of the library support.
Only one library branch fell outside the city -- in Collegedale.
Collegedale has agreed to pick up the cost of operating that branch.
Library board member Herb Cohn said the first thing the board will do is meet on Sept. 20 and appoint officers. There will be some general housecleaning responsibilities, he said.
Charging fees to residents who live outside the city would be addressed quickly, he said.
"That's a major decision," he said. "You saw what happened in Collegedale."
The Collegedale library, once it became its own entity, began charging fees from $50 to $85 for users from outside the city.
Cohn, who has served on the board since 2000, said the library's having one source of major revenue means the board won't have to serve two masters.
"I think this is the best thing for the community and the library in a long, long time," he said.
Karen McMahon, a former city employee who helped put together a study on the library three years ago, now is on the library board.
She said she expects the board's first meeting to be largely organizational.
"We will have to establish a vision for the board," she said.
Cliff has worked for the Times Free Press for five years and covers Chattanooga city government. He previously covered Rhea County, as well as transportation and growth and development in Southeast Tennessee. A native of Maryville, Tenn., Cliff graduated in 2003 from the University of Tennessee with a bachelor’s degree in communications with an emphasis on journalism. Before coming to Chattanooga, he was a crime reporter with Hernando Today, a supplement of The Tampa (Fla.) ...
Is this board going to actually do anything about that $50,000 consultant report that says things need to change drastically? or will we be getting more of the same old, same old where the Old Library Guard makes sure everything stays as broken as it has been?
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