With the Columbia Heights Library closed because of coronavirus precautions, there’s no telling when its community room will once again be open for meetings. However, the March 9 City Council meeting seemed to reveal two lines of thought on how the room should be managed.
The Columbia Heights Library Board, led by Catherine Vesley, feels that access to all library facilities is fundamental. She cited the library’s partnerships with Anoka and Hennepin counties and Metropolitan Library Service Agency (MELSA) and noted that they share materials and residents can use the library resources of any of them. She told the council, “There are more libraries in this country than McDonald’s.”
The council seems to be primarily interested in protecting the city’s investment in what Council President Nick Novitsky has called, “the nicest room in the city.” Most of their comments during the public forum portion of the meeting were concerned with operation of the room.
City Manager Kelli Bourgeois said she had made some rough calculations. “A half-hour of staff time to set up the room or clean it would cost about $17 per hour,” she said. The staff time it takes to do this work is not accounted for in the library’s current budget, and cuts into library work. She recommended charging an across-the-board fee to all users.
Council members discussed user fees, with Council Member Connie Buesgens and Novitsky engaging in a back-and-forth exchange. Novitsky was for a $25-per-hour fee; Buesgens thought that might be too much for some groups to handle. The council voted 4-1 to recommend the $25 fee to the library board.
“What the city is proposing is equal. It’s not free, but it’s equal,” said Novitsky.
The council also discussed a damage deposit, noting that some chairs and tables in the relatively new room have already been broken, and the city has to pay the tab for replacing them.
K.T. Jacobs addressed the group, and said the American Library Association endorses inclusiveness in its policies. She suggested starting a “scholarship” fund for groups that could not afford the fee.
Theresa Strike, who opened the library policy discussion at the Feb. 24 council meeting, told the council, “Economics should never be a barrier” to using library facilities. She supported an up-front damage deposit, however.
“Whatever you decide,” City Attorney James Hoeft advised Library Director Renee Dougherty, “charge all or don’t charge. Don’t pick and choose [who pays].”
Dougherty asked for, and received approval of an amended library policy that allows political groups to use the community room. She said she would take the council’s recommendations back to the library board for further discussion. The Library Board will have some time to come up with a solution. The community room is already booked 60 days in advance. With the coronavirus closure, they may have even more time.