ST. CHARLES COUNTY 鈥 The library board voted unanimously Thursday night to scrap a plan to close three library branches here.聽
In front of a聽crowd of about 60 people, the St. Charles City-County Library Board approved a resolution that "indefinitely" delays implementation of the plan, proposed at a meeting last month. Board members instead directed library administrators to draft a different plan, with community input, to address financial issues in the district.聽
"We are moving past the May 17 proposal and moving onto other options," said board trustee Matthew Seeds, who helped author the resolution. "We are not planning on bringing this back."
聽The board will hear the proposal sometime in 2025.聽
The decision to scrap the closure plan was seen as a significant win by some St. Charles County residents who rallied in recent weeks to express frustration about the potential closures. Still, others on Thursday cast doubt that a new plan would differ much from the one that would have closed the three library branches 鈥 McClay in St. Charles, Deer Run in O鈥橣allon and Kisker Road near Weldon Spring.
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"I don't know if there is going to be a change. I think the decision makers have already made up their minds and have a vision for the future," said Kelly Schroeder, who, along with her 13-month-old daughter, was among a crowd of about 20 people protesting outside of the Spencer Road Library branch in St. Peters ahead of Tuesday's meeting.
Tuesday's meeting capped off a tumultuous several weeks for the library district.
In May, library administrators introduced a plan to close three branches聽in response to budget woes in the district. Administrators later acknowledged they had not done good job of communicating聽"the seriousness of our situation.鈥
The public's response was swift.聽Residents said they felt blindsided by the proposal聽and wrote hundreds of letters and emails to library board members and administrators urging them to reconsider.
Library patrons poured into the library district's 12 branches, accounting for more than 98,000 visits systemwide in May and an increase in visits at the branches slated to close. Among those regular visitors was Weldon Spring resident Jim Zavradinos, who goes to the Kisker Road branch.
Zavradinos was among a dozen people who addressed the board during the public comment portion of Tuesday's meeting.聽
"That place is packed all the time," said Zavradinos. "Why would you close a library that is so busy all of the time? With the huge, horrendous influx of apartments that are coming to the county, I see a huge revenue stream increasing there and a huge demand for library services. Closing these libraries will have a very drastic effect on all those people."
But not everyone agreed with Zavradinos' sentiment. David Hiscox, said he supports the proposal to close the three branches, including the branch he and his family use the most often, because he said it is "financially and fiscally responsible."
"I can get to (two) branches in 10 minutes 鈥 look, there are less Applebee's in the area than there are libraries," Hiscox said. He rebuked some opponents of the closures who suggested cutting library employees' pay or eliminating positions to keep branches open.聽
"That is the last thing that I want to do. If that means we need to close branches, even the branch that I go to, to ensure that we have workers that are going to get a good wage, that are going to be there to support my kids when I go the library, then that is what I want," Hiscox said.聽
That perspective was echoed by Larry Boschert, who lives in unincorporated St. Charles County.
"For someone in St. Charles County to not get paid a livable wage is a shame," Boschert said.聽
Hiscox said after the meeting he was disappointed in the board's decision to scrap the plan and that they were "kicking the can down the road and letting fear and emotion dictate their decision."
Meeting attendees were anxious to hear the board vote on the resolution and to hear a presentation from Library District CEO Jason Kuhl titled "the Future of the Library."
Kuhl also fielded questions about the library's financial outlook and what led to the proposal to close three branches.聽
"The entire premise is we were spread too thin," Kuhl said. "Too many outlets were built too quickly without a long-term plan. We are trying to do what we can to be able to sustain operations."
Kuhl said there has been a "lot of confusion" online about what portion of residents' tax bills go to the library district. Property taxes account for 94% of the district's revenue, but that accounts for only about 2% of a typical St. Charles County resident's property tax bill. The vast majority of property tax bills funds services such as public schools, municipal government and ambulance and fire districts.聽
In highlighting the district's financial troubles, Kuhl pointed to economic development tax incentives that nearly every city in St. Charles County have offered to encourage businesses to expand or build new facilities in St. Charles County. Those tax incentives have reduced library revenue by more than $595,000 annually, Kuhl said.聽
"We do not see no real benefit from this, and they do take money out of our budget," Kuhl said.聽
Kuhl's presentation sparked conversation among board members, especially Buddy Hardin and board President Staci Alvarez, who at times sparred over the library's long-term capital project list and planning, and what led to the proposal to close three branches.聽
"To me, closing three libraries in six weeks or eight weeks is an emergency," Hardin said. He quizzed administrators and longer-serving board members about "the rationale of how we got here."
Alvarez said she wanted to focus on the future, including several upcoming listening sessions for both the public and library employees.聽
"We are now going to take another step back to look at other options, and I can't predict what is going to come out of that process," Alvarez said. "I do hope that one of the things that comes out of this process is that the board can set some clear priorities and direction for the district."