Library Board Urging Village to Act on its Request

As the Garden City Library board of trustees continues seeking ways to restore Sunday hours of operation come October, they have learned that $15,000 in "bullet aid" is coming their way via a NYS Senate grant thanks to the efforts of Sen. Kemp Hannon.

The board will receive the funds later this year, according to library board chair Randy Colahan.

The Rockville Centre Library also received bullet aid, through Sen. Dean Skelos, in the amount of $45,000, which will help keep that library open on Sundays, likely between mid-October and May, according to the Rockville Centre Library's director, Maureen Chiofalo.

Here in Garden City, during the budget season, the library board voted to close on Sundays between mid-October and May (the library is currently closed on Sundays now through mid-October) in order to save approximately $29,000. Library trustees, however, agreed to "re-examine" the decision at their June 10 meeting.

Knowing the Senate grant alone won't provide sufficient funding to restore Sunday hours, Colahan, via a letter to the mayor and village board, requested the village transfer $32,158 in surplus State Retirement System funds from the 2012-13 budget to the 2013-14 budget.

The request was expected to be discussed at the July 18 village board meeting but never made it to the final agenda.

"Although we have inquired, we have not received a response from the village as to why it was removed from the July 18th agenda," Colahan told Patch. "We had requested action before our Aug. 12th library board meeting so we could implement plans for opening Sundays."

At Monday's library board meeting, Colahan made a motion to re-send the letter, urging village trustees to discuss the issue at the Aug. 22 meeting. Colahan noted that contingent upon village board approval of the transfer, the library board will rescind its request to lay off two full-time maintenance workers. "The library is not saving any money currently since there are no layoffs," Colahan said. "It costs approximately $4,400 per week." The library board budgeted the layoffs to be implemented as of June 1, which have not been approved.

Colahan added, "We're not going to take those layoffs off the table until the village board approves … but let it be known that if they do not our hands are tied. If they give us the money Sundays are open. If they don't give us the money I don't know where we're getting that money."

The motion passed unanimously.

"We have to urge them to make a decision. We can't just keep going along … employees don't know what's going on, we don't know what's going on. We can't do our planning," Colahan said.

Village trustee Brian Daughney, who serves as village board liaison to the library, was unavailable for comment because he is out of town.

Mayor John Watras told Patch Tuesday that the Aug. 22 village board meeting agenda has not yet been finalized but "in all probability" the library board's request will be discussed at that time.

The next scheduled village board meeting is Aug. 22 at 8 p.m. in the village hall boardroom. The next scheduled library board meeting is Sept. 9 at 7:30 p.m. in the small meeting room. The public is encouraged to attend.