Hancock City Councilors Whitney Warstler, standing left, and Dean Woodbeck, standing right, address the Portage Lake District Library Board of Directors and concerned residents regarding the Hancock School Public Library.  (Chelsea Bossert)

HOUGHTON — The Portage Lake District Library Board of Directors met for a special session Thursday evening. The goal was to field questions from the public about the looming budget cuts facing the Hancock School Public Library. 

Board President Sylvia Matthews opened up the meeting and thanked the public for showing up. She said there would be opportunities for those in attendance to voice their concerns, hear from board members and ask them questions near the end of the meeting. 

A little over a dozen concerned residents addressed the board during the public comment portion, all of whom were in support of the library retaining services and staying fully open. Many praised Hancock Librarian Boni Ashburn for her work with bringing the library back to a gold standard.

“Her passion completely revitalized the library,” library patron Rebecca said. 

Another resident, Amanda, said since PLDL hired Ashburn to run the library, it has changed remarkably throughout the last few years. 

“I can’t imagine a community without a library,” she said. 

A part time resident, Sandy, said her kids throughly enjoy the library’s offerings when they are in Hancock during the summer. She noted Ashburn’s grant writing skills, which supplemented library programming funding. 

“It [the library] can be a place with a lot of books, or it can be a living, breathing thing,” she said. 

Other residents were concerned why funding was even an issue. One resident, Robin, asked the board how long it was aware of the funding issue. Another resident, Glenn, said he was taken back by the news of the library’s funding troubles. 

“I don’t know what crisis there should be?” he said. 

The President of Friends of the PLDL, Britta Benedict, said the Friends are committed to help the Hancock Library in any way. 

“We’ll do what we can,” she said. 

Carolyn Decker, a resident who has been at several meetings concerning the library, spoke about the possible solutions to the issue. She said she thinks a millage might have to be a long term solution to fix the problem. 

The board’s response

Matthews closed the public comment period and once again thanked residents for voicing concerns. 

“The Portage Lake District Library knows how much you care… and we want you to know we care a lot,” she said. 

She began the board’s discussion by reading a timeline of events leading up to today. 

• Last summer: Matthews met with Ashburn to discuss this year’s budget.

• March: Ashburn drafted a budget to present to the Hancock Public Schools Board of Education.

• Early April: Ashburn and Matthews met with Superintendent Chris Salani to talk about budget.

• April 20: Ashburn presented her budget and the library’s statistics to support funding to the Board of Education

• May: Ashburn was told to revise her budget and make cuts.

• June 3: Matthews watched Salani speak about the proposed cuts at the most recent Hancock City Council meeting.

• June 9: Hancock City Councilor Whitney Warstler, Matthews, Ashburn and Salani all met to discuss options. 

• June 22: Hancock Public Schools (HPS) Board of Education will meet to finalize and vote on budget. 

Following Matthews recalling the timeline, she then read a report from former PLDL Director Katrina Linde-Moriarty, who wrote the report before the first PLDL-HPS contract expired and was subsequently renewed. 

According to Matthews, Linde-Mortiarty laid out three options for the Hancock Library: continue renewing contracts with PLDL and HPS, pursue a millage with HPS and open up a vote to the district, or pursue a millage with PLDL to join its library district. 

Matthews said the Hancock Library is in the same position it was in since October 2021. She added the board is not sure what HPS is going to do since its final, proposed budget is not yet public. 

“It is not up to PLDL to save the library, it is up to Hancock [Public Schools],” she said. 

Ashburn was asked by Matthews to clarify anything she went over. Ashburn said she was not made aware of the budget crunch affecting HPS. 

Board member Tim Scarlett said the board has been in the dark about any budget discussions with HPS. Another board member, Will Cantrell, said the original proposed budget which was presented to HPS is a “good deal.” He clarified what PLDL can explicitly do to help the Hancock Library. 

“We can’t distribute money from this side of the river to that side of the river,” he said. “The ball’s in Hancock’s [Public School] court.” 

Additional issues discussed

The board opened up the floor to a final public comment and discussion period. 

One resident, Susan, asked if the community can raise money for the library. Decker once again spoke and said HPS should not be in charge of the library. She said she wants a contract between PLDL and the Hancock City Council to help fund the library. 

Two Hancock City Councilors, Warstler and Dean Woodbeck told the board and concerned residents the city’s legal counsel said there might be a solution to directly fund the library. 

“I can cautiously optimistic the city can do something,” Woodbeck said. 

Woodbeck said the next city council meeting is June 17 and encouraged everyone to show up in support of the library.