Taking it to the people

Hancock District Library Board finalizes millage proposal

HANCOCK -- The newly formed Hancock District Library Board met at the Hancock Library Monday for its first official meeting. The board approved finalizing the millage proposal, planned how to educate the public and elected officers.

Newly appointed Board President Carolyn Dekker said she understands the struggle of asking for more taxes on top of a crowded ballot, but hopes the voters want to continue the library's services under this new model. "It's always been a pain to ask to raise funds, but the positive side here is the library has been an incredible steward of the funds that's been given," she said. "We are just hoping to keep the same personnel in the same space -- providing the same amazing service at .7 mills."

The language was approved by the body Monday and immediately sent to County Clerk Jennifer Kelly ahead of today’s 4 p.m. deadline. The proposal, if approved, would levy .7 mills over five years, ending in 2030. It will generate around $185,000 a year, although the millage language rounds up the total to $200,000.

Board Vice president Ruth Gill echoed Dekker’s sentiment about asking voters to retain services in the meeting. "Given the number of other millage proposals on the ballot this November, I want to be really sure we can back up that amount," she said. "'Do you like what you get now?' This is how much it costs."

Hancock Librarian Boni Ashburn sat in at the meeting and gave comments about income the library receives, as well as an alternative path if voters reject the proposal. "You can listen to the voters that rejected the .7 then try for the .5 in May," she said.

Ashburn added some sources of income for the library would be out-of-district memberships, state aid, grants and Friends of the Library fundraising events.

The board is partnering with Keweenaw Community Foundation to create educational material to convince voters to vote "yes" on the millage proposal. Dekker said even though the board is a municipal entity; the foundation has helped out with similar requests in the past and have been good to work with so far. "The Keweenaw Community Foundation has great experience helping [new entities] fledge," she said. "They have a lot of really great experience and network to really help us take these next steps so that it can all happen smoothly."

In non-voting discussion items, the board agreed to meet with townships before its next meeting to introduce themselves as an entity and try to recruit more long-term board members who live within the district boundaries (Hancock, Quincy and Franklin Townships.)

The board elected Dekker as President, Gill as Vice President, Dean Woodbeck as Secretary and Jillian Shilling as Treasurer. Whitney Warstler remains on the board as an at-large member.

Its next meeting will be at 5:30 p.m., Aug. 24 at the Hancock Library.