The-Press-News.com - East Canton Library to stay open

From left, Bob Smith, Kathy Hill, Marilyn Reed and Donna Robinson show their support for the East Canton Branch Library during Tuesday's Stark County Library Board of Trustee meeting. The board voted to keep the EC Branch open at least during 2010.

By KAREN MUNDY
The Press-News
The East Canton Branch of the Stark County Library will remain open-- at least for one more year-- according to a decision made Dec. 15 by the library’s board of trustees.
In a crowded McKinley Room at the Main Library, residents of East Canton and Canton came out to plead with the board to keep the East Canton and Southeast Community branches open, despite the extreme financial situation of the county library system. It was good news for East Canton residents, but bad news for the residents of the southeastern part of Canton since their branch will close at the end of this month.
At the end of the night, Kent Oliver, executive director of the library, read the 2010 Branch Closure Resolution and the board of trustees approved it.
According to Oliver, the board has been reviewing and fine tuning a 2010 budget proposal. The administrative staff was now recommending that the East Canton Branch remain open at reduced hours. The hours will be as follows: Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
This decision to keep the branch open was made for the following reasons:
* Positive response to the retirement incentive option offered by the library in the managerial staffing levels allowing for long-term salary and benefit savings (12 employees agreed to early retirement in March, 2010);
* Positive response and approval of the library’s bargaining unit to the mandatory furlough proposal for the 2010 budget year;
* An additional reduction in the library and materials budget proposed in November;
* Assistance in the form of reduced lease payments provided by the Foltz Community Center, effective 2010.
However, the board did decide to close the Southeast Community Center, effective Dec. 30 of this year. The board cited the branch service usage, availability of other branch locations and overall cost savings. All but one board member, Wanda Young, voted in favor of the closing. Young voiced her concern with the closing of the branch, and said, although the closest branch was only about a mile away, it was a dangerous walk for children.
At the beginning of the meeting, residents who asked for the East Canton Branch to remain open included Terry Bailey, Osnaburg Trustee Donna Middaugh, East Canton Mayor Reggie McGee, Dale Brunner, Al Columbo, James Watkins and others. In addition, many southeastern residents of Canton gave impassioned speeches about the need for a “safe place” for children and adults to go for reading and much more.
Adrienne O’Neill, president of the Stark Education Partnership, asked the board to reconsider the closing of the two branches. Instead, she said, consider decreasing the expenditures of all branches and “still maintain access for all, as well as the outstanding ratings of the library system.”
Look for more information on the meeting and the decision of the board in the Dec. 24 issue of The Press-News.