Here are the two plans that have been submitted to the Board:
-- This is the proposal that was handed out to the board in November. Please note that the plan, although it discusses moving into the Sullivan Center, is really the Facilities and Digital Library Plan, snuggled slyly into a proposal about acquiring the Sullivan Center.
The reason for this is Secrecy. By cloaking the proposal this way, the Board is able to meet in a closed session under 5ILCS 120/2 which lists an exception to the provision that states that "all meetings of public bodies shall be open to the public." The exception reads as follows: "A public body may hold closed meeting to discuss... the purchase or lease of real property for the use of the public body, including meetings held for the purpose of discussing whether a particular parcel should be acquired"
The Board was asked to vote on this proposal when it was handed out in November. Thankfully they declined to vote on a proposal they had not had the time to read
You know, in the olden days, the visioning process was done with the input of community and staff. I remember being involved in at least two library long-range planning cycles that included significant community involvement and surveys. It can be an arduous process at times, and messy, but at least by the end of it, there are no suprises.
ReplyDeleteI find the use of closed session for visioning meetings unconscionable. Any one of the community leaders appointed to the library board should have known better.
Andrew Strong
former Manager of Youth Services at RPL (1996-2004)