October 21, 2015

Following a Kennett Public Library board meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 20, the board president said she had been prepared to step outside and let the board vote on whether she should continue her leadership role.

“I was expecting someone from the public to bring it up, but no one did,” said Susan Mackey-Kallis within earshot of fellow board member Chris Britt. “I think you have the board’s support,” Britt responded.

Mackey-Kallis’ remarks came after the first board meeting since the public release of a feasibility study. Commissioned by the library, the report by MacIntyre Associates suggested that potential donors for a capital campaign to build a new library – a project on the drawing board for more than a decade – have dried up in the wake of years of board turnover and rancor.

The study made a series of recommendations to rebuild public trust that included the resignations of Mackey-Kallis and Vice-President Geoff Birkett. Birkett resigned from the board in July.

Mackey-Kallis, a Villanova University communications professor, said she would be leaving her leadership post in December for personal reasons: a Fulbright Association award to teach in Japan for five months. She said she saw no reason to expedite her departure. “Without evidence about why I should step down, I’m not inclined to follow the recommendation,” she said.

Many other recommendations in the report have been heeded, such as a major bylaw change. In the past, the library board chose its own municipal representatives, and municipalities were eligible for a representative only if they imposed a dedicated tax or contributed funds determined by a “fair share” calculation, which was based on factors such as the number of library card users.

Under the revision, municipalities can receive up to two representatives: One will now be automatic, and the other will depend on whether the municipality meets the fair-share formula.

The library, which serves East Marlborough, Newlin, New Garden, Kennett, Pennsbury, Pocopson and West Marlborough townships and Kennett Square Borough, has outgrown its space in the 200 block of East State Street in Kennett Square. More than a decade ago, the library board purchased property in Kennett Township in anticipation of a move there, but plans to exit the borough generated protest.

The board is now working with the borough on a proposal to acquire the Weinstein property at the intersection of East State and South Willow Streets, as well as nearby parking.

At Tuesday night’s meeting, the board received positive updates on talks with the borough to finalize a memorandum of understanding for the Weinstein tract. John Cacciola, the project manager from Aegis Property Group, and Joseph Riper, the board’s longtime legal counsel, both addressed the board.

“In 20 years of working with the library, I’m really enthusiastic about what I’ve seen so far in terms of commitment and direction,” Riper said of the project. “I’m looking forward to making the library a reality.”

Cacciola said the fact that the borough seems to recognize the value of keeping the library downtown should help keep the project moving forward. “Assuming funding was happening,” he estimated that construction could begin as early as the spring of 2017.

Board member Bill McLachlan raised concerns about a capital campaign, echoing sentiments expressed in the feasibility report.

“Until the eight municipal entities show confidence in and support of the library and its leadership, there will be little or no public support for a capital campaign,” the report concluded, adding that taking steps to rebuild trust would likely improve the situation since the respondents recognized the library’s importance to the community.

As recently as last month, two municipalities – Kennett Township and Kennett Square Borough – cast votes that suggested a need for more confidence-building. Both formed an independent task force. Collis Townsend, one of its members from Kennett Township, explained at a previous board meeting that the task force, still in its formative stages, would be working to ensure that the board is representing the community as well as potential donors, who have been seeking reassurances.

McLachlan, one of several library board members who has applauded the formation of the task force, asked Cacciola what percentage of the funds needed for the project should be raised before proceeding with it.

Cacciola said every institution is different: Some are comfortable borrowing the whole amount while others wait until some, or all, of the funds are committed. “That’s going to be a major decision for this board,” Cacciola added.

Mackey-Kallis said the board needs to hire a professional to manage a communications campaign. “If we do it right, it will be the launching pad for a capital campaign,” she said. She said she believed that half of the funds should be raised during a “silent phase” of the campaign before announcing the campaign’s formal launch.

Board member Stanley Allen endorsed that approach. He said if the board can demonstrate support, “I think we start reestablishing some confidence with the community.”

McLachlan emphasized the importance of transparency going forward, and he noted that he checked the minutes and could find no record of the cost of the Aegis contract, which is not to exceed $407,050. He reiterated the value of making both the board and the public aware of the library’s finances.

The board learned that appraisals of the library’s two properties – the one in the borough and the one on Ways Lane in Kennett Township – were completed. Mackey-Kallis said those numbers would not be released to the public. “If a potential buyer wants to pay more than the appraisal, we don’t want to limit the negotiations,” she said.

In other business, Karen Ammon, the board’s vice-president, said she wanted the record to reflect the fact that she was not the vice-president referenced in the feasibility report. She also wanted to dispel the notion that she was a clock thief.

A recent news report said a 1911 Wanamaker tall-case clock donated to the library by the Darlington family has been in Ammon’s possession since being removed during renovations to the library’s building in the spring and would be returned at a date that hadn’t been set.

Ammon said the report provided no additional explanation and prompted questions about the arrangement’s propriety. She said she paid $200 to have the clock dismantled and removed from the library to protect it from the asbestos that had been found. She said she had expected it would be relocated when the new building opened, but she expressed fears that her keeping it, even temporarily, was now causing a public relations problem.

“What would you like me to do with the clock?” she asked.

The board agreed that Ammon should continue to be the clock’s caretaker, that she would write a letter explaining the arrangement to be included in the minutes, and that the library’s insurance policy would be checked to make sure it covers off-site property.

“It’s beautiful,” Ammon said of the timepiece. “You can all come and visit.”

After the meeting, Ammon said she understood why the clock seemed to strike a nerve. “People are upset about what they see as losing the library’s history,” she said, referencing the library’s name change from the Bayard Taylor Memorial Library to Kennett Public Library. “So when this 100-year-old antique disappears, that seemed to be another example…All I’m trying to do is preserve it.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Save the Valley, a citizens’ group known primarily for its efforts to preserve the Beaver Valley area of Concord Township from development, has come out with endorsements in the two supervisors’ races in Chadds Ford Township. And the endorsements cross party lines.

Save the Valley is endorsing incumbent Republican Samantha Reiner and Democrat Alan Horowitz. Horowitz it running against Republican Noelle Barbone in the Nov. 3 election. Reiner is running unopposed.

In an email from Save the Valley board member and Chadds Ford Township resident Rob Gurnee, the group said, “The upcoming supervisor elections in Chadds Ford Township are crucial to prevent the tide of unwanted development and traffic from spreading directly to Chadds Ford. Save the Valley is taking the step this election cycle to endorse candidates who are qualified for and are committed to this fight.”

Criteria for endorsement include the likelihood of being effective regardless of party, the email, said, but also: “We choose not to support candidates who refuse to debate the issues or engage in substantive dialogue. It is our position that the issue of open space transcends political parties. Successfully addressing the issue of overdevelopment, as well as all the consequences that come from it, can be done by Republicans and Democrats alike. Voting for someone at the local level because of political ties only, while ignoring the urgency of the development issue, is a prescription for failure.”

Of Reiner, the group said: “Samantha has performed admirably as a supervisor since being appointed in February. Her experience as township manager in Edgemont, as well as knowledge gained from chairing the Chadds Ford Open Space Committee and the Strategic Advisory Committee, enables her to be a very effective advocate for our cause. She has demonstrated leadership on important conservation issues and we have no doubt she will continue to do so. Although running unopposed, we think it is important to express our strong support for her election to office.”

Regarding Horowitz: “As an environmental lawyer and a strong advocate for keeping Chadds Ford’s remaining open space undeveloped, Alan clearly has the qualifications and commitment we are looking for. Based on his public statements and his willingness to answer our questions, we believe he will be a bulldog against unwanted development and can encourage bipartisan dialogue on important issues facing the township. His professionalism will be a valuable asset to the board and to its overall quality.”

As a body, Save the Valley feels that Reiner and Horowitz “stand out as the type of champions for open space that Chadds Ford Township needs and deserves. We endorse Samantha Reiner and Alan Horowitz, and encourage Chadds Ford voters to split their ticket and vote for both of them.”