Minutes (Summary) - 20091130 - AOG

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Hill's point of view, it would not be hard to say they just were not getting the support they needed from Orange County, and therefore, they were going to have to charge everybody $100 who lives in Orange County and uses the library. Mayor Chilton said he was not uncomfortable talking about what Carrboro would contribute; he said he did not expect to pay anything different from what people in Cedar Grove, or Hillsborough pay for library services; and we need to do the kinds of things Commissioner Nelson was talking about. He said he agreed with County Manager Clifton's suggestion for an approach to that issue, but he believed it was a serious mistake to discard, as being off in the distant future, the notion of consolidating the service into one library system. He said if they had enough interest and political will in this community to do it soon, they could do it soon. He said Carrboro was not going to make a contribution from their operating budget to support the Chapel Hill Public Library; the inequity issues were going to be forever difficult to measure. He said the simplest solution was for them to come to some kind of consensus as a county about what level of service they expect in terms of library services, and have one service that provides those services to them. Mayor Foy said he believed they should get a firm proposal from their staffs; for example when does it happen, what exactly is the formula, how often is it recalculated, and if it could come back to the boards before the end of January, it will give everyone some time in their budgets. He said it would also be helpful for all of them to know when the county was projecting a new bond issue, what will be on that bond issue; and was there any possibility that libraries could be part of that bond issue; and if they are, was there an opportunity for Chapel Hill to participate in the bond issue for capital expenses for the proposed library expansion. He asked if there was a consensus that that was what they wanted from their staffs. There was a consensus. Mayor Foy asked if there was any further discussion; he asked everyone if they were happy. Mayor Chilton said he believed for those who were not on the Chapel Hill Town Council, it would be the last time they were graced with the pleasure of Mayor Kevin Foy of Chapel Hill, who he enjoyed working with for many years. He said for all of them he just wanted to say thank you on behalf of elected Orange County officials that they appreciate the hard work that he has done and the years of service he has put in to the people of Chapel Hill and the region as a whole.