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they haven't met. She said Orange County was doing what they could do. <br /> Mayor Foy said, the fact is, if Orange County citizens were confronted with this issue, <br /> they would say just work this out, make the libraries work for them; they may not be all <br /> that concerned about how they worked it out,just as long as they did. He said in the long <br /> run what's in the best interest for everyone may be to merge the systems, but that was not <br /> happening in the next couple of years. He said the county does not have the money to buy <br /> the Chapel Hill Library; so in the short run, what was in the best interest of everyone in <br /> Orange County. He said that's why he was trying to make sure the Council had enough <br /> information to make a good decision; because if what's in the best interest of the Orange <br /> County citizens was for the library to go forward, it should happen; and then the finances <br /> get worked out. He said the county had indicated that it wanted to do something, the <br /> Council had indicated that it wanted to do something; what they should do was to walk <br /> out of this meeting with a commitment to figure out funding for the operations, and if it's <br /> not coming for three, four, or five years, it was still a goal, with both operations and <br /> capital. He said given that information, if the Council can't do the addition next spring, <br /> fine; at least that was a step for a unified approach. <br /> Alderman Broun said if you don't plan for a unified system, you don't get there. <br /> Mayor Foy said Chapel Hill Transit declined to link up with Raleigh and Durham; in the <br /> long run they should have a unified system for the Triangle, but they cannot afford to <br /> lower their standards, because that's the underpinning of how their land use plan works. <br /> He said, similarly, the Chapel Hill Library needs to be able to merge with an equal, they <br /> can't lower the standards; if they were going to have a long-term plan for a unified <br /> system, it's got to be brought up to Chapel Hill standards, not dilute the standards; and <br /> right now they are not in the position to bring it up to Chapel Hill standards. He said he <br /> believed they could have the conversation about unification, but that can't be an excuse <br /> for continuing not to have full participation with our partners for the excellent service the <br /> library provides. <br /> Vice Chair Nelson said with regard to unification, he believed they should end up there, <br /> but, they were not ready for that conversation. He said he hoped they left there tonight <br /> with an action step; he didn't think they were going to solve the capital issue, but they <br /> could take some steps to solve the operational issue. He said he would like to suggest that <br /> they direct their managers and staffs to sit down and discuss, and report back to them <br /> within 60 days with a proposal to raise the county funding for the Chapel Hill Library to <br /> a level they decide is appropriate to recommend, and give them a time-line for achieving <br /> it, because he thought it would take a couple of years. He said if they do this, they could <br /> have a report in 60 days, and start to untangle this issue that has stood between them for <br /> the last few years. <br /> Commissioner Yuhasz said he wanted to emphasize his commitment to improve library <br /> services for all the citizens of Orange County, but he thought the level of service that they <br /> provide was a decision the Board of County Commissioners had to make; and the level of <br /> funding that they were willing to apply was one the Board also had to make. He said that <br />