The Peninsula Public Library is holding its monthly board meeting tomorrow, Thursday, April 16, at 4:00 p.m. The meeting, which takes place in the Bentley Room in the library’s basement, is a time when the public can share its concerns and thoughts with the board. When the library is running smoothly, attendance tends to be low, but we are now at a time when public input is needed more than ever.

The library has been without a director for months, despite the previous director having given notice five months in advance. The building has been suffering from leaks, mold, and, since October, an elevator that has been out of service, putting Peninsula out of compliance with accessibility laws. The current board has been slow to address these issues. Moreover, it has chosen to set aside a $10 million renovation plan for the aging building, a plan that a previous board voted to pursue in 2025, and its budget for the coming year includes no increase in funding for maintenance or repairs.

One way in which the public has been involved with library policy has been through the election of the library board. When there is a vacancy, and there have been several this past year, the other members of the board are able to appoint temporary replacements. But this has been balanced under New York State law by a rule that such replacements hold office only until the next election, at which point the public gets to decide who will hold the seat going forward. The board has been trying to do an end run around this.

The board held a surprise special meeting on March 12 with only a half hour’s advance notice, which is not the normal order of things. At that meeting, it resolved to change the rules so that the board can fill vacancies with permanent replacements who will remain in office until the end of the term, with no ratification needed from the public. Board President Akiva Lubin, who was up for reelection this May, then resigned and was immediately appointed back to the board, filling the seat of departing member Reva Oliner. This would allow him to avoid the upcoming election and stay in office for an additional three years.

The following meeting, on March 24, had been scheduled for 5:00 p.m. but was changed to 3:00 p.m., again with less than an hour’s notice. The minutes from this meeting are not yet online, but the Nassau Herald reported that the special meeting’s resolution violated state law and was pushed back against by the few attendees who showed up despite the scheduling shenanigans.

Regardless of how one feels about the job the board members are doing, accountability to the public is a basic democratic principle, and it is disturbing that they seem to be trying to avoid it in every way possible. Meetings are supposed to have at least three days’ advance notice, not 30 minutes. It should not be possible for a member to dodge reelection by changing the rules. The board is supposed to represent and serve the public, so why does it seem determined to minimize public input?

As of this afternoon, the next meeting is scheduled for 4:00 p.m. on Thursday, April 16. Hopefully that remains the meeting time, and hopefully the public is well represented there.

Disclaimer: The Peninsula Public Library is an independent body governed by its own elected officials and should not be confused with the Village of Lawrence, which is a separate municipality with its own independently elected officials.

– – –
*These views express the opinions of the authors alone and not necessarily those of the owners & management of 5TownsCentral.

Have an opinion or story to share? Email us today by clicking here.