Library branch agreement rejected

Burlington County freeholders recently rejected the Pinelands Library Branch Agreement drafted by the Medford Township Council.

On Feb. 13, Freeholder Leah Arter sent a letter to the council citing the “unacceptable offer” made by the township.

“The letter does a few things, it responds to the written agreement we sent them and a proposal to refurbish the library,” said Medford Township member Jeff Beenstock.

The agreement the township is currently working on is a tri-party agreement including Medford, the county and the Medford Library Association, an organization that no longer exists, according to council member James “Randy” Pace during the Feb. 5 council meeting. It’s one of the reasons the agreement was not originally signed last April.

Additionally, the township objected to continuing to pay the mounting maintenance costs, the second reason the contract was not signed, according to Beenstock.

“The agreement they sent us was asking us to reimburse vendors directly, which was never part of the agreement,” Arter said. “They also asked us to hold the insurance for the building as well.”

Freeholders are willing to reimburse the township up to $30,000 for any renovations made on the building.

“I’m glad they’ve acknowledged us for the $30,000 for the year,” Beenstock said. “I think we can reach an agreement on where the reimbursement goes.”

The branch offers services to Medford, Shamong, Tabernacle, Southampton and Woodland.

The facility is considered outdated and inadequate to provide services by the county, according to Arter.

Recent history will reflect that Medford’s unsuccessful efforts to provide a larger, more sustainable library were not solely cost-driven. There was also a varied option in Medford about the location of the library and some who were concerned about relocating from the downtown area, the letter said.

Arter realizes the financial challenges the township is currently facing, noting the multiple attempts over the last 15 years to organize a plan to upgrade.

According to the letter, the plan involved complete renovation inside, including a restructuring of the space to create three distinct program areas. The proposal includes an expansion of the room and space for children’s programs and the addition of resources.

“Children are being turned away because there is not enough space. The space could be used much better,” Arter said.

The additional areas mentioned will include the creation of an adult reading room and a smaller, separate computer room and “cyber café.”

“The computers are placed here and there throughout the building. People use the library for reading and Internet access. We’d like to use the current space more efficiently,” Arter said.

During the Feb. 5 township council meeting, township manager Chris Schultz said he visited the building to determine the number of repairs to do.

The township will be fixing potholes, lights, taking care of downed trees, gutter issues, the paint at the crossing strips and cracks in the interior walls, all of which would be covered under the one-year agreement.

According to Beenstock, as a result of ongoing discussions about the library, a Medford Lakes resident created a petition to “save the Pinelands Branch Library.”

According to the petition’s website, change.org, the petition was made to show support for maintaining the Pinelands Library Branch and keeping it within the Burlington County Library System. Medford Town Council is not willing to agree to maintain the building. Local taxpayers argue that they shouldn’t be the only ones footing the tab for maintenance as other local towns use the library. We would like to propose that all branch libraries should be built and maintained with a dedicated county library tax. If the building were dropped from the Burlington County Library System, the local community’s access to the shared educational resources would be drastically cut.

“There are no discussions involving Medford Township about closing the library,” Beenstock said.

He maintains the importance of focusing on the one-year agreement to buy some time to create a comprehensive plan for the library. “It’s a goal of ours to have a long-term solution. We need to sign this agreement first,” Beenstock said. “We need to get 2013 tied up, that’s the most important.”

“I’m very hopeful for success. It’s my hope and my belief that we’ll be able to come to an agreement that will be beneficial for the area,” Arter said.