Andrews – The Board of Aldermen faced a room nearly full of supporters concerned about the Andrews Public Library during a workshop Thursday.
During the meeting, Mayor James Reid encouraged people to contact him on his cell phone and even signed a grassroots petition supporting the library. He urged his oldest grandson, who was sitting beside him, to sign the petition as well.
Without giving specifics, Reid told the crowd of about two dozen people that their participation will “lead to a very good outcome.”
Reid said the board has gotten the library’s attention, and he would have no problem keeping library spending at the current level – $80,000 for staffing, plus $20,000 for utilities and maintaining the building, which Andrews owns.
The board will be making a final vote on the 2024-25 budget at 6 p.m. Thursday.
“I feel like overall it was a pretty good meeting tonight,” Reid said.
The problem
The Nantahala Regional Library System combines four libraries – Moss Memorial Library in Hayesville, Clay County; Graham County Public Library in Robbinsville; and in Cherokee County, the Murphy Public Library and Andrews Public Library – plus a bookmobile and an administrative office based in Murphy.
Funding for the facilities comes from state sources, grants, the three counties served and allocations from Murphy, Andrews, Hayesville, Robbinsville and Lake Santeetlah. Robbinsville, Santeetlah and Andrews are considering cuts, while the Cherokee County Board of Commissioners is expected to increase funding when it makes its final decision Monday, June 24.
The town was having financial problems when the board of aldermen cut the library budget from $140,000 to $80,000 in 2019. To cope, the library cut hours and divided the full-time branch manager position into part-time co-branch managers shared by Jacqueline Hulse and Kelly Bryant. They each get paid $15 per hour.
More recently, Andrews leaders found themselves once again pinching pennies, and one of their targets was the library, where Reid saw a pot of $20,000-$40,000 from the library that he could apply elsewhere, such as the $30,000 match the town must provide for a grant to complete work at Ferebee Park.
Word spread. Among library customers, Hulse and Bryant are highly regarded if not outright beloved, but they have sometimes had tense relations with Reid and Aldermen Ted Paul and James Mclean.
Reid has expressed frustration in his attempt to get the library to shut off internet service after hours, saying it attracts homeless people, who in turn place a burden on the police department.
At an earlier meeting, Mclean said if the library wouldn’t turn off internet after hours, the board should cut funding for staff instead. Mclean said Thursday, perhaps jokingly, that he didn’t feel safe going to the library.
Paul has expressed disappointment in his dealings with regional library management, saying he has gone from being a library supporter to neutral.
On Thursday, the board faced a crowd of familiar faces – including David Newsome, a retired educator who taught two of the aldermen and frequently saw another (Mclean) in his office; Ann Woodford, an artist from the Happy Top community of Andrews, who cherishes the memory that her first exhibit was at the Andrews Public Library, which at one time did not welcome people of her race; and Theresa Creasman, E-911 director for Cherokee County.
Creasman was at the meeting to dispel the myth that the library is a hot spot for crime. She ran the numbers – which are public record – and filtered out things like traffic tickets on that block and things that aren’t really crimes. In 2023, for example, she found 31 calls for service at the library, compared to 5,140 throughout the town that year. That year’s totals are similar over the years.
“I dare say it’s not a burden,” she told the board. “If you do not have the facts, you shouldn’t speak to them.”
Taxes off the table
The state is advising Andrews to raise its millage rate and increase utility fees to make the town more fiscally sound. Town officials have resisted, saying the town is doing fine as is, but higher taxes could make Andrews unaffordable. Instead, the board is keeping a lid on expenses.
Regarding library funding, Reid, Paul and Mclean all appear to be on the same page, along with perhaps Steve Jordan. As Reid said, he loves the library and will support it with what it needs, but nothing more.
Reid claims Andrews is subsidizing libraries in Robbinsville and Hayesville as well as library customers who don’t live in Andrews or who don’t pay taxes because of their housing situation. He has also criticized the Andrews library for being a magnet for homeless people and the around-the-clock wifi service that draws them to the area overnight.
Although Reid has said previously he wants to see the Andrews library funding cut by half, he said Thursday, “We cannot close the library. I’m only asking for the money to be divvied up fair.”
Mayor Pro Tem Brandi Smith appears to be the outlier.
“We have to make the best decisions for the citizens of Andrews,” Smith said, then added, “Personally, I think the library is a big deal.”
Smith and Town Administrator Tammy Holloway recently met with Regional Library Director Franklin Shook and said they had no problem having their questions answered. Smith described the meeting as civil, relaxed and informative.
She also learned the town’s contribution to the library doesn’t fully cover the co-directors’ pay and was aghast that the co-branch managers were only making $15 per hour.
Paul said he was glad Smith and Holloway were able to meet with Shook, adding that he got “zero cooperation.”
Later, Creasman, referring to that exchange, said she finds Shook “easy to work with. Maybe try again?”