Archive: Around Town

Marlaine Darfler told the Lansing Board of Education (BOE) in their Monday meeting that Lansing Community Library Center (LCLC) has decided to put their charter library referendum on hold.  Darfler, Chairwoman of LCLC's  Board of Directors said, "Last Spring when the Tompkins County Public Library (TCPL) wanted to add us to their referendum we went into high gear," Darfler told the BOE.  "If we're going to have to pay taxes, then we want the taxes to stay here."   Now the local library feels the pressure is off so they have put the plan on hold.

Since its inception LCLC has been entirely supported by donations and volunteers, but the board has always known that a point would come where they would ask the community to support a professional librarian, new books and programs.  LCLC is starting a second capital expansion project, entirely paid for by donations from businesses and individuals.  The $350,000 capital campaign has raised all but $25,000, which Dafler says the board would like to come from smaller donations from individuals.

The plan was to ask School District residents to vote to support charter status in a May referendum this year.  LCLC has operated in the black since it was founded five years ago.  The referendum would have asked taxpayers for about 15 or 16 cents per thousand dollars of assessed real property value, making the referendum attractive to supporters because it yields high value to the community for a fraction of what Lansing taxpayers alreay pay to support TCPL.

LCLC got a long way into the charter process until TCPL pulled out of Lansing (a few weeks ago TCPL failed to convince Ithacans to give them additional funding in a referendum there).  With that pressure gone, LCLC decided to complete the new capital project and concentrate on basics before going ahead with the charter.

"We want to go back, slow down and increase our base," says Darfler.  She says the library board fears that pursuing the referendum while construction is underway will be confusing to the public."We want the public to understand this:  we're not asking for the referendum to help us with the building project.  The building project we did on our own.  At some point down the road we would like to say to the community, 'Here's the building, here's the library.  We would like you to support a librarian and increase the collection.'"

"We learned from the School District's Capital Project (that was just withdrawn because the BOE feared lack of community support)," Darfler explains.  "To educate the community is really large.  And we can't do it from now to May.  We need more time to clarify our message among ourselves and get it out to the public."

The new capital project, the library's second, will add a technology center, a children's room, a librarian's circulation center, book processing and administration rooms, and it will be fully handicap accessible.  Darfler told the BOE how the library plans to support the school district with additional computers and software that students need for homework.  The expansion will include a gallery space, the main purpose of which will be to display student art work.

She told the BOE that the Library already supports the schools in many ways.  School busses make regular stops at the library.  LCLC has received grants enabling them to purchase books requested by Lansing teachers to supplement their courses when the school budget didn't have enough money to purchase them.  Younger grades visit the library, learn about taking out books and sign up for library cards on a regular basis.  Additionally there are preschool reading programs on Fridays.

Darfler says she is not sure when LCLC will revive the referendum, but she anticipates it will be at least another year.  "We have the support out there," she says.  "We want to be all we can before we go out there."

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