Library matter still on front burner

How we think of the library

Did this week's Morris newspaper have a detailed update on the Morris library conflict matter? The paper would be hugely obligated to provide this. The public library is a City of Morris service. Could we get along without it? Isn't this what happened when the place got flooded a few years back? Closed the whole summer? Maybe some people felt inconvenienced. We all got through it. 

At present we have the quite uncomfortable matter of community conflict. It's rather challenging to try to sort everything out when the media has stepped aside. Abdicated its role. It's a role that the newspaper publisher always tries to argue is important. And he wants the government to help newspapers. Actually I can't think of anything worse than a symbiotic relationship between government and the media. 

And any time you accept government help, there are strings attached. Want food assistance? You'll probably have to fill out forms with personal info like your income. 

The local media started out OK on the library matter. The paper went against its normal system by having a quite prompt article on its website about the show of public support for the library director. Ah, the "now famous" photo that included Sharon Martin with her "Anne is amazing!" sign. I'm not sure how we are supposed to understand "amazing." Is Anne a magician? 

A sign like this just tells me someone has personal friends. This can be quite a strength in a small town. But in this case, our elected people appear to be holding firm with holding Anne's feet to the fire. This surely is the tone of our city manager. I have never met that individual. She answers to the council, right? I think I understand some of the basics. 

I assume that our top city leaders could have had this whole sordid matter come to an end by now, if they really wanted to. Even if it would mean accepting some missteps by a department manager. The heated controversy by itself would be a negative for the community. If the council has remained silent and chosen to allow the city manager to keep charging ahead, well they must be good with it all. 

With the newspaper not doing its job, I suppose the whole thing could end without me knowing. Maybe we'd get something like a "plea bargain." In other words, each side gives up something. 

Fortunately I do have a source on this matter who seems pretty solid. In the last few days we exchanged emails. Had the whole conflict been dropped, this individual would have related that. So I guess it is still ongoing. My query to the mayor of a couple weeks ago has not been answered. Not even a "thank you for your interest" response. Nothing. It will be hard for me to feel respect for our elected city leaders again. 

If they choose not to communicate with me, I'll have to just write based on what I can glean here and there from unofficial sources. And the newspaper isn't going to help. 

Back when Marshall Hoffman was with the radio station, I think he would have supplied valuable updates. Brett Miller with sports would have done the same. That's all gone with the wind now. It must not have been an essential service. 

So where does that leave all of us? Well I can certainly quote from the email response from my trusted friend/background person. I would prefer the newspaper do its job. That's not happening. Is the paper trying to protect someone's special interest? Did certain influential people "get to" the SCT? This isn't my first rodeo. Here's from the email, sent to me on July 10:

 

We attended the hearing for Anne with the City Council last month. About 45 people were there. This was her appeal of her suspension. It went from 3:00 to 7:15, when it had to be continued because of the CC regular meeting. It will continue on August 6 at 10am.  The city manager brought in the attorney she had hired (and tried to charge the $9000 fee to the library budget!) and the investigator she had hired who couldn't find 67 items on the invoices that Anne had ordered.

The lawyer was really nasty, like she was on TV court. She kept harping about hair dye and cat toys on the invoices and Anne was defrauding the taxpayers of Morris with personal items charged to the city. The investigator (who never talked to any of the library staff or Anne) testified about all the fraud going on when she couldn't find the items. 

Then Anne got on the stand and her attorney led her through all the charges which she calmly explained. The dye and cat toys were for craft projects and prizes, and when she had been let back into the library she went around and found all but one of the "missing" items which she put in a box in her office. 

The city manager whispered something to two of the city employees who were there and they beat it out of the council chambers double time. Anne's husband followed them and sure enough, they went right to the library to Anne's office to go through the box. They told Gary he couldn't be in the office with them, so he stood in the doorway and filmed them on his phone. They went back to the meeting and didn't say anything. 

It will be up to the city council to decide whether or not to award Anne her back pay. Then it will finally be over!!!  So much unwarranted time and expense.

(end of quoted material)

 

Addendum: I'm wondering about money for craft project expenses. The library director might legitimately authorize this. I would say it's a judgment call, nothing untoward or suspicious. But I would say that maybe the library patrons who participated in the craft projects could buy the stuff themselves? Does the library go too far afield from its traditional function of being a source of books? Is this "Viking" system worth what we pay into it? I have heard that the county has reduced its contribution to that. There may be question marks. The Viking system sounds good in theory. But what abut the cost? Might they get too bloated and self-important?

  

Addendum No. 2: I suppose this coming weekend would be "Prairie Pioneer Days" in a past time. I still miss it. I think it died because too many key community leaders wanted to get away to their "lake places" on summer weekends. 

Morris seemed to just "die" over the July 4 weekend. Everyone leaves here. Nobody comes here. Don's Cafe was closed on Saturday night which was July 5, not July 4. Restaurants are barely hanging on here, I mean the non-high end restaurants. Really I thank God for Caribou Coffee in that regard. Don't know where I'd be without it. 

My main contact person at UMN-Morris said to me "I think the town could use another restaurant." Does not seem likely to happen. In the old days we had restaurants with a genuine "bar rush" on Friday/Saturday nights! Gone with the wind. Oh, and people could smoke cigarettes in these places, turn the air blue! Just try to imagine that now.

 

Addendum No. 3: You would think the city could manage its own library without having to battle the library director's "attorney." I find it strange. The city is not helping us understand anything that is going on. Think of the time commitment for the elected councilpeople. Think of the stress when three sheriff's deputies have to be present for a closed meeting.

Anne Barber, Morris library director

 

- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesta - bwilly73@yahoo.com