A renegotiated contract between the Williamsburg Regional Library and the three Historic Triangle localities created two new seats to the library’s Board of Trustees, one each for York County and James City County. Neither seat has yet been filled.
With Williamsburg Regional Library Executive Director John Moorman retiring after 13 years in his position, the board is tasked with finding a replacement. Although the selection process has not yet begun, it is expected to gain momentum before the end of the month.
James City County Administrator Robert Middaugh said the seat is important to fill for the long term, but likely won’t be harmful if the supervisors take another meeting or two to sort through candidates. He said it will be advantageous for the new board member to serve through the process of finding a replacement executive director.
At the James City County Board of Supervisors meeting Oct. 8, Supervisor Andy Bradshaw (Powhatan) nominated former supervisor Wilford Kale — who is also a published author, retired journalist and former member of the county Planning Commission — to fill the vacant James City County seat.
In response to Supervisor Andy Bradshaw’s nomination of Kale, Supervisor Jim Kennedy cited Kale’s political ties in the upcoming election and an incident involving Kale arguing with deputies at the Williamsburg-James City County Courthouse in January as reasons to not approve the nomination.
Williamsburg Regional Library Board of Trustees Chair Jean Van Tol said a person’s affiliation with a PAC or contribution to a political candidate while serving on the board is not opposed in the board’s by-laws. The by-laws also don’t prevent board members with political affiliations from serving.
The Board of Supervisors is scheduled to take up the appointment at its Oct. 22 meeting. One additional candidate has submitted an application for the seat on the library board since the supervisors’ Oct. 8 meeting. The supervisors, as at their last meeting, are scheduled to discuss the nomination in closed session but can decide to discuss the matter in open session.
Currently, the library board has nine members — five from James City County and four from the City of Williamsburg — and, with James City County and York County’s additional appointments, will have an 11-member board with James City County having six members representing it. Williamsburg would still be represented by four members and York would be represented by one.
Van Tol said it would not make a difference to the library board when the two additional members are appointed because “we have a fully functioning nine member board, which has been like that for a long time.” She said adding two people to the board won’t slow down the process of finding a replacement for Moorman.
York County Administrator James McReynolds said the open York County seat has been announced and the county is seeking applicants; he hopes to bring applications to the York Board of Supervisors at its Nov. 19 meeting. He’s working under the hopes a person will be appointed to represent York County before a new executive director is hired.
Middaugh said the library board’s decisions don’t tend to come down to city versus county, and the board has always operated “on a pretty collegial consensus basis.”
While Middaugh hopes the library board does not become divided as far as locality representation in decision-making, he said the additional James City County representative on the board will keep the county from being outnumbered by Williamsburg and York, as James City pays more toward the library’s operation.
According to the adopted James City County fiscal year 2014 budget, James City gave more than $4.3 million toward the regional library system, with Williamsburg contributing $819,506. Another more than $1 million came from additional sources.
Under the new agreement between all three Historic Triangle localities and the library system, James City will contribute 67 percent toward operations, while Williamsburg will contribute about 21 percent and York will contribute about 12 percent.
“They’re a good board and they are absolutely, completely devoted to the libraries and I think that shows because we’ve got good ones,” Middaugh said.
Staff writer Gregory Connolly contributed to this article.
Related content:
- Wilford Kale’s Application for Library Board Draws Ire from JCC Supervisor
- York Supervisors Approve Agreement with Williamsburg Regional Library
- Vote on York-Williamsburg Library Contract Delayed
- Moorman Announces Resignation from Williamsburg Regional Library
- Williamsburg Library Trustees OK Plan to Upgrade Library Services to York County Residents
- York County Looks to Increase Residents’ Privileges at Williamsburg Regional Library
- Library Director Presents Budget, Program Update to Council
