Sarah Stephens
Elmore Autauga News
In his report to the Prattville Council Tuesday during their regular meeting, Mayor Bill Gillespie spoke of the reopening of the Prattville Autauga Public Library, temporary repairs have been completed to allow for public occupancy.
“I appreciate Day Structures and the City of Prattville Crews. There were several of our red team as I call them, our Fire Department was able to pick things up and put things down and that was so appreciated. I also appreciate the council for the cleanup and the work that has been done on the library to get us to this point. We will be monitoring it. We will be monitoring it very carefully in the next six months or so to make certain it is safe for everyone.”
Council President Lora Lee Boone held up a book she picked up from the newly reopened library Teusday, saying it came from the new book section now available.
“Councilman Robert Strichik and I both stopped by the Prattville Library this afternoon to see the work that was done and check out things,” she said. “To encourage the public that has been concerned about whether or not there have been new books ordered in the recent past, certainly there have been because I brought back two of those from the new book section today.”
Boone encouraged the community to visit the library themselves to see the renovations and new books. “We encourage our citizens to jump back in, support the library and do anything you can from the public assistance part.” She encouraged donations and volunteerism.
Councilman Michael Whaley asked the mayor for clarification on the temporary fix to the library and about the long term plan for the building. He said he has had several calls and wants to share correct information.
“The library is open, and the fix that we did was just to get the building back open. We didn’t fix the issue,” he said. Mayor Gillespie confirmed that it would be a half-million expense to correct the problems.
“So, the long-term plan is to relocate the library or search for other opportunities for a home for the library? Whaley asked.
“I would not use the word fix. It is a temporary opportunity for us to get the library back open. City crews, forces have been out there; everything from our engineering, public works, fire department…we do have it back open. It is safe for public occupancy. We had a structural engineer to guide us and lead us to this point. It is up and operational. I would say that everything is on the table. The history of Prattville shows from day one when the library was built it started settling. I hate to put good money after bad. I think the $20,000-plus that we have put into it for this latest project is money well spent. But I think that everything needs to be on the table. I do have several thoughts and ideas myself that I do not want to repeat at this moment. We have several needs around Prattville. The library is one, the swimming pool is another. I could go on and on. We have several options that hopefully we will be able to come back later on and speak openly and honestly to the public.”
Gillespie said the library is important for many different reasons. “I think it is utilized a lot more here in Prattville than other communities I have seen.” He continued, “In the future we have a lot of decisions to make, whether it is in Parks and Rec quality of life, or our library. It is kind of a quasi-type entity with us. We do help fund it with the county, but we do not actually run it. We own the property, the dirt. But the city, county and federal government actually help fund the building itself. But we have been doing the heavy lifting recently, so I am very proud we have been able to get it to the point we are now and look forward to the future.”
In public comments at the end of the meeting, one Prattville resident had comments about the library reopening.
Jackie Nix, of Prattville, thanked everyone for efforts to get library open. “However, I do want to express some disappointment, this is not on (the council), but the library itself. There is no indication that the library has reopened. I have been on the website and Facebook page. It was supposed to open last week and I have been monitoring that. There was no communication that this was coming about. I would ask of you to keep monitoring very closely, that they are being good stewards of our tax dollars. Not communicating with the public about what is going on, the lack of transparency is very concerning. Just from the last fiscal budget where they spent more money on legal fees than they intended. They have asked for level funding, but that includes positions that have not been filled. Nor, have the positions even been advertised, so they have no intention of filling those positions. There needs to be transparency about where this money is going. It says one thing in the budget, and they are spending it on something else. You have the power of the purse. So, please, hold them accountable. You have more power than obviously us in the public, because we are getting a stone wall. We are not getting information. Please be our advocates for our tax dollars that the library is using these resources appropriately for everyone in our community.”
