Existing Leonardtown Library in a former Maryland National Guard armory
Leonardtown, MD — The new St. Mary’s County commissioner board has opened the door for reconsideration of the decisions to renovate the Leonardtown Library and the jail instead of building a new library and expanding the existing jai. At the insistence of Commissioner Mike Hewitt (R: 2nd) the commissioners decided to revisit the decisions of the former commissioner board when they go through next year’s budget.
Proponents of a new library have used that window of opportunity to rush through the open door. At the first public forum of the new commissioners, 18 speakers walked to the microphone in the commissioner hearing room Tuesday night to support a new library building. Those speakers included members of the library trustees, friends and staff, a former county commissioner and other citizens.
The original proposal for a new library that was junked by the former board would have put it at the county-owned Hayden Farm property with two schools and a park. An alternate proposal, touted by the Commissioners of Leonardtown, would have placed the library across from Mattingley-Gardiner Funeral Home on Lawrence Avenue.
The majority of the speakers at the public forum favored the Hayden Farm location, Joe Wible, Sr., who described himself as a spokesperson for fiscal conservatives, noted an alternate proposal to renovate the existing library and later build a new one in Hollywood. He said that wasn’t fiscally prudent. “We need a centralized library due to economies of scale.”
Several speakers noted problems with the Maryland Historic Trust over renovation of the library, which was originally a National Guard armory. Paul Kelly said those restrictions would prevent the second floor of the existing library from being used as planned. He observed that a consultant said the county needed twice the existing square footage of the three libraries and renovating the Leonardtown Library wouldn’t gain any space at all.
“The Hayden Farm is perfect synergy,” Kelly said, with its other public facilities planned. He said if the county doesn’t have enough money to pay for the new library then they should embrace a public-private partnership by asking the community to contribute.
Library Board of Trustees Vice President Carolyn Guy noted of the proposed renovation: “The project does not appear to be as straight forward as it originally looked,” referring to the historic concerns for the existing building.”
Guy said, “This does not appear to be a recipe that allows for a new library; and the trustees are afraid that if the renovation is delayed, the funds that have already been committed to the renovation will disappear. Then, if funding for a new library is not forthcoming, we will have neither a new library, nor a renovated facility.”
Alonzo Gaskin noted the community’s desire to diversify the business base and he said libraries were one of the amenities that helped to accomplish that.
Janice Walthour spoke on behalf of the NAACP and support for education in the community but she also noted that libraries part of those needs along with a teen center and public transportation.
Linda Maloney, principal of Father Andrew White S.J. School said her students were big library users. “We need an updated building to meet the needs of the community. That would mean build a new one.”
Louise Snell of the Friends of the Library called the decision to renovate the existing building a “waste of time and money” and praised the commissioners’ decision to revisit it.
Former three-term commissioner Dan Raley called libraries “an integral part of our infrastructure.” Raley noted what several other speakers before him had observed that a renovation would cause a long disruption to the staff and patrons of the library.
Circulation Assistant at the Leonardtown Library Rosemary Wallace, with several of her co-workers by her side, said, “There are too many limitations with the current building design which the renovation won’t correct.”
Wallace noted that the staffs of the three libraries pitch in to work on Sundays at the Lexington Park Library. She said the central part of the county deserved a library of the Lexington Park facility’s quality.
Also speaking at the forum were: Matt Scassero for the University of Maryland UAS Test Site; Bob Wirt, executive director of the Navy Alliance; supporters of advancing the Garvey Senior Center replacement; and several members of the Westbury community addressing the recent controversy over the towing of some resident’s cars.
Contact Dick Myers at dick.myers@thebaynet.com