Say ‘yes’ to PPL budget, board incumbents

For approximately $10 more per household for the entire year, Peninsula Public Library district residents will have the same or better services next year than they received this year.

The proposed budget of $2.92 million is just under $79,000 more than the current spending plan, and will continue to deliver the services users have come to expect from the library.

Efforts have been made in some areas to lower costs, by using email to communicate with patrons to reduce printing and postage expenses, and by participating in a library consortium to provide e-book and audio book services at lower prices. Remaining open on Sundays in the summer and seeking to establish new programs such as Museum Pass are also useful responses to the community’s needs.

Library Director Arleen Reo said that she is aware of residents’ financial concerns, and we believe she and the board are keeping a tight rein on spending. We endorse the proposed library budget, which maintains existing services while attempting to enhance the programs that it offers patrons.

For trustee, Nussbaum and Pope

We also support the re-election of incumbent library Trustee Stanley Nussbaum, and appointee Patricia Pope’s election to a full term. Both have strong roots in the community and have the experience to help the library as it continues to seek a site for a new building.

Nussbaum says he wants to continue expanding library services, and that goal goes hand in hand with Pope’s idea to offer more multicultural programs to serve the area’s diverse population.

There may have been some missteps in the attempts to obtain the site at Zion Park site for a new facility, as noted by challengers Jeffrey Leb and Sarah Yastrab, but there were some variables that were beyond the library board’s control — the confusion about an MTA covenant that placed restrictions on land use, and Lawrence village politics. And the jury is still out on the tentative agreement, reached last September, to buy land from Temple Israel.

Leb and Yastrab have some good ideas. We want library officials to continue to be careful about how they spend money on proposed plans for a new library. Leb proposed reviewing existing library programs to determine which ones are most often used, while introducing newer ones like Mommy and Me. Those ideas are worth considering.

If elected, Yastrab said she would serve as a “bridge” to the residents and look to create more community involvement in planning a new library. Library officials have reached out to the community, and Yastrab might help them do a better job.

We would like to see both candidates continue their involvement in library activities and hope they remain active in the community, but our endorsement goes to Nussbaum and Pope.