Ronan City Council gets library district update
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RONAN – In an effort to keep the doors of the Ronan City Library open, library director Michelle Fenger is currently in the planning phase of developing the third library district in the state, with one of the other two located in Polson.
The Ronan City Library currently has no designated funding, relying on community donations of books to fill the shelves. The library’s fiscal year runs from July 1, 2011, to June 30 2012. In order for the library to break even for the year, the board must raise approximately $26,000 from outside sources.
If the library district does become a reality, the library would be able to stay open, staff more employees and add a number of opportunities for the community.
“It would give us a real book budget,” Fenger said. “We would have more items and current items.”
Tackling the large project head-on, Fenger is working with Ronan School District and county commissioners to get the proposal on the ballot for voters who reside in the school district area.
Currently only district boundaries have been set, which include all of the Ronan School District. Fenger is working with county commissioners to figure out a budget for the library district. Once they have a figure, they will decide how many mill levies are needed for funding.
“When we get the mills figured out, then we will need a percentage of residents to sign a petition to get it on the ballot,” Fenger added.
Fifteen percent of active registered voters in the Ronan School District must sign those petitions to put the item on the ballot, which equates to 585 signatures.
The library district would be beneficial to the community, Fenger noted, as the library currently has little funding to provide stability by offering different opportunities for the community.
“We would be able to hire more staff; I’m the only full-time person and I have a part-time employee through June 2013,” she said. “We don’t have a steady person at the front desk.”
With increased funding from area taxpayers, the library district would offer children, youth and teen services, an increased number of activities, adult services, computer classes and book clubs, to name a few.
During public comment, Ronan Fire Chief Mark Clary gave the council an update on the current city water upgrade project. According to Clary, the new 380 foot, 600 gallon-per-minute well project began in early November and is planned to be completed sometime this spring.
Part of the project includes a new 250,000-gallon booster tank for emergency fire outbreaks. During a Department of Environmental Quality test, the well was tested at 900 gallons per minute for 22 hours, which resulted in sand being sucked into the tank, however the water has cleared up since being dropped back to the required level of 600 gallons-per-minute. On Friday, the well was tested for the final time at 600 gallons per minute for 72 hours.
“The well looks good,” Clary said.
In other business, newly-elected council members Ellen Kaphammer, Calvin Hardy, Chris Adler, Robert McCrea, and Marlene Melton were sworn in by Ronan Mayor Kim Aipperspach, with their respective terms becoming effective on Jan. 1.
