Photo by jppi via morgueFile.com
Longtime director of the Community Library Mary Ellen Close has been removed from that position and reassigned to other duties.
The action took place at a meeting of the library’s board Monday night, said Ken Mangold, a Randall representative to the board. The vote was 6 to 2.
Before the vote to reassign Close, two board members — Dale Baughman of Paddock Lake and Lois Sokolski of Silver Lake — resigned, Mangold said.
The board voted to appoint staff member LeeAnn Briese as interim director. It also formed a committee to be headed by Irene Swan to search for a permanent director, Mangold said.
When asked why the move was made Mangold said “It’s time for a change.” He would not comment on what reasons for the action were discussed in a closed session at the meeting.
Close, the library’s director since its inception, was reassigned to the circulation desk, Mangold said.
The Community Library serves Twin Lakes, Paddock Lake, Silver Lake, Salem and Randall. It has sites in Salem, Silver Lake and Twin Lakes.
The forcing out of Ms. Close is truly what both the Randall Town Board and the Twin Lakes Village Board wanted all along. They have stacked the Library Board against Ms. Close now for the past couple of years. If you look closely at the appointments from these two communities you will see that none of the individuals had any real interest in making the library better. They had personal agendas designed to make this happen. If either board, (Randall or Twin Lakes) and their designated appointees had the interest of the library at heart we would have had a new library by now. Look beyond what just transpired, and you will find a lot of personal agendas, and no one looking out for the good of the library or the community.