March 22, 2023 |
Photo – Hanna Library – Courtesy Carbon County Library System Website
Carbon County commissioners on Tuesday agreed to take over the obligation of paying the gas bill for the Hanna library, which is part of the county system. Commissioners also had questions regarding the library’s future location.
Hanna Mayor Jon Ostling was present during Commissioners meeting to answer questions about his town’s library branch. Mayor Ostling said he noticed the library, which is housed in a small trailer owned by the county, needed an unusual amount of natural gas to heat.
After the discovery, Mayor Ostling asked Library Board Executive Director Maria Wenzel to alter the memorandum of understanding, or MOU, between Hanna and the county. As the MOU is written, the county owns the library building, but the town of Hanna is responsible for paying utilities. Mayor Ostling said because the gas bill continues to rise, he wants to change the MOU to limit the amount of money the town spends to heat the structure, which he said residents rarely use.
Ostling suggested having the library’s utility bills put in the county’s name. Commission Chairwoman Sue Jones said her understanding was, that in the past, the county had taken over utility payments for all the branch libraries. She said the county Buildings and Grounds Manager Mike Newbrough supports having all the utility bills run through his office.
Newbrough is going to install wireless thermostats in the Hanna library to monitor the temperature in the building. In the meantime, Chairwoman Jones said Newbrough requested copies of the library’s utility bills to determine if the energy company had raised its rates.
Commissioner Byron Barkhurst asked if a rupture in the gas line, in or around the library building, had occurred. Mayor Ostling said he hadn’t investigated himself but he expected it would have been brought to his attention if a gas leak was detected. Commissioner Barkhurst suggested Ostling investigate whether a possible leak had occurred.
Chairwoman Jones said the issue of utility bills must have been missed when the county established the library system. She said having utilities in the county’s name would allow Newbrough to investigate the billing issues and perform required maintenance as needed.
The commissioners passed a motion to have County Attorney Ashley Davis investigate the existing MOU. Chairwoman Jones asked Davis if a new agreement would be required to allow the county to take over the library’s gas and electric bills. Davis said it would be necessary to at least modify the MOU, not only to address the utilities, but also to put into writing what would happen if Hanna closed the library.
Chairwoman Jones asked about moving the library into the recreation center. Mayor Ostling said he was uncertain if the shelving needed would fit into one of two available rooms. The Hanna mayor said moving the library into the rec center would give more people access to the catalog.
County Clerk Gwen Bartlett asked Mayor Ostling if he had a timeline for moving the library. She said it may not be worth it to have attorney Davis draft an MOU addressing the library building if the town was going to move it. Mayor Ostling said other projects have taken priority over the library.
Mayor Ostling said he’ll have a more solid timeline by summer’s budget hearings. The Hanna mayor said he intends to move the library; he just doesn’t know when. He asked the commissioners to trust his word that it’ll get done.
Chairwoman Jones instructed attorney Davis to draft a new MOU giving the county responsibility for the Hanna library’s utility bills. The county would need an updated agreement with Hanna whether the move occurs or not. Under the revised MOU, the town of Hanna would still be expected to provide water and sewer to the library building and financially contribute to the Carbon County library system. The amount of money Hanna will pitch in has yet to be determined.
