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Show Claims and coootedaiirris fly at library hearing w tw , ' M . ' '. I . - . ' . , t 1 f '. -r. ;v . , . . -1'- i i - ! -i , i fT i , . ; " - Stt ' 1 I ! j I . i .' ' . -r i 'rl . .': L A ' .' : B 3..:rJf Hiiim Tijwiiiin ii , r i nr. iiii tiii iiiTiiiijiMi lmir itinnnBi; i'tiith .'in . x . , . , At the heart of the controversy : The Miners Hospital was built at the foot of Treasure Mountain in 1904 to treat miners who were injured or afflicted with "miner's con" from breathing black dust. It was moved to its present site on Park Avenue and dedicated as the city library in 1982. , J 4 - . -. ''- S '-4 . , Y V -v v. : kVtfff - ' I' v v ; -.''rf. ' - iiiik ; v ' . 1 , " " ' - - . ,V" ' - - - ' ?'.' ' by RICK BROUGH Record staff writer Park City Library officials went to a Nov. 20 public hearing to ask for county financial support and ended up facing accusations of exorbitant spending. The allegations came amid a debate over county funding for the library, but since the meeting a mini-debate has gone, on between library officials and city and county landowner Mary Lehmer, who charges the library with profligate spending. The central issues were where library service should come from and who should pay for it. The Summit Sum-mit County Commission has proposed propos-ed formation of a special taxing district encompassing all of the Park City School District, outside 'the city boundaries. Supporters of the district came to the hearing at Parley's Park , Elementary School and said the library is a valuable service to county coun-ty residents, especially school children, who live in the Park City area. Opponents, on the other hand, said Park City library services are overly over-ly expensive and some large agricultural landowners in the Snyderville area urged that fees be charged of those who use the facility rather than levying a property tax. They argued that those with large , land holdings wouldn't use the library, but would pay for it more heavily than homeowners. "I object to others paying for Park City's exorbitant costs. It is more fair to allow users to pay rather than tax 100,000 acres, most of which are ' populated by deer and sheep and ' cows and they can't read," said Lehmer, a city resident who owns land in the county. Lehmer was the most vocal opponent oppo-nent of the district, presenting a number of figures to show the ex- pense of the Park City Library, as compared to the county library service, ser-vice, now offered through a bookmobile. -, . . v , Her statements', however, have caused library professionals to ques- ' ' '-tfMltertemeflts' - Mosr dramatically; IMHiS?iSBr that Park City's cost per circulation of books is the highest in the country, $4.33 per circulation. Her source, she said, was Paul Buttars, a staffer in bookmobile services at the State Library Association. But sources at the association, including in-cluding Buttars, said they have no such information. Rankings of cost throughout the country aren't available. Said Russell Davis, director direc-tor of the Association, "I don't know where in the world she'd get that' figure." An association staffer, Becky Butler, said that even in Utah, Park City's cost isn't the highest. Percir-culation Percir-culation costs in the state range from 35 cents to $7.50. Lehmer replied, "He (Buttars) made the statement, when I gave him the circulation cost of the library.". ; Some residents, including County. Commissioner Stan Leavitt, also suggested the Park City School District should improve its school libraries. Supporters, however, said the Park City Library has availability and resources that school libraries don't have. Brian Schiller, county resident and Treasure Mountain Middle School principal, noted the cost per county resident would be low. The county has calculated that in the case of a $100,000 home the tax would be $6.50 to $7 a year. "Seven dollars a year is so trivial that I can't frankly believe we're arguing about it," Schiller said. Bill Ligety, a Silver Springs resi- . dent, also contended that county residents will benefit by the library service. "Like Mary (Lehmer), I am a property owner. Community services ser-vices enhance property and make it worth more than $200 to $300 an acre," he said. The service district, proposed by the county commission this October, would encompass the same boundaries boun-daries as that of the Park City School District. It would exclude the Park City municipal area. The district would allow its residents to have library privileges in Park City. The meeting attracted about 30 people, including junior-high school students who hoisted picket signs at the back of the room with such messages as, "Reading is important" impor-tant" and "I want to read." One middle school student told commissioners, commis-sioners, "Students are throwing . . , , snowballs and playing in the streets . instead of being in the library" Resident Joann Gaydos compared . Summit County to the last rural area she lived in. "It had four libraries and you paid $10 for it. I think we're asking for minimal service." Dairy farmer Stephen Osguthorpe, on the other hand, said staffers. Park City librarian Pat Montgomery Mon-tgomery said the four salaries range from $12,000 to her salary of $30,000 (Her entry-level salary three years ago, however, was $24,000, and she . said that was a decrease from her last position). At resort-town libraries, directors salaries are between bet-ween $30,000 and $40,000, she said. Another major topic at the meeting was whether school children need the library. David, Chaplin, a Park City High teacher, said the city library is a small investment in-vestment for a large service. Sometimes, he said, he is concerned about giving student assignments that cannot be met by the resources in the school library. In addition, the school library often can't be used after hours by students, because they have jobs or other commitments. com-mitments. Commissioner Stan Leavitt asked, "Why do you make assignments if the resources aren't available there? If you're going to teach, the schools should provide the material." Chaplin replied, "It's unrealistic to assume that a school library has every possible learning source available for every possible learning contingency." PTA President Anne Jackman said the district is trying to solve several problems at present. "We're trying to improve the libraries, but it is going to take years." Lehmer, however, said the school should have sufficient resources, after the revenues it gained in the recently-approved voted leeway. "If the libraries have to stay open Saturdays or until 6 p.m., so be it. We should adjourn this meeting and go to our school authorities," she said. Lehmer made several arguments which also became points of contention conten-tion over the past week. Among them: She said the State Library Association Associa-tion bookmobile, which presently serves the county, is more economical than the Park City Library. The bookmobile circulation . costs, she said, are $1.25 per book, " compared to $4.33 per book for the Park City LffiraryV . . , - But sources at the State Library Association said it's not logical to compare the costs of running the two. Said Director Davis, "To use the figures as comparison is a gross misuse of statistics." The reason, he said, is that libraries offer many other services in addition to checking check-ing out books. "We're not opposed to the bookmobile, but you can't go there and look up the address for General Electric," said Montgomery. She said library services also include informational in-formational tours for visitors, providing pro-viding back issues of newspapers and reference sources, story hours for children, video displays and community gatherings. This view was echoed by Butler, information desk coordinator and senior reference librarian at the Library Association. A library is an information center and a community communi-ty gathering place, while the bookmobile is "a traveling book store." Lehmer replied, "If they want to run a tourist center, why should the county pay for that? Do we need all that frill? Obviously, all this crap is what's sending the price of circulation circula-tion up." Davis, however, said the circulation circula-tion cost isn't a good gauge of the costbenefit of a library. It can vary greatly from year to year. Another question was whether Summit County is among the lowest in the state in spending for library service, per capita. Lehmer said that despite statements from the city ci-ty library board to that effect, the associaiton told her the lowest spending spen-ding is in Cache County. In response to a Record inquiry, Montgomery produced her most recent re-cent information, a 1983 survey which showed Summit County spending spen-ding $10.40 per capita for libraries. However, this included spending at the city library. Without city spending, county spending dropped to $1.70 per capita. In the 1983 figures, the only county lower was Utah County, at $1.09. Library official Davis said the association prefers not to use the per-capita formula. He said he ranks counties by "taxing according to capacity." This takes the maximum allowed mill levy, times the assessed assess-ed valuation of the county. By this measure, Summit County has the lowest rating in the state, he said. "The county could do a lot more," he said. But the reason for the low funding, he said, is that the county has many small, widely scattered communities. com-munities. A bookmobile service is appropriate for that population. A library is appropriate for a community com-munity the size of Park City. "You have enough people there to run it ef-iVn'uHv ef-iVn'uHv " h's;iid mmmmtmmmmmmmmmtmmmw ' , ' , 1" " r a. ' k J, ' "We're not opposed to the bookmobile, but you can't go there and look up the address for General Electric." Pat Montgomery "I object to others paying for Park City's exorbitant costs. It is more fair to allow users to pay rather than tax 100,000 acres, most of which are . populated by deer and sheep and cows and they can't read." Mary Lehmer f ' X ' ' f I t - ... i v. Ml t It It: . ' jr ( J.- he supported user fees and urged im- provements in the school libraries. He has five children, he said, and when they go. to the city library they have told him they can't find what they want. ' ' . " Lucy Murphy said she supports the city library . But she said she had questions about the budget. Murphy . also said county residents who don't use the library shouldn't have to pay for it. "It's beyond the library. I'm tired of paying for other people's needs." This is almost un-American." - Commissioner Tom Flinders also ' qutwti'merl the city's library budget, ' in piu ticulai ciisls lor toui lull lime , . ' "Seven dollars a year is so trivial that I can't frankly believe we're arguing about it:" Brian Schiller |