By Lee Ross
Mountain View Telegraph
There will be a public hearing on Aug. 6 that may make the Edgewood Community Library a town department.
That's according to the town's Deputy Administrator Clerk/Treasurer Estefanie Muller, who is working to complete all the necessary paperwork.
“Edgewood is becoming a town of many resources,” Muller said.
She added that now she is doing more shopping in Edgewood, she may start taking her granddaughter to the library in town, rather than taking her to the East Mountain Library in Tijeras.
The Edgewood library saw 5,505 visitors in 2007, according to a report from the library, and 1,625 people used the library's three public-use computers.
Should the town's involvement lead to extended hours, even more people may be using the library. Muller said she is writing job positions and pay grades are being created for the possible positions of head librarian and staff. Replacing the volunteer staff with paid staff could mean longer hours of operation.
During a discussion about the library at the town council meeting on July 2, Councilor Glenn Felton mentioned that extending the hours may bring more patrons.
“The traffic currently doesn't go there because it's not open,” Felton said, referring, in part, to himself and his family.
Current library hours are noon to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, according to the library Web site.
To be a certified library, which means it can apply for grants, a library has to be open for a minimum number of hours per week.
“I understand that they are just meeting that,” Muller said.
To make the library compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act, it is likely that a new ramp will also be installed. According to Code Compliance Officer Wayne Schober, the ramp on the library rises 10 inches every foot where ADA requires a slope of no greater than one inch per foot.
“I think the ultimate answer is a new facility,” said Councilor Brad Hill
There are other access issues and the roof of the building has been known to leak. In fact, the library has had its share of lean times.
“We were recycling aluminum cans to try and get enough money to try and stay afloat,” said Ellen Wymer, a former town councilor who has volunteered at the library for around six years.
She said being a town department will likely alleviate some of that burden.
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