After weeks of disagreement regarding the process of renewing the mandate of directorsThe Garfield County Board of Commissioners and the Garfield County Public Library District Board of Trustees are close to finalizing an intergovernmental agreement (IGA) that will provide clarity on appointments moving forward.

A public meeting to discuss the county and library district’s IGA plans is scheduled for 1 p.m. Thursday at Garfield County Administration, 108 Eighth St., Room 100, Glenwood Springs.

The ongoing dispute centers on the library district’s board of trustees appointment and reappointment process, which was changed earlier this year after a small group of community members began to a petition calling for restricted access to manga for adult readers in Garfield County libraries in 2023.

The county’s proposed IGA states that the original agreement, established in 2006 when the library board was established, “did not include a provision regarding the ‘method of selection of directors’…the parties wish to rectify this omission and clarify current board policy. and the method of selecting directors.

Under the county’s plan, all trustee applications will be submitted to county commissioners, who will conduct interviews and make appointments. A library district representative may participate in interviews, the IGA draft states.

Trustees seeking reappointment must also appear before the commissioners, although the proposed IGA clarifies that reappointment should not be denied without “good cause,” as outlined in the library district’s board of trustees bylaws. THE statuses define “good cause” as “willful misconduct, refusal to obey an order of the President, or negligence in the performance of his duties.”

The library district’s proposed IGA, however, proposes that administrators regain control of the appointment process. Under this IGA, administrators receive applications, solicit interviews and recommend an appointment, which the county commissioners ratify or reject. Commissioners may ask up to five interview questions, designate representatives to observe interviews, attend a public recommendation of candidates, and request resumes and rankings of candidates. Trustees seeking reappointment would not need to reappear before county commissioners.

Debate over the trustee appointment process began earlier this year, when commissioners passed a resolution changing the system that had been in place for more than a decade.

In 2006, the commissioners adopted Resolution No. 06-111, making the appointment of library district administrators a responsibility of the county commissioners. The resolution also stated that “subsequent appointments to the Board of Trustees and terms of office on the Board of Trustees shall be made by the Board of County Commissioners or specified in the Bylaws of the Garfield County Public Library District, as applicable.”

The Library District Board’s bylaws state that “any new member of the board shall be presented to the Garfield County Commissioners to confirm his or her appointment.” Adrian Rippy-Sheehy, Chairman of the Board, referred to this point as he reappointment of directors Jocelyn Durrance, Carbondale and Susan Use, Glenwood Springs, November 7.

In 2008, the commissioners verbally amended Resolution No. 06-111, allowing the board to recommend appointments instead of having the commissioners make the selection directly.

This arrangement was canceled in March with the adoption of Resolution 24-12. “Whenever a vacancy occurs on the Board of Trustees, whether due to expiration of a term or for any other reason, the Board of County Commissioners, acting as a committee, shall appoint a qualified person to fill the vacant position,” the resolution states.

The next meeting on Thursday aims to resolve these differences and finalize the IGA for director nominations.