MacNeil resigns Frankfort Library seat

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Kay MacNeil

Updated: March 1, 2012 8:24AM

Citing four years’ worth of unresolved issues, Frankfort Public Library Trustee Kay MacNeil resigned Jan. 26 after serving 17 years on the board.

Her resignation — which MacNeil faxed to the library just prior to Thursday’s board meeting — caught fellow trustees by surprise.

In that two-page letter, MacNeil said she does not have confidence that the current administration “can ever bring the library back to the smooth and effective operation it was prior to 2008.”

“I got four people elected (to the library board) and it has not made much of a difference. It’s not what I was promised by those candidates,” she said in a Friday phone interview. “I’m sorry to give up, but it’s time to move on.”

Board president Keith Ogle — one of the candidates MacNeil supported in the 2009 election — said he was “shocked.”

“I’m sorry to see she feels she can’t continue. Kay has done a lot of positive things. She’s contributed so much,” he said.

The board had been “contentious” but lately there has been “a good working atmosphere,” he said.

Ogle said MacNeil has long been unhappy about the library switching to the Dewey-free system of organizing the books, and wanted to get rid of it before the next election.

The library adopted the system in 2009, organizing its collection more like a bookstore.

As board president, Ogle said he did not want to put that issue on the agenda for a vote — as MacNeil requested — until the system could be objectively evaluated. “It’s such a divisive issue,” he said, and may be a moot point as libraries move into the electronic book era.

Personally, Ogle said he’s not crazy about the system, but circulation numbers are up.

In her letter of resignation, MacNeil said several new trustees told her they were committed to reverting back to the Dewey Decimal System, but her efforts to get the issue on the agenda this month were “squelched.”

MacNeil said the library can afford to make the switch, but she also accused the administration of “overspending,” citing a $60,000 expense to update the library’s web page. MacNeil further criticized the uncompleted parking lot improvements, which she said, began in 2008.

That project was delayed due to a lack of funds and is now ready to go out for bid, Ogle said.

He said one and a half years ago, the library had a $64,000 deficit, but the latest audit showed its assets increased to $360,000.

MacNeil also kept seeking reimbursement for a $1,480 bill to have a private firm transcribe a tape recording of a closed session library board meeting in 2008, Ogle said. She even threatened to sue the board over it. Board members said the tapes never should have been taken from the library and refused to pay it.

MacNeil tried again to get the bill paid in 2009 and 2011 — after each election — and was rejected, board member John Tylk said.

“That was always a raw nerve with her,” he said.

Still, he said he was a “little surprised” by MacNeil’s resignation.

“It’s sad that she wanted to end her relationship with the library this way. It’s unfortunate that she can’t seem to get along. She’s a great volunteer and has raised a lot of money,” he said. “I thought these issues were behind us.”

Ogle said the board will seek candidates to fill MacNeil’s seat which expires in 2013. He wants someone who is willing to run for the board’s four-year term in 2013.

“The library is much bigger than one person or personality,” he said. “We will move on.”