Despite the Nov. 30 closure of the Rockrimmon Library, activists are continuing efforts to save their local branch.
During an Oct. 16 meeting, the Pikes Peak Library District (PPLD) Board of Trustees voted 5-2 not to renew Rockrimmon’s lease after Nov. 30, citing a $1.2 million maintenance backlog, Rockrimmon’s proximity to other library locations, and the expense of Rockrimmon’s lease. Since that meeting, activists gathered en masse at Colorado Springs City Council and El Paso County Board of County Commissioners meetings to sway elected officials to take action. Hundreds of residents took part in the Nov. 20 PPLD Board of Trustees meeting, and Trustee Aaron Salt appeared at a Nov. 25 Colorado Springs City Council work session to discuss Rockrimmon Library’s closure. The PPLD Board of Trustees put the decision to close Rockrimmon Library to a revote during their Dec. 4 meeting, but once again voted 5-2 not to renew the lease.
The Rockrimmon closure was once again a topic of discussion during the Dec. 10 Colorado Springs City Council meeting. Councilor Dave Donelson, who has consistently advocated for the PPLD Board of Trustees to find a way to preserve the Rockrimmon Library, called on the Board of Trustees to hold yet another vote on their decision to renew the one-year lease for Rockrimmon Library. Specifically, he addressed Trustees Salt, Erin Bents and Angela Dougan, who voted against the lease extension during the Dec. 4 meeting. Donelson warned that failure to reverse their decision would lead to demands for their resignation or efforts to remove them from their roles.
Members of the PPLD Board of Trustees are appointed by both the Colorado Springs City Council and the El Paso County Board of County Commissioners, and the PPLD Board of Trustees is an autonomous governing body over the PPLD. While City Council and County Commissioner liaisons can make recommendations, they don’t have the authority to change or overrule PPLD Board of Trustee decisions.
This is not the first time Donelson has suggested removal of members of the Board of Trustees. During a Nov. 12 City Council meeting, Donelson discussed reasons for removing members of the Board of Trustees.
“One of the criteria that the [Colorado Springs City] attorney provided for removal was inadequate performance, and if they’re provided with $24 million and can’t find $250,000 to keep a neighborhood library open when there’s this kind of support for it, and even people pledging their own money to help out, and the gentleman who owns the strip mall cutting his rates and doing a one-year lease, I’d say that’s not very good performance,” said Donelson.
Removing a member of the PPLD Board of Trustees would require the support of the majority of City Council and County Commissioners. While Donelson, Councilors Nancy Henjum and David Leinweber, County Commissioner-elect Bill Wysong and others have expressed support for the Rockrimmon Library, County Commissioner Carrie Geitner has commended the PPLD Board of Trustees for their decision.
During the Dec. 10 City Council meeting, Henjum described the decision, “as if they took a torpedo and ran it into their own ship.”
The Save Rockrimmon Library group is urging the PPLD Board of Trustees to hold a special meeting and revote on the one-year lease extension before the Dec. 31 lease deadline. The group has also asked City Council to support the idea of a revote and take immediate steps to secure emergency funding and implement safeguards to ensure greater accountability in library governance.
