To build or not build a new library in downtown Jackson, tis a question debated by the Jackson City Council earlier this week. WLBT reported Monday:
A Jackson city councilman is calling on the city and Jackson/Hinds Library System to finalize plans for a new downtown library, saying the clock is ticking on a federal grant awarded to pay for it.
The city received close to $4 million from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) about three years ago to replace the Eudora Welty Library.
However, the city has yet to find a location to house that branch, and the clock is ticking, with five years left before the city has to give the money back.
“That money is not going to last forever, and if we can’t figure out a plan soon on how to use it, we’re going to lose those funds,” said Council Vice President Kevin Parkinson.
Parkinson’s comments came during a Finance Committee meeting last week, as they were hearing a budget presentation from JHLS Executive Director Jeanne Williams.
“My understanding from the Planning Department is you have eight years to draw the funds down, and we’re three years in,” Williams said.
Williams asked for level funding year over year, saying that she would be seeking additional funds from the Hinds County Board of Supervisors, which has decreased its allocation in recent years.
Meanwhile, she said even if the city was able to open a new downtown branch, she wasn’t sure the system would be able to operate it.
“Our board - we are working on a plan with a partner. We’re not sure if it’s going to work out or not, but again, we can’t commit to building the building or renovating the building if we know we don’t have the funding to support it,” she said.
Parkinson said it might make sense to prepare a building now and even keep it offline until it can be staffed and furnished to prevent the city from losing the funds. Rest of article.
Leave it to Jackson to miss out on a grant yet again. Leave it to Jackson to have leaders who suggest building a library even if there is no money to staff it. Build it and the money might come.
Well, let's suppose Jackson somehow finds the money to operate a new library, where should a new library be?
Allow the Kingfish to offer a suggestion. There is a building downtown that is in a prime location, is more than large enough to replace the Eudora Welty library, and is in great shape: The Clarion-Ledger building.
The building is barely staffed. If vagrants get out of hand, JPD is across the street. Gannett would probably love the chance to unload the property. There is the matter of losing property taxes but perhaps a developer could buy it and lease it to the city. Just a thought.
40 comments:
They gonna have a card catalog too? And a shushing librarian? Don’t call it a library- call it a museum. - sincerely, Dewey Decimal
Who would use it? Transients? Those vagrants that you astutely point out are out of control? Are there any schools within walking distance?
It seems as though outlying neighborhoods with school age families would best be served by a library. Just a thought.
What’s their track record managing libraries?
this is pitiful. they let Eudora crumble. northside crumble. elect to receive money from HUD, and make no motions to do anything, and want to figure something out in the 11th hour. the library board should be dissolved and new functioning board put in place to begin with, and then, establish that you can care for what you have.
Clarion ledger building is not a bad idea though. Typical non functioning government
Jackson literally destroyed the libraries that it had. What makes you think they can handle the responsibility of a nice new one? This culture destroys everything it touches. That's not a bug. It's a feature.
Government is not the solution; it's the problem. (Ronald Reagan)
A library is needed to provide a place for the low-life vagrants to hang out, get free internet, and poop on the bathroom floors.
The zoo and a new library. It's so cute how Jackson clings to the idea that it's part of civilization.
It's probably a good thing they are practicing governmental decison making with something inconseqential like running a library system.
Rather than a public water or sewer system.
How many neutral ground sites suitable for a library are there in Jackson?
Iif it's not neutral ground won't people bring their beefs and guns just like they do to the local car meetups and off road rides?
Libraries are irrelevant now.
I don’t think it could be put any more succinctly than what 8:31 posted. What in the world does Jackson need with a new library, and especially one Downtown? This is nothing more than an effort to spend money that been provided “by the government” because it’s “free.” That, and other nice cities have them, so we need them…….you know, just like convention centers.
A great idea. Let another 10,000 books get destroyed by mold, right?
They won't even have to purchase 10,000 books to stock the stacks because the dozens of vagrants and homeless (aka un-housed or housing challenged in lefty speak) can't read anyway.
Wouldn't putting up some tents with fans and cots be cheaper?
I didn’t know that there were that many residents who would use a library.
JPS is too under-serving to produce a sufficiently well read local society to benefit from an actual library, except as a free after school babysitting service, a homeless/wino nap and excrement site, a DEI propaganda center and a building to name after some politically correct character. Please focus instead on expeditiously handing off the Jackson Airport to Regional/State control.
It’s all about contract steering and palm grease. Right Socrates?
Will Richard’s get the contract?
Yes. Especially if the newly tented and vented homeless volunteer as babysitters and porta-potty sanitizers.
Only about 600 people live in downtown Jackson - and very few are families with children - so who is going to use a library there? Other than bums?
The should go down west Capitol and find a corner lot and demolish everything and build it there ….got to start somewhere
Jackson's so called leadership can best be described as a cargo cult going through the motions of governance.
The outcome of a $4 million grant for a new library is the same as a $100 million grant to build anything else in Jackson.
I come here for the comments.
As I have said before, you need a like button in your site. Lots of good comments. The way things are going with the data centers I’m sure there is no need for lie berries. JPS lost thousands of “scholars” so why do we need libraries? I question as to why we are supplementing through hinds county taxes the frivolous spending the supervisors vote for. I still recall from a damn reliable source in 2017 (the contractor) that the developers Westin Hotel downtown were given 9 million of our damn hard earned money because the back door deals were made to fund that project.
Amazing - two very bad suggestions being exposed in one simple JJ post.
1 - Build it because we have some matching funds we might lose, even though we (the CIty) don't have enough money to staff the police department or public works, AND we don't have any money to stafff and operate it. Thank you Councilman Parkinson for such amazing financial leadership.
Just because there are some 'federal dollars' available you think the city should cough up another several million dollars to match those funds or else -- gosh dang!! - we might lose them. That would be terrible, just terrible I say. Who could possibly agree to passing up some so called free money even though they aren't free but require the city to put up dollars they don't have and then commit to spending dollars for years to come operating a facility who's need is at lleast questionable.
2) There is a great building available that would house a library - let's put it there. Thanks KF, what a great idea. Forget that the location of the CL building has nothing to do with who would possibly be using the library. Forget that it doesn't come with public parking - something that would be assumed to be necessary if one is assuming that a new library is necessary. Forget that the CL building has no relationship to where users are located --- hell its big and its unused.
That same logic could be applied to the Metro Center - its big and its unused. How about Virginia College - its kinda big and its unused. Either of those are at least in somewhat 'residential' areas and somewht close to K-12 schools, at least moreso than the CL building. Not suggesting that either one would be a good location for a library - they wouldn't. But they meet the same criteria that you use - big and empty and unused. Using that basis the old downtown Holiday Inn would qualify, and it does have a parking garage, but I digress.
An even better suggestion might be to use half of the downtown Convention Center; its original claimed purpose as a telecommunications training center was never reallistic and its current function as a conference location has been overrun due to the lack of a hotel and the replacement of conferences following COVID with ZZOOM type meeting - its empty and its unused and the city already owns it.
Point being - just because a building sits empty and unused doesn't make it a great location for a facility (whether that facility is needed or not) just like having some 'free' money doesn't mean a broke entity ought to utilize it.
But thanks for the humor on a hot Sunday morning.
Option 1: Lose $4 million of OPM (Other People's Money) by not spending untoild additional millions to bulid anotherr library that the city can't afford to build, maintain, buy the books for, or operate..
Total loss Option 1:: Limited to the city staff time wasted
applying for this grant and doing the planning that apparently hasn't been done. It's hard to argue there was a more productive use of this staff time.
Option 2: Fall into the usual trap of boirrowing and spending million of taxpayer dollars doing something poorly that turns into another total failure because that's how they roll.
Total Loss Option 2: Hold my beer and watch this!
Cheaper to buy a bookmobile.
How about converting part of the Convention Center to a library? Or the Landmark Building? Parking lot across the street.
As I type this, I’m holding in my hand a device with access to more information than any library in the world. Instead of spending the money on a new library, let’s build a livery stable, blacksmith shop, and wagon wheel repair facility downtown; they are no more obsolete than a library.
Correct!
Well played, sir. If Lumumba was still around, then you could bet on it.
Library in Jackson? I can think of no greater example of “don’t cast your pearls before swine.”
It would need to be in a residential area close to schools {lower grades} but not for use as a library but as the neighborhood after school day care which it will become.
Option 2: Fall into the usual trap of boirrowing [sic] and spending million of taxpayer dollars doing something poorly that turns into another total failure because that's how they roll.
Red ink gulping Convention Center fits your definition perfectly.
Library’s are a great place to provide Social Services and Line dancing and what not.. No need for actual books or page flippers😉
Libraries, today, are about as relevant and useful as my set of World Book Encyclopedias. I think I bought this set from Barney Fyfe.
Jackson is black. Black folk don't use libraries. Nor do most white folk and white folk don't live in or frequent Jackson. Vagrants love libraries. A place to nap and a place to piss.
But, grant money is probably available for new buildings and grant money is federal, meaning it's free money. Right?
Around 15 years ago, I had an office downtown. About once every two weeks I would sneak away from my office and go to the Welty Library. The library offered me a place to conduct some deep thinking and writing that was difficult to do in my office with distractions. The Welty staff was great, the space was good - tables, cubby holes, etc. Unfortunately, there was always a homeless component. They had a right to be there. I remember one person - I never saw their face. He or she was wrapped in a sleeping bag, sitting at table. Not bothering anyone, but I guess sleeping. The reality - I don't know how you deal with the situation.
My opinion: a better use of space and money is the create computer labs. Give the public access to the internet. Let them print for a reasonable rate (not like they fleece prisoners). Have an attendant or two to help with technical issues and clear passwords when the patrons are finished. Sure, people have telephones. But a good terminal is easier to work on. The old days of checking out books is over. Give the public access to research through the online library system. Yes, computers are expensive. But replacing hardware is nothing compared to building upkeep. Plenty of downtown and other storefront space to put these centers throughout Jackson. I bet local business would donate coffee and water for patrons.
A jail would probably serve the citizenry better.
What’s wrong with the old library across the street from Welty. Wouldn’t cost $4 mil to clean up and put in some computers.
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