The director told the commission staff are preparing the fiscal year 2027 budget and will include requests for additional staff time and resources to process and use off-site storage at the Miller Drive facility. She said the facility will offer climate-controlled document storage and space for processing and scanning but that the library lacks shelving and on-site staffing to take full advantage of the space.

The director said she will ask the town and county for funding support, including possible county contributions for documentary work and scanning infrastructure. No specific dollar requests were presented at the meeting; the director said she expects to raise the issue in the town’s budget process and to include it in the commission’s report to the council, which the director scheduled for Dec. 8.

Commissioners discussed timing: the director asked commissioners to provide input before Thanksgiving because the memo for the council report should be finalized roughly two weeks before the Dec. 8 council presentation. The director framed the request as iterative: staff will continue to ask for incremental support and to document needs rather than present a single urgent demand.

Staff described objectives for Miller Drive as (1) climate-controlled long-term storage for special collections; (2) a staffed processing/scanning area; and (3) shelving and infrastructure. The director said the library can manage without immediate staff there but that long-term plans require dedicated personnel.

No formal budget votes were taken at the meeting; commissioners agreed to refine wording for the report to council and to submit comments on the proposed budget requests in the timeline discussed.