Commissioners approve five-year library lease but reject $34,200 consulting assessment after debate over eventual 'authority' language

The St. Clair County Board of Commissioners approved a five-year lease for library space at 302 Michigan Street totaling $510,000 for the term June 1, 2025, through May 31, 2030, and simultaneously rejected a $34,200 engagement with a consulting group to conduct a library assessment after debate over contract language that some commissioners said would prematurely direct the county toward forming an “authority.”

Commissioners who opposed the assessment said the consulting scope contained bullet points that effectively mapped a path toward creating a library authority, a change they did not want the county to cede without voter approval or fuller local review. One commissioner said, “I don't believe I'd ever support it with the language in there to analyze a pathway to an authority.” Another commissioner argued the consultant should simply gather information that could later be presented to voters: “If they were to change the model, that it would go before the voters anyway … it's really just a path to getting information.”

The motion to engage Library Strategies Consulting Group for $34,200 failed on roll call (Trello: No; Felix: Yes; Rushing: No; Vandebosch: Yes; Beaton: Yes; Bean: No). The lease for 302 Michigan Street passed on roll call (Felix: Yes; Rushing: No; Vandebosch: Yes; Beaton: Yes; Trello: No; Chairperson Samasco: Yes). Commissioners said the lease secures library space while the county continues to consider longer-term governance or capital options.

Board members asked staff to ensure any future consultant work or proposals explicitly avoid ceding decision authority away from elected officials or bypassing required voter approval for major governance changes. No final decision was taken at the meeting to change library governance; the assessment contract — which would have produced information — was not authorized.