Advocates press council for a library advisory board to advance public library plans

During the open forum at the Sept. 16 Forney City Council meeting, a resident representing Citizens for Forney Area Library urged the council to appoint an advisory board by Dec. 1 to ensure the creation of a public library remains a city priority.

Flowers Escamilla (presented as "Flowers Camilla" in the meeting) told the council that Forney will mark six years without a public library in January and asked the council to create a community-led advisory board to consolidate input on potential locations, help coordinate stakeholders such as the Chamber of Commerce, and keep the library project moving after immediate public-safety priorities are addressed. The speaker said multiple location options had been discussed and asked for a concrete plan to keep the project on track.

Council response and context: Council members and staff acknowledged the speaker—s comments and indicated awareness of the library issue; no council action or appointment was taken at the meeting. City staff noted public commenters on consent item 11 (a separate land-use item) would be called when that item was heard.

Why it matters: Advocates described a library as a civic resource that hosts story times, community workshops, and information services — functions they argued are important to community cohesion, literacy and access to unbiased information. The speaker framed an advisory board as a way to provide focused public input while city staff and council prioritize public-safety capital projects.

Ending: The request for an advisory board was recorded in public comment but not acted on; the council did not schedule appointments or create an advisory board during the meeting.