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Lighthouse Community Library director asks Whitehouse council for $16,000 boost to address building repairs and staffing gaps
Summary
Library director Amy Thurston told the Whitehouse City Council the independent Lighthouse Community Library serves about 18,000–20,000 visitors a year but faces deferred maintenance and staffing challenges; the board is asking the city to consider a roughly $16,000 annual increase to its existing $49,000 grant to stabilize operations and address safety issues.
Amy Thurston, director of the Lighthouse Community Library, told the Whitehouse City Council that the nonprofit-run library serves roughly 18,000–20,000 visitors annually and holds about 4,447 registered patrons — roughly a 45% market share of its legal service area. She described a broad mix of services, from interlibrary loan and a large physical collection to digital checkouts via the Libby app, tutoring space and robust children’s programs.
“The library is our money,” Thurston said, describing printing, faxing and other fees that help underwrite operations; she reported year-to-date printing/fax revenue of about $10,320. Thurston also recounted two recent reporting violations for lead-and-copper sampling notifications that occurred during a change in management; she said the notifications process has been corrected.
Thurston outlined several pressing facility issues — a leaning light pole, a depressed area in the parking lot that staff described as a sinking spot (the city later characterized it as a depressed area rather than a true sinkhole), a nonworking water heater and fountain, deteriorating railings on an upper ramp and deteriorating portable storage that is sinking — and said the small volunteer board lacks the capacity to address all of them. She said the library receives a $49,000 annual city grant that supports staffing and operations but that the board estimates a roughly $1,300 monthly increase (about $16,000 annually) would let the library address maintenance backlog and reduce turnover by paying higher wages.
Jen, identified in the transcript as the library board president, told council she does not manage daily finances as director but that the board has discussed the $16,000 figure and that the nonprofit is pursuing grants and fundraising to supplement any city support.
City staff and council members acknowledged the library’s community role and the popularity of its programs but noted a complicating factor: the library operates as a separate nonprofit in city-owned space without a written maintenance agreement that clarifies which repairs are the city’s responsibility and which are the nonprofit’s. “We don’t have that with the library location,” a city staff member said, noting the city does have such agreements with some other nonprofits that use city facilities and that those agreements typically define responsibility for smaller maintenance items (for example, under $500). Councilmembers said the council will consider the request as part of the upcoming budget workshops.
Multiple council members and residents offered practical help: volunteers and local groups (including Boy Scout troops) were suggested as partners for small projects such as vegetation trimming and cleanup; one city employee confirmed the city recently cleaned vines and debris from the gated recycling area and power-washed the building.
What happens next: Councilmembers said the library’s request will be evaluated alongside departmental budget requests during the city’s budget workshops, and no additional funding was approved at the meeting. The library director and board said they will continue fundraising and pursuing grants while asking council to consider the modest increase during budget deliberations.
