Demaris Miller, Hampton District, speaks during the public comment period of Thursday’s board meeting. ““We are being screwed up — we know it. We feel powerless to do anything about it,” she said.

Aims to make public this month proposed lease for new library 

The Rappahannock County Public Library Board of Trustees pledged last Thursday to seek public comment on a proposed lease for a new library at Rush River Commons. 

The lease could be finalized this month, Board President Victoria Fortuna said after a tense two-and-a-half-hour board meeting attended by 60 members of the public. The public portion lasted one hour. Then the board deliberated privately for 90 minutes before making the announcement.

The board’s lease-negotiating committee would “determine the schedule about how we’re going to approve” or deny the lease only after a 30-day written public comment window closes, Fortuna told the public.

“We will read them all,” Fortuna said of public comments, “and we will consider them.”

“We will also consider the proposal for staying here,” board member Michael Chamowitz added.

County residents pressed the board over the potential library move — questioning the board’s motives and perceived lack of transparency in lease negotiations with the library’s potential landlord, and urging it to reconsider the move altogether.

The meeting came after a judge ruled earlier last Thursday that the board did not have to share documents related to a proposed lease. The ruling did little to quiet public skepticism about the board.

“This library doesn’t belong to this board, doesn’t belong to the Board of Supervisors, doesn’t belong to Black Kettle, but it belongs to the citizens of Rappahannock County,” said Craig LeValley, who lives in the Stonewall-Hawthorne District. 

Apology from board member

The meeting kicked off with a formal apology from Maureen Harris, 83, a member of the Board of Trustees who admitted last Monday to removing two signs opposing the relocation of the library. She reiterated that she removed the signs out of concern for their proximity to the roadway.

“Here’s my comment, and then I’m going,” said David Konick, the attorney who represented several Rappahannock residents in a lawsuit against the library board over its refusal to share lease negotiation documents. “You people want to know why nobody trusts you: because you won’t make her resign, because you won’t let people talk.”

Konick called the board “a joke” and promptly left the meeting. Most of the audience — all but 17 people — followed.

At least three Rappahannock sheriff’s deputies attended the meeting at the request of Assistant County Administrator Bonnie Jewell, who serves on the library board. Officers have not been present at any library board meeting the Rappahannock News has attended in the past two years.

The monthly meeting of the Rappahannock County Library Board of Trustees at the Library drew a large crowd. (Photo/Luke Christopher)

‘Transparency needs to be a priority’

About 10 people spoke during a public comment period, nearly all in opposition to the move. The board limited the public comment period to about 20 minutes, and set a timer for two minutes per speaker. 

“We are being screwed up — we know it. We feel powerless to do anything about it,” said Demaris Miller, Hampton District. “This library is going to become somebody’s grand hotel because a developer is going to end up with this property if we let it get away. I’m glad so many of you are fighting for it, and I hope we win.”

“I’m embarrassed by the conduct of this board; the cloak-and-dagger activities must stop, and transparency needs to be a priority,” said Rod Osborne, Stonewall-Hawthorne District. 

Fran Krebser, Wakefield District, thanked the board for its work and admonished “numerous rumors” about the intentions of Chuck Akre — a local philanthropist and the financial backer of the Rush River development — in gifting the building. (The Akre family’s Fagus Foundation is also a donor to Foothills Forum.)

“This current local debate is mindful to me of the story of the Hatfields and the McCoys. There is too much acrimony and discord going on in Rappahannock now,” Krebser said. “We need to remember to sit down and talk to each other, respect differing opinions, and have confidence in this board to do whatever they collectively deem best for the long-term survival of the library.”

Former Piedmont Supervisor Christine Smith handing out buttons and fans with the same “Our Library: Improve it. Don’t Move it” logo as yard signs she had made earlier this month. Smith and many others spoke during public comment about wanting the library to stay at its current location. (Photo/Ireland Hayes)

‘We need lots of money’

Board members stressed after their private deliberations, when every member of the public had gone home, that it would consider keeping the library at its current site. But staying would come at a steep cost, they said.

A $6.5 million plan to expand and renovate its current building, which the library board thought was ambitious but achievable, following a 2025 feasibility study, fell apart.

“If people are really interested in staying, we need money,” said Fortuna, the board president. “We need lots of money.”

Board member John Beardsley said the board would entertain “the idea of a small renovation” at the library’s current site.

Library director Amanda Weakley said “patrons are coming through the doors and actively sharing how they feel about the library and relocation or renovation” with library staff, and many are “very passionate about improving this library where we are.” 

Chamowitz asked if any of those people had pledged donations to make that happen. Weakley said many people have shared fundraising ideas or expressed interest in helping cover the cost of a renovation.

A side-by-side comparison of renderings showing what a new library at Rush River Commons could look like. John Beardsley, vice president of the board, said the design is still a work in progress and not final.

Updated design revealed

Beardsley, a member of the board’s design team, presented updated renderings of what a new library could look like. Key differences between the new renderings and older versions are a new “circular” lobby space, resembling a grain silo, and a stone facade. He said the library’s floor plan is the same in the new version.

The library would still be attached to a larger, separate community space, Beardsley said, and would have a meeting space with a capacity of “about 75 people.”

“Design is still under discussion and under development,” Beardsley said. 

Beardsley also assured the public that the name of the library would remain the “Rappahannock County Free Public Library,” addressing a “mistake” in an earlier rendering that featured a sign reading, “Rush River Community Center & Library.”