Orono Town Council wants youth voice in library affairs

ORONO – With unanimous approval, the Orono Town Council voted to give younger residents more of a voice in the operations of the Orono Public Library.

Voting 6-0, councilors approved a measure that would add an extra member and associate member to the library’s board of trustees, bringing the total to 10 members. Councilor Sean Wasson was absent from the meeting.

The new members, who will serve one-year terms, will be appointed by the Town Council and will be students in grades 10-12. Previously, the board consisted of six members and two associate members who served three-year terms.

Under the new plan, adult board members still will serve three-year terms.

Mary Cady, board of trustees treasurer, said the group had a nonvoting youth member but that the additional members would be beneficial to the operations of the library. She said numerous libraries across the country already have voting youth board members.

In other business, a bid for environmental cleanup of Ayer’s Island was awarded after considerable debate.

The award to Summit Engineering of Lewiston was questioned on the condition of a possible conflict of interest by Councilor Geoff Gordon.

According to Gordon, Summit Engineering and its consulting firm appear to have business ties with Ayer’s Island LLC, which is a developing company on the island.

“My concern is with public perception, purely,” Gordon said. The council voted 4-2 to award the bid and the town’s attorney will look into the perceived conflict of interest.

Also, the council unanimously voted to award $50,000 each to the Library Building Fund, the Public Works Garage Reserve Fund and the Birch Street School Renovation Reserve Account. The money will come from the town’s undesignated fund balance.