NEW: Narragansett Dems & Republicans Urge Town Council Members to Support New Library
Wednesday, May 15, 2019
The Narragansett Democratic and Republican Town Committees issued a joint statement calling on Town Council members Matthew Mannix, Jill Lawler, and Richard Lema to level fund the Maury Loontjens Memorial Library.
They are also calling for the library to move into a new home in the former Belmont Market Building, as was approved by voters in 2016.
“We may disagree on just about everything else, but when it comes to our library, Narragansett’s Democratic and Republican Town Committees agree that it is a cherished non-partisan institution that deserves our full support. It is unacceptable to both of our parties that the will of Narragansett voters is being ignored and that Councilors Mannix, Lawler and Lema are proposing budget cuts that will cause our library to lose state aid, reduce hours and reduce services,” said Win Hames, Chair of the Narragansett Democratic Town Committee.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTMichael Riley, Chair of the Narragansett Republican Town Committee added, “The Maury Lootjens Memorial Library is a vital and beloved institution in the Town of Narragansett. These three councilors are intent on dismantling the Library through a vicious and spiteful abuse of power. Elected officials should follow the will of the people. That is why our Republican and Democratic Town Committees are united in calling on Councilors Mannix, Lawler and Lema to level fund the library’s budget and to follow the clear will of the town’s voters by allowing the library to move into the Belmont building, as was approved by 67.9% of voters in 2016.”
Latest on Library Battle
As GoLocalProv reported, advocates for the new and stalled library charge that the actions of Narragansett Town Council Chair Matthew Mannix are political retribution for their activism and his actions are damaging to town.
Nancy DeNuccio with the "Love Your Library" coalition appeared on GoLocal LIVE to talk about the long-running library battle.
See the Video Below
“It’s a battle that’s been going on for about ten years. For the last number of years, the library has had to reach out and get waivers from the state library association because they are not ADA compliant [and] there’s no bathroom in the children’s room. And the waivers have just carried them through," said DeNuccio. "The library was built in the early [1960s] when the town of Narragansett had about 3,200 people — we now have 16,000."
New Library Approved By Voters, Council Reverses Course
The battle for building a new library charge that the newly elected council is violating the intent of the vote of Narragansett residents.
"So they did a needs assessment and they found that the best spot was the old Belmont building in the pier marketplace. There was a lot of back and forth, a lot of meetings about it, people were pro or con — a few of the people on the previous Town Council were opposed to the deal for a number a reasons, including one individual who is really fiscally conservative — I think his main point was that he didn’t think this was a good deal," said DeNuccio.
MORE BELOW VIDEO
In their release on Wednesday, the town parties stated, "Let it be known that both Parties:
1) Support the voters of the town who overwhelmingly approved the $5.8 million bond referendum in 2016, and wholeheartedly support citizens’ efforts to move forward with the Belmont Library Project.
2) Are very concerned that democracy has been set aside in our town, and that Town Council members Matthew Mannix, Jill Lawler and Richard Lema have usurped power and authority in blocking this project, and are leading us down a perilous path.
3) Support the Belmont Library Project. Libraries are a vital and integral part of any community that is thriving and growing. A Library is non-partisan and apolitical. The Republican and Democratic Town Committees here in Narragansett BOTH ARE UNITED in our support of our library, the Library employees, the Library Board, Friends of the Library and the Love Your Library coalition.
4) Agree that level funding of our library must be maintained by the Town of Narragansett. Councilors Mannix, Lawler and Lema are attempting to cut the library’s budget. In doing so, our library will lose state aid, and the library will need to curtail hours of operation. This will obviously affect staffing. Library employees’ job security is very important to all of us. We agree that defunding the library is inexplicable, unconscionable and inexcusable.
5) Are appalled, astounded and deeply troubled by the blatant disregard of voters’ concerns that has been exhibited by Councilors Mannix, Lawler and Lema, as well as their tone deaf opposition to a library project that was backed by two-thirds of our town’s voters.
6) Encourage all voters to educate themselves about the library issue, and to ignore the spin and misinformation coming from Council members Mannix, Lawler and Lema. Accurate and factual information is readily available at the library. There are video recordings of Town Council meetings, newspaper articles, documents from workshops, etc.
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