The Mesquite City Council on Tuesday adopted a budget that includes closing one of the city’s two libraries.
Under the plan, the city will consolidate the North Branch Library with the Florence Recreation Center, located in the same block.
Deputy Mayor Pro Tem Elizabeth Rodriguez-Ross, the sole vote against adopting the budget, called it a “death blow” and an “injustice” to the North Branch Library.
“I would like it to be recognized that this is in no way a unanimous decision,” Rodriguez-Ross said. “No matter how hard staff and colleagues try to mischaracterize it, this is a closure and this is the loss for the north side that's coming with this budget.”
The Main Branch Library is about six miles away in central Mesquite.
Rodriguez-Ross had questioned in prior meetings the need to close the library when the city isn’t facing a budget deficit. She said during a workshop in July that until she saw a blueprint of the consolidated model at the Florence rec center, she could not support the closing the North branch.
The city said the library’s infrastructure is aging, and that the consolidation would allow additional operating hours, including Sundays. The city also plans to offer mobile library services to bring books to other areas of the city.
“We don't have anything in our southern sector and there's a large population out there that doesn't have access to these services,” city manager Cliff Kehely previously told KERA.
Rodriguez-Ross said Tuesday she doesn’t believe the plan will expand services.
“I am aware that publicly we're calling this closure an expansion – but a reduced level of services, a reduced level of staffing in a smaller space is hardly what I would call an expansion,” Rodriguez-Ross said at the council meeting.
The city also plans to close the Dunford and Goodbar Recreation Centers; they will remain open for now, operating as "reservation only" facilities. Staff there will be assigned to other rec centers, and Senior and teen services and other programs will be relocated.
Keheley told KERA in July that the consolidation will be implemented over several months.
Priscilla Rice is KERA’s communities reporter. Got a tip? Email her at price@kera.org.
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