10-year-old library fans take plea to City Council

PORT TOWNSEND – Many students in a classroom of 10-year-olds at Swan School take their public library seriously.

They felt so strongly about it that they wrote a letter complaining to the City Council about the reduction in library hours from 54 to 46 per week.

The cutback was the result of a defeated utility use tax proposal during the Feb. 6 election.

Cecilia Bahls and Abigail McGuire read the letter to the council on Monday night.

The letter quotes teachers and staff as well as students at the private school at 2345 Kuhn St., which has operated since 1985.

“The library is a great place to lie down and read,” Swan School classmate Gus Wennstrom was quoted as saying in the letter.

“The library is a very important place to me and my fellow classmates,” said Anda Yoshina, who also signed the letter.

Cecilia, the daughter of Port Townsend residents Peter Bahls and Jude Rubin, explained why she went before the council.

“I saw the article in the paper and I really like the library,” she said.

Cecilia was joined by her classmate and friend Abigail, the daughter of Todd and Rebekkah McGuire.

Abigail said Cecilia told her classmates about the hour cutback.

After sharing in reading the letter to the council, Abigail said she felt “happy and excited” about putting forth her opinion.

In her statement to the council, Cecilia said, “As a bookworm, the library is very important to me, but it’s harder for me to get there when it’s open less.”

Cecilia, who visits the library with her family once a week and always leaves with a stack of books, is credited with spearheading the letter project and presentation to the council.

She is the daughter of Peter Bahls and Jude Rubin.

The girls’ teachers, Russell Yates and Lowell Johns, urged them to take on the letter on as a class assignment and Cecilia and Abigail agreed to present it at the council chambers at City Hall.

The unsuccessful Feb. 6 ballot proposal would have increased the use tax from 6 to 10 percent, raising $72,000 to fund positions to maintain existing library hours.

City Manager David Timmons, responding to the girls’ letter Monday night, said the library’s revenues have shown a great deal of revenue increase over the past 15 years.

He said that, although hours were cut back, a capital plan to expand is still in the works.

In an action unrelated to the concerns about shorter hours, the council unanimously accepted the library capital plan concept at the recommendation of the Community Development & Land Use Committee.

The council agreed to incorporate recommendations into the 2008 capital budget plan.

Proposed is a $5.2 million expansion of the 1913 8,000-square-foot Carnegie library building on Lawrence Street at Harris to 14,355 square feet.

The concept is three years away from actual construction, said Timmons.

It would expand the building slightly outward and possibly add a partial second floor, without altering the building’s historic character.

Port Townsend’s Library is one of 1,680 others that wealthy industrialist Andrew Carnegie funded between 1881 and 1917.

More in News

Two ghosts dangle from a tree in the breeze in the 200 block of West 10th street in Port Angeles. Halloween events are scheduled today throughout the North Olympic Peninsula. (Dave Logan/for Peninsula Daily News)
Ghostly visions

Two ghosts dangle from a tree in the breeze in the 200… Continue reading

Port of Port Angeles awarded $9.4M in funds

Will help move toward zero-emission goals

Potential defense workload changes could have ripple effects

Clallam, Jefferson counties brace for decision, expected in January

Leaders discuss rural reproductive health

Policy, funding and workforce shortages considered

There were no serious injuries after a two-car collision pushed a Chevrolet pickup truck into the corner of the Emporium building at the corner of Eighth and Cherry streets in Port Angeles. (Dave Logan/for Peninsula Daily News)
Two-car collision pushes truck into building

A Chevrolet pickup truck collided with a building following… Continue reading

Two Totem Poles were missing from The Quileute Tribe’s 101 Building in Forks.
Sheriff’s office seeking information about missing totem poles

The Clallam County Sheriff’s Office is looking for information about… Continue reading

A recent snow is visible from Port Angeles on the Klahhane Ridge on Tuesday. The forecast for the rest of the week calls for high temperatures hovering about 50 degrees with a chance of showers and overnight lows in the low 40s. (Dave Logan/for Peninsula Daily News)
Snowy peaks over Port Angeles

A recent snow is visible from Port Angeles on the Klahhane Ridge… Continue reading

Clallam County, Flaura’s Acres establish agreement

Utility Local Improvement District may be formed

Ecology updates on eight Port Angeles cleanup sites

Sites not of particular worry, state spokesperson says

Deputy Mayor Rachel Anderson thanks Sequim police officer Mark Poole with a proclamation of his Lifesaving Award on Oct. 14 for preventing a man from jumping from the River Road bypass in August. (John Southard)
Sequim police officer honored with Lifesaving Award

Sequim Police Officer Mark Poole was awarded a 2024 Lifesaving… Continue reading

PASD is hopeful about its bond, levy

Safety, security at buildings, officials say

Federal case dismissed against Jefferson County

Prosecutor says office ‘vindicated’ by decision