Residents to vote on community library budget

Lansing residents will vote on the 2024 budget for the community library, as well as three new board trustees, on April 25.

The library’s $315,868 spending plan expands programming and maintains services, while also thinking about the future of an ever-expanding library.

“We’ve had some expanded both virtual and passive programming, and that includes programming for children’s programming,” said Elizabeth Gossett, the Lansing Community Library Board of Trustees vice president. “Our summer reading program is going back in person also. Something the library started during the COVID-19 lockdown that has been extremely successful are the take-and-make craft and activity kits. We distributed about 1,000 of those this year.”

Additionally, a total of about 1,000 people over the past year attended both virtual and in-person adult programs, Gossett said.

To bring the community all of these additions and expansions, the budget levies $255,990 from taxes, Gossett said. 

“This is a total increase of $21,000, or 2.5% increase from last year’s budget,” she noted. “So, for example, a homeowner with a $220,000 home will have a possible tax bill increase of $3.90.” 

For Gossett, the library delivers for local taxpayers.

“This is all just a really good use of people’s money,” she noted. “I know the trustees and the staff really feel like we deliver a lot of good value for that small tax bump.”

The community library started in 2001, after residents showed an appetite for local library services.

Voters will also vote on three candidates for three vacant board trustee roles. Below is a brief bio of each of the candidates, as found on the library’s website.

• Ann Axtell 

“I’m asking to be considered for my first term as Trustee for the Lansing Community Library. I am a strong believer in the transformational power of books and reading, and of the importance of libraries in building strong communities. When my husband Aaron and I bought our house in Lansing in 2008, one of the first places I visited was the Lansing Community Library, and I’ve been a regular patron ever since. My husband Aaron and I are graduates of the ESF-NYS Ranger School, and together own Cascadilla Tree Care. Cascadilla Tree Care has sponsored the Summer Reading Program at the Lansing Town Library since 2016. We are also a sponsor of the Lansing Theater and Performing Arts Booster Club (LTAPA) and the Lighthouse 5K. Individually, I am on the book fair committee at RC Buckley Elementary, and have volunteered as a coach for my sons’ baseball and soccer teams. I am excited to do what I can to help the Lansing Community Library as it continues to grow and find new ways to serve our community over the next few years. Thank you for your consideration.”

• David Dier 

“In 2007, I became a homeowner in Lansing where I spent weekends and holidays and then moved permanently to that home in 2019. Since 1985 I have served on nine volunteer boards. Those boards began with United Way and most recently with FoodNet Meals on Wheels where I was Chair of the Board for three years, navigating the Pandemic and change in Executive Director. For five of those boards, I served as treasurer. Professionally, I am a semi-retired accountant and worked in corporate accounting from 1980 through 2002 in the Ithaca and Boston areas. From 2002 through 2019 I was a partner in the William Henry Miller Inn in downtown Ithaca (doing everything from the books to baking all of our breads!) Since 2019 I have worked part time as a bookkeeper for three local not for profit entities. I have been a fan of the Lansing Library since at least 2007. The staff is always welcoming! I am an avid reader, so this library is my ‘go to’ place. I believe in the value of local libraries (growing up in a very small town in northern New York, the librarian was always looking for books that would interest me) and want to do my part to keep our library vibrant.”

• Margaret Shackell 

“I am an associate professor of accounting at Ithaca College. In tenth grade, I knew that I wanted to be an accounting professor, so I am living my high school dream. I earned my Ph.D. from the University of Michigan in 1999. My husband, Glen, and I raised our three kids in Lansing, and we have been an active part of the community since we arrived over 16 years ago. I have previously been on the boards of the Hangar Theatre, LTAPA, PTSO, Sports Boosters, and the CDC. I am currently on the session (i.e., governing body) of the First Presbyterian Church in Ithaca. I would like to be on the library board because I believe that literacy is vital to success and a gathering place is vital to the community.”

Gossett also said that the library is looking toward the future. Years ago, the library board commissioned a feasibility study, which proposed changes to the current library building.

“The other thing about the library is [that it’s] a relatively old building. We are looking at whether it makes sense to stay in that building. We are at the beginning stages of looking at other options for other buildings,” she said. “Lansing is growing, and some of the spaces in the library are not great.”

For example, Gossett said, it is difficult for library staff to host story hour in the children’s room with 20 kids and their parents all in the same room.

“The spaces in the basement where we have community rooms are not always adequate,” she continued. “And there are not that many spaces in Lansing to have community meetings.”

Despite demand for services having slightly outgrown the library’s current building, Gossett highlighted the role the library plays in life in Lansing.

“Even though an awful lot of people, including myself, do a lot of my reading on my iPad or electronically, the library is still that space in Lansing that is really a community hub,” she said. 

Gossett said she would like for the library vote to receive better turnout than it has in the past.

“People don’t necessarily come out for that in large numbers,” she said. “We’d love to see that reflect more use of the library. The library has a huge number of users. I think people take it for granted. Showing up for the vote means you don’t take the library for granted.”

The budget vote is April 25 at the Lansing Community Library from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Lansing at Large appears every week in Tompkins Weekly. Send story ideas to editorial@vizellamedi.com. Contact Eddie Velazquez at edvel37@gmail.com or on Twitter @ezvelazquez.

In brief:

Lansing Fire Department to host Joe ‘Ditty’ Joseph Golf Outing

The Lansing Fire Department is hosting its 25th annual golf outing on June 11 at Stonehedges Golf Course in Groton. The event will start at 7 a.m. Prospective entrants can register for a fee of $85 per player or $320 per team of four. 

All proceeds from this event are used for the Joe “Ditty” Joseph Award, which is presented annually to a Lansing High School graduating senior who exhibits outstanding volunteerism within the community and is planning to pursue higher education in fire, medical or rescue service.

This event has supported over 35 high school seniors and raised over $33,000 throughout its existence, according to a press release issued by the fire department.