Town approves agreement with library

The Woodbury Town Board’s approval of a Memorandum of Understanding with the Woodbury Public Library was met with concerns from the public at the February 20 town board meeting.

Cathy Schmidt, president of the Library Board of Trustees, explained that the MOU outlines what has been in place for years and clarifies the roles of the town and library boards. It also notes that the library is an “independent corporation with the ability to own property, enter into contracts, employ a workforce, and maintain its own bank account for the management of library funds.” The full document can be read on the town website.

Speaking at the meeting, certain Woodbury residents, such as Martha Lopez, questioned whether the agreement was in the best interest of the taxpayers. Among the concerns were how the library building was insured. Councilwoman Sandra Capriglione explained that the town’s actions, with the guidance of the insurance agency, were made to remedy past issues.

Resident Marie Hunter called out the board for not giving the public the opportunity to hear from the insurance agency and ask questions to better understand how the town board and the library came to their decision.

Supervisor Kathryn Luciani responded to another resident who asked why taxpayers weren’t voting on the agreement by explaining that Woodbury, unlike Monroe, does not have a public free library, and therefore residents cannot vote on such matters.

Other business

During the meeting, the board decided to change the town board meeting start time to 6:30 p.m. This move was met with some objection from the public, who worried that commuters and others would not be able to make the earlier start time. Councilwoman Teresa Luongo explained that others had difficulty with the meetings running so late and that the board tried to find an accommodation. Luciani said that if the time change doesn’t work, the board can change it back.