A request by the Polk County Library Board to re-appoint Nesbit Dalton and Harriet Frye was postponed at Monday’s nights County Commission meeting. Board Chairman Mark Bishop told the board he had reviewed the statute and thought the Library Board was no longer properly constituted.

Bishop said he had talked with members of the community who believe five seats should currently be available. He said he sent a letter to the Library Board requesting minutes from the meetings from the last four years and asked for the names of all Library Board members who had served for more than three years. Terms on the Board are 3 years and are staggered.

Attorney Jimmy Logan, who represents the board in the lawsuit with Friends of the Library, told commissioners the law states that the board should have seven members with no more than five members of one gender and no more than one elected official. The board currently has 8 members.

Logan said that part of the process in defending a lawsuit was to look at the makeup of the plaintiffs and decide if they have the right to file a lawsuit. During this process, he said, they began to try to find out who was really on the board properly. He suggested to the board they follow the law and the staggering of terms to see what appointments really needed to be made in order to re-constitute the board if they did not receive a reply.

Bishop said he hoped they would be told who was serving and for how long. Bishop also said he felt the issue may be a larger one than the Library Board. There are many boards in the county, some are required and some are not. Bishop said he was trying to find out which boards were still meeting and whether or not members were being appointed properly.

John Pippenger, who currently serves on the Library Board, said he did not wish to continue to serve. He told the board that Greg Brooks had expressed an interest in serving.

Logan suggested that the commission might want to consider asking people who have an interest in serving talk to the County Executive. The issued was tabled until August 28th.