Our public record requests have started to come in—and thank you to those who bought us cups of coffee to pay for them. Each record gives a fuller picture of how Christal Bell-Rivera received the library services director job and a six-figure salary over a more qualified candidate.
We now know that Bell-Rivera scheduled a meeting with Commissioner Ashlee Hofberger and her aide Melanie Luna during the middle of the interview process.
On Friday, January 28, Bell-Rivera emailed Commissioner Ashlee Hofberger asking for a meeting.
“I welcome the opportunity to meet briefly with you next week to listen and better understand your district priorities and how the library can best support the residents you represent,” she wrote. “I am happy to accommodate your schedule and can meet at a time that works best for you.”
Why this matters: On Monday, February 2, at 9 a.m., the West Florida Public Library Board of Governance, County Administrator Wes Moreno and senior staff held preliminary interviews with the four finalists, which included Bell-Rivera.
From the minutes: “The following applicants were interviewed: Michael Jenkins, Chris Hare, Christal Bell-Rivera, and Bradley Vinson. The fifth applicant, S. Banister, emailed Ms. Powell and cancelled the interview just before their interview was to begin at 12:20 p.m. Each interview was held via a Teams meeting from 9:00 a.m. to 12:08 p.m.”
Read 2-2-26-special-meeting-minutes-updated-final
At 4:24 p.m. after her interview, Commissioner Hofberger replied to Bell-Rivera, copying her aide, Melanie Luna: “Hey Ladies!! I’m excited to meet! Did we set a time? If not, how’s Wednesday?”
- She didn’t need to respond because Luna had already scheduled the meeting while the preliminary interviews were being conducted.
- At 5:01 p.m., Bell-Rivera texted: “Melanie reached out this morning. Yes, Wednesday at 2:30 pm. I’m looking forward to it. Thank you!”
The full interviews were held on February 20. Read Briefing CBR.
In her text messages with Councilwoman Jennifer Brahier, Hofberger gave the impression that she had very little involvement in library services. Her priority focus was Fire and EMS. “If it’s not Fire Services or EMS, I pretty much stay out of it.”
Read more.
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