Just in from Escambia County: The West Florida Public Libraries Board of Governance meeting originally scheduled for today, Monday, Oct. 26 at 4 p.m. has been rescheduled to Monday, Nov. 2 at 4 p.m. due to lack of quorum. The meeting will take place at the Tryon Library, located at 1200 Langley Ave.
- Note: Quorum is an issue because County Administrator Wes Moreno failed to present to the Board of County Commissioners any applications for the two open spots. The board only has five members.
Library Board Asks for Appointments in May
On May 21, Dr. Blaine Wall, chair of the West Florida Public Libraries Board of Governance, sent Moreno an email letter demanding to know why two vacant seats on his board still haven’t reached the Escambia County Commission for a vote.
- The seats had been empty since March 1. Qualified applicants submitted their materials by the County’s stated deadline in early January. Wall said the Board has been told a request was made to put the appointments on a Commission agenda, but nothing has happened.
“What should have been a routine public appointment process has now remained unresolved for several months without any meaningful explanation regarding the delay.”
- The agreement: The Interlocal Agreement between Escambia County and the City of Pensacola gives the County three appointments to the Board.
- The problem: Wall argued the extended vacancies impaired the Board’s ability to function fully and undermine the continuity the agreement was meant to provide.
- The bigger concern: By withholding the appointments from the agenda, he said, the Commission was effectively prevented from exercising its appointment authority in a timely and transparent way.
His ask was simple. Place the two appointments on the next available Commission agenda so commissioners can consider the applicants. He also wants Moreno to explain the delay.
What Moreno Told the PNJ
The News Journal interviewed Moreno in early June, three months after vacancies were created. The county administrator said the county had more pressing issues than filling the Library Board of Governance.
- Moreno wanted to take his time, according to the PNJ, to get to know the applicants and “see what their thought process is.” We have no record of Moreno interviewing any of the applicants. If he has, Moreno didn’t share those conversations with the commissioners in any public meetings.
Once again, the county administrator failed to do what he said he would do.