Library Governance
Library Board Chair to Moreno: Stop the Pattern, Let the Board Do Its Job
The resignation of Escambia County Library Services Director Christal Bell-Rivera has prompted a letter from the chair of the board charged with overseeing her successor’s selection.
- Dr. K. Blaine Wall, chair of the West Florida Public Libraries Board of Governance (BOG), sent County Administrator Wes Moreno a letter today that he copied to the Escambia County commissioners, Mayor D.C. Reeves and the Pensacola City Council.
- Wall learned of Bell-Rivera’s departure through local media coverage, not through any direct notification from County administration, which should have been the proper protocol.
Pattern of Sidelining Board
However, the letter is about more than one missed phone call. Wall sees the lack of official notification of Bell-Rivera’s resignation as the latest entry in what he calls a pattern of the county administration sidelining the board Escambia County and the City of Pensacola created to oversee the library system.
No Ambiguity
Governing Documents:
- Resolution R2013-17 established the BOG to oversee WFPL management and made it accountable for the system’s administration and operation.
- The Interlocal Agreement between the County and City of Pensacola gives the BOG policy-setting authority.
- And the bylaws direct the BOG to recommend a Library Director to the County Administrator, with selection based on training and proficiency in library operations.
“Viewed collectively… they reflect a pattern that raises serious concerns regarding respect for the Board’s established governance role.”
History of Disrespect:
- May 21: Wall asked when two vacant BOG seats, open for appointment since applications were solicited in late 2025 and available since January, would go before the Board of County Commissioners. No response.
- June 23: After the BOG’s summer meetings were canceled, Wall asked under what authority County administration could cancel meetings the board itself is required to schedule. No response from Moreno’s office or County Attorney Alison Rogers.
- June 25: A subsequent request for a special meeting of the BOG, which Wall notes he has explicit authority to call under both Resolution R2013-17 and the current Bylaws. No response.
- August 10: No notification of Bell-Rivera’s resignation.
Individually, Wall writes, any one of these might pass as a communication lapse. Together, they add up to something else.
What Wall is asking for now:
- Moreno to schedule a BOG’s for August 24, with County staff providing administrative support.
- That Moreno or a representative attend the meeting to address the leadership transition and lay out the County’s plan for interim library leadership.
- A return to a director search process that puts the BOG in the position the Bylaws describe: reviewing qualified candidates, evaluating credentials, running a public selection process, and forwarding a recommendation to the County Administrator.
- That the two vacant board seats finally go before the Commission for appointment.
Wall is careful to acknowledge the County’s actual authority. Escambia County employs the Library Director, and the position reports through the County Administrator. He’s not disputing that. His argument is more basic: that authority coexists with responsibilities the governing documents assign to the board, and that for months now, Moreno has ignored the board.
- Will Moreno respond? Will the Board of County Commissioners place the process on its agenda for public comment and for Moreno to explain his intentions before a new director is hired?
The Letter
Mr. Moreno,
I was deeply concerned to learn through local media of the resignation of Christal Bell-Rivera as Director of Library Services for Escambia County. Given the significance of this development to West Florida Public Libraries, I would have expected the Chair of the Board of Governance to be informed directly by County administration rather than learning of it through a news report.
I have not communicated with my fellow Board members regarding this matter, in keeping with Florida’s Sunshine requirements, and therefore cannot speak to what information they may have received.
Ms. Bell-Rivera’s departure raises immediate questions regarding leadership continuity and the process for selecting the next Director. It also brings into sharper focus concerns I have raised for several months regarding County administration’s treatment of the Board of Governance and the governance structure established for WFPL.
The governing documents are clear that the BOG has substantive responsibilities. Resolution R2013-17 established the Board to oversee the management of WFPL and expressly provides that the BOG is accountable for the administration and operation of the library system. The Interlocal Agreement between Escambia County and the City of Pensacola likewise provides that the BOG shall establish policy for WFPL. The current Bylaws further provide that the BOG shall recommend a Library Director to the County Administrator and that the selection is to be based upon the candidate’s training and proficiency in library operations.
Against that framework, several recent actions—or lack of action—are troubling.
On May 21, I asked when the two vacant BOG positions would be presented to the Board of County Commissioners for appointment. Applications for those vacancies were solicited in late 2025 and have been available since January. The governing documents assign the appointment of three BOG members to the Board of County Commissioners. Those vacancies remain unfilled, and my inquiry received no response.
On June 23, after the BOG’s summer meetings were abruptly cancelled, I requested clarification regarding the authority under which County administration could cancel meetings established by the Board. I received no response from either your office or the County Attorney. This is particularly concerning because Resolution R2013-17 requires the BOG to establish a schedule of regular meetings, and the current Bylaws state that the BOG shall meet monthly.
I also requested a special meeting of the BOG and received no response. Both Resolution R2013-17, Section 8, and Article V, Section 3 of the current Bylaws expressly provide that the Chair may call a special meeting. I find no provision in these governing documents assigning the County Administrator authority to prevent the Chair from exercising that responsibility.
Viewed individually, any one of these matters might be characterized as a communication failure. Viewed collectively—the unanswered May 21 inquiry regarding Board appointments, the cancellation of scheduled meetings, the unanswered June 23 request for the authority supporting those cancellations, the lack of response to the Chair’s request for a special meeting, and now the failure to notify the Chair of the Director’s resignation—they reflect a pattern that raises serious concerns regarding respect for the Board’s established governance role.
That pattern needs to be corrected.
The Director’s resignation also makes it imperative that the BOG resume its work. The Board’s next scheduled meeting is August 24. I am requesting that the August 24 meeting proceed as scheduled and that County staff provide the administrative support necessary to conduct it. I invite you, or an appropriate representative from your office, to attend and address the Board regarding the leadership transition.
At that meeting, the Board needs to receive a clear explanation of the County’s plans for interim leadership and, more importantly, the process and timeline for selecting the next Director of Library Services.
The BOG must have a meaningful role in that process. Article VII, Section 6 of the Bylaws provides that the BOG “shall recommend” a Library Director to the County Administrator, and Article VIII reiterates that responsibility while establishing professional qualifications for the position and providing that selection shall be based upon the candidate’s training and proficiency in library operations.
Accordingly, I request that the County return to a selection process consistent with those governing provisions and with the Board’s historical role: a transparent, merit-based search in which the BOG reviews qualified candidates, evaluates their professional credentials and experience, conducts an appropriate public selection process, and forwards its recommendation to the County Administrator.
That process provides an important measure of public accountability and professional scrutiny for one of the library system’s most consequential decisions. It also respects the governance structure established by the BCC and the City of Pensacola rather than diminishing the BOG’s role in a responsibility expressly assigned to it.
Finally, I again request that the applications for the two vacant BOG seats be placed before the Board of County Commissioners at the earliest practicable opportunity so that the Commissioners may exercise the appointment authority assigned to them.
I recognize that Escambia County employs the Library Director and that the Director reports directly or indirectly to the County Administrator. I also recognize the County Administrator’s responsibilities within that structure. Those responsibilities, however, coexist with responsibilities expressly assigned to the Board of Governance. Effective stewardship of WFPL requires that both be respected.
My objective is straightforward: adherence to the governing documents, restoration of appropriate communication between County administration and the BOG, appointment of a complete Board, and a transparent, professionally grounded process for selecting the next Director.
I respectfully request your response regarding these matters prior to the August 24 meeting.
Sincerely,
Dr. K. Blaine Wall
Chair, West Florida Public Libraries Board of Governance