Citing cost and logistical concerns, the Ada County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously to not put the decision to dissolve the Meridian Library District on the November ballot.
In February, a group called the Concerned Citizens of Meridian filed a petitionto dissolve the Meridian Library District after they said the library board of trustees were ignoring their concerns over sexually explicit materials being available to minors.
“I would ask both the library district and the petitioners to reach out and try to come to an amicable solution because I know there's one out there, but to dissolve the district would be overwhelmingly disruptive,” said Board Chair Rod Beck on Wednesday’s commissioner's meeting.
Following the petition request, the Ada County Board of Commissioners heard public comments last weekand received roughly a thousand emails and hundreds of postcards from community members weighing in.
Around 800 people showed up to two public hearings, the second was scheduled to accommodate those who did not get a chance to speak during the first meeting.
Pointing to a stack of hundreds of postcards and an eight-inch thick binder containing printed emails from the public, board member Ryan Davidson said the office received a pretty good sample of the community’s interest.
“The results were pretty overwhelmingly against putting the question on the ballot by, well, again, a pretty substantial margin,” he said. “I think it's entirely possible that a lot of people are concerned with minors’ access in the library, who at the same time would not necessarily support this particular tactic to address those specific issues."
