Kneehill County council denied a request received from the Village of Carbon seeking $5,000 in funding to help support its local library during the regular Tuesday, March 28 council meeting.
Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) for Kneehill County Mike Haugen noted during the presentation, as a member of the Marigold Library System, Kneehill County already makes a financial contribution based on a per capita rate.
“With this request, administration has some concerns, and they’re not to do with the library itself and not to do with libraries in general-we do think libraries are important to communities. Our concern lies in the fact we have several libraries in the county, so any funding decision we make for one would likely be replicated across several,” CAO Haugen explained.
Division 1 Councillor Faye McGhee, who also sits as council representative on the Marigold Library Board, expressed the request from the Village of Carbon may have been due to a “misunderstanding of how the process works” and commended the fundraising efforts the Carbon Library board has done within the community.
“Unfortunately, our contribution to their library is through the Marigold stream, and it’s been done,” Councillor McGhee said.
Council unanimously denied the funding request from the Village of Carbon for its municipal library.
