Regional library a no-go for RM of Hanover

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This article was published 27/02/2024 (456 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The RM of Hanover has decided not to be a part of a regional library which would have been run by Steinbach’s Jake Epp Library.

“One of the reasons would be the timing is not good,” said Reeve Jim Funk. “We have a number of things that we need to address within the municipality, and we too are looking for funding as to how we want to help pay for some of our infrastructure and some of the things that we have…The timing just was not good and the cost was quite a bit more than what we have had in past years.”

Funk said the arenas in Mitchell and Grunthal need attention as well as road infrastructure as the warm wet weather will create damage to the roadways come spring.

Currently, RM residents pay $95 in annual membership fees to use the library but can get a $30 rebate from the RM of Hanover.

There are three funding options the library proposed to the Hanover council on Nov. 22 when they made their presentation. The first is based on a per population funding model where 49 percent of the people using the library are from outside of Steinbach in the RM of Hanover. That model would see the RM paying $380,000 annually.

The second funding model would see the RM paying $10 per capita for a total of $172,160. The final funding model is based on circulation which sits at 70,906 and would require the RM to pay $250,000 annually.

Currently, the RM pays $4,000 to the library annually as a grant and pays between $15,000 to $17,000 in subsidies. The City of Steinbach pays $395,000 annually.

Library chair Jacqui Broesky said in a previous interview that with regionalization the number of users will likely double in the RM. She said the costs for the library for RM residents is $212 per person and the $95 doesn’t cover the costs associated with each patron.

“With anything, the more funding we have the more programs we can offer. And we’ve got to make sure that our costs are adequately covered so that we don’t end up in the hole. We believe in library services for everybody not just those who can pay for it. And that’s why we would love to see this move forward because there are many people that come and they find out that they don’t live in Steinbach and it will cost them $95 and for a lot of people that is just too much money. We would rather serve everybody and have free services for everyone,” said Broesky at the time.

Funk said the door to a regional library is not permanently closed. He said council could consider it in the future.

“No, there’s other options around and just because it’s not the right time right now or the circumstances were not quite right doesn’t mean that it’ll never happen. We always keep our hopes up,” said Jake Epp Library co-interim director Aubrey Walker.