Ortonville? A community/teen center. Use of a church building. Parental involvement. An enforced code of conduct.
These were some of the solutions discussed at a library forum May 5 that addressed large numbers of children in the Brandon Township Library after school.
The forum was attended by approximately 60 members of the community, including township and village officials, library and school board members, clergy, parents and children. Problems that have arisen at the library primarily during the after school hours were discussed as well as suggestions for what to do about the situation.
The library, located at 304 South St. and adjacent to the Brandon Fletcher Intermediate School, has had problems almost since the day it opened in December 2000, by some accounts. Vandalism and rowdy kids have become commonplace between 2:30 p.m. and 5 p.m., when as many as 150 kids have been in the library at one time. The situation came to a head March 10 when library personnel began requesting names and addresses of all students entering the library that day.
‘I’ve witnessed the problems and I put the blame on the library board,? said Ortonville resident Bob Flath, speaking at the forum. ‘A handful of kids are the problem, but the rest see it and it is magnified. The library has fantastic programs, but somehow or other they let the kids have their way.?
Flath suggested the staff put the kids out of the library until they come back with a parent. If the problem continues he believes a permanent expulsion from the library for misbehaving kids may be necessary.
Several other forum attendees seemed to agree that enforcement of the library rules is fundamental. One woman questioned, ‘Why is it so difficult to handle disciplinary measures here?? while Pastor Dave Gerber of Lake Louise Church of the Nazarene commented, ‘There’s nothing wrong with an acceptable code of conduct… it’s ok to kick somebody out if they’re acting weird.?
Zoe Pearson, public relations director for the library, and JoAnn Gavey, library director, protest that there is a code of conduct and standards they expect kids to follow. What they don’t have, they say, is the staff to monitor huge numbers of kids and assure they are following the rules.
‘The easy thing to do would be to kick them out,? said Gavey. ‘We don’t want to do the easy thing. How are we helping kids if we say, ‘You have to leave, get out of here?? The biggest thing kids have thrived with is someone giving them attention.?
Forum moderator and village manager Paul Zelenak also questioned where the kids would go if they were kicked out.
Some at the forum suggested such attention should be given by parents.
‘Parents need to teach these kids proper behavior,? township clerk Jeannie McCreery said, to a round of applause.
McCreery responded to several suggestions of a teen center for the community by saying while she supports the idea, funds are not available from the township. Extra millages for the library, police and fire department have been necessary because regular taxes have not been enough. She noted that the township zoning ordinance of one home per two and a half acres permits less tax revenue than denser communities such as Waterford.
Karyn Milligan, Groveland township resident and Brandon school board member, has always been a community center advocate.
‘I guess we’re a long way from thinking about the community center,? said Milligan, who noted the problem at the library isn’t going away. ‘It would be better to come with a plan to the township. For $150 out of your taxes per year, we can support a community center.?
Although township money isn’t available for a solution, nor is the township eligible for certain grants for afterschool programs in the schools, other suggestions were made that are viable.
McCreery mentioned the possibility of using federal funds through a Title V program that allows senior citizens to be hired for part-time work on community projects? such as volunteering their time as monitors at the library.
Ken Tison, youth pastor at Ortonville Baptist Church, offered use of his church building for a few hours after school on Tuesdays, saying they have a gym and staff that can safely handle 150-200 kids.
‘We can let them run like animals and it won’t cost the community a dime,? he said.
Gavey emphasized that safety is a major concern of the library. Although she said the library is a responsible environment, library staff cannot guarantee the safety of children.
‘If something happens, realize it is not the library’s responsibility to keep a leash on your kids,? she said.
Following the forum, more than a dozen people signed up to be on a taskforce to research solutions to the library’s afterschool problem. Gavey wants to meet with the taskforce and schedule a calendar and ‘go from there.?
A solution can’t come quick enough. The day after the forum, vandals struck yet again in the men’s restroom at the library. Staff found toilets plugged with paper towels and overflowing, with soap smeared across the floor. A few days later, obscenities were found scrawled on a bookshelf in permanent silver marker.
Gavey says she plans to begin filing police reports and may have to consider as an option closing the library every day from 2:30- 5:30 p.m.
Pam Mazich, Groveland Township clerk, wondered where parents are.
‘It may get to the point where a few ruin it for many,? she said. ‘It’s not a babysitting service, not a teen center, it’s a library.?
‘People at the forum mentioned this is a parental responsibility,? said Gavey. ‘Well, there’s an awful lot of parental responsibility that’s not being exercised… The parents who leave their children here are going to need to step up to the plate. This is not a community center where you leave your kids for two or three hours while you come home from work.?