A recent decision that was made by the Carbon County Commissioners has much of the community concerned. At the regularly scheduled commission meeting that took place on June 7, the commissioners took into consideration renewing a contract to have the Bookmobile run throughout Carbon County for another year.
County Clerk Seth Oveson spoke with the commissioners on this, stating that the amount for the contract are about $1,000 more than what they were last year, bringing the grand total up to $99,800 to run the mobile. This contract, if renewed, would run from July 1 up until June of next year. The Bookmobile journeys throughout Carbon County, making reading material accessible to local residents.
The commissioners expressed their concerns with the budgeting for the remainder of the year. While they did recognize that the Bookmobile is a great program and that literacy is of utmost importance, they did state that they were unsure how successful it was in the local area.
Commissioner Casey Hopes questioned whether the contract had to be all or nothing. He also wondered if the Bookmobile could run less times a year, bringing the cost down. While the commissioners debated the decision, they ultimately came to the agreement not to renew the contract.
“In my opinion, I don’t know that we can afford it any longer,” Commissioner Jae Potter said.
Commissioner Jake Mellor did inform those at the meeting that agreeing with the contract renewal would more than likely lead to painful and less than desirable cuts elsewhere. Commissioner Potter also pointed out that every school has a library, there is a public library, and students and residents are able to download and read online.
There are many that do not agree with the decision that was made by the commissioners. Subsequently, there are those that see the decision as wise. A local ten-year-old by the name of October Hamilton took post at Smith’s Food and Drug over the weekend, donning a t-shirt urging the rescue of the Bookmobile and requesting that patrons sign a petition.
An online petition has also been created by a local resident that begs for the Bookmobile to stay in the area. This petition has over 100 signatures thus far and can be located here.