On Monday, Jan. 6, members of the Limestone County Commission and the Athens City Council convened for a special called joint meeting in which both parties unanimously agreed on the creation of a joint library board for the Athens-Limestone County Public Library.

“We’ve been working with the city on this issue for close to a year now,” Limestone County Commission Chairman Collin Daly told The News Courier after all resolutions and ordinances from both governing bodies were passed at the Clinton Street Courthouse Annex. “There were several dominos that had to fall before we could get to this point, but it’s been a good learning experience. The county and the city have always worked well together, and I look forward to seeing how we can make the library even better.”

The topic of the library board has been widely discussed in the past year, as questions were raised by members of the public as to why there had been no county appointments on the library board for more than a decade.

After months of discussions between both governing bodies — and their respective attorneys — the recently agreed-upon composition of the new library board will allocate two appointments to Limestone County and three appointments to the city of Athens. The number of appointments is in congruence with the annual pay to the joint board from both bodies — as the city has to pay at least $128,000 and the county has to pay at least $80,000 for library services.

“We took our time through all the applications, and we felt like we had a list of around 12 realistic candidates to choose from,” Daly said. “We feel very strongly about the two that have been picked, I think both will offer good representation for the community and board to utilize.”

Members of the board are not compensated, as it is solely a volunteer position, with each scheduled to serve staggered terms that will not take into effect until March 1. According to Limestone County Attorney Drew Dill, the reason for the staggered term limits is to ensure that all five positions of the joint board are not up for new appointments at the same time every four years.

The city’s initial appointments to the joint board are Craig Beasley, four-year term, and Allison McCormick, three-year term — both of whom are currently on the Athens-Limestone County Public Library Board. The city also appointed newcomer Shonda Brown, two-year term.

“I felt it was important to stay on so that we carry on that knowledge and history to this new board,” McCormick said. “I don’t think it would be good for the library to start all over with a brand new board, and I refuse to let this place suffer as we get started. It hasn’t always been a pleasant job, but it’s a job I’m glad to have.”

The county’s initial appointments to the joint library board are Pammie Jimmar, president of the Athens-Limestone County Chamber of Commerce, on a four-year term and newcomer Vicki Hereford on a three-year term.

“I am super excited to take on this new opportunity as we get 2025 started,” Jimmar said. “What is there not to love about the Athens-Limestone County Public Library? I look forward to being able to offer more resources to our library, and I look forward to serving this community even more in this new capacity.”

Immediately following the joint meeting, a special called meeting of the current library board was convened to ratify the resolutions and ordinances passed by the Limestone County Commission and Athens City Council — effectively solidifying the creation of the new joint library board.

During the meeting, outgoing Athens-Limestone County Public Library Board Chairman Chris Anderson — who chose not to seek reappointment after 15 years of service on the library board — said that he hopes that the joint library board will be able to get back to doing what’s best for the library.

“This position was never one that I sought out — we don’t get paid to do this and up until a year ago it was fairly non-controversial,” Anderson said. “It was frustrating at times to go from business as usual to a constant day-in and day-out fight, so I feel like it’s a natural time for me to step away and let someone else get an opportunity with this new board. I can only hope that this new board gets back to library operational matters, as opposed to going back and forth with all the agendas out there.”