News photo by Steve Schulwitz Tina Markowski, librarian at the Alpena County Library, puts some books back on the shelves on Wednesday. On Tuesday, county voters passed a property tax that will ensure the library will not have to close.

ALPENA – Supporters of the Alpena County Library can breathe a sigh of relief and not worry about the library’s future as voters approved a property tax renewal when voting during Tuesday’s primary election.

A total of 4,956 votes were in favor of the extension, while 3,363 votes were against. That means 59.57% of the votes for the library contributed to the passage of the proposed tax.

In the months leading up to the election, there were some doubts about public support for the library.

Some people in Alpena County objected to some books being kept in the children’s and young adult section of the library because they believed them to be pornographic, and urged the library board to move the books to the adult section or behind the counter. Some residents threatened to vote against the library renovation if this issue was not resolved.

In the end, voters decided that supporting the local library with its wide range of programs was the right course of action.

Joe Garber, chairman of the library board, admitted he was a little worried about the vote in the days leading up to the election. But he said he still believed the millage would pass because of the community’s many years of support for the library.

“Obviously, I’m very pleased with the outcome and want to thank everyone who voted to support the library,” Garber said. “Now we can continue our long-standing tradition of providing quality items and programs to the people of Alpena County.”

In the final days before the vote, residents of Alpena County and beyond rallied to show their support for the library. On Saturday, community members gathered and marched from the Alpena County Courthouse to the downtown library, waving signs of support and urging people to vote for the property tax renewal.

The effort was worth it, even if it was not immediately clear whether the mileage would be exceeded.

When the smaller communities in the rural areas of the county began to announce their election results, the number of people voting against the extension exceeded the number of people voting for it by about 350 votes.

The numbers changed quickly when the vote from the municipality of Alpena was added, as the yes votes quickly took the lead and all doubts about the acceptance of the election proposal were removed.

Alpena County Commissioner John Kozlowski said he was pleased the tax proposal passed, but added that the issue of the books and the steps needed to move them still need to be resolved. He said the library is important to the community and none of the commissioners want to see it closed if the tax increase fails. Still, he said, there are still unfinished business that need to be resolved even after the vote.

“I didn’t want the library to fail, for obvious reasons, but also because it would be another burden on the county,” he said. “That said, there is an issue that is troubling a lot of people and I think we need to come to an agreement, but we need to find a way to get there. I remain 100% convinced that the books don’t need to stay where they are.”

Commissioner Burt Francisco said a board action last month in which commissioners voted to begin the process of replacing the library board because they felt it had failed to address the concerns of people seeking to publish the controversial book affected the vote for the county’s tax proposal. He said this may have motivated more people to vote for the library proposal while also voting against a failed county property tax increase.

“I think it might have had an impact,” he said.

The library tax renewal is for 10 years and .7462 mills, which will cost the owner of a $100,000 home about $37 per year. Library officials said in the months leading up to Election Day that if the property tax renewal failed, the library would only have enough savings to keep it open for about three months, and that the library would have to close when those funds were depleted.

That is not the case right now because voters have ensured that the library has enough money to continue to provide people with the resources and programs they deserve and need.

Reach Steve Schulwitz at 989-358-5689 or [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @ss_alpenanews.com.