A controversial plan to privatize Huntington Beach libraries appears to be dead following a community outcry and a last-minute pullout by the lone company the city was considering for library management.
Library Systems & Services did not provide a reason before withdrawing from consideration Monday. Shortly after it withdrew, Councilmember Casey McKeon said he could no longer support private library management because the savings would not outweigh the “negative community impact.”
“If it wasn’t a good fit, it wasn’t a good fit,” said Mayor Gracey Van Der Mark. Although she had championed the plan, she admitted she was “glad at this point this is over.”
Councilmember Tony Strickland also acknowledged Tuesday that residents didn’t seem to be on board, despite the projected savings.
Like so many issues in Huntington Beach, support for private library management was initially split along ideological lines. The council's Republican members were in favor, while the three Democrats — Rhonda Bolton, Dan Kalmick, and Natalie Moser — were opposed.
Tuesday’s meeting was an I-told-you-so moment for the council’s minority, which wanted the issue to be decided by voters from the get-go.
“In the future, I would hope that if another situation like this presents itself it will not be conducted like this,” said Councilmember Bolton. “There was no reason to go straight to an RFP. I think that just created unnecessary concern on the part of the community.”