Citizens’ group moves to dissolve Meridian library district. This is why, and what’s next

A group of Ada County residents wants to dissolve the Meridian Library District.

The group, Concerned Citizens of Meridian, filed a petition with the Ada County Election’s Office claiming the district’s libraries contain sexually explicit material available to children, and the district has refused to change its policies about it.

The petition, which was accepted by the election’s office, now goes to the Ada County Commission for a public hearing to decide whether to place the dissolution on the ballot.

The commissioners are scheduled to hold the public hearing at 10 a.m. this Thursday, Feb. 16, in the commissioners’ conference room in the Ada County Courthouse.

The petition was “a community effort,” said Phil Reynolds in a Facebook message to the Idaho Statesman. Reynolds is one of the leaders of the effort to dissolve the library district, the Statesman previously reported. The Concerned Citizens’ Facebook group had 204 members as of Wednesday.

Last summer, hundreds of people, some of whom were were part of the Concerned Citizens of Meridian, gathered at a Meridian Library District board meeting to voice their concerns about or support for books that were available to children. Most of the people who spoke during public comment supported the library, the Statesman reported.

The criticism of the Meridian library follows a nationwide trend where some conservative groups have accused local libraries of having sexually explicit material accessible to children.

The Concerned Citizens’ petition said the library “continued the availability” of material targeted to “sexualizing minors.” The petition also criticized the library for offering a space to meet for the Queer Straight Alliance, a group the citizens said supports the “sexual indoctrination of minors.”

The group also wrote that the library board had refused to hear community concerns during its meetings, and that one library board member “supports the chemical and surgical castration of minors.”

Meridian Library Director Nick Grove said by phone that the library is not prepared to comment on the petition before the commissioners’ hearing.

Voters created the Meridian Library District in 1974 with a ballot measure. A year later, voters elected to tax their properties to pay for it. The district runs four libraries across the city on a $7 million annual budget, and it anticipates opening another library next year, according to its website.

A news release from the county outlined the dissolution process for a taxing district:

• A petition must be filed with the Ada County clerk and presented to the commissioners.
• A petition requires at least 50 verified signatures.
• A hearing must then be held within three to six weeks.
• The commissioners must notify the public in a newspaper two weeks before the hearing.
• The commissioners must send notice to the governing board of the library district.
• The commissioners must issue an order 10 days after the hearing saying whether or not the county clerk must hold an election.

If voters dissolve the district, the commissioners would dispose of its property and assets, and any indebtedness would be placed in the county general fund, the news release said.

Many Idaho cities, including Boise, Nampa, Caldwell, Eagle, Garden City and Middleton, include libraries as part of city government, but some, including Meridian and Kuna, do not. The Meridian district’s libraries are:

• The Cherry Lane Library at 1326 W. Cherry Lane.
• The Silverstone Library at 3531 E. Overland Road.
• The ubBound Library at 722 NE 2nd St.
• The Tiny Library at 5159 S. Hillsdale Ave.
• The planned Orchard Park Library at 1267 W. Chinden Blvd.