Previously:

• With Only One Seated Member Left, the Three Current Candidates for the Library Board Will Likely Assume Office Early

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The library district’s two newest members have taken their oaths of office and attended their first meeting, though their terms don’t officially begin until December.

Meanwhile, the Del Norte County Library District is seeking a fifth trustee. According to Angela Stanley, who was elected to the library board in 2014, the Board of Trustees is still filling the vacancy Lupe Gutierrez left behind when she resigned in May.

“Since we have an entire new board, it was recommended that we hold interviews for it as a new board before sending off a recommendation to the (Board of Supervisors),” Stanley told the Wild Rivers Outpost on Wednesday.

After the Del Norte County Board of Supervisors approved their appointment on Oct. 13, new trustees Robin Fornoff and Ruth Rhodes joined Stanley at the Library Board’s Oct. 22 meeting. According to Stanley, the third new trustee, Marie Jondal, hasn’t returned her oath of office paperwork yet.

Fornoff, Rhodes and Jondal’s term as library trustee starts Dec. 4, according to Del Norte County Clerk Alissia Northrup.

Stanley had been the only sitting library board member left as of Sept. 28 when her colleagues, John Roberts and Colleen Luttrell, found themselves at odds with her over Gutierrez’s potential replacement and resigned. Another trustee, Sierra Smith, had been absent at the Library Board’s Sept. 15 meeting and officially resigned on Sept. 24.

On Sept. 15, Roberts, Luttrell and Stanley discussed appointing either Uncharted Shores Academy teacher Andrew Napier or Susan Smith, education coordinator for the Tolowa Dee-ni’ Nation’s Early Learning Center, to the Library Board.

Roberts and Luttrell argued in favor of appointing Susan Smith to the Board, saying they were impressed with the programs Smith has implemented with the tribe as well as her desire of integrating local native culture into the library.

Stanley, however, favored Napier, who has worked with Del Norte County Unified School District and has knowledge of the education code.

Since there were only three Library Trustees present at that Sept. 15 meeting, Roberts advocated for letting the Board of Supervisors make a decision on who should replace Gutierrez. However, before his motion could be voted on, Susan Smith withdrew her candidacy for the position.

On Wednesday, Stanley said she didn’t know if anyone has applied for the vacancy yet, though she asked Library Manager Beth Austen to reach out to the previous applicants to ask if they wanted to be considered for the position.

The deadline to apply for the vacant position is Nov. 2, according to a library advertisement.

According to the ad, the Board of Trustees is seeking candidates that have served on a board or in an executive leadership role in the corporate, nonprofit or government sectors. Leadership and community involvement is also desired as is expertise in philanthropy, fundraising, marketing and board governance. Other desired skills in a potential candidate include expertise in accounting or law with familiarity in the nonprofit sector.

To submit a cover letter and resume, email bausten@delnortecountylibrary.org.

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