Williamsburg agrees to pass money from Iowa County to Amana library

WILLIAMSBURG — After months of searching for a plan, the Iowa County Board of Supervisors has found a way to give money to the Amana Community Library.

The Williamsburg City Council agreed during its June 24 meeting to be the means of passing funding from Iowa County to the Amana library.

Because Iowa Code allows only cities and counties to establish libraries, and Amana is a land use district, the county can’t legally give the money to the Amana library directly, according to Iowa County Attorney Tim McMeen.

The county must fund libraries in the county, the Board of Supervisors said, but it’s not obligated to fund Amana’s library because Amana is not a city.

But supervisors wanted to be fair to all libraries in the county, said Supervisor Chairman Kevin Heitshusen, so it gives money to the Amana library every year when it gives money to the other libraries in the county.

Since the 1980s, the county has given the money to the Marengo Public Library and Marengo has passed the money to Amana as a satellite, or branch library.

Marengo City Administrator Karla Marck objected to passing of the money through the Marengo library because neither library could produce a contract agreeing to the arrangement.

Marengo Library Director Jackie Jordan told the Marengo City Council that the library board doesn’t want to pass the money along anymore.

The Williamsburg City Council didn’t see a problem with accepting the money from the county and passing it to the Amana library. The council agreed to name Amana library an extension of the Williamsburg Public Library so the county can give money for the Amana library to the Williamsburg library for distribution.

Heitshusen told the Williamsburg City Council that the county needed this year’s funds given to Amana library before the end of the fiscal year, June 30. Williamsburg agreed to pass the money to the Amana library without an agreement because of the deadline.

The Williamsburg City Council expects the Williamsburg and Amana libraries to enter into a 28E agreement before the next distribution of funds.