By Rikki N. Massand | Posted Jan. 16, 2025
Two residents voiced questions and concerns over the Mary Jacobs Memorial Library Foundation (MJML) litigation at the Rocky Hill town hall meeting on December 7.
Council President Trey Delaney told the residents there is a possibility that if Rocky Hill Borough Council prevails in its case against the Foundation, which owns the library building plus its $3 million endowment, a judge could order that the current Foundation Board be replaced.
The Mary Jacobs Library on Washington Street remains closed.
“The judge could also appoint a receiver to oversee how the taxpayer-generated money, [and donations] collected for a local library operation, is spent going forward," Delaney said.
"Somerset County Library System has told us that they wouldn’t support any library in Rocky Hill, so we have done research about independent libraries’ operations. We would need to follow state laws pertaining to operating municipal libraries of a certain (smaller) size. Hopewell Borough Library is an example. It’s an independent municipal library not tied to Mercer County,” he said.
Councilman Jon Lee said a goal for borough council, depending on the case’s outcome and the position of the Somerset County Library, would be for an independent library to be established in Rocky Hill. “It depends on the lawsuit and the direction we’re able to go in. But three area libraries all have the independent structure – in Hopewell, Pennington, and Raritan boroughs.”
Hopewell Borough runs a small public library. Some are asking why Rocky Hill could not do the same.
Audience member and Rocky Hill resident William Hallman says his town wants a library. He is a member of the SavetheMJLnonprofit group, which is not affiliated with MJMLF. “We did a petition on what people in town would want, and the response was overwhelmingly that residents want a library and they believe council should spend the money to do that.
Advertisement
“Then, the Mary Jacobs Foundation sued to try to get the names of everyone who signed the petition. Why would they do that?," Hallman asked.
“The judge could have certified all the signers, but the Foundation wanted people’s names and addresses. I am not making accusations but I found it odd they did not ask Rocky Hill residents what they wanted in a local library, but they are spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on legal fees to avert doing the job they were put in place to do for this community,” he said.
Delaney said if litigation with MJMLF in Somerset County Court “falls the way we think it will” there could be a borough-wide referendum to authorize the municipality to take ownership over the library building.
He ended on a note that if this idea moves forward, the immediate action will be seeking grants for free and public community library services, including for operations and maintenance of the physical plant.
“At this point in time the case is supposed to go to trial in late February, and the judge has made both sides to go through a discovery phase and spend a lot of money fighting for this," Delaney concluded.
Comments