September 9, 2023
Greg Chandler, Sun and News
A committee that was created to look into the feasibility of a standalone community library in Middleville is starting to take shape.
The Village Council is expected next Tuesday approve the appointment of six community members as well as two council representatives to the nine-member ad hoc committee, which would study options for both the location and funding of the new library. Meeting as a committee of the whole on Tuesday, the council voted to move the appointments to next week’s agenda.
The council voted July 11 to set up the committee, giving the group two years to report back to the council on options for the project.
“I believe that we will come to a good solution for our neighborhood and community,” said Josh Mosey, one of the six citizen members who are expected to be appointed to the committee. “I’m excited to see this thing move forward, to be able to make solid steps in providing the citizens of Middleville with a service that they deserve.”
The village received six applications for the citizen appointments, with all six being members of the volunteer group Middleville Needs A New Library. The group has been meeting for more than a year to discuss ideas for a community library separate from the school district. Besides Mosey, the other applicants for the appointments are Chris Boysen, Sarah Buer, Kattie Bynski, Michelle Frey and Jamie Bowman.
The group had been looking into a “Friends of” designation that could raise funds for the new library. There is an existing fund called the Beacon Society, Friends of the Middleville Area Community Library, which is linked to the Thornapple Area Enrichment Foundation, an arm of the Barry Community Fund, that could be tapped for a fundraising effort.
Two members of the Village Council and one member of the Thornapple Kellogg Board of Education will serve on the committee. Village President Mike Cramer and Council Trustee Makenzi Peters are expected to be the council representatives on the committee, and the TK school board has appointed Brenda Hess to be its representative.
Council Trustee Kevin Smith expressed a desire for the applicants to come to next Tuesday’s council and possibly give a short statement as to why they want to serve on the committee.
“It’d be nice to put a face to the name,” Smith said. “It’d be good to see them in person.”
Thornapple Kellogg Schools have hosted the local library in Middleville since 1934. The current library, located inside Thornapple Kellogg High School, is only open 12 hours a week during the school year.
Middleville Community Library 