Mobile County commissioners appear to have found a path to keep the Semmes Library open in its current location after weeks of tense negotiations with CVS Corp., the property’s corporate owner, over the terms of a costly lease.
The library’s future had been in doubt as the deadline to renew its lease approached and talks between the county and CVS stalled. Commissioners had begun preparing for the possibility of closing or relocating the branch when CVS signaled it was willing to consider a shorter, less expensive agreement.
“We sent an offer a few days ago proposing $5,000 a month for a 60-month lease, which is roughly half of what the current lease has been. We’ve just now heard from CVS, and they are agreeable to that,” said Commissioner Connie Hudson, whose district includes Semmes. “That’s actually very good news. It’s surprising, but it’s good.”
County Attorney Jay Ross said he had also held informal conversations with property managers representing CVS, adding it was possible the company would eventually be open to lowering its asking price if the county pursued purchasing the building outright.
Under the current arrangement, the county has been paying roughly $11,916 per month to lease the building, a figure commissioners and library supporters alike have called excessive as talks over renewal dragged on. The commission voted to terminate the existing lease on March 27, moving up the pressure to reach new terms before the branch’s future was jeopardized.
Hudson began raising concerns about the lease in February after learning that her fellow commissioners, Jerry Carl and Merceria Ludgood, did not intend to renew it as written. Both had pointed to underfunded libraries elsewhere in the county as a reason for their opposition, though they said they remained open to alternative solutions that would keep the Semmes branch running.
Earlier efforts to resolve the standoff included a proposal for CVS to donate the building to the city of Semmes in exchange for a tax write-off, an offer the company rejected. The county also had an independent appraisal conducted, which valued the property at $1.3 million. CVS, however, indicated it would not accept less than $2.2 million for an outright purchase, an amount Hudson described as nearly double the building’s appraised value and one she called a “take it or leave it” offer.
The county has already paid CVS more than $1.7 million in lease payments over the past decade. On top of the lease, the commission has provided the Semmes branch $162,000 annually in operating expenses, an amount that has drawn scrutiny given it exceeds what the county contributes to all of its other library branches combined.
Both the original lease and the disproportionate funding arrangement date back to 2007, when the commission approved the deal under then-Commissioner Stephen Nodine, with support at the time from Ludgood. Nodine, reached recently, defended the arrangement, saying he would not apologize for bringing “a much needed asset” to a community he said had long paid taxes with comparatively little investment in return. He said the library was part of a broader package of infrastructure — including schools and road improvements — the county funded to prepare the Semmes area for incorporation as a city in 2010.
“It was part of all that we invested in the western area. It was schools and roads — all to get them ready to become a city,” Nodine said. “It was close to $15 million to $20 million so the city wouldn’t have to take that on, but with the understanding that, when you become a city, you’re going to have to absorb these things.”
Despite that history, the library itself sits just outside Semmes’ corporate limits, and the city currently contributes nothing toward its operation, even as it maintains a number of other properties within city limits. That arrangement may be changing. Speaking to commissioners this week, Semmes Mayor David Baker acknowledged the city recognizes it will eventually need to help support the library the way other municipalities support their local branches.
Baker also emphasized the library’s reach extends well beyond Semmes city limits, drawing patrons from across the surrounding region and even neighboring Mississippi.
“We have people with library cards from Mississippi who regularly transit up and down Highway 98, and it’s important to bring that to the forefront,” Baker said. “When you look at the beauty and location of this library and the staff — it’s a draw, it’s a regional draw, and it helps the county.”
While the tentative terms have been welcomed by commissioners and Semmes residents, no final agreement has yet been signed. So far the only formal action taken has been the termination of the prior lease.
Hudson had initially criticized her fellow commissioners for waiting until weeks before the lease deadline to raise objections, but she has since tempered that criticism given their collaborative effort to find a workable solution.
The monthlong standoff also drew attention to a broader funding imbalance among the county’s library branches. According to Mobile County Finance Director Dana Foster-Allen, the Semmes Library received $340,000 in the 2017 county budget, compared with a combined $167,948 distributed among the county’s other seven funded library branches.
Asked whether that disparity could be addressed going forward, Hudson said changes were possible, adding she hopes the weeks of debate have underscored the Semmes Library’s value to the broader western Mobile County region for her fellow commissioners.
“This is a top priority, not only for my office but for my fellow commissioners as well. They understand the importance of this and they know this is a regional library,” Hudson said. “It has served a lot of people for a long time, and we’re proud of it.”