Paddock Lake says no to helping pay for Silver Lake library branch

bookshelf-mf-jppi_optPaddock Lake is joining Twin Lakes in deciding not to contribute toward the purchase of a building to use as a Silver Lake branch of the Community Library.

The Paddock Lake Village Board discussed the matter at a Committee of the Whole meeting Tuesday.

Village President Terry Burns, who led the discussion, laid out several reasons for the rejection, chief among them being the lack of a intergovernmental agreement. He also cited a lack of an appraisal on the building and no documentation for $50,000 in renovations.

The Silver Lake Village Board voted in November of 2013 to purchase a vacant former daycare building at 209 N. Second St. in Silver Lake. Library officials representing Silver Lake have said the assumption was the other member communities would help fund the purchase. The Community Library, a joint entity between five municipalities, cannot own real estate.

Municipalities were holding off on any further discussion of the matter until a referendum to dissolve the Silver Lake government was held in November. That referendum failed and last month Silver Lake’s village attorney sent out a letter to each community’s attorney asking for new consideration of the funding proposals.

No other Paddock Lake board member raised an objection to opting out of helping with paying for the building after Burns laid out his view on the subject.

“….Our answer to that is a resounding no,” Burns said.

The board is expected to make that official with a resolution at next week’s Village Board meeting.

The Twin Lakes Village Board on Dec. 1 also decided not to contribute toward the purchase of the building.

Salem electors voted to contribute $50,000 toward the library building, but Town Board members have not recently discussed whether to act on that.

The Randall Town Board has not made a decision on the latest request for funds and is not scheduled to discuss the matter at its regular Town Board meeting Thursday.

0 Shares

5 Comments

  1. Paddock Lake Pundit says:

    Well….to quote Gomer Pyle….”Surprise, Surprise, Surprise…SHAZAAM”! I applaud our village board for having the good financial sense to REJECT this ridiculous request from the Silver Lake village board. They went out and spent $250,000 by themselves WITHOUT asking the other towns and villages if they would like to participate. They assumed we would all want to be part of their spending spree. How arrogant. Salem needs to seriously consider their $50,000 “donation”.

  2. Ughh says:

    That’s the problem. Silver Lake board members feel all high and mighty and “assume” other communities will just say “sure, we’ll help pay for this”, and then make the purchase WITHOUT seeking financial obligations from other communities. I’d be willing to bet that many Silver Lake board members are even mad that other communities aren’t helping, to which I say, I can only hope they are mad at themselves for making such a dumb decision. Its not the other communities fault. Silver Lake is a dump!

  3. Bernard Punsley says:

    Umm….don’t suppose Paddock Lake would help us out with our $535,000 sewer loan here in Silver Lake? Salem? Twin Lakes? Randall? Don’t all step up to the plate at once folks….we’ll come up with an “equalized value” plan to figure out your alloted payments.

  4. SL Goverment Gone Wild says:

    Well Paddock Lake does not want to participate in the Silver Lake Village board bad decision making. They say no intergovernmental agreement, no assessment done and no bid contracts with contractors. Listen to Mike Faber we are still paying for his mistakes when he run the office. Vote them all out in April.

  5. Business As Usual says:

    I think Terry Burns hit the nail right on the head….just where did this figure of $50,000 come from for “renovations”? Was there a bid? Was there a proposal of repairs to be done? Where is “the paper trail” of legal documentation?

  • Follow us on

  • Archives