BELLOWS FALLS — The Rockingham Free Public Library had its third trustee resignation in nine months when Chair David Gould accepted with regret Paige Pietrzak's resignation at the regular meeting of the Trustees on April 8.
Pietrzak is the third trustee to resign from the board in less than a year. Steve Fuller and David Buckley resigned from the board in June and September 2013, respectively.
Gould told The Commons that the board would discuss candidates for replacing Pietrzak at the board's next regular meeting on the second Tuesday in May, and forward a recommendation to the Rockingham Selectboard, which makes the final determination.
He added that although several names have been floated, none has been contacted to gauge interest.
The board held a special meeting April 15 to discuss strategy with regard to the upcoming mediation agreed to by the legal representatives of the trustees and former Library Director Célina Houlné, who filed a lawsuit against the trustees in January over wrongful termination.
Houlné was fired by the previous board in August 2013 following contentious allegations of misconduct by a then-majority of the board - vigorously disputed by Houlné - and over strenuous objections of the board's minority and many of Houlné's public supporters.
When it became apparent that the board was pressing ahead in its search for a new director despite the lawsuit, Houlné filed an injunction to prevent it from doing so.
In light of the injunction, the new board agreed to mediation almost as soon as members were seated in March. Both sides have agreed that no director would be hired pending mediation.
The results of that process, Gould said, will determine whether the search resumes.
A new board elected in March signaled its interest in discussing Houlné's reinstatement, but former board chair Jan Mitchell-Love, chair of the search committee, continued efforts to search for a replacement to Houlné.
According to Gould, Mitchell-Love advertised for candidates for the library director position through the Vermont Library Association (VLA) website in February. Following interviews, and shortly before board elections, the search committee told the former board they could not recommend anyone at that time.
When the new board was seated in March, Mitchell-Love again sought and received board approval to advertise with VLA, and an April 11 deadline for applicants was set, with the ad running its course on March 30.
Gould noted that he had received materials from “several applicants,” but said that he had no intention of passing those names on to the search committee until the board has a chance to make a decision based on what comes out of mediation, scheduled for the end of April.
The special meeting, Gould said, decided which trustees would be authorized to represent the library's interests in that process: Gould, Massucco, and Hope Brissette.