News

By Rich Pollack
    
    A resident who in February publicly shared neighbors’ concerns about the town manager’s oversight of the library and its director now says he is satisfied that the issues have been resolved.
    “We are very pleased to have been advised by Mari Suarez, our library director, that she and Kathleen Weiser, our town manager, have reconciled their differences and are committed to a mutually respectful and productive relationship,” Mike Stein wrote in a letter to the Town Commission that he read at a meeting last month.
    Stein, who in a previous letter to town commissioners expressed his concerns that Weiser’s management style could negatively affect “our treasured library,” said that he has spoken with several commissioners, as well as Weiser and Suarez, since raising concerns and believes they have been clarified.
    “The feeling I get from the commission is that this has been a positive experience for everyone and a productive one,” Stein said. “I’m optimistic that things are going to go fine in the future.”
    A centerpiece of Stein’s previous letter was a written reprimand Weiser had given to Suarez last year after the library director ordered, without proper authorization, a $500 “drop-in shower” for use by a library custodian. Suarez later ordered the shower be returned.
    While Stein had felt that the reprimand as well as the town manager’s latest performance evaluation of Suarez was an indication that she was not pleased with the overall operation of the library, he said meeting with the manager and commissioners and with representatives of Friends of the Library — a support arm for the library — reassured him that this was not the case.
    “Everyone respects Mari and what she’s done with the library,” he said.
    Weiser added that during a recent meeting with Suarez, the two discussed the proper procedures that need to be followed for purchasing and procurement as well as maintenance of the library. “Mari is a terrific library director and this is not a reflection of the job she does or of the library,” she said. “This is about being sure purchasing processes are followed uniformly throughout the town.”
Weiser said she is planning to implement a town-wide training program for employees on purchasing and procurement procedures.
    In his letter to commissioners, Stein said he is hoping the relationship between Suarez, Weiser and the Town Commission will remain a positive one.
    “The library is a resource that improves our property values and makes Highland Beach special,” he said. “The future of our library depends on the mutually supportive relationship of the commission, the town manager,   Friends of the Library and the library director.”