'I feel like I'm coming back home': Springfield City Council approves new library director

Gwendolyn Harrison started working at Lincoln Library in Springfield as a 16-year-old page.

It is where she got her first professional job after earning her master's degree in library science, working there from 1983 to 1999.

On Tuesday, Harrison was unanimously approved by the Springfield City Council as library director.

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"I would definitely say this feels full circle," said Harrison, outside council chambers after the vote. "I feel like I'm coming back home, where I began."

Harrison is a program specialist at the Illinois State Library in Springfield. She has had several different roles at the state library since starting there in 2000.

She is expected to begin at Lincoln Library on Oct. 2, with a salary of $115,000.

The library has about 40 employees.

The Springfield native started at Lincoln Library working at the circulation desk as a teenager. She was later headquartered at the library's Southeast Branch but worked "in almost every department and all the branches," she said.

"One of the things I've missed most being at the Illinois State Library is working with the community," Harrison said. "I love working directly with the community and you lose that working at the level that I was working at, (working) with librarians."

Mayor Misty Buscher said Harrison was the only candidate she interviewed. She also touted Harrison's experience working at a larger library.

"I'm very honored soon-to-be Director Harrison will be on board," said Buscher after the meeting. "She is very passionate about our library and I'm super excited to have her there."

In a letter to all 10 alderpersons issued after the mayor made her decision, the library's board of trustees declined to provide an endorsement for Harrison.

Board president Andre Jordan, reached by phone Wednesday, agreed the letter indicated "the concerns or thoughts that we had as a body, but we support the decision moving forward. We support the candidate. She has the education. She has the background, but of course, as we mentioned in the letter, there were no other candidates that we met with.

"Is Ms. Harrison ready? Yes, we feel she's ready."

Jordan said he was grateful to the board, which is advisory in capacity, "had more involvement this time around. We were actually able to meet with Ms. Harrison. That was a positive step and hopefully, this will keep the door open as things move forward with interviewing and hiring (in the future)."

Buscher's cabinet could be filled out in the next several weeks when Val Yazell, the interim director of the Office for Planning and Economic Development, is expected to be voted on by the city council as its permanent director.

Yazell's appointment was on first reading Tuesday.

Also Tuesday, the city council extended Kathryn Harris as the library's interim director. Harris is expected to stay on briefly as Harrison takes over.

The library's previous director, Summer Beck-Griffith, was fired days into Buscher's term.

Buscher and Harris had said a master's degree in library science was desirable for the director candidate. Beck-Griffith did not have a master's in the field.

Harrison said she has experienced an outpouring of support since being named by the mayor.

"People," she said, "have been calling me. 'Gwen, I want to help. Gwen, I want to have a meeting at the library. Gwen, what do you need? Gwen, I'm so excited. I can't wait for the programming to roll because I know that's where your interest lies.'

"It's been amazing."

Ward 8 Ald. Erin Conley said her vote for Harrison was an easy one.

"I'm excited to see all that she's going to bring to the library," Conley said afterward. "I think she has a strong background with a depth of knowledge, and I think we are looking at some exciting new times at the library."

Reclassification, variance approved

City council voted for the reclassification of several properties on West Mason Street and Klein Street paving the way for possible construction of units for permanent supportive housing.

That could mean the end for the building that housed Sportsman's Lounge. The bar/restaurant closed on Friday.

The 24-unit complex would be constructed by the Windsor Development Group of Springfield.

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Several neighbors who spoke during the zoning portion of the meeting asked for a delay in the project.

Ward 3 Ald. Roy Williams Jr., noting that he usually sides with Windsor Homes president and owner Mike Niehaus, said the neighbors had a point.

"I'm only against it because of the way the people are being treated," said Williams, who sided with Ward 4 Ald. Larry Rockford as a "no" vote.

Keith Tuxhorn asked if Niehaus could re-work the site to save the Sportsman's Lounge building which dates back to 1866.

"It's a unique piece of history," Tuxhorn said.

Niehaus has planned three two-story units on the site.

"We're at a very early stage," said Niehaus, noting his development group hasn't yet made an application to the Illinois Housing Development Authority for funding.

Niehaus said he has spoken with representatives from Helping Hands of Springfield and Fifth Street Renaissance, as well as Memorial Health, which would be in close proximity to the project.

Addressing the council, Greg Sronce said the ownership group tried to make a go of the bar in a difficult economic climate.

Sronce, a Springfield attorney, added no one "strong-armed" the group into selling.

"At some point, the checkbook catches up to the heart," he said.

The project on Mason Street would be similar to Park Avenue Residences, which Windsor Homes is building in the 3500 block of South Park Avenue

"I understand neighbors' concerns," Niehaus said after the hearing. "Hopefully, we addressed them. Like Park Avenue, they'll appreciate what goes in there when we get it done."

Gas conversion study approved

The city council gave the go-ahead for a St. Louis company to study the possible conversion of Dallman 4, the city's power generating unit, from coal to natural gas -- despite opposition.

The professional services agreement with Burns & McDonnell Engineering cannot exceed $110,000.

Cassandra Clark of Sustainable Springfield said a transition to natural gas would be "expensive and short-lived."

In 2021, the White House announced goals for reducing the country’s greenhouse gas pollution by 50 percent below 2005 levels by the year 2030.

"This deadline is not a requirement to burn fossil fuels until then so we should quit while we're ahead," Clark said. "As a capital city, we should be leading example."

City Water, Light and Power chief utility engineer Doug Brown said it is attempting to diversify its energy portfolio, including the use of renewable energy.

Williams and Ward 6 Ald. Jennifer Notariano opposed the ordinance with Ward 2 Ald. Shawn Gregory voting "present."

Contact Steven Spearie: (217) 622-1788; sspearie@sj-r.com; X, twitter.com/@StevenSpearie.

This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: The Springfield City Council approves new library director