‘We’re not giving up': Residents continue opposition against Gannon’s lease at Blasco Library

On a particularly frigid day in late November, an 86-year-old Doris Cipolla stood undeterred at the corner of Peach and 6th streets in downtown Erie.

Waving to drivers and pedestrians, the retired English teacher who had taught for more than 30 years in Erie public schools held up a large sign that, to her, aptly justified her braving the cold.

It read simply, “Libraries Belong to the People.”

Cipolla, who was joined by about a dozen others that day, was protesting Gannon University’s lease of more than 3,000 square feet of space inside Blasco Memorial Library, the county’s main public library.

The lease, which was championed by Erie County Executive Brenton Davis and approved by Erie County Council in October, allows Gannon to construct and operate a water research and education center on the eastern wing of the library’s first floor.

Davis and Gannon officials say the center ― a part of the school's $24 million water quality initiative known as Project NePTWNE ― will serve as a laboratory for students as well as an interactive learning space and ecotourism attraction at the bayfront.

Opponents, however, say the lease is a flagrant attack on the library and allows a private entity like Gannon to rent and deprive space from a vital public asset.

“Any infringement of this nature is the beginning of the demise of our public library,” Cipolla said.

Since November, opponents to the lease have formed a group called "Keep Our Library Public" and have staged several demonstrations ― at Gannon, the library, the County Courthouse and even St. Peter Cathedral ― to raise awareness and pressure Gannon and county officials to drop the lease and relocate the center elsewhere.

The group has already acquired roughly 4,000 signatures on petitions in support of their cause and enjoy support from members of the Erie County Library Advisory Board and the Friends of the Erie County Library.

While Gannon has requests for proposals out to architects and anticipates the center to be finished by the end of 2024, the group shows no signs of slowing down, protesting at Gannon as recently as this past week and holding a "Blasco Fiasco Protest" at the Erie Maennerchor Plaza on Jan. 31 at 6 p.m.

“We’re not giving up,” said Anna McCartney, one of the group’s founders. “We want people to know that we’re not against the Gannon program. We’re against them taking space in our public library. They should use their moral and ethical responsibility and move to another location.”

'Misinformation' and mistrust surround library dilemma

Davis has dismissed the protesters as an insignificant number of residents ― a "very small, small group of folks," as he put it during a December news conference ― who are not representative of the entire county.

He claims their opposition is fueled by misinformation and stressed that no library jobs, programs or services would be cut as a result of the new center. Rather, he said the center will add new programs; open up space for the public; generate interest in Erie’s connection with Lake Erie; and ultimately attract more people to the library.

"This is value added. There's nothing (being) taken away," he said.

Protesters, however, are skeptical. Not only are they concerned about the long-term consequences of renting out library space to a private entity ― is this only the beginning? ― but they're suspicious about the manner in which the lease was approved.

Emails obtained by the Erie Times-News show Davis had been discussing the lease with Gannon as early as June, but residents were not made aware of the lease until three business days prior to council approving it in October. The public only had one day ― the day of the vote ― to voice any objections.

The lease also comes amid a series of turbulent events at the library that protesters say only fueled their mistrust in Davis' actions.

In June, Library Director Karen Pierce, a Davis appointee, ordered librarians to relocate a Pride Month book display from the entrance of Blasco's children's section. The decision, which was condemned by local LGBTQ+ groups, sparked protests, read-ins and multiple resignations from the Library Advisory Board.

The months that followed saw the abrupt resignations of Pierce and the library's youth services director. Davis also attempted to cut several library positions from the 2024 budget as part of a cost-saving measure. County Council voted to override those cuts.

For Library Advisory Board Vice Chairperson Kara Murphy, the series of events, along with the lack of public notice and engagement surrounding the Gannon lease, have created an impression that the library is "under attack."

"Over the past months, I have found myself increasingly dismayed, disappointed and worried about the direction in which our Erie County Public Library System is headed under the current county leadership," she said at a board meeting in December. "The absence of meaningful community engagement and a feeling of rushing the lease through the approval process has left some feeling distrustful of the county's intentions and left a bad taste in people's mouth."

Will the new County Council take action?

County Council's new composition has been an optimistic turn for protesters.

At council’s annual reorganization meeting on Jan. 2, newly elected Council Chairman Terry Scutella, in his first public comments as chairman, said he was “not happy with the lease” and later told the Times-News he would vote to rescind it if it came up for a vote.

"If it takes council to do it, I’m willing to do it," he said. "If it’s something that we should maybe sit down and talk about, with council and Gannon, maybe we should start that conversation all over."

Council members Andre Horton, Chris Drexel and Rock Copeland have also voiced disappointment in the lease and, together with Scutella, make up the necessary four votes to rescind it.

But getting an additional fifth member to override a likely Davis veto could be out of reach.

Councilmembers Ellen Schauerman, Charlie Bayle and Jim Winarski have all publicly voiced support for Gannon's plans at the library. Winarski, breaking from his Democratic colleagues, told the Times-News he has “no intention” of rescinding the lease.

“I believe it'll be beneficial to Erie County as a whole with some additional revenue that can be put towards our library budget, which is a big part of our county budget,” he said. “I have no intention on wavering on this as I believe it is going to be a great asset for the community for many years to come.”

Horton said the inability to override a veto should not deter council from introducing a measure to rescind.

He added that council should first identify all legal repercussions before bringing an ordinance to a vote.

Those repercussions, according to Council Solicitor Tom Talarico, could involve Gannon suing the county for specific performance and having a court demand that the county fulfill its end of the contract. Or, Gannon could sue for damages due to breach of contract, he said.

"If Gannon wants to sue us, so be it," Scutella said. "They'll be suing the residents of Erie County."

A.J. Rao can be reached at arao@gannett.com. Follow him on X @ETNRao.

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Erie residents continue opposition to Gannon’s lease at Blasco Library