Update July 25: This article has been updated with more information from Councilor Jackie Leung and an addendum has been added to the bottom.
The city of Salem has decided to house the public library in a church-owned building, despite some concerns the LGBTQ community will not feel welcome.
Salem City Council on Monday voted in favor of housing the Salem Public Library at the former home of the Capital Press, at 1400 Broadway St. S.E., while its long-term home gets seismic upgrades.
The building’s owner, Salem Alliance Church, has unnerved some who say the church preaches anti-LGBTQ beliefs. Salem’s Human Rights Commission stated earlier this month that idea gave its members “deep concerns.”
Six councilors on Monday favored moving the library into the building. Two were absent and were represented by guest councilors. One councilor voted against it.
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Councilor Jackie Leung, who ultimately voted against the motion, at first said she had concerns because she wanted to ensure wherever the library wound up would be inclusive for all groups of people. Likewise, the two guest councilors, standing in for Tom Andersen and Sally Cook, disagreed with the move.
“Although I cannot vote, I know the person I’m filling in for would vote against it,” said Evan White, standing for Cook. He also said the “optics are poor for the community.”
Guest councilors are allowed by Salem City Council rules but they cannot vote and must live in the ward of the councilor for whom they’re filling in, said City Recorder Amy Johnson.
Jeff Schumacher, filling in for Andersen, agreed with White.
“I understand the church can do what they want in this regard, but I think the city should strive for something higher and I think the city can look at other alternatives,” he said.
Councilors Chris Hoy and Jim Lewis favored the move and vouched that the search for the library’s temporary home took months, with several properties considered. Both sit on the subcommittee that oversees the library’s relocation and renovations.
Hoy said there aren’t as many open spaces as people think. Most empty spaces would either cost too much or are already under contract.
“We have looked at a lot of properties, I can tell you, and we struggled with this issue,” he said, rattling off several projects that almost fit but, for various logistical reasons, didn’t work.
“There were properties all over the city that we looked at and staff was very diligent,” Hoy said. “I don’t want people to be left with the impression that this was a one-off, and we found this building and we took it. It was a several-months-long process.”
Lewis echoed that “staff did as good a job as they possibly could.”
Lewis suggested city officials should sign some sort of public statement to enshrine their belief that the building will welcome everyone.
“We should certainly be able to put our names on a statement like this and have it be clearly visible at the library and be able to put our names on it,” he said. “I know I would.”
Public comments filed ahead of Monday night’s meetings mostly rejected the idea. A petition opposing the move was signed by 227 people.
The city of Salem has received no formal complaints of discrimination against Salem Alliance Church. Earlier this month, church officials told Salem Reporter they do not hate members of the LGBTQ community. Officials also said the church believes sex should only occur between a married husband and wife.
A city spokesperson said there is not yet any schedule to start moving the library into the new building.
Update:
A previous version of this article stated Councilor Jackie Leung supported the motion. Draft minutes provided by the city of Salem showed Leung, who attended the meeting via telephone, voted in favor.
On Wednesday night, Leung told Salem Reporter that her vote was incorrectly listed due to technical issues.
“On advice from tech support, I had to watch the video feed to hear clearly the meeting. Unfortunately, there is a lag time between video feed and phone call, which prevented me from voicing it before the mayor slammed the a gavel. I had messaged in my vote and told the recorder to mark it as a nay vote,” she said.
Have a tip? Contact reporter Troy Brynelson at 503-575-9930, [email protected] or @TroyWB.
