Lawsuit over Whitefish library settled

Litigation related to the Whitefish library’s split from the Flathead County Library System has been settled.

Following two days of mediation this week, the parties involved agreed to a division of assets and the Whitefish Library Association agreed to file a motion seeking dismissal of its lawsuit against the county, Deputy County Attorney Tara Fugina said.

County commissioners signed off on the settlement agreement Thursday morning. County Library Board members approved it Wednesday.

Last June, members of the Whitefish Library Association sued the county Library Board, county library Director Kim Crowley and the county to ensure that all the materials housed in the Whitefish library remained in the building when the June 30 library agreement between the city and the county terminated.

In November 2010, the Whitefish City Council voted to terminate the interlocal agreement that allowed the county to use a city-owned building and operate a branch library in Whitefish. The council vote was the first step to converting to a city library.

The city library opened in early July.

The settlement agreement calls for the county library to give the Whitefish Community Library the microfilm of the Whitefish Pilot and a reader for the film. Cash donations of $7,250 that were given to the county library specifically for the Whitefish library or by a Whitefish resident also will be given to the Whitefish Community Library, Fugina said.

Books that were left behind when county officials took county materials out of the Whitefish building will remain in the Whitefish collection, she said.

All books or other materials that contain some sort of identifying label, stamp or marking that indicates the item was donated to the Whitefish library will be returned to the Whitefish Community Library. Fugina said that process could take some time because items could be at any county library or checked out to a patron.

The $14,900 escrow account held by the Flathead County clerk of court will be evenly split between the county and the city of Whitefish. That amount was paid by Whitefish to the county in exchange for 14,900 books to be left in the Whitefish library collection, Fugina said.

Furniture taken by the county that was original to the former Whitefish city library will be returned, she said.

In a press release, county library board members and staffers “expressed relief that an agreement could be reached that protected the interests of all library users in Flathead County and that a limited amount of additional time or money would need to be expended on this issue.”

The city of Whitefish operated a city library for decades, up until 1976 when the city and county entered the interlocal agreement for a county library to operate in the city.

Reporter Shelley Ridenour may be reached at 758-4439 or sridenour@dailyinterlake.com.