THIS is OUR house!
In the November 4th election, please remember that Charlie Bayle (District 6), Jim Winarski (District 4), Ellen Schauerman (District 7), and Brenton Davis (county executive) supported the Gannon lease. All but Schauerman are up for re-election. Please show up to the polls (or mail in your ballot), and use your vote to tell them what you think of their vote for Gannon over the taxpayers of Erie County!
“Every election is determined by the people who show up.”
~Larry J. Sabato, Pendulum Swing
Contact keepourlibrarypublic@gmail.com to support our latest fundraiser! Here’s a poster to help advertise as well. KOLP will have a table at the mall entrance from 8am-noon **PLEASE NOTE THE CHANGE IN TIME** the day of the event on Wednesday, October 22, 2025. There is also a code on the back of the pass to use for online shopping.
“I get by with a little help from my friends.”
~John Lennon and Paul McCartney
We are right in the middle of Banned Books Week–October 5-11, 2025. What’s the best way to make an impact? Stop by Blasco Library and check out a book–banned or otherwise! With the construction on the Bayfront Parkway, a trip to the library does take more effort. You may know that the county executive used the library numbers–including during the pandemic–to “justify” staff cuts and the Gannon lease. Don’t give him the opportunity to capitalize on this construction project by letting the numbers slip. Visit Blasco today!
“Banning books gives silence when we need speech. It closes our ears when we need to listen. It makes us blind when we need sight.”
~Stephen Chbosky
This is truly a case of the have and the have nots in Erie. The American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) was designed to help those most affected by the pandemic. Erie County gave $1.5 million to Gannon University for Project NePTWNE, despite the fact that they are tax-exempt religious institution, despite their large endowment, despite the fact that they had online classes during the pandemic and continued to collect tuition money. They spent taxpayer money and are taking taxpayer space, not on saving jobs and helping people affected by the pandemic or even the library itself, but on a vanity project to occupy our library. As of this writing, there has been no full accounting of that money. Both the county executive and Gannon have touted that this is great for tourism. However, if the money was to be invested in the library, then it should have been invested in the library itself—especially in terms of what ARPA was supposed to achieve. Erie has a 33.5% child poverty rate with the county having a 20.1% child poverty rate. Erie’s child poverty rate is the highest among PA’s 10 big cities. Why it’s increasing
While the aim of reducing nanoplastics is needed and admirable, there is no guarantee it will be achieved and no key performance indicators (KPIs) tied to this grant. The money went to Gannon to build something bright and shiny (made of plastic) for tourists and paying students. Many of the children that the library serves have to worry about their next meal. They don’t have any agency in choosing whether or not that food is packaged in plastic. This exhibit should have been located on Gannon’s campus instead of occupying the library and taking space and money from programs that could have directly impacted the lives of these children. Instead, the haves get more and the have nots are again overlooked.
“You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; …or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”
~Exodus 20:17 (NIV)
The Blasco Library is worth more than all these Gannon properties combined. (This according to County records.) No wonder Gannon is fighting so hard to keep their toe-hold (and then some) on what Brenton Davis so generously signed over to them.
Did Davis at least get a partnership contract? Memorandum of understanding? No he did not. 🤔
Support us at Keep Our Library Public. We are fighting for what belongs to you.
“To ask why we need libraries at all, when there is so much information available elsewhere, is about as sensible as if asking if roadmaps are necessary now that there are so very many roads.”
~Jon Bing
Contact keepourlibrarypublic@gmail.com to support our latest fundraiser! Here’s a poster to help advertise as well.
“I get by with a little help from my friends.”
~John Lennon and Paul McCartney
“Local politicians and agencies should work with Gannon to integrate it into the waterfront and guarantee it the space to grow.“
“If you give a mouse a cookie…”
~Laura Numeroff
Since the Erie Otters have their home opener this weekend, it might be a good time to compare Gannon’s sponsorship that includes a suite at the Erie Insurance Area with the Blasco Lease. Gannon, Erie Events strike $105,000 club level sponsorship deal at Erie Insurance Arena. Gannon is paying $35,000 per year for a suite that holds up to 22 people. The lease per year at the Blasco Library is $22,956. The price at the arena locked in for 3 years. At the library? 25 years with an option for 45–with no increases. Not that we don’t love our Otters, but this really highlights what a sweetheart deal the library lease is for Gannon.
“You’ll never catch me bragging about goals, but I’ll talk all you want about my assists.”
~Wayne Gretzky
Recently, the county executive purchased a tractor and maintains that he “got a screaming deal,” which will benefit the taxpayers, and the tractor will pay for itself. West County farmland mowed with new $79,800 tractor. What’s behind the purchase?
Let’s examine that. If you remember–and you can read the article in the link–the county executive wanted to turn the farmland that is being mowed by said tractor into an industrial park with no input from the taxpayers in the area. When Fairview and Girard township residents protested the move, the project was cancelled, and the county executive cancelled the lease with the farmer who had farmed the land previously. The land has been sitting fallow for the past three years. So, this land which had been earning $37,000 at its peak per year, is no longer earning any money for the county. The farmer estimates $90,000 in lost income for taxpayers, and if the peak rate was paid for all three years, the amount would be $111,000. So, he’s paying out $79,800 + gas + maintenance + labor, when he could be bringing an income of between $90,000 to $111,000. Does this sound like a “screaming deal?”
Speaking of screaming deals, let’s compare it to the screaming deal that Gannon got in the library. Since Gannon pays $22,956 per year for 25 years with an option to 45 years for the lease in the Blasco Library, that means that it would be 3.48 years for the lease to earn the money to pay for this tractor–totally not related, but it gives some perspective to the county executive’s spending and leasing tactics. The library system’s copiers–which earn $25,000 per year, would take 3.192 years to pay for the tractor.
In an email to the chair of the finance committee, the county executive points to language in the administrative code requiring lease terms to be “fair and reasonable” and “most favorable to the County of Erie.” Did he actually read that email prior to hitting “Send?” The self-awareness here is a bit lacking.
This is why we are fighting the lease with Gannon. This is yet another example of how the county executive is not looking out for YOUR money. Please help our cause by contributing with the button below.
“If you tell the truth, you don’t have to remember anything.”
~Mark Twain
Keep Our Library Public!