Do you think he had a change of heart about reading and libraries, or do you think it’s because it’s an election year? Way to show efficiency by using taxpayers’ resources for his photo ops rather than spending his own campaign funds.
The space at the Blasco Library is giving Gannon a new profit center. For those of you who may be saying, but Gannon is a non-profit, yes, they are a 501c3. I invite you, however, to explore our Taxpayer Facts page that has links to Gannon’s Form 990, tuition, and tax-free properties in the city. In addition to the marketing advantage of having a university “on the lake,” it came to light during the depositions that Gannon has plans to offer some sessions of their summer camps in the library. That would be a further money-making opportunity, and it would limit public access to the space that Gannon has claimed would be open to the public. Below is an example of one of the current camps held on the [real] Gannon campus.
A library SHOULD be a profit center, but it should be a profit center of non-monetary return; a place where a COMMUNITY can learn and grow, regardless of the money those individuals have to spend. It’s an investment in the public at large–not private institutions.
“A library is the only single place you can go to learn something new, to be comforted, terrified, thrilled, saddened, overjoyed, or excited all in one day. And all for free.”
While Gannon is using their to ask for money for Erie Gives Day, it would be good to remember their true financial state: Taxpayer Facts.
They have plenty of money and space, but they claim to need our library. Maybe in honor of Erie Gives Day, they should give our library back. Please help support our lawsuit instead:
Davis ignored the zoning procedures for this tiny house project, similar to the way that he ignored the Donated and Dedicated Property Act (DDPA) in leasing space to Gannon in the Blasco Library. He also breeched his fiduciary duty in having these homes built when they couldn’t be used because he refused to submit plans to the City of Erie, similar to the way he leased county property at far below market value for up to 45 years. The main difference is that he’s certainly no library expert, but he purports to be an expert in construction. Hmmm…
And, he’s whipping out that argument that no one wants to work with HIM. It’s nothing personal, but when everyone else is expected to follow the law, it doesn’t increase his likeability to flout the law.
This is why our lawsuit is so important. Davis will continue making up the rules as he goes along. He needs to be held accountable for his actions.
One of the members of county council that voted in favor of the Gannon lease said in a private meeting that it wasn’t fair to residents of the county that the main library was located in the city of Erie. This, despite the fact that a large number of county residents work in the city or city-adjacent. I wonder how he feels about the fact that county residents have to drive into the city for jury duty–but I digress. The Erie County Library System has 4 branches–Edinboro, Lincoln, Iroquois and Millcreek. Three of those four are owned by the county, with Millcreek located in the Millcreek Mall complex and looking to re-locate in eventually in a county-owned facility. The infrastructure and programming for those branches are located at the main branch on the bayfront.
As recently discussed the in post “Anchor Tenants”, the county executive considers the Blasco Library and Erie Maritime Museum to be only tenants in a building which was built as their home. So if you are a county resident and don’t live in the city, think about it. What does this mean for the branches? Wouldn’t they be considered “anchor tenants” in their own buildings as well? We’ve seen how much the county executive values libraries ($7 per square foot, among other examples). How much is your local branch worth?
As discussed in a recent post, Gannon is selling one of their building on State St. for $2.2 million. So let’s do a comparison. The building is 63,000 square feet. This means that they are asking $34.92 per square foot for real estate on State Street, but they are paying (checks notes) $7 per square foot for bayfront property at our Blasco Library. And that price stays the same for 25-45 years. The math ain’t mathing! How is this fair to taxpayers or our library?
Included in the discovery in our lawsuit is a text message exchange between the president of Gannon and the county executive where the county executive refers to the library and the Maritime Museum as “anchor tenants”–like Boscov’s or Macy’s at the mall. In other words, the building that Dr. Blasco envisioned and built as his legacy for the community specifically for the library and the museum is nothing more than a rental property to the county executive, and they are only tenants. Is he looking to add or replace “tenants”? That remains to be seen, but it does give one pause. The Blasco Memorial Library is the home of the library and the museum–they aren’t just tenants.
“I believe in libraries because most students don’t have any money. When I graduated from high school, it was during the Depression and we had no money. I couldn’t go to college, so I went to the library three days a week for 10 years.”
Gannon will be showing the documentary, “Ripples of Plastics,” over the weekend at the Hirt Auditorium inside Blasco Library. For our take on the documentary, check this earlier blog post: Coincidence?, Part 2
If you’re wondering why “Save Blasco” isn’t being shown at the Blasco, it’s because of the cost involved. Under the lease, Gannon, however, is allowed to use the shared spaces for free. Here’s a link to the costs everyone else pays: Fees Gannon Doesn’t Have to Pay. Doesn’t sound very fair, does it? The lease sure gave Gannon one heck of a deal.
Wait! What?! Gannon is selling its 63,000 square foot Center for Business Ingenuity for $2.2 million, but they need 3200 square feet of OUR library?! To quote Gannon’s spokesman, “Right now, we have a lot of space.” Really? The math ain’t mathing here.
It’s interesting to note that this building was donated to Gannon for their use, but they are choosing to sell it. This might give some insight into why they are dismissive of the original purpose of the donation of Blasco Library by Dr. Blasco.
Also of note is the demolition of Wehle Hall on Gannon’s campus: Demolition underway at Gannon’s Wehrle Hall It would be interesting to know how many microplastics are being released into the environment with this demolition, but I digress.
Keep Our Library Public! 