ALPENA — The Alpena County Board of Commissioners voted 8-0 on Tuesday to not follow through on replacing all of the members of the Alpena County Library Board.

In July, the commissioners voted to begin the process of removing each member and refilling the library board with new appointments. Now, they intend to fill the board seats through attrition, meaning they will add new members as current library board members’ terms expire or if they resign.

Recently one of the current library board members decided to step down, so the commissioners can fill that seat, and another member’s term expires in January, so that position will be filled early next year.

The library board came under fire when concerned citizens in the county expressed concern about children and teen books they deemed graphic and photographic. The citizens also expressed frustration with the library board for not listening or acting on their concerns.

During Tuesday’s county finance board meeting, supporters of the library made public comments condemning the county’s decision to replace the entire board. Litigation from the library and its supporters was also hinted at.

One person made a comment supporting the commissioner’s decision to overhaul the library board and asked the board to continue with the process.

Although a majority of the commissioners believe the controversial books should be moved to a more suitable location in the library, many pivoted away from taking action against the individuals serving on the library board, including Library Board President Joe Garber.

Commissioner Bill Peterson, who had a medical procedure the same day as the vote to remove the library board members, said he believes other alternatives should have been considered instead of replacing the entire board.

“I think we should have backed off a little bit and met with the library board, as the board of commissioners, and taken care of this before it got to the point it has,” Peterson said. “There are strong feelings on this issue, on both sides, and I think when people sit down and talk, you’re more likely to reach a mutual understanding.”

During the summer, the books in question and the action by the commissioners to replace the library board members threatened a library millage renewal in August.

The 0.7462-mill, 10-year renewal of the property tax that funds library operations and maintenance passed in August and will generate about $842,000 for the library in its first year and cost the owner of a $100,000 home about $38 a year.

Despite the commissioners’ pressure, the controversial books remain on the shelves in the children and teen sections, but the library has changed its filing system to make it harder for minors to stumble across the books.

Garber, who has served on the library board for 20-plus years, said he believes the commissioners took the correct course of action. He added that when new appointments are made, it will include people with different opinions and ideas.

“I think it was the right decision,” he said. “I don’t think they had any grounds to remove any of us. My biggest concern moving forward is that we won’t have a diverse board and only have people with one point of view. I think having multiple points of view on the board is a good thing.”

Steve Schulwitz can be reached at 989-358-5689 or sschulwitz@thealpenanews.com. Follow him on Twitter @ss_alpenanews.com.