Marion Carnegie Library,adds security officer
MARION IL. March 30 2019 – A uniformed security guard will be patrolling the bookstacks and perimeter of Marion Carnegie Library, following a 4-1 vote by the Marion City Council on Monday night.
Public Safety Director Brian Fisher said a security presence was needed at the library four nights a week, from 4 p.m. until 8.
“Starting around 4 o’clock, we start seeing a group of individuals come in. We have individuals taking baths, in the restroom, while children’s programs are going on,” Fisher said.
There have been security camera upgrades, Fisher said, adding that in the past year, a homeless encampment was broken up behind the library, and the bushes that concealed the camp cleared out by the Street Department.
Fisher said the presence of a uniformed guard would ease security concerns, especially for the library’s predominantly female staff.
Mayor Anthony Rinella asked why couldn’t the city hire its own security at the library for around $12 an hour.
Fisher replied that the outside sourcing of the guard would relieve the city of liability.
“The whole city is a liability,” Rinella said. “I mean, really.”
Bids for the 16-hour-per-week shift were submitted from two agencies, Marion-based Securitas, at $25 an hour, and Murphysboro’s Southern Illinois Security Consultants at $18 an hour.
The council went with the low bid, with commissioners Angelo Hightower, Doug Patton, Jim Webb and John Goss as “yea” and Rinella as “no.”
Daily Republican News
