JOSEPHINE COUNTY, Ore. – Josephine County commissioners say they’re going to put all Library District rulings on hold for the next 60 days.
Earlier this month, commissioners approved Josephine County homeowner Mike Pelfry’s petition to opt out of the district after he claimed his property doesn’t benefit from being in the district. Since then, four more petitions were filed and presented to the commissioners asking to allow their properties to also opt out.
At Wednesday’s meeting, commissioner Herman Baertshiger Jr. said they met with legal counsel earlier this week to discuss the legalities of annexations from the library district.
He said after discussions with the county legal team, they felt it best to put all future discussions on hold, including petitions from five homeowners to opt into the Library District, while the county gets legal input.
“We are not blocking anything,” Commissioner Baertschiger said. “We are not denying these individuals. We are just putting the process on hold for 60 days because we are unsure that we’re doing it correctly and I have to take the advice of our legal team.”
The Josephine Community Library Board president previously told us the board would seek an injunction to stop commissioners from approving opt outs of the district.
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