KING WILLIAM — A King William supervisor apologized for ending the county’s contract with the Pamunkey Regional Library in the summer, a move that left residents without a library in the upper part of the county for half of the year.
District 5 Supervisor Mary Sue Bancroft was one of the driving forces behind the board’s decision to pull out of the Pamunkey Regional Library system after eight decades. However, at the Board of Supervisors meeting on Oct. 27, Bancroft suggested that the board made a mistake when it pulled out of the PRL on July 1 instead of waiting a year.
Bancroft indicated the board voted without knowing how long it would take to open a new library in the county’s parks and recreation building, which has yet to happen.
Mary Sue Bancroft (Courtesy photo)
Residents of Upper King William County have been left without a library since the Sharon Road branch closed to the public in late June. After leaving the regional library system, the county chose the for-profit company Library Systems & Services (LS&S) to run its two libraries, but only the West Point branch opened this past summer.
The county is converting its former parks and recreation building into a new library to serve the northern part of the county. The Board of Supervisors awarded a contractor $480,000 for the renovation on Aug. 25. Work is set to begin shortly, but is unlikely to be completed until 2026.
“I just want to apologize to the library patrons in the upper end of the county. I had no idea that this process was going to be like it was,” Bancroft said.
Bancroft said she did not realize that residents would face such a long time without library services.
“One of my hopes was that we would extend the Pamunkey Regional contract until June of 2026. Granted, I am just one person, and I may have been overruled on that, but that was my hope,” she said.
“We weren’t really given a project plan, and shame on us because we should have followed through on that. I’m very sorry.”
Bancroft said the West Point library is proving to be successful, but in light of the tough economic climate, some residents are not prepared to drive to the town to use it.
“I do hope that when it does open, it will be fantastic and hopefully the angst and the pain from the time waiting will vanish and it will be a wonderful thing,” she said of the upper county branch.
No other board member responded to Bancroft’s comment on Oct. 27.
Meanwhile, Interim County Administrator Clarence Monday said the building permit for the parks and recreation building renovations is almost complete. He said a report on the furnishings for the new library and their costs would be presented to the supervisors this month.
Vice Chair Lindsay Robinson said the West Point branch has stepped up its programs in recent weeks. “They have some pretty cool classes,” she said. “I’ve had feedback from some different people and it’s all been really positive,” she said.
David Macaulay, Davidmacaulayva@gmail.com
https://www.pilotonline.com/2025/11/03/king-william-supervisor-apologizes-for-library-branch-delay/
