Michelle Mills had never heard of numbered positions on the Evanston Public Library board. Then they became the reason she couldn't leave.

"We never heard of positions before," Mills, the board's outgoing treasurer, said at the Thursday, July 16 meeting. "The reason this matters is because it's not clear whether my position leaves me on the board or doesn't leave me on the board."

The library board swore in three new trustees that night — Sharef Al Najjar, Liz Kenney, and Gus Granchalek — after City Council approved their appointments on Tuesday, July 14 under Resolution 124-R-26. But a discrepancy between the resolution's numbered seat assignments and the city's own webpage listing board members left everyone uncertain about which outgoing trustees the newcomers were replacing.

That confusion brought Mills, outgoing Board President Tracy Fulce, and outgoing Secretary Catie Huggins back to the table. All three saw their terms expire on June 30. Under Illinois library law, outgoing trustees may hold over until successors are formally appointed to their specific seats, and the three decided to remain until City Council fills the board's four remaining vacancies.

A board barely at quorum

The swearing-in brought the board to exactly five members with active terms — Al Najjar, Kenney, Granchalek, plus holdovers Jean Keleher and Victoria Shire. Five is the minimum quorum for the nine-seat board, meaning every single active trustee would need to show up for the board to legally pay bills or approve payroll if the outgoing officers stepped away.

The board had been down to just two active members after a wave of departures in June. Trustees Meghan Shea and Esther Wallen resigned, Mills withdrew from reappointment, and the terms of Fulce and Huggins expired. All cited frustration with the city's handling of intergovernmental agreement negotiations over costs for the city-owned library buildings at 1703 Orrington Ave., according to Evanston Roundtable reporting.

Independence or city department?

That governance question isn't going away. Alderman Matt Rodgers (8th Ward) said at the July 14 council meeting that he would refer a draft ordinance to make EPL a city department again, so council could weigh both options, according to the Daily Northwestern.

The library broke away from city department status in 2012 after years of substandard budgets tied to the city's financial difficulties. It pays approximately $350,000 a year for services the city provides, including finance, HR, IT, and legal support, according to a report from the board's attorney shared at the July 16 meeting.

A 90-day window for city staff to negotiate a new intergovernmental agreement — set at a March 23 council consensus — has expired with no formal communication between the two sides, Fulce told the board. City spokesperson Cynthia Vargas disputed that characterization in a statement, saying negotiations are ongoing and staff is actively engaging with council members.

Other business and what's ahead

Despite the turbulence, the board moved forward Thursday night. Trustees voted to hire DSG | Koya to lead the search for a permanent executive director, replacing Yolande Wilburn, who resigned after two years in the role. Interim Director Heather Norborg reported that the main branch's roof replacement is complete.

The board's next regular meeting is Wednesday, August 19. City Council's next opportunity to fill the remaining four vacancies is Monday, August 24.