Two appointees for FVRLibraries board of trustees near finish line of approval process

The FVRLibraries board of trustees is on the verge of filling two seats that were vacated earlier this year.

Jaynee Cavaness, appointed by the city of Vancouver, and Richard Mahar, appointed by Skamania County, have both been approved by the Klickitat and Skamania county commissions, which leaves only the Clark County Council to approve the joint resolutions.

Clark County Manager Kathleen Otto said she anticipates the item will appear before the council during its June 16 meeting. If both Cavaness and Mahar are approved, they will receive a letter of appointment and become seated members in time for the board of trustees’ July 20 meeting.

Trustees Mary Williams and Mary Ann Duncan-Cole left the board within days of each other in January.

After the board adopted a strategic plan that removed the term “equitable access” during a Jan. 26 meeting, Williams announced her resignation. Her term would’ve expired at the end of 2030.

A few days later, Duncan-Cole resigned due to health reasons. Her term was set to expire at the end of this year.

The departures left five trustees on the board.

Cavaness has a background in education and community advocacy. She currently volunteers on the state’s Recreation and Conservation Office grant commission and with iQ for Kids, a nonprofit foundation funded by employees and members of iQ Credit Union.

Cavaness also served for nine years as chair of the Vancouver Parks and Recreation Advisory Commission. She stepped away from that position in order to pursue the FVRLibraries board vacancy.

“I grew up loving libraries, but it was really when I had kids that I fell in love with both parks and libraries,” Cavaness said. “If the weather was nice, we’d visit the parks, and if the weather was not so great, we’d hit the libraries. Just kind of seeing the library through my kids’ eyes — it’s magnificent, and it opened so many doors and opportunities for them. All the different events, activities, it was a beautiful experience, and I just wanted to continue to encourage that in our communities.”

After the FVRLibraries board of trustees’ recent adoption of the strategic plan and Williams’ resignation, Cavaness said, she’s looking forward helping build a more cohesive board.

“With libraries around the country, we’re seeing bans on books and now we’re kind of getting into bans on words,” Cavaness said. “I feel like we sometimes fear what we may not understand completely. And I hope that by coming onto the board of trustees, I can help better communicate that to maybe relieve some of those fears or misunderstandings.”

Mahar, who did not respond to multiple phone calls and emails, is a longtime Skamania County resident and served two terms on the county’s board of commissioners.

In his application letter for the FVRLibraries board seat obtained by The Columbian, Mahar said his experience in county government helped him gain an understanding of the challenges and opportunities rural communities face.

Mahar said he’s committed to representing the taxpayers in the district, “including nearly 50 percent of Skamania voters who did not support the most recent library levy.”

FVRLibraries’ levy lid lift, its first in 15 years, was approved by voters in August. As a result, the levy rate was restored to 50 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value this year in Clark, Cowlitz, Klickitat and Skamania counties.

“Local tax-funded libraries need to be accountable to those who are paying,” Mahar wrote. “For strategic planning, the reasons people vote against library funding need to also be considered to ensure good stewardship and rightly focused spending of all the taxpayers’ funds.”

Mahar also said he’s a strong proponent of literacy, education and freedom of thought.

“There are many ways people seek out literacy, education and freedom. Libraries are one way, but not the only way,” Mahar wrote. “We need to respect and hear those who choose other ways and who vote against library funding, yet still must pay the taxes.”

The next FVRLibraries board of trustees meeting will be held June 15 at Ridgefield Community Library.