An item that was pulled from the consent agenda at Monday night’s Marshalltown city council ended up generating one of the most spirited discussions of the night as a long brewing dispute involving the Marshalltown Public Library and its Board of Trustees came back into the spotlight.

Councilor Gary Thompson asked to pull the reappointment of two library board members — Ashtyn Beek and James Lowrance — from the consent agenda for further consideration, and he invited Mark Eaton to the podium to speak out against their appointments. Eaton argued that Lowrance, who served as mayor of Marshalltown from 2014 to 2018, also serves on the Friends of the Library board and could have undue influence on the voting decisions of other board members in determining how the Friends of the Library board distributes its annual contributions.

Eaton also referenced the controversy over the library board’s unanimous vote against subscribing to two conservative publications last December — The Epoch Times and American Rifleman Magazine — and contended that the board had violated the library’s Freedom to Read policy.

Councilor Mike Ladehoff, who has attended the last four library board meetings, responded to Eaton and called the subscription matter a non-controversy that has been settled.

“The issue is closed. There is no controversy and there isn’t anymore talking about it. They made a decision. No board member wants to revisit it, so the issue is dead,” Ladehoff said. “As far as both of these individuals, they’ve done a great job on the library board. I don’t see any problem with either one of them. They’re there, they vote, they’re conscientious, and just because someone is in the fundraising wing of a volunteer group for the public library, that’s a good thing. They both have the interest of the library at heart. I don’t see any problem whatsoever.”

Linda Clark then said she attended one of the board meetings and felt it was very much still an issue because individuals had offered to pay for the subscriptions themselves.

“The public library should have information that is well founded and information for anybody to read, and it shouldn’t be regulated by influencers, fundraisers or money. The public library is for everybody,” she said. “Mr. Ladehoff, I disagree. There is an issue, and I think it should be really looked at closer.”

Thompson called himself “a strong believer in the library” and reiterated Clark’s statement that it should have information for everyone covering both sides of every issue. He cited the reasons provided for not subscribing — misinformation for The Epoch Times and cost for American Rifleman — and countered that plenty of other periodicals and books contain misinformation.

“The only way I can look at this is this board voted not to ban books, but you don’t have to ban them if you don’t even buy them in the first place. So I think there’s some very closed minds on the board, and I think this would send a message that we want people with open minds — liberal and conservative — that understand the library represents everybody,” he said. “My personal beliefs should not be a factor in those decisions, so I agree with the two that spoke out. I don’t think we should reappoint these two members.”

Ladehoff commented again and said the library staff and board had followed its policy and proper procedures in making the decision before repeating that the matter was over and settled.

“They look at lots of publications to see if they qualify or whatnot, and I don’t like getting told no either. But I do, and I live with it,” he said. “There isn’t a controversy. The board has made its decision. They followed policy. The vote was unanimous.”

After Eaton said “So what” in response, Mayor Joel Greer reprimanded him for speaking from the audience, reminding anyone from the public who wishes to speak that they must come to the microphone and be recognized to avoid shouting matches. Thompson then offered a final rebuttal, noting that city councilors are elected by the public and library board members are simply appointed by the mayor.

“The public does not have a say in this. This is our chance to let the public be heard,” he said.

Greer retorted that the public votes the mayor in, and they could vote him out if they wished to do so. A motion to reappoint Beek and Lowrance passed by a 5-2 vote, with Thompson and Al Hoop opposed. They will now serve six-year terms expiring on June 30, 2029.

When reached for comment, MPL Director Sarah Rosenblum said she was surprised the item was pulled from the consent agenda but gave both men her full support and said she was happy they would have the opportunity to serve a full term as they were initially appointed to fill vacancies.

Neither Beek nor Lowrance could be reached for immediate comment.

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Contact Robert Maharry at 641-753-6611 ext. 255 or

rmaharry@timesrepublican.com.