Roundup: Library Shake-up
Where's Mathew redux, Grand Jury reports, student films, west county detour, police logs and more
When Sebastopol librarians arrived at work on Friday, June 22, they were met by members of the Sonoma County Library administrative team, who let them in the building then informed them that Sebastopol Branch Manager Mathew Rose, was once again “on leave.” That afternoon, the administration changed the locks on the building.
That same day, Rose told the Sebastopol Times, “Yesterday I was placed on paid administrative leave with the intent to dismiss.”
The charges against him are odd. (Dale says “petty.”) According to Rose, they are as follows:
He used the interoffice email to send an article about management styles to branch managers while on leave.
He sent an email, again using his work email, to Sebastopol’s City Manager regarding the installation of surveillance cameras on the outside of the library building.
The library’s central administration accused him of making a copy of an administration key that would allow him to access the thermostat within the Sebastopol Library (Library temperatures are currently controlled by the central administrative office of the Sonoma County Library.) He denies doing this.
The library’s central administration accused him of stealing a padlock from a gated electrical panel, then lying about it, which he denies.
The library’s central administration accused him of being alone in the library for 8 minutes. Apparently there is a rule against employees—even branch managers—being alone in the library. Rose said that on the one occasion this happened, he assumed another employee was already there and that he left immediately upon discovering he was by himself. “Every other branch manager has reasonable forgiveness for staff to be in the library alone for a few minutes based on human behavior—sometimes one staff member arrives early and the second staff member is a half-dozen minutes late; this scenario is system-wide, yet for me to be alone in the building for 8 minutes without knowing I was alone, is a terminable offense.”
When the library was temporarily closed during a solar panel installation, he missed a message from his supervisor, who wanted to open the library earlier than planned. By the time he saw the message, the library was within a half-an-hour of the originally posted re-opening time. His failure to open earlier was seen as neglect of duty and failure to follow policy.
“I’m still confused as to how these constitute grounds for dismissal,” Rose said. “I shouldn’t have sent an email using my work email about the cameras while on leave. I shouldn’t have needed to, either. All the rest are grasping for excuses when context shows my behavior to be reasonable. None of these are sufficient to warrant dismissal.”
This isn’t the first time the library administration has tried to remove Rose. When he was suspended last spring, apparently for asking the Sebastopol City Council to write a letter in support of his request for more staff for the Sebastopol Library, supporters mounted a “Where’s Mathew” petition campaign.
Sebastopol Times contacted the Sonoma County Library about this issue. The library’s communication director Ray Holley said “We don’t comment on personnel matters.”
How we doin’? Grand Jury Report report cards
Every year the Sonoma County Grand Jury releases reports and recommendations on several different topics. Usually it’s put out as a single document, but this year, they decided to release them one by one. Thus far, they’ve released two reports, Election Integrity in Sonoma County and Fire Safety On Rural Roads. But the reports I found most intriguing were the Grand Jury Continuity Reports, which looked at past Grand Jury recommendations and how they’ve been followed up on (or not) by various county agencies.
Watch this year’s crop of Analy student films
At the end of May, Analy High School launched its Only in West County website, which houses this school year’s student-made films. According to an article by Gloria Mora on Analy’s website, “Only in West County is an Analy student film festival and new tradition. Last year, our Film and Video teacher Randy Hall, Film & Literature teacher Seth Gleckman, and Work-Based Learning Coordinator Stacy Fortin, came up with this collaborative project to inspire our students to be creative, collaborate, and gain real-world experience in every aspect of video making. The project was a massive success in year one and came back this year bigger and better thanks to student demand and industry partners.”
Detour Ahead: Traveling to Forestville, Guerneville or Jenner this week?
You’ll have to take a detour because the bridge just south of Forestville on Hwy. 116—you know, the place that always floods in heavy rains—is being fixed. Hwy. 116 will be closed just south of Forestville for 72 hours from 7 pm on Friday, June 28, until 7 pm on Monday, July 1.
According to Caltrans, “Recent inspections revealed that the Jones Creek Bridge needs to be relieved of excess weight to comply with current standards. The excess asphalt from years of paving needs to be removed to lighten the bridge’s load.”
Sebastopol Police Logs, June 10-16
The following are crimes excerpted from Sebastopol Police Department daily crime log entries and listed at the time the alleged violation was reported.
MONDAY
8:46 a.m. Vandalism including property damage (felony) at South Main and Willow streets. Pending further investigation.
WEDNESDAY
10:53 a.m. Served a misdemeanor arrest warrant for an outside agency at McKinley Street and Laguna Park Way. Suspect arrested.
FRIDAY
3:16 p.m. Served a misdemeanor arrest warrant for an outside agency at Sebastopol Avenue and Morris Street. Suspect arrested.
3:45 p.m. Violation of probation and disobeying a court order (misdemeanors) at McKinley Street and Laguna Park Way. Suspect arrested.
7:17 p.m. Driving while under the influence of alcohol and resisting a public officer (misdemeanors) at Gravenstein Highway North and Hurlbut Avenue. Suspect arrested.
OTHER POLICE ACTION
The Sebastopol Police Department also recorded 159 other events requiring police action during the period, such as lost animals, assisting citizens, parking violations, foot patrol, traffic hazards and reckless driving.
Farewells
Carol Rosanne “Rose” Prandini
The heart of our family, Carol Rosanne “Rose” Prandini peacefully left this world on May 8 at the age of 74, encircled in love at her home with a grand view. A tender heart and compassionate soul with unshakeable faith, Rose lived her life in service to her God, her family and her community, impacting everyone she touched. Her love for her devoted husban…
The Sebastopol Times posts obituaries for free. They can be found in the Farewells section of our website. Send obituaries of Sebastopol residents (and others who played a role in the life of our town) to sebastopoltimes@gmail.com.
Week of June 17-22
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I’ve have never entered the new CVS store as a personal boycott because of the questionable way they oozed into that arrangement with ex-city leaders. No one cares, however.
I might do the same as reaction to poor management of OUR library ; no one would care about one person.
BUT, if the whole town did such…. With sidewalk signs.
Half Sebastopol reads Sebastopol Times I just read, so maybe a MOVEMENT for less micromanaging from the current bureaucrats….?
I thought about working at the Sebastopol library because I am a retired librarian with a Masters in Library Science but the county seems to be using the Theory Z method of management and I don't need that in my life.