Hopkins County Attorney Todd P'Pool said the Madisonville Public Library board didn't follow procedures when hiring contractors to renovate a library building, but board members acted in good faith.
Library Foundation members are criticizing the renovation and associated costs and using the violation to force the resignation of board member Bill Smith. State code outlines that a publicly funded entity must publicly solicit competitive bidding for projects with components that exceed $20,000. The library broad didn't solicit bids for the projects. P’Pool said the problems are technical in nature rather than criminal.
"But I hope we can move forward under the law and the good people who are volunteering on this library board, they understand that now and I think we won't have any problems moving forward," said P'Pool.
Board members said they didn't initially consider competitive bidding but unforeseen problems pushed costs above the twenty-thousand dollar limit. P’Pool said there’s no need to take legal action but advises the board to be more cautious in the future.