Commissioner Beaufort Bailey can't leave the hospital at a time when the Forsyth County Board of Commissioners must vote if it wants to meet the deadline for putting a $40 million library-bond package on the Nov. 2 ballot.
So the board of commissioners is coming to him.
Commissioners will hold a special meeting Thursday at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center to vote on -- and with Bailey's vote, likely approve -- putting the bond request on the general-election ballot.
Bailey had surgery for an intestinal blockage at Wake Forest Baptist on Aug. 20 and remains a patient. So the board will meet at 12:30 p.m. in Conference Rooms 1 and 2 of the Ardmore Tower on the main level of the hospital.
The meeting is likely to be short: The bond referendum is the only item for action, and it has already been through a public hearing and extensive discussion. The commissioners are allowed to meet at non-
typical locations such as a hospital conference room, but the meeting place has to be accessible to the public.
Bailey said yesterday that he plans to go to the conference room to take part in the vote even though he's still feeling sore. He said he's still waiting on test results from his surgery, but believes that he shouldn't be in the hospital much past Thursday's meeting.
"I feel pretty good," he said. "Everybody has been good to me. I've gotten up and walked."
And he's eager to vote in favor of putting the $40 million bond package on the ballot. Without Bailey's vote, the board would likely be deadlocked 3-3 and unable to muster a majority for the bond vote. With Bailey present, the measure is likely to pass 4-3.
The commissioners postponed a vote on Aug. 23 because of Bailey's surgery.
"I have been working too hard to get that library on the ballot," Bailey said. "I was real worried that I wouldn't be able to participate, and I know what would happen if I did not participate."
Bond advocates have set up a Support the Library Bond Coalition to drum up support for the request.
Kevin Harper, one of the coalition's leaders, said that the group is composed of citizens, and members of the library friends' organizations from the three libraries that would benefit most from the bond issue.
The proposal calls for spending $28 million for a new or renovated Central Library and $6 million each on libraries in Clemmons and Kernersville. Supporters are eager to get moving, Harper said.
"We've done a lot of brainstorming and not a whole lot of concrete work," Harper said, adding that the group's work is still in the early stages.
"We obviously think that the city needs this at this point in time, that it is a good point to do it," he said. "Everyone working with us is passionate about books."
wyoung@wsjournal.com
727-7369
IF YOU GO:
People who want to attend Thursday's meeting should park in Parking Decks B and C at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center. The decks are off Medical Center Boulevard. Free-parking passes will be handed out during the meeting, County Manager Dudley Watts said. The meeting is in the Ardmore Tower and will begin at 12:30. Those attending the meeting should go to the reception desk for directions to the conference room.
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