The Great Neck Library Board of Trustees made steps in implementing its settlement agreement following its lawsuit over a vacant board of trustees seat in 2021 and the processes used to fill it.

“My goal as president was to resolve that lawsuit; it started before I got here,” Board President Rory Lancman said. “And we did that.”

The dispute originated when Chelsea Sassouni resigned in September 2021, leaving a vacant seat on the board.

Under the library’s bylaws, the nominating committee that endorses candidates was required to present two or more names to the board within a 60-day window. Once names were provided by the committee, the board would then select one of the two options.

A lawsuit was filed by Trustee Barry Smith in Nassau County Supreme Court on Jan. 3, 2022, alleging that the board’s appointment of Jenni Lurman, who was not nominated by the committee, constituted “malfeasance, misconduct, and a breach of their fiduciary duty and contract with the library membership.”

The library filed a lawsuit against nominating committee members Marietta DiCamillo and Marianna Wohlgemuth as well as Smith.

All charges against the library were dropped, but within the settlement, the board and committee must review nomination committee bylaws with a neutral lawyer present and adopt a policy and process for removing a trustee.

The Board of Trustees Thursday night voted to approve the review of the board’s nominating committee policy by an independent lawyer pursuant to the lawsuit’s settlement agreement.

Lancman said during litigation, one of the issues was determining whether the nominating committee’s policy to fill a vacant seat is legal. He said the attorney will determine whether the nominating committee’s policies are consistent with the bylaws and applicable laws.

The hiring of an attorney to review the policy will cost the library $5,000.

In other news, Trustee Liman Mimi Hu presented a resolution not on the agenda to unapprove a partnership agreement between the library and community organizations, which was met with pushback from Lancman. The resolution was ultimately passed.

Hu said the movement to unapprove the partnership agreement was based on “community outcry and pushback,” as well as advice from counsel.

Lancman said the board had established a partnership program to formalize their engagement with the community. He said this partnership would give community groups the ability to partner with the library and its programming and services.

He said the partnership was not controversial, adding that it is an offering of many other libraries.

“It is essential for us to ensure that we are engaging with the community that we are meant to serve,” Lancman said.

Lancman and Hu went back and forth on whether Hu had the ability to present a resolution to be voted on without it first being present on the agenda. Hu said she could so long as another trustee seconded the motion, whereas Lancman disagreed.

“It’s a huge disservice to the board and I believe it violates our obligation as board members to do our due diligence before we vote on things to just spring something on the board all of the sudden without giving us the opportunity to have thought about, to consider it and to use our judgment as board members,” Lancman said.

Lancman said it could be voted on at a future meeting after the board has been briefed on the subject so that they could make an informed decision. He said it is also within the interest of the community to be informed of what is going to be voted on through the agenda posted prior to the meeting.

“You never solicit our input,” Hu said in regard to the resolutions placed on the agenda.

Lancman disagreed, saying that trustees can place items on the agenda beforehand.

He said the resolution was proposed in an “ambush fashion” and that it was an inappropriate procedure done recklessly.

Trustee Scott Sontag said nobody on the board was ambushing Lancman and that it is within the abilities of the board to propose a resolution as such.

“Without any time to give any serious consideration or have any discussion…it is extremely irresponsible,” Lancman said. “And to do this on the last meeting of the year before we have a new board coming in in 10 days, it is very irresponsible and I believe anybody who votes on this is acting without consideration to their obligation as board members. It’s simply, it’s highly inappropriate.”

Hu said that the board had been discussing the agreement for months.

The agreement faced two votes at the board’s May 22 and June 20 meetings, which failed to pass. It was eventually approved with a passing vote at the board’s Sept. 19 meeting before being repealed Thursday night.

Sontag seconded the resolution to bring it to a vote.

After minutes of debate, the resolution went to vote with Lancman being the sole member to vote against the resolution. Smith was not present to vote on the resolution.

The Great Neck Library Board of Trustees will convene again at the Main Library on Jan. 2 for its annual reorganizational meeting.