Port Huron council approves a county library branch inside the Eleger Harvey Community Center

PORT HURON, Mich. — Port Huron City Council approved a partnership that will open a St. Clair County Library System branch inside the city’s Eleger Harvey Community Center on the south side, 105.5 WPHM reported Wednesday.

The branch at 3013 24th Street is meant to put books, computers and early literacy programs closer to south-side families who have a harder time reaching the main library downtown at 210 McMorran Boulevard, Library Director Allison Arnold told the station. The county library board had already approved the agreement Aug. 25, according to notes on the document in the Oct. 12 council packet.

Under the interlocal agreement, the library system hires and supervises the branch staff, buys and manages the collection, sets public hours and supplies the computers, printers, Wi-Fi and network equipment. The system keeps ownership of the books and technology, and all patron records stay with the system under the Michigan Library Privacy Act.

The city owns and maintains the building and grounds, provides parking and handles structural work such as the roof, heating and cooling, plumbing and fire alarms. The library system pays for day-to-day cosmetic upkeep and reimburses the city for utilities, cleaning, lawn care and snow removal tied to the library’s share of the building. WPHM said the agreement also creates a Library Advisory Board between the city and the library system to help guide operations.

The agreement says the city’s share of local library support is covered by the county-wide library millage, so Port Huron does not need its own local library appropriation to meet state aid requirements. Either side can end the deal for convenience with 12 months’ written notice. Neither the packet nor the WPHM report lists an opening date.

Monday’s agenda also carried a four-year agreement with St. Clair County to receive the city’s portion of the 0.4933-mill ambulance tax county voters approved Aug. 4, a $66,935.25 sole-source purchase of nine Motorola radios for the police department, a tax capture financing agreement with the Southside Neighborhood Improvement Authority tied to the Connor Street project, final adoption of a change to the city’s non-owner-occupied housing certification rules and a first reading of a new demolition ordinance. Formal minutes for those items had not been posted as of Wednesday afternoon.

The Oct. 12 meeting was in the Public Meeting Room of the Municipal Office Center, 100 McMorran Blvd. Meetings air live on Comcast channels 12 and 916, according to the city.

Updated Oct. 14, 2026: 105.5 WPHM reported Wednesday that Port Huron City Council approved the Harvey Community Center library partnership this week. The headline, summary and body now report the approval; Library Director Allison Arnold’s comments and the advisory-board detail are from WPHM. City minutes for the Oct. 12 meeting had not been posted as of Wednesday afternoon. Source: 105.5 WPHM, Oct. 14, 2026.

Sources:
City of Port Huron, Regular Meeting of the Port Huron City Council agenda, Oct. 12, 2026, https://porthuron.granicus.com/AgendaViewer.php?view_id=1&event_id=715
City of Port Huron, City Council agenda packet, Oct. 12, 2026 (RES #26-135 and Interlocal Agreement for System Library Services; RES #26-139; RES #26-140; ORD #26-012; ORD #26-013), https://d3n9y02raazwpg.cloudfront.net/porthuron/92805f74-c952-11f0-a7da-005056a89546-fff81521-3b34-4b69-86ed-db98ae6fb7a9-1791562526.pdf
City of Port Huron, City Council, regular meetings, https://www.porthuron.org/government/city_council.php
105.5 WPHM, “Port Huron City Council Approves New Library Branch,” Oct. 14, 2026, https://www.1055wphm.com/2026/10/14/port-huron-city-council-approves-new-library-branch/
Image: AI-generated illustration by The Mitten Daily.

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