The five brand new members of the Autauga-Platteville Public Library Board met for the first time Thursday in an emergency meeting to elect officers.

Four of the five members of the board were appointed by the Autauga County Commission, and each of those four members was appointed an officer.

Christie Sellers, who was appointed by the city, was the only member not to serve on the board. She voted in favor of each candidate.

Ray Bolles will become chairman of the new board, with Rachel Daniels serving as vice-chairman. Doug Darr will serve as treasurer and Logan Strzok will round out the group as secretary.

After promptly appointing the officers without discussion, Mr. Boles asked the board to meet to discuss the honor and character of the final two appointments needed to complete the board.

The group decided to submit two names as recommendations to the city of Platteville, but Boles declined to share those names with APR.

The names will be submitted to the city today, and APR will request the names of the recommended appointees at that time.

In the past, the recommendation process was typically handled by a special committee, but due to a complete transformation of the board, the committee no longer exists.

This nomination process was ignored by the County Commission, and the remaining four board members resigned en masse shortly afterward, ultimately leading to the Library Board's current situation.

Cities and counties split representation on the board. Each governing body appoints her three long-term members, with one seat rotating annually between the two bodies. Darr holds a rotating seat and his term ends in November.

The board has not taken any other action and is expected to wait until the final two board members are in place before taking any further action.

The previous board had established a process for the public to comment during meetings, but public comments were also not accepted at this meeting. This policy applies specifically to regularly scheduled meetings.

The next board meeting is scheduled for February 8th at 9:30am.