WHITEHOUSE – The Village of Whitehouse’s plans to sell the six-acre property on the northwest corner of the Finzel Road roundabout to the Toledo Lucas County Public Library for a new Whitehouse Branch took many residents by surprise, including Rebecca Rude.
“It was like a punch in the gut,” Rude told village council during its Aug. 5 meeting.
Rude, like many residents, thought the new Whitehouse Branch would be located in Blue Creek Metropark. But changes in funding at the state level impacted that decision, explained Library Public Information Officer Stephanie Elton, who also attended the meeting. So the Library and village began looking for a new location, with at least five acres, on which to build.
As council held a first reading on an ordinance that would allow administration to sell the property to the Library for $620,000, Mayor Rich Bingham asked for citizen comments. Both Rude and Jeff Heaney shared concerns about the location…