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Franchise history

A Northeast Dallas library recommended to be closed amid city budget cuts will likely stay open after community opposition to the plan.

The Dallas City Council on Wednesday tentatively signaled support for shifting money in the coming budget to stave off shutting down the Skillman Southwestern Library, though several members expressed concern over the cash source and uncertainty over how the branch would be funded moving forward. The approval was non-binding and won’t be official until the City Council approves a final version of the nearly $5 billion budget on Sept. 18.

Council member Paula Blackmon, who represents the area and proposed moving more than $485,000 from nearly $6 million planned to go toward an incentive fund to improve infrastructure in underserved areas, said an outcry for the library at a recent budget town hall meeting helped drive her to find a way to get the nearly 20-year-old branch off the chopping block.

She vowed the community would work to improve low attendance at library events, which made it a target for closure. She added the support opened her eyes to “many people that do love this library.”

“I didn’t realize how excited and how energized the community was until you tell them you’re going to take something away,” Blackmon said. An online petition protesting the library closure idea had more than 3,100 signatures as of Wednesday.

It’s unclear how the branch will be funded beyond the next fiscal year, which runs from Oct. 1 to Sept. 30.

Interim City Manager Kimberly Bizor Tolbert last month recommended closing the library in her initial budget proposal to prevent impacts on Dallas’ almost 30 other branch locations. The Skillman site, she said, sits within roughly three miles of a trio of other libraries. The city expected to save $485,000 by closing the library, one of the city’s smaller branches. It was part of other planned library system cuts expected to save $1.9 million overall in the new budget.

Tolbert said Wednesday city officials would look into ways to find the money to keep the library open if the City Council desires.

Public library system director Jo Giudice told council members her department’s budget wouldn’t be big enough to support all the libraries being open at least six days a week if Skillman Southwestern remaining open is part of the spending plan.

“This choice enabled us to keep every other location from reducing their hours,” she said of the Skillman Southwestern closure plan. The city was proposing eventually selling the shuttered building, redistributing most of the library’s collection to other city branches, and setting up book vending machines for residents in the area.

The money to save the library could come from the city’s infrastructure investment fund, which the council approved last year to boost residential and commercial development in southern Dallas and other underserved areas. The program is funded yearly with money from expired tax increment financing districts.

Developers can get reimbursed for project costs to install infrastructure, such as water and sewer line connections, sidewalks and lighting, or related work, such as demolitions and property remediation.

Tolbert said the fund has roughly $6 million. City officials last year estimated the fund could grow to more than $199 million by 2033.

But several council members worried about taking money from a fund meant to help underserved areas. Council member Carolyn King Arnold noted the city touts using equity and data in its decisions, including in selecting the Skillman Southwestern branch for closure.

“We’re either going to stick to being data-driven, or we’re not,” Arnold said. “We can’t be selective about which data we choose to use. Either data matters or it doesn’t.”

Giudice told council members during an Aug. 19 committee meeting that the Skillman Southwestern branch typically has few visitors who stay for a significant amount of time.

Most users order items online and pick them up, the area doesn’t have a lot of foot traffic and computer usage there ranked near the bottom among libraries around the city, Giudice said during the meeting last month. She also said city data showed the library is in an area that has lower levels of poverty than other area other branch locations.

Despite that, the library is highly used, according to city data. An April memo to the mayor and City Council showed the Skillman Southwestern library branch ranked eighth out of the city’s 30 libraries in circulation last fiscal year. The number of items checked out for the first time and renewals at Skillman Southwestern more than doubled the next closest branch, the Vickery Park library, the memo said.

Giudice told council members Wednesday that the library ranks seventh in circulation this year.

Supporters of the library branch told council members the site is a treasured part of the community, more accessible than other branches miles away and vital to the development of children in the area. They suggested holding more events after work hours and on weekends to boost attendance.

“This library is important to us,” said area resident Margaret Watson. “A vending machine can’t replace it.”

Warning: The following news story is bound to make you feel old. You’ve been warned.

Elvis Andrus, the fresh-faced, energetic kid whose arrival helped usher in the Texas Rangers’ AL dynasty more than a decade ago, will officially retire as an active player on Friday as a Ranger. Hey, just because a story makes you feel older doesn’t mean it can’t make you feel a little happier, too.

The Rangers will honor Andrus prior to Friday’s game against the Los Angeles Angels by having him throw out the first pitch. The timing of the announcement to coincide with the Angels’ visit is not coincidental. The Angels are managed by Ron Washington, Andrus’ first manager with the Rangers who helped guide him through the early stages of being a major leaguer. Then his father, Adrián Beltré, stepped in.

“Our success really started in 2009, and the biggest player move that year was promoting a 20-year-old shortstop from Double-A,” said former Rangers general manager Jon Daniels, who acquired Andrus as part of a seven-player deal that sent Mark Teixeira to Atlanta in 2007. “Elvis solidified the infield, with Michael [Young] and Ian [Kinsler], and helped improve our pitching with his range and ability to play shortstop. His energy and baserunning helped change the way we pressured defenses.

“He handled the spotlight instantly, both as a rookie and then in the playoffs in the biggest moments, and endeared himself to the fans. He was the perfect fit on a team with a lot of talented guys who loved to play and compete.”

Michael Young, the only player with more longevity in the organization than Andrus, is expected to participate in the first pitch ceremony, as well as an Andrus retirement press conference Friday afternoon alongside Washington and his former teammate.

“For our fanbase, Elvis will always symbolize an immensely fun time in our organization’s history,” Young said Wednesday. “Every player has lasting traits that people remember them by. For Elvis, it will be his enthusiasm and his energy. When he got here, we were ready to start kicking this thing into gear. We needed some young players to provide that nightly spark. He gave it to us with his personality and his performance. And, more importantly, we all immediately loved him.”

Andrus almost certainly will be inducted into the Rangers Hall of Fame. Usually, the team waits at least two years after a player’s official retirement announcement for induction. For context: Iván Rodriguez played his last active game in 2011, announced his retirement in 2012 and was inducted into the team’s Hall of Fame in 2013.

Andrus, who turned 36 last month, played last season for the Chicago White Sox and signed a minor league deal with Arizona during spring training. When he didn’t make the club, he elected not to go to the minor leagues, returned to his home in Frisco and found comfort in being around his wife, Cori, and three young children.

Andrus played 1,652 games with the Rangers from 2009-20, second only to Young in club history. Andrus compiled 1,743 of his 2,091 career hits with the Rangers, placing him third in team history behind Rodriguez and Young. He is the team leader in stolen bases (305), is third in runs scored (893), fifth in doubles (303), second in triples (48) and is also in the top 10 in RBIs and extra-base hits.

The Rangers traded him to Oakland on Feb. 6, 2021 in an exchange of contracts for Khris Davis, Dane Acker and a young catcher named Jonah Heim. He spent 1 1/2 seasons with the A’s before a mid-season trade to Chicago. As a part-time player, he reached 2,000 hits in 2023, making him only the 41st player in MLB history to reach both 2,000 hits and 300 steals.

In 15 major league seasons, Andrus slashed .269/325/.370/.695 with 102 home runs and 347 steals in 2,059 games. He was the AL runner-up in the Rookie of the Year voting in 2009 and was a two-time All-Star.

Find more Rangers coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.