A year ago, a commission empaneled to review King County’s charter took a close look at the regional library system and delivered some harsh words. During public meetings, it noted, patrons of the King County Library System “voiced several concerns about KCLS’ governance structure and operations, including lack of oversight and accountability, an unengaged and unresponsive board of trustees, limited public access to board decision-making processes and lack of planning.”

This was no small matter. The commission was appointed by County Executive Ron Sims to take a 10-year review of the county’s charter, the constitution that provides the foundation for King County’s governance. It was chaired by former Gov. Mike Lowry and former County Council Chairwoman Lois North.

Bill Ptacek, who heads the county library system, said he disagrees with the commission’s findings. Plenty of other surveys, including a recent one that polled patrons of the Federal Way branch, find library users are pleased with the system’s service, he said. KCLS is the second busiest in the country, right behind Queens in New York. “We consistently get very high marks on the level of service we provide,” he said.

But Ptacek is failing to make an important distinction: Patrons can love their local branch, the fine employees, the books, programs and service and still find the top-level administration out of touch, arrogant and opaque in the way it conducts its business.

Indeed, such is the case on Vashon.

At a meeting last Wednesday, attended by nearly 150 people, the crowd cheered particularly loudly when one Islander told Ptacek, “I love my library. I love my librarians.” At the same time, he and dozens of others at the meeting questioned the way Ptacek and the board that oversees him have made decisions in the last several months, decisions that have put the library system on an apparently unalterable course to move the Vashon branch out of town.

In comment after comment, Islanders asked Ptacek to hear their plea, to consider their concerns, to let patrons have a say in the location of their beloved branch.

Ptacek listened. He was polite. His staff comported themselves well. But on Monday, when interviewed by The Beachcomber, he reiterated a stance he’s held for months: The library can’t remain in Ober Park because the park district, which owns the building, won’t renew its lease.

That’s disingenous, at best. The park district said it would not renew the lease for a library plan that reduced the size of the park. It left the door open to other options and at one point sent a letter reiterating its willingness to continue to search for a solution.

It’s true that there’s some bad blood now between the park district and the library system. But it’s also true that Ptacek — as the head of the second largest library system in the country — should be able to navigate what has become a charged situation and find a solution that works. He’s presumably paid well; finding a way to address community concerns is surely part of the job description.

Ptacek has an opportunity to do something significant on Vashon: He has a chance to show the Lowry-North commission that it was, in fact, wrong. He can be accountable, open and transparent on Vashon. He can listen to the patrons. He can respond to our concerns. Indeed, to come back to the table now and resume discussions with the park district would stand as a powerful act of leadership and courage — one that would go far in helping to restore trust in a system that matters enormously to the public.