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HomeMy WebLinkAbout02-08-2017 minutes COLUMBIA HEIGHTS PUBLIC LIBRARY 3939 Central Ave NE, Columbia Heights, MN 55421 BOARD OF TRUSTEES: MEETING MINUTES Wednesday, February 8th, 2017 Approved 3/1/2017 The meeting was called to order by Chair, Patricia Sowada, at 5:34 p.m. Members present were: Patricia Sowada, Catherine Vesley, Stephen Smith, and Tricia Conway. Also present was Library Director Renee Dougherty, and Recording Secretary Nick Olberding. • The Minutes of the December 7th, 2016 Board Meeting were approved. • The Minutes of the January 18th, 2017 Board Meeting were approved. • The Bill List dated December 14th, 2016 was reviewed. It was moved, seconded, and passed that the bills be paid. • The Bill List dated December 21st, 2016 was reviewed. It was moved, seconded, and passed that the bills be paid. • The Bill List dated December 28th, 2016 was reviewed. It was moved, seconded, and passed that the bills be paid. • The Bill List dated January 18th, 2017 was reviewed. It was moved, seconded, and passed that the bills be paid. • The Bill List dated January 25th, 2017 was reviewed. It was moved, seconded, and passed that the bills be paid. • The Bill List dated February 1st, 2017 was reviewed. It was moved, seconded, and passed that the bills be paid. • The Accounting Sheet for year-end 2016 was reviewed, and approved. • Questions and discussions stemmed from Bills and Accounting: o Do we buy books every week? Yes, we are continuously ordering books and other materials; then we pay for them as they are received and invoiced. Bills are paid every other week. o Encyclopedias: Costs $1000 every other year. When we get a new edition, it becomes a Reference edition; the edition that was Reference becomes a circulating edition; the old circulating copy gets recycled (In January the 2017 Edition was added to the Reference Collection; 2015 moved to the Children’s Department, and 2013 was removed from the Collection). o E-Book Circulation was on the rise, but seems to have plateaued; there is still demand for physical print media. We are charged by ACL based on percentage of overall E-Book use, which was 4.5% last year. o Standing Orders: We have automatic orders set up for various items like certain Juvenile series, Large Print books, Reference books, and Collector’s Books (like coins and stamps). o Single DVDs on Bill List: We don’t order them individually, but sometimes portions of orders are shipped and invoiced individually (back-orders, and other reasons). o Printer/Copier Contract Service: Through Marco, costs about $157/month for the pair of copiers; two printers have a separate service contract for $75/month . o Payroll Under-budget: Short on part-time staff for months, and a gap in Clerk position during transition. o Books Under-Budget: It was a busy year with the move, and it was difficult to get caught up at year-end. o Electric: July-August were hard on the HVAC, with it being under vendor control (rather than Public Works), it took longer to make adjustments. Community Room side was on full blast for a while. Weidt Group and architects and building engineers designed to maximize building efficiency and advised the City of the energy costs to expect. o Gas usage is low, which is encouraging. o Are we nervous about the 8% under budget? No, Council Resolution 95-40 established a reserve for working capital cash flow in an amount equal to 45% of the ensuing year’s budgeted expenditures. During the last two budget years (2014 and 2015) the library fund (240) had a surplus at year-end, which fulfilled the established reserve. o Other Revenue is from Better World Books, who buys some of our withdrawn books. Old Business: N/A New Business: • Introduction of new Trustee and Council Liaison: o Introduction of Tricia Conway, who has been very involved in the work that went into planning for the new library. Bobby Williams was absent from the meeting. • Staffing Update: o We hired four new part-time Pages in December, one has since left; citing physical difficulty of the work. • Revision of By-Laws to include new meeting time: o The change from 6:30pm to 5:30pm meeting times was unanimously approved. Items from the Floor: • Trustee Job Description: Stephen Smith wrote with the help of a template sent from the Columbia Heights HR Department. Everyone agreed with the content of the description, especially the statement that Trustees are Ambassadors for the Library. • Legacy Amendment Highlights Book: Renee distributed a copy of this for all members. It was mentioned that Legacy funds for the Columbia Heights Public Library are dispersed through ACL. • Committee Films: has narrowed its possible filming locations down to us and a few other metro libraries for a re- enactment scene for television. If selected they would film here between February 27th and March 3rd, for one or two nights (outside of business hours). • There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 6:24p.m. by Patricia Sowada, and seconded. Respectfully submitted, Nicholas P. Olberding Recording Secretary, Library Board of Trustees The City of Columbia Heights does not discriminate on the basis of disability in the admission or access to, or treatment or employment in, its services, programs, or activities. Upon request, accommodation will be provided to allow individuals with disabilities to participate in all City of Columbia Heights services, programs, and activities.