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HomeMy WebLinkAbout06-07-2017 minutes COLUMBIA HEIGHTS PUBLIC LIBRARY 3939 Central Ave NE, Columbia Heights, MN 55421 BOARD OF TRUSTEES: MEETING MINUTES Wednesday, June 7th, 2017 Approved 7/5/2017 The meeting was called to order in the History Room by Chair, Patricia Sowada, at 5:32pm. All members present: Patricia Sowada, Catherine Vesley, Nancy Hoium, Stephen D. Smith, Tricia Conway, and Bobby Williams. Also present: Library Director, Renee Dougherty; Recording Secretary, Nick Olberding; and visitor from the Anoka County Record, Bryan Olson. • The Minutes of the May 3rd, 2017 Board Meeting were approved. • The Bill List dated May 10th, 2017 was reviewed. It was moved, seconded, and passed that the bills be paid. • The Bill List dated May 24th, 2017 was reviewed. It was moved, seconded, and passed that the bills be paid. • The Accounting Sheet as of May was reviewed, and approved. • Questions and discussions from Bills and Accounting: o Books…who purchases and what influences purchases: Director (adult materials), Adult Librarian (adult materials and all media), and Youth Librarian (youth material) create book orders. Book orders are based on patron recommendations, 3 review journals, and various online resources. o Bookmarks & Letters (on May 24th List): These were ordered by Bri to hand out during school visits in promotion of the library and Summer Reading Program. o Electric: Solar panels are performing well and keeping us under-budget for electrical. Eric Hanson is also actively re-adjusting the environmental controls to maximize the efficiency of the air handlers. o Marco (Line 4000…on May 24th List): This item was considered, and discussed. Some of the costs on there are from 2016, but we were not charged until 2017, others have appeared on previous bill lists (but Finance did not pay them until the charges were understood). Now they have been re-submitted the way Finance would like them to be, and they will be paid. o Construction Related Costs: Items like the faulty entry door controls are still covered under warranty, so no additional costs are incurred. Will also likely receive a warranty extension. Some costs have been associated with additional programming of access card readers. o Credit Card Fees (on Accounting Sheet): This has been discussed before…Finance had advised us to budget for this service in case of implementation. There are no current plans to move forward with it. Old Business: N/A • Staffing Update: Conditional offer has been made to Cortni O’Brien (applicant from Denver, CO), and she has accepted. Anticipated start date of July 10th. Cortni grew up in Rush City, MN, and attended the College of St. Benedict in St. Joseph. She received a Masters of Library and Information Science from the University of Colorado in Denver. She has been the Communications Manager for the Literacy Project of Eagle County and a Public Relations Librarian in the Eagle Valley Library District. • Art Display Policy: Since approval of our policy, we currently have our first exhibition on display. Judy Fowler, of Columbia Academy, is currently displaying works in the Youth Area from her 6, 7, and 8th grade Media Arts students. New Business: • Gifts from Friends: The Friends of the Library have recently gifted the library $250 to offset the cost of entertainment (Leo and Kathy Lara) at the Summer Reading Program Kick-off Party (June 14th); plus an additional $500 for books to give away as prizes in the Summer Reading Program. The Friends also came through with purchasing a very nice wheelchair for the library (a mobility solution for disabled patrons, or in case of emergency, was discussed at the previous Board meeting); it is currently being stored in the backroom, and will be available to patrons upon request. The Board is very thankful for the Friend’s generous donations to the library. • Minnesota Public Library Report: Renee distributed a Key Statistics sheet from the Minnesota Dept. of Education which laid out combined statistics and trends for all the MN Public Libraries for 2016. Interesting point that was brought up, Columbia Heights’ patron visits are above the average, but patron loans are below. Renee Dougherty and Catherine Vesley will attend the next City Council session to present a summary of the report. • 2018 Budget Update: Finance manager is currently out of the office with an injury, so department heads have a small deadline extension. Increase in personnel wages (due to AFSCME increases), and an increase in maintenance (due to city contracts on IT, landscaping, etc). City contracts for all-city building maintenance are put out for bids every two years. • Council Goals and Objectives: City Council had discussed 8 aspirations and short term goals in its previous session. Not all could be remembered off-hand, but they include items like a master plan for parks, city communications, cooperation with schools, sprucing up neighborhoods, and a new city hall. Items from the Floor: • CHPL 90th Anniversary: 2018 marks the 90th anniversary of the Columbia Heights Public Library. Will see if a little money can be put in the budget for recognition of this. The board would like to see a celebratory banner hung on the front of the library facing Central, and a cake for the event. Opted not to have a whole year of events planned for the anniversary, because it tends to get overwhelming, but there may be a single event for the milestone…planning will come later. There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 6:17pm 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.