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HomeMy WebLinkAbout10-04-2017 minutes COLUMBIA HEIGHTS PUBLIC LIBRARY 3939 Central Ave NE, Columbia Heights, MN 55421 BOARD OF TRUSTEES: MEETING MINUTES Wednesday, October 4th, 2017 Approved 11/1/2017 The meeting was called to order in the History Room by Chair, Patricia Sowada, at 5:32pm. Members present: Patricia Sowada, Nancy Hoium, Catherine Vesley, Stephen Smith, Tricia Conway; and Council Liaison, Robert “Bobby” Williams. Also present: Library Director, Renee Dougherty; Recording Secretary, Nick Olberding. • The Minutes of the September 6th, 2017 Board Meeting were approved. • The Bill List dated September 6th, 2017 was reviewed. It was moved, seconded, and passed that the bills be paid. • The Bill List dated September 20th, 2017 was reviewed. It was moved, seconded, and passed that the bills be paid. • The Accounting Sheet as of September was reviewed, and approved. • Questions and discussions from Bills and Accounting: o Severence: Not budgeted, because we don’t anticipate anyone leaving. There was an expenditure here because of Barb Kondrick’s retirement; the payout for unused vacation time. o Earbuds: Why? The library purchases headphones for resale. On library workstations, you can only hear audio with an earpiece; patrons have the option to purchase earbuds for $5, or bring their own headphones with them. o Marco: Services and supplies for our copiers/printers. The library is the only department on this contract so far, so we receive the bills directly; due to the high volume of printing, we are charged overage fees (this wasn’t as noticeable in the previous contract involving all departments, because low volume departments would make up for high volume ones). The current contract lasts for 5 years. o E-Books: The usage of these are difficult to estimate. Anoka County Library shares their E-Book services with us and we pay for a percentage based on our patron’s usage. The overspending here will be compensated by underspending in the print books budget. Old Business: N/A New Business: • 2018 Proposed Budget: The library, along with other departments, presented their proposed budgets to the City Council this week. The budget for the library includes an 8% increase mostly due to pay increases posed by AFSCME and increases for part-time employees to bring wages in line with local market rates. The Council will not finalize budgets until December. The city’s Maintenance of Effort has remained level since 2011. The Library Board had no concerns over the aspects of the 2018 proposed budget, and were thankful for the Budget Booklet they received. • Library Public Art Committee: Mainly the membership aspect was discussed. There are currently some interested parties, including Gary Peterson (former mayor, and supporter of public art), Paul (library architect), and Kathy Super (Friend of the Library). o There was debate on how “open” to make membership enrollment for the committee. Historically application process for such committees have not been widely advertised, but there is also the need for transparency in this day and age. Catherine showed concern that opening completely up to the public would leave it vulnerable; as possible applicants may try to use the committee for personal gain/notoriety (which she has seen before). The original framework (which used 6 other local art committee guidelines as reference) stipulated that the committee should include representation from the Library Staff, Library Foundation, Library Board, Friends of the Library, and the community. We would like to have members that actually have an interest and a stake in the CHPL, and would have its best interests in mind. We also need members who would pledge to actively participate (meetings would be held as needed and would likely not exceed once-per-quarter). It was decided that we need a formal application process, which will coincide with the library’s first exhibition (kicking off on November 3rd). Tricia is going to write up the application based on templates the city uses for Commissions, and will present it at the November Board Meeting. We anticipate accepting applications from November 4th through December 5th (to be reviewed at the December 6th Board Meeting). Notices for the Committee will be posted at the exhibition and the teen area art display in the library during the application period. • October Programs: Renee Dougherty wanted to emphasize all the programs going on now that the fall session has started. The current Read-Down, Meditation Workshop, Adult Book Club, Senior Surf, Conversation Circles, Scrabble Club, and many children’s events. She wanted the Board to be aware of all these because they are ambassadors for the library, and can only promote events if they know what they are… Items from the Floor: • Youth Read Down for 2018: Bri would like the schedule for Read-Down in 2018 to be the months of January, June, July, and October. She asked that this be approved by the Board. The approval was motioned, and seconded…approved. • Spaghetti Dinner: Raised around $1,700, and was attended by 175+ people. Attendance was not as high as anticipated, but it was considered a successful event. • Friends: The future of the Friends is uncertain. Over the years members have aged out, and recruiting new members has not been successful. Also, current members have not been interested in taking on hierarchical positions, and the function of the Library Foundation diminishes the need for an organized Friends group. On the plus-side, the Friends have been very active in volunteering on a regular basis and helping out the library whenever they can (in essence, this is what the purpose of the Friends, and will continue to be so). • LED Light Fixtures: Ceiling lights are consistently dying out. The electricians/manufacturers are on the hook for replacing them for now, as they are still under warranty. They would like to have an energy audit done to see if we’re having a irregular power surges, because there shouldn’t be this many lights burning out. • Community Room A/V: Components for the system are being sent out for troubleshooting/repair, and will be returned within one week. Currently audio only works from one source at a time; either microphone or sound from a video/slideshow…not both at once. Should be fixed by next week. • Items to consider for November Meeting: CHPL 90th Anniversary, Future of the Library Strategic Plan, and Building Disaster Recovery priorities and strategies. There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 6:24pm 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.