HomeMy WebLinkAbout07-01-2020 Meeting Notes (no quorum)
COLUMBIA HEIGHTS PUBLIC LIBRARY
3939 Central Ave NE, Columbia Heights, MN 55421
BOARD OF TRUSTEES: MEETING NOTES
Wednesday, July 1st, 2020
Drafted
7/2/2020
The meeting was called to order in the Columbia Heights City Council Chambers by Chair, Catherine Vesley at 5:31pm.
NO QUORUM (due to unknown technical issues with the virtual meeting software)
Members physically present: Catherine Vesley; Patricia Sowada; and Nick Novitsky (City Council Liaison). Members
remotely present: N/A…technical difficulties; Christopher Polley and Teresa Eisenbise tried to join remotely, but were
denied by the software; those present were unaware of the issue. Unable to Attend: Tricia Conway. Also present: Renee
Dougherty (Library Director); Nick Olberding (Recording Secretary).
The Minutes of the June 3rd, 2020 Board Meeting were reviewed. Unable to approve (no quorum).
The Bill Lists dated June 10th and 24th, 2020 were reviewed. Unable to approve (no quorum).
Questions and discussions based on Bills and Accounting:
272 (Other): These expenditures are COVID-19 related, and may be grant funded. This account separates those
expenses to make accounting for them easier. There are several small charges that were not originally charged to
272, and will likely be re-allocated to there (e.g. 100-pack of facemasks).
Expenses: Have expended 37% of the budget in 50% of the year. This is not including June payroll/utilities, and
both lines are lower to date than last year due to being closed to the public and furlough of part-time staff.
Somali/Arabic Books: The Board was happy to see the effort to increase our collection of world languages to
support the diverse community of Columbia Heights. These appeared differently on the bill lists because we
needed to reach out to a new vendor for these materials. The Board expressed that they would like to also see an
increase in Mandarin materials (especially with the continuity of MNLink Inter-Library Loan in question).
o Tricia had emailed previous to the meeting: Wondering what percentage of the collection budget is
allocated to non-English items, and is it in alignment with Anoka County’s strategy? Answer pending.
Old Business:
1. Meeting Room Policy (Tabled): Currently not relevant; when the library does re-open to the public, meeting
rooms will remain unavailable for the foreseeable future (due to the constant disinfecting they would require).
2. Collection Development Policy (Tabled): No update at the moment; Renee would like to redline and rewrite this
policy (hasn’t been revised since 2007 under Board Chair, Barb Miller). Due to its importance in guiding our
Collection, they would like to devote their full attention, which cannot be given today. Until then, it is suggested
that members research the corresponding policy of other Libraries near and far. During this review, the topic of
our World Language Collection can be explored further.
New Business:
1. 2021 Proposed Budget: The City’s directives limit increases in department budgets to no more than 3%; the
Library’s proposes an increase of 2.76%.
a. As per usual, two-thirds of the Library’s yearly budget is related to personnel. Part-time staff received a
raise in 2020, and the full-time staff have mostly hit the top of their pay-scale, aside from a 3% cost-of-
living increase.
b. It’s anticipated that open hours in 2021 will have returned to the normal 54 hours/week, as opposed to
the reduced hours during COVID re-opening phases.
c. Supplies: No change to total, but some shifting among budget lines.
d. Increase to the phone budget (per City’s guidance). The City’s budget template labels the budget line as
“Telephone & Telegraph”; no, the library does not have or use a telegraph machine.
e. CHPL is working with Anoka County Library’s on implementing a new PC Management Software System
for the public computers, printing (plus wireless/remote printing), and self-service card payments.
f. Utilities were estimated at 6% over 2019 costs, which amounts to less than 2020 costs overall.
g. City provided IT Services has gone up 2.7%. Why is IT Service from the City so expensive, asked the Board
(cost up 2.7% from 2020, but up 80% from 2017)? Short answer is that cost is based on the number of
devices, long answer is unknown. The Board feels that the library should get a break on price because the
majority of the devices are for use by the public (not staff), and most devices are centrally managed thin-
clients which were supposed to be cheaper/simpler to support. In addition, the support priority and
level-of-service is not quite that of some other City Departments (opinion). Nick Novitsky said he will look
into the IT Support cost structure.
2. Staffing Update: Elaine Dietz-Mamaril is retiring on July 10th. She has been with the CHPL for more than 26 years
(started in November of 1993), and has provided a consistent positive influence on the staff and patrons of the
Library; Elaine is very well educated, and knowledgeable in many areas; always willing to take on challenges, help
patrons with their in-depth research, and adapt to changing technology and community (all with kindness
professionalism, personal attention, and follow-through). She will be missed by all who know her in Columbia
Heights and the staff, but we wish her all the enjoyment she deserves in her retirement. A small socially
distanced Retirement Party will be planned for late next week. The Board would also like to wish Elaine a very
happy retirement!
3. CHPL Re-Opening Plan: Library building was closed to the Public starting on March 17th, 2020; Curbside Pickup
started in April; Computer Appointments started in June; The Building is opening next Monday.
a. 50% Capacity (approximately 77 people according to the CHFD); No Study/Meeting Rooms
b. Staff wearing masks; Patrons strongly encouraged to wear masks.
c. Encouraging visits to not exceed 90 minutes; Computer Sessions limited to 90 minutes/day
d. Shortened Hours (MON-WED: 1pm-7pm; THU-FRI: 11am-4pm; SAT: 11am-3pm)
e. Social Distancing Decals; Furniture reconfigured; Reduced Touch Self-Checks; PlexiGlass Barriers
Items from the Floor:
Are there many non-English E-Books available through the Library’s providers? Some, but likely not many. Our E-
Book service is contracted through Anoka County Library, and the selection is at their discretion. E-Book use for
Columbia Heights patrons has gone from about 650 books/month to around 850 books/month.
Be well, and stay safe.
There being no official quorum and no further business, the meeting was ended at 6:02pm by Catherine Vesley.
Respectfully submitted,
Nicholas P. Olberding
Recording Secretary, Library Board of Trustee