HomeMy WebLinkAbout03-03-2021 Library Board Minutes
COLUMBIA HEIGHTS PUBLIC LIBRARY
3939 Central Ave NE, Columbia Heights, MN 55421
BOARD OF TRUSTEES: MEETING MINUTES
Wednesday, March 3rd, 2021
Approved
4/7/2021
NOTICE THAT THIS MEETING WAS CONDUCTED BY A COMBINATION OF IN-PERSON AND ELECTRONIC MEANS
Following a determination by City Manager Kelli Bourgeois, and emergencies declared by the United States, The State of Minnesota, and the Columbia Heights Mayor &
City Council, this meeting did, pursuant to Minn. Stat. § 13D.021, occur by a combination of in -person and electronic means. In all meeting formats whether solely in -
person or a combination of in-person and electronic means, members of the public who wished to attend could d o so by attending in-person or by calling 1-312-626 -
6799 and entering meeting ID 832 1433 7849 and passcode 654514 at the scheduled meeting time. If there are any questions about this notice or attending/calling in
to a future meeting, please contact the City Clerk at (763) 706-3611.
The meeting was called to order in the Library Community Room by Secretary Tricia Conway at 5:32pm.
Members physically present: Tricia Conway; Teresa Eisenbise; Nick Novitsky (Council Liaison). Members remotely
present: Christopher Polley. Also present: Renee Dougherty (Library Director); Nick Olberding (Recording Secretary).
The Minutes of the February 3rd, 2021, Board Meeting were moved and approved unanimously via roll-call vote.
The Bill Lists dated February 3rd & 17th, 2021, were reviewed; moved and approved unanimously via roll-call vote.
General questions and discussions on Bills, Accounting, and Miscellaneous:
Board Officers: Tricia inquired as to the protocol under our current circumstances --with no Chair/Vice-Chair does
she take the interim lead as the only voted Officer (Secretary)? Yes, Tricia will Chair tonight’s meeting; in April we
should have a full roster again, and at that time members will nominate and vote on new Board Officers.
CH Centennial: Novitsky was asked about Centennial plans at the last meeting; his update mainly addresses
events planned for the year: including the Coloring Contest (ending March 6), Columbia Heights 2021 Calendars
(created from last year’s Photo Contest), a Music at Huset Park series (Jun, Jul, Aug), and also that planning is
going forward with the Heights Jamboree.
TechLogic: This $9k charge is for annual maintenance agreement for the Automated Materials Handler unit.
2020: Bills have all been paid for last year, although Finance has not closed the books on it yet, charges for new
staff computers have not been posted, and the City is still allocating lines affected by the CARES Act grants.
Annual Report: Renee is working on the Library’s Annual Report which needs to be submitted to the MN Dept. of
Education. Financial data is not ready yet, which accounts for a large portion of the report.
Line 7100 (Operating Transfer Out): This budget item is allocated from each dependent department for
service/labor from administrative departments like Finance. IS & Public Works are compensated via other budget
lines (4010, 4020, 4040) for IT service, landscaping, building maintenance, etc.
Kathy Super Donation: Kathy’s $500 donation is much appreciated, as well as her continued volunteer work. She
didn’t specify how her donation should be spent; Renee will use it to re-subscribe to “BookPage,” which was
previously paid for by the Friends of the Library.
Old Business:
1. FYI: Library Board Openings and Council Applicant Review: The City was accepting applications for
Board/Commission positions up until February 28 th. Interviews with the City Council will take place March 8th and
15th , with final decisions on March 22 nd. There have been 20+ received, and 9 of them ranked the Library Board as
their 1st choice. Tricia Conway re-applied for an appointment to a 2nd term.
2. FYI: 2020 Other Miscellaneous Revenue: From the 2020 Revenue Sheet that was presented last month, it was
unknown what the $2,121 in Misc. Revenue was from; some inquiry revealed that $1700 was a refund f rom
CenterPoint Energy from a mistakenly charged tax that the Library is exempt from, and the remainder was a
Public Employee Retirement Association refund for employees who either left employment or didn’t work the
minimum number of hours for PERA withholding.
New Business:
1. Policy Review: Library Digital Sign: This was our most recently created policy from 2018, and it was put together
by the Communications Coordinator based on the City Hall digital sign; there weren’t any updates made to the
wording of the policy. Renee makes weekly updates to the digital sign messages, usually in rotation are the
building hours and upcoming programs/events. Have there been any congratulatory messages displayed? Yes, we
congratulated the CHHS Class of 2020 because they were cheated out of normal graduation celebrations due to
the pandemic. A motion to approve the revised 2021 version of the Library Digital Sign Policy was made; it was
seconded and approved via roll -call vote.
2. Policy Review: Organizational Borrowing: Renee red-lined the existing policy (just grammatical edits), and
presented to the Board; there were no significant changes needed. This policy creates a way for schools, shelters,
churches, jails, etc. to borrow up to 100 items at a time for 45 days (rather than 21), in order to provide their
members with reading material. Only teachers are currently participating via our Bulk Loan option, where the y
request certain titles, genres, or subjects needed for their curriculum. No organization has applied for Deposit
Collections, which would ideally require a staff member to track circulation of items and borrowers. A motion to
approve the revised 2021 version of the Organizational Borrowing Policy was made; it was seconded and
approved via roll-call vote.
3. FYI: Upcoming March Library Programs: Board Members were presented with the Library’s Spring Events
Calendar (available to the public). Family Discovery Days at Silverwood Park, Stay -At-Home Storytimes via Zoom,
and our Birdscaping Basics online class were emphasized. Library events will remain virtual and/or outdoors at
least through summer.
Items from the Floor:
Catherine Vesley Resignation: Catherine Vesley penned a supplemental Letter of Resignation addressed to the
Library Board and Staff of the CHPL. There wasn’t much talk about it, but they were disappointed in losing
Catherine, wish her the best, and would like a continued relationship. The Board understands the viewpoint of
the Council, but emphasized how invaluable Catherine’s experience, knowledge, and devotion to the Library;
there is value in having consistency (not having constant member turnover), but also value in new members with
fresh ideas and diversity.
Municode: City Boards/Commissions are now using a platform called Municode to facilitate meetings. As of now
the Library Board only uses it to create Agendas/Packets and publish them to the City website, but there may be
more utilization in the future, although it’s unlikely the Library will ever use the recording feature, and individual
members can make their own decision to use City loaned tablets for future meeting (paperless option).
Are We Too Open?: The CHPL is now open 40 hours/week as of February; in comparison to other surrounding
Library Systems we are more open and welcoming, and have received many positive comments from patrons that
we are the salvation for their sanity through the pandemic. City Administration urged us to be more open last
summer, and with careful planning we have successfully done so.
E-Books/ISD Digital Cards: Based on the slight increase in e-book circulation this spring, it’s assumed that
students are not taking full advantage of available services, but the e-book platform migration is still postponed
to summer as to not disrupt those that are using it during the school year.
There being no further business, a motion to adjourn was made at 6:13pm, and seconded.
Respectfully submitted,
Nicholas P. Olberding
Recording Secretary, Library Board of Trustee