HomeMy WebLinkAbout04-03-2024 Library Board Minutes COLUMBIA HEIGHTS PUBLIC LIBRARY
3939 Central Ave NE, Columbia Heights, MN 55421
BOARD OF TRUSTEES: MEETING MINUTES
Wednesday, April 3rd, 2024
Approved
5/1/2024
ATTENDANCE INFORMATION FOR THE PUBLIC
Members of the public who wished to attend could do so in-person, or via Microsoft Teams at https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-teams/join-a-meeting and
entering Meeting ID 258 931 356 928 and passcode DJhAgg at the scheduled meeting time. For questions, please call the library at 763-706-3690.
The meeting was called to order in the Library Community Room by Rachelle Waldon at 5:36pm.
Members present: Rachelle Waldon; Carrie Mesrobian; Melanie Magidow; Chris Polley; Amina Maameri (newly appointed
member). Members absent: N/A. Also present: Justice Spriggs (City Council Liaison); Renee Dougherty (Library Director); Nick
Olberding (Board Secretary); Sara Ion (City Clerk). Public present: N/A.
1. The Meeting Agenda was approved as-is.
2. Oath of Office: Sara Ion swore in our new member (Amina Maameri) before the start of the meeting, so this time
was used for introductions of Library Board members.
3. Orientation Information and Refresher: The Board opted not to go through the included Powerpoint document,
as Sara had already oriented the new member, instead we left this time open for questions:
a. Quorums: Anytime more than half of the members are together communicating (whether in-person or
virtually) this constitutes a quorum; in this case Library business should not be discussed. Business
discussions should occur only at a public meeting. Anything that should be known or available to the
public should not be dealt with outside of meetings, and members should be aware of their responsibility
to the public and how it may be perceived if there is not transparency.
b. Serial Quorums: This is a type of quorum created by a chain-of-communication (whether in-person, e-
mail, social media, etc) between members of the Board. Examples could be: two members casually
discuss a Library issue…one of them then speaks with another member about it, or a member posts on
social media about an issue, then two other members “reply” or “react” to the post; both of these
instances constitute a quorum—these scenarios should be avoided. So, outside of official meetings
members should only discuss non-library matters to be in compliance with open meeting laws.
4. Annual Election of Board Officers: Carrie and Chris both expressed their wishes to remain Members-at-Large,
and nominated current Vice-Chair, Rachelle Waldon, for the Chair position—which she accepted; Melanie
Magidow was then nominated for Vice-Chair—which was also accepted. A MOTION was made to elect Rachelle
Waldon as Chair, and Melanie Magidow as Vice-Chair for the next 12 months, it was moved and approved.
5. The Minutes of the March 6th, 2024, Board Meetings were moved and approved.
6. Review 2024 Operating Budget: 24.86% of the year and 20.37% of the budget expended; no meaningful changes
since last month and no concerns raised.
a. Renee mentioned the Accrued Leave Adjustment (41050) listed for $637 as an undefined payroll
adjustment. She would inquire if anyone was interested.
Community Forum: Opportunity for public input. No correspondence and no public in attendance. The City website
has a Contact Form for each Board/Commission as a new method for the public to submit their questions or concerns:
https://www.columbiaheightsmn.gov/government/boards_and_commissions/index.php after clicking desired group,
scroll to the bottom of their page to find the contact form.
New Business:
7. Consider Approving 2023 Minnesota Public Library Annual Report Submission: As part of the meeting packet,
the Library Annual Report to the MN Department of Education was included; Renee has already submitted it to
the state by the March 31st deadline, but each’s library’s governing or advisory body must review and formally
approve it. A MOTION was made to approve the submission of the 2023 Minnesota Public Library Annual
Report; it was unanimously approved.
a. Visitor count was up by about 10%, circulation by about 25%, and program attendance by 22%.
b. The Minnesota State Library will compile the data into a searchable public database which anyone can
access to compare statistics with other libraries in the state.
8. Consider Adopting Proposed Change to Library Service Hours: Pre-pandemic the CHPL was open for 54 hours
per week; once re-opening we have gone through stages of curbside pickup only, entrance by appointment only,
32 hours per week with capacity limits, 40 hours per week, and 47 hours per week since September 2021. Now
that our staffing levels have stabilized, Renee would like to increase service hours again to 50 hours per week
beginning the Monday after Memorial Day 2024 (an additional hour on Friday afternoon, and two more hours on
Saturday afternoon.) Staff will study usage patterns, busy times, and staffing and present a report to the Board to
in the fall to determine if other changes are needed in service hours. A MOTION was made to adopt the new
schedule to provide 50 service hours per week for the Columbia Heights Public Library effective May 28, 2024.
Monday-Thursday: 10am-7pm
Friday: 10am-5pm (previously 10am-4pm)
Saturday: 10am-5pm (previously 10am-3pm)
Director’s Update:
9. February Board Report: Provided as an FYI.
a. Melanie Magidow and Adult Services Librarian, Elizabeth Ripley, attended the City Council meeting to
accept the National Library Week mayoral proclamation.
b. After years of planning and public input, Central Avenue is getting closer to redevelopment. Justice said it
may not be complete until 2028, but plans will be made public soon, and the section through Northeast
Minneapolis and Columbia Heights could include a 4-to-3 lane (center turn-lane) conversion which would
allow for safer bike/pedestrian space along the corridor and would make Columbia Heights more
walkable (benefiting the Library.) It was asked if the empty lot behind the Library could be renovated
alongside the project to create more interesting public space like a park/playground along with additional
parking. Justice said he would inquire with City staff.
10. From the Floor:
a. The Board is Currently Reading:
i. Carrie: Nettle & Bone T. Kingfisher; The Twisted Ones T. Kingfisher
ii. Chris: A Guest in the House Emily Carroll; Egg Marks the Spot (Skunk & Badger #2) Amy Timberlake
iii. Melanie: Discretion Faïza Guène; Onigamiising: Seasons of an Ojibwe Year Linda LeGarde Grover
iv. Amina: The Other End of the Sea Alison Glick
v. Justice: How to Talk So Little Kids Will Listen Joanna Faber; Streetfight Janette Sadik-Khan
vi. Renee: The Comfort of Crows: A Backyard Year Margaret Renkl
vii. Nick: Only Lovers Left Alive Dave Wallis
b. For next month’s meeting: Library website update/overview
There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 6:35 pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Nicholas P. Olberding
Recording Secretary, CHPL Board of Trustees