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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2017-09-06-BOLT-min CARY MEMORIAL LIBRARY EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEETING BOARD OF LIBRARY TRUSTEES September 6, 2017 Attendees: Suzie Barry, Joe Pato, Jessie Steigerwald, Trustees; Koren Stembridge, Library Director and Emily Smith, Assistant Library Director. Call to Order: Joe called the meeting to order at 4:00 PM. Public Comment: None Secretary’s Minutes, June 7, 2017 Jessie made a motion to approve the minutes of the June 7, 2017. Suzie seconded minutes, the motion passed unanimously. Financial Update Koren reviewed the FY 17 year end municipal and trustee reports. At year end on the municipal side we were 99.9% expended. On the trustees side we carried over more funds into FY 18 than expected since we spent less as the year came to a close. We have $5,753 leftover in our contingency funds after the completion of the project. Koren asked if trustees want to turn it back to the Endowment or leave it for a future project. After a discussion, the consensus is to leave it. The Foundation has repaid $265,000 of the $410,000 borrowed for the Transformative Spaces Project. June is the last figure we have from the Endowment. On the FY 18 municipal report we are about 19% expended to date, just about where we ought to be. This does not reflect COLAS since we are still bargaining. 75% of our materials are paid for by the Town. The negative aspect of not having the FY 18 contract in place is that we need to base our materials spending based on meeting the required 13% so we may need to make an adjustment. Suzie noted that the postage expense to date seems high and that the admin line is overspent. Koren explained that we pay the postage in one payment at the beginning of the year. The admin line is slightly higher since there was no increase in the original budget to account for increases. Koren reported that the Foundation raised $5,405 on the Robotics Crowd Funding campaign and over $6,000 from corporate donors for the 1,000 books before kindergarten. The program will be kicked off in a few months with a t-shirt, tote bag and a party at the end. Suzie asked if we are pleased with the income from fines and fees. Koren explained that we have rebounded after the project. Koren reviewed the FY 19 Capital Project Request that she will be submitting. This is a placeholder for CHIRP, Children’s Room Internal Reconfiguration Project. We anticipate private funding for the overall project, however we expect that there may be some components such as flooring that will be taken on by the Department of Public Facilities. The children room space has had 15 years of wear and tear. We are guessing that the price may be 1.5 – 2 million dollars. We estimated high since we may need to consider moving the restrooms. Administrative Update There are no new staffing updates to report, we are fully staff for the first time in about three years. Meeting Room Groups None to report. Koren explained that our meeting room use by outside groups has declined dramatically. We will wait six months before deciding to relax the restrictions. Suzie asked if our requests are declining or are people not coming. Koren explained that some groups such as CAAL have outgrown the space, other groups have found the Community Center as an option and we no longer allow groups that charge for programs to use the space. There are lots of political activism groups that we have had to have discussions about where to draw the line. It is not as cut and dry as just requesting a room. We are still ramping up our programming. Jessie added that it is smart to wait six months and then evaluate. Koren will keep the trustees posted. FY 17 Data Report Koren highlighted the FY 17 data report:  We see a drop in circulation due to the construction project which we expected.  AV/print is also dropping.  We continue to seek out digital options and will make adjustments as needed. Suzie asked about the door to door program. Heather Vandermillen coordinates the program. A volunteer from the Friends drives the books to patrons. Jessie aske about Library of Things. Emily reported it is going gangbusters, although taking more staff time that we expected. Right now we have 50 items and will be adding more based on interesting suggestions. Overall it has been well received. We are increasing the number of popular items that are high in demand. Koren shared that we distributed 380 pairs of eclipse glassed to patrons. We held back 20 pairs and passed them around outside during the eclipse for staff and patrons. We are always on the look out for more opportunity around our mission of learning. Jessie added that was good publicity for us. New Business Endowment Transfer of Funds Koren asked trustees for the following:  Transfer 2% of the restricted endowments funds figured at year end of FY 17 to purchase materials. The amount is $10,285. Jessie made a motion to transfer $10,285 from the restricted endowment account to the Cary Library Trustee account to purchased materials. Suzie seconded the motion which passed unanimously  In addition, we received a gift of $7,000 to the restricted Endowment in the name of Mimi Ballard. The Friends voted to hold back $2,000 in funds to use for specific programming. Since we already transferred the funds to the Endowment, we would like to remove $2,000 to honor the request. Jessie made a motion to transfer $2,000 from the restricted Endowment from the Mimi Ballard Fund to the Cary Library Trustees account to support an upcoming program. Suzie second the motion which passed unanimously. Strategic Planning Koren reviewed the timeline. We will be updating our plan not retooling it. We expect to have plenty of community feedback. We will fill in trustees at a future meeting. Tentative timeline for Children Room Project Koren talked about some ideas for shifting spaces building wide. One area to consider is a better use of the mezzanine level in the adult non-fiction collection is to create a periodicals room. The possibility of using the reading room as a public meeting space and retooling the large meeting room to create a space that has a surface of flooring that will be more suitable for food related activities. Koren reviewed the timeline asking if any concerns please let her know. These are just projections at this time. Trustees discussed the time line and the role of the library and the use of it as a community space. Timing the project in relation to town wide initiatives for updates to schools and other buildings is a consideration as well. Holiday Hours Emily presented the 2018 Holiday Hours. Jessie made motion to approve the schedule of holiday hours as presented. Suzie seconded the motion which passed unanimously. Tuition Reimbursement Discussion Koren detailed the staff request for tuition reimbursement. The full time staff person did not submit the request until after her employment ended, nor proclaimed her intention to stay in the position as the contract requires for six months. Although this is a contractual issue, the reimbursement is paid from trustee funds. Trustees discussed at length all of the options which include paying the reimbursement in full which is $1,500, paying a portion or none. After discussion, it was decided that the best course of action is for Koren to consult with the Town attorney regarding this specific case as well as seeking guidance on tuition reimbursement language for future contracts. Koren ask trustees to approve a request for Corinne Coveney to take off four hours of work per week to do an online class toward her Masters in Library Science. Joe asked about the impact of a staff person away four hours per week times as many staff as are taking classes. After a discussion, the consensus is to approve the request for four hours per week to participate in the class. Suzie suggested that the Town Counsel offer guidance around the tuition reimbursement language and the time off portion. Koren will be in touch with counsel and report back to trustees. Trustee Bylaw revision Trustees discussed the current bylaws and the proposed revisions, determine that the more efficient next step is to organize the bylaws in a logical order. The details around the structure of the nominating committee still needs to be identified and discussed. Koren will be making revisions for discussion at a later meeting. Other Items Suzie reported that a member of the Historic District Commission resigned. The process of filling the position is a work in progress. She will update trustees as needed. Adjournment Jessie made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Suzie seconded the motion which was unanimously passed.