08/25/15 Minutes
MINUTES OF THE REGULAR BOARD MEETING OF THE ZION-BENTON PUBLIC LIBRARY DISTRICT
August 25, 2015
President St. Cyr called the meeting to order at 6:35 p.m.
ROLL CALL
Trustees: Wendy Driver [present]; Jacqueline Holmes [present]; Mary Martin [present]; Beverly Mull [present]; Amy Onan [present]; and Matthew St. Cyr [present]. Absent: Dale Ridder.
Staff: Carol Dolin; Tara Caldara; Elsie Martinez; and Sarah Washkoviak. Visitors: None.
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
COMMENTS BY VISITORS
None.
AGENDA
The agenda was presented.
Motion: Mrs. Driver moved to adopt the agenda as presented. Second: Ms. Holmes. Roll Call: Aye: Driver; Holmes; Martin; Mull; Onan; and St. Cyr. Nay: None. Abstain: None. Motion carried.
MINUTES
The minutes of the 07/28/15 regular meeting were presented.
Motion: Mrs. Driver moved to approve the minutes of the 07/25/15 regular meeting as presented. Second: Mrs. Mull. Roll Call: Aye: Driver; Holmes; Martin; Mull; Onan; and St. Cyr. Nay: None. Abstain: None. Motion carried.
TREASURERS AND INVESTMENT REPORTS
The Treasurer’s and Investment reports were presented. This was the first month for the accountant to prepare these reports, which require revision to properly reflect deferred revenues and FY 2015-16 expenditure budget lines. Corrected reports for July will be presented at the September meeting.
BILLS
The list of bills for July/August 2015 was presented for approval. Trustees questioned payments to Hucker for wiring and circuitry for the new AT&T data line, Full Score Orchestra for a performance for a children’s program, BrainFuse for electronic resources for homework help, job skills, and adult learning, King Fish for tickets for Adult Summer Reading participants, Peregrine, Stime for attorney fees, and EBSCO for periodicals subscriptions.
Motion: Mrs. Driver moved to approve payment of wire transfers and checks #39926-39996, and 39998-40043, in the amount of $225,439.95. Second: Mrs. Martin. Roll Call: Aye: Driver; Holmes; Martin; Mull; Onan; and St. Cyr. Nay: None. Abstain: None. Motion carried.
REPORTS
Strategic Planning Task Force: Nothing new to report at this time. The task force will meet in September to compile data and plan next steps.
After School Program is gearing up for a new year. This year’s theme is Reading is Key. Mrs. Mull will provide a start date and days off for school holidays. The room will not be available on Thursday, November 19 because staff will be setting up the Craft Fair. Mrs. Mull plans to meet with staff to coordinate after school programming to maximize our efforts to meet varying needs of students in the community.
LIBRARY DIRECTOR’S REPORT
Mrs. Dolin presented the statistical, narrative, event photos, and incident reports for July and August 2015. Summer Reading finished strong with more than 1.5 million minutes read. The parochial schools ended up with the most minutes read per student with terrific adult support. We were very pleased with the participation but look forward to starting earlier to promote the programs in the schools next year to boost participation further. We had a lot more materials checked out in July. We are purchasing more copies of movies and checkouts increased by 234% over the same period last year. We also delivered many more materials through our Traveling Library services. We will look at revising these services as part of our overall examination of how to maximize services for the community. The reptile program was a wonderful success that drew a large number of children and their families.
Communications:
- Winning before you Start pamphlet
- Jubilee Days Parade participation form
- Letter from the Law Offices of Peregrine, Stime, Newman, Ritzman & Bruckner, Ltd. regarding FOIA Request
- Ninja Club Proposal for the Zion Benton Public Library from Zen Ziegler
- Thank you letter from Allen Gordon
- Thank you letter from the Kiwanis Club of Zion-Benton
- Invitation Letter from the Coalition for Healthy Communities for Crucial Conversations Training
- Email from Chris Poirier complimenting the library on the reptiles program
- Announcement for the September 19, 2015 2nd Annual Community of Character Walk
Accentuate the Positive: The Hive is thriving with many young people gathering to learn and socialize in a safe environment. We are looking into ways to create similarly inviting spaces in other areas of the library.
UNFINISHED BUSINESS
None.
NEW BUSINESS
Authorize Treasurer to approve the final list of bills for fiscal year 2014/2015. Ms. Holmes pointed out that there was no attachment as referred to in the list and identified a discrepancy in the list of bills. Ms. Caldara said that a vendor had changed names during the year and she combined the amounts paid to the companies two different names into a single payment, but inadvertently listed the incorporated amount under the original name. A revised list was presented.
Motion: Ms. Holmes moved to approve the final list of bills for fiscal year 2014/2015 as revised. Second: Mrs. Mull. Roll Call: Aye: Driver; Holmes; Martin; Mull; Onan; and St. Cyr. Nay: None. Abstain: None. Motion carried.
The 2015 Illinois Public Library Annual Report (IPLAR) was presented for board review.
The 2016 Per Capita Grant Application has been delayed and is due January 15 instead of October 15. We hope per capita grants will be funded for FY 2016, but recognize that payment may be delayed even if funding is available.
The ILA Annual Conference is October 22-24. Trustee Day is Saturday, October 24. All trustees are encouraged to attend. Early bird registration is September 21. It is a long day with an early start. Staff and trustees are encouraged to share transportation and lodging. Ms. Caldara recalled that a hotel that is close to the conference center has 2-bedroom/2-bath suites which were very reasonable. Information about specific training sessions was not yet available on the conference website.
Group life and dental insurance rates are not changing for this renewal period. Group Health Insurance renewal rates will be available at a later date for a January 1 renewal.
A program to begin planting for a Sensory Garden is scheduled for September 17. Sarah Washkoviak presented several options for bird baths that could be incorporated into the garden. A bench would create an inviting spot for caregivers as children explore the garden.
The library has received complaints about having to walk past persons smoking near the front of the library. Trustees discussed whether the library could be a smoke free campus or if it is more accommodating to all library users to designate a smoking area away from foot traffic between the parking lot and front doors. Mrs. Dolin will speak with the park district about how they became a non-smoking campus.
Several book club members brought their concerns to the July Board Meeting. We are looking at all programming and services to better meet the needs of the greatest number of people in the community. The book clubs take a large amount of staff time and resources to serve a very small group of people. We do not plan to discontinue book clubs, but we are looking for ways to serve more people or take fewer resources. This process is part of the strategic planning and will be explored more during the focus groups planned for October.
EXECUTIVE SESSION
Review of Executive Session minutes.
RETURN TO REGULAR SESSION
Motion: Mrs. Driver moved to return to regular session at 8:07pm. Second: Mrs. Mull. Roll Call: Aye: Driver; Holmes; Martin; Mull; Onan; and St. Cyr. Nay: None. Abstain: None. Motion carried.
Motion: Mrs. Driver moved to release the Executive Session Minutes from June 24, 2014, July 22, 2014, and August 12, 2014 and retain the Executive Session Minutes from September 23, 2014, October 28, 3014, November 25, 2014, January 27, 2015, February 24, 2015, and June 23, 2015. Second: Ms. Mull. Roll Call: Aye: Driver; Holmes; Martin; Mull; Onan; and St. Cyr. Nay: None. Abstain: None. Motion carried.
ADJOURNMENT
Motion: Mrs. Driver moved to adjourn the meeting. Second: Ms. Holmes. Roll Call: Aye: Driver; Holmes; Martin; Mull; Onan; and St. Cyr. Nay: None. Abstain: None. Motion carried.
The meeting adjourned at 8:09p.m.
Approved: September 22, 2015
Signed: /s/ Matthew St. Cyr, President
Attest: Mary E. Martin /s/ Dale Ridder, Secretary Pro Tem
Recorded by: Carol Dolin