Library Minutes 03/02/2016

MINUTES
STEPEHNSON MEMORIAL LIBRARY TRUSTEES MEETING
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 2,2016

PRESENT: Neal Brown. Bruce Dodge, Jami Bascom, Bob Marshall. Mary Ann Grant, Julie Steenson.

The minutes were recorded by Patricia LaPree

7:07 PM - The meeting was called to order at this time by Chairman Brown.

Review of the minutes of the February 3, 2016 minutes:

The following changes were made: on line 18, eliminate “there two”, on line 25, replace “Library” with “Spirit”, on line 29, add a colon after “Neal”. On line 45, delete “with information to be passed on to the Select Board”, and replace it with “to address any concerns with the engineering proposals”, on line 30, add “following” to “in the order”, and on line 55 and 56, eliminate “Julie”,

The motion was made by Bruce to accept the minutes as amended and it was seconded by Neal. The vote was 3-0 in the affirmative to accept the amended minutes. ACTION: Pat will have the minutes posted to the Town website.

7:13 PM – Treasurer’s report:

Mary Ann provided the Trustees with a year to date accounting of expenditures from the Town budget and the Library checking account. She reported that there was an annual deposit made into the Merrill Fund account, so the current balance is $20,579.00. Julie reported that all expenditures for books have been paid from the Merrill Fund, and the Library has received a new shipment of books from the Library of Congress. The cost of the engineering studies for the Library foundation will be expended from the Merrill Fund (by previous motion).

The motion to accept the Treasurer’s report as presented was made by Bruce and seconded by Neal. The vote was 3-0 in the affirmative to accept the report.

7:18 PM – Foundation Repair Bids:

Bob provided the Trustees with the most recent proposal from Underwood Engineering for the foundation repair of the Library. The updated proposal from Ben Tirey for the structural engineering work has not yet been received, but Bob has been in contact with him and it is forthcoming.

The following points were discussed:

Town Administrator, Aaron Patt, has reviewed the two current proposals, and Underwood has provided another draft of their proposal based on Aaron’s input.

Underwood’s draft has been sent to Ben Tyrie for his consideration, and in a phone conversation with Bob, he indicated that he did not anticipate any problems with it.

Ray Cilley was consulted by Bob and has recommended that the final budget for the foundation repair include a modest amount for cost overruns. He also recommended that when the bids for the job are obtained, the Trustees should go with the contractor with the best reputation, not the lowest price.

Both engineering firms are aware that the final work will be going forward only if the capital reserve funds are voted in at Town Meeting on March 12, and if more money is allocated next year. The current time line would have construction commence in 2017 at the earliest.

A discussion followed about when to have the engineering designs go forward. It was agreed that if the capital reserve funds are voted in this year, the Trustees will move forward with the design work and have it done by September 1 2016 in anticipation of getting bids for construction to start in 2017. If the CRF is not voted in, they will wait until next year to pay for and have the design work done.

The engineering contracts will be signed by the Trustees and the engineers.

The test pits required will be done by the Town Department of Public Works.

The Trustees thanked Bob for all his hard work on the project.

7:42 PM – Librarian’s Report:

Julie provided the Trustees with her year to date and monthly statistics and monthly report on the Library. The Trustees reviewed the report and thanked her for such a thorough report.

A discussion followed about the current and future state of the Library staff. Julie reported that the staff is working to their capacity and do not find the time to do all their tasks. This is due to such an increase in patron usage and programing at the Library. Jami asked that if the proposed budget passes for the Library, will the full time director position give her staff more time to attend to tasks. Julie stated that if the budget passes, the Library will be able to be open one more day and that will allow more time for work to be done that currently gets piled up for Wednesday morning because they are closed Monday and Tuesday. Julie also reported that she would like to hire a high school student from Greenfield as a page to shelve books and get to know how the Library works.

Julie reported that she is committed to keeping space in the Library available for people, not just books. She noted that the design of the addition allows for children in there to not disturb patrons in other parts of the Library.

Julie reported that Jon Dash from Crotched Mountain Residential Services will be attending the May Trustees meeting.

8:12 PM – Off site strategic planning meeting:

Julie and the Trustees will have the first strategic planning meeting on a Saturday in the next two months. It will take place at the Historical Society. ACTION: Neal will send dates around to trustees and finalize the meeting date. Bruce will procure the Historical Society space.

8:17 PM - Grant Station Webinar:

This webinar is going to be broadcast on March 31 at 2 PM and is 1.5 hours long. It is an interactive webinar that teaches how to obtain grant funding for libraries. The cost is $150.00, and can be accessed remotely as well as at the Library. ACTION: Bruce and Jami will attend remotely and Neal and Julie will attend at the Library. A motion was made by Neal to pay $150.00 for Grant Station from the Library checking account and it was seconded by Bruce. The vote was 30 in the affirmative to pay for Grant Station.

8:29 PM – Develop a plan for Town Meeting presentation:

Julie will present the budget at Town Meeting and answer any questions from the floor.

The color graph of the increase in Library usage from January 2015 to January 2016 has been designed and produced by Bruce for display during all of Town Meeting.

Bob will speak about the foundation work and answer questions as needed.

There are a couple of letters from patrons that can be read for support if needed.

8:45 – Other/New Business:

There was a discussion about appointing another alternate in the event that Bob gets elected as selectman. He will resign as a Library Trustee alternate if he is elected. A motion was made by Neal to appoint Ray Cilley as an alternate Trustee for one year and the motion was seconded by Jami. The vote was 3-0 in the affirmative to appoint Ray Cilley.

Mary Ann noted that alternates have to be sworn in by the Town Clerk. This can be done after Town Meeting as well as any open Town Clerk hours.

8:55 PM – The motion to adjourn the meeting at this time was made by Jami and seconded by Neal. The vote was 3-0 in the affirmative to adjourn the meeting.

The next meeting of the Trustees will be held on Wednesday, April 6, 2016 at 7:00 PM in the Wensberg Room.

Respectfully Submitted,

Patricia LaPree