Library Minutes 06/03/2015
MINUTES
STEPHENSON MEMORIAL LIBRARY TRUSTEES MEETING
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 3, 2015
PRESENT: Jami Bascom, Bruce Dodge, Neal Brown, Bob Marshall, Mary Ann Grant, Julie Steenson.
The minutes were recorded by Patricia LaPree
7:03 PM – The meeting was called to order by Chairman Brown.
Review of the preliminary minutes from the May 6, 2015 meeting: The Trustees and Julie reviewed the preliminary minutes.
The motion was made by Jami to accept the minutes as presented and it was seconded by Neal. The vote was 3-0 to accept the minutes. ACTION: Pat will have the minutes posted to the Town website.
7:07 PM – Follow up on the action items from the May meeting minutes:
The Friends of the Library have not purchased an annual insurance policy to date. They did purchase an insurance policy for the last event that they hosted at the Library. Because the Friends are a 501(3) c organization, they are not covered by the Library insurance.
The Post Office box has been rented.
Julie and Neal met with the Selectmen and presented them with the information about installing awnings outside or shades inside the south side of the Library. The preference of the Selectmen is for interior installation of shades. Julie and Aaron Patt, Town Administrator, are working on developing a memorandum of understanding that will delineate the responsibilities of the Trustees and the Town in the maintenance and upkeep of the Library building.
Julie amended the meeting space contract as discussed in last month’s meeting.
Julie had Mike Borden, building inspector, come and determine an occupancy number for the Wensberg Room. Seated occupancy is 66.
Bob has not followed up with estimates for the chimney repair in the adult reading room, but Julie did have another chimney company come and inspect the chimney. There is currently a vent-less system for the propane insert and it needs to be replaced with a vented system. ACTION: Julie will find out from the Town office who owns the propane tank at the Library and get an estimate for a vented system.
7:37 PM – Treasurer’s Report:
The Trustees reviewed the monthly report and the year to date report from the Town office. Overall, spending is on target and on budget for the year.
The meeting with the auditors was discussed. There were no issues with the audit. It was requested that there be a more comprehensive break down of expenditures kept in the future. Julie also requested that Mary Ann present a breakdown so that she can reconcile her accounts ACTION: Julie and Mary Ann will get together and develop a spread sheet to address the need for more precise record keeping with the breakdown of the designation of funds.
The motion was made by Neal to accept the treasurer’s report as presented, and it was seconded by Bruce. The vote was 3-0 to accept the report.
7:54 PM – Library Director’s report:
The year to date patron registrations is at 899.
2) There was a discussion about the time line for Julie’s performance evaluation by the Trustees. There are many accomplishments that she has made in the last six months. ACTION: Bob will work on a proposal for a timeline for Julie’s evaluation.
3) Julie has been accepted to the Supervisors Academy offered by Primex in July.
4) Statistics for usage, daily people count, technical assistance to patrons, computer use and program attendance were provided to the Trustees. This information will be included in the Trustees Minutes binder monthly from now on.
5) The Library has received a $800.00 Humanities Council grant for programming with Sebastian Lockwood.
6) Julie brought fabric samples for the shades that may be installed on the south side of the Library, and the DPW has installed two more air conditioning units to try to reduce the high temperature in the Library in the summer.
7) There was a lengthy discussion about a policy relating to someone under age 18 borrowing “R” rated movies from the Library. ACTION: Jami, Bruce and Julie will meet and develop a policy for the Trustees to review.
8:35 PM – Discussion of the Library Capital Improvement Project proposal:
Bob provided the CIP proposal for climate control upgrade for the Library. A discussion followed, discussing the appropriate course of action for maintenance items as warrant articles, and the definition of a C IP. Other possible CIP items are an interior entrance to the Wensberg Room, upgrading the Wensberg Room kitchen and bathroom, and more parking spaces, paving and dedicated handicapped parking. ACTION: Bob will draft three CIP proposals and will bring it to the July 1 meeting of the Trustees for review.
9:23 – Other/new business:
The DPW now has co-directors. The buildings director is Patrick Greene, and he has given Julie his cell phone number so she can get in touch with him as needed.
A patron has not returned a substantial amount of DVDs and books to the Library and they are over 60 days overdue. Julie and the Greenfield Police have been in contact with the patron who has moved out of town but has not had any of the items returned to date. She has sent a certified letter and once the letter has been refused of signed for, the matter will be turned over to the Greenfield Police.
Bob noted that this meeting is going long again and wants to keep the dialogue open to consider meeting twice a month. He noted that the Trustees have a lot more work to do now that the Library is running as well as it is under Julie’s leadership.
9:33 PM – The motion to adjourn the meeting at this time was made by Neal and seconded by Jami. The vote was 3-0 to adjourn the meeting.
The next meeting of the Trustees will be held on Wednesday, July 1, 2015 at 7:00 PM in the Wensberg Room.
Respectfully Submitted,
Pat LaPree