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Minutes - 2006 - Eagle Public Library - 08/07/2006 - Regular EAGLE PUBLIC LIBRARY BOARD OF TRUSTEES MEETING MINUTES August 7, 2006 Community Room The Eagle Public Library Board of Trustees meeting was called to order at 7:30 p.m. by Vice President Jane Marrs. Present were Board Members Jane Marrs, Terry Loftus, and Christine Edwards Allred; City Hall Liaison Stan Bastian; and Library Director Ron Baker. Board Member Christine Edwards Allred made a motion that the Agenda be approved and Board Member Terry Loftus seconded the motion. The Agenda was unanimously approved. Board Member Terry Loftus made a motion that the amended Minutes be approved and Board Member Jane Marrs seconded the motion. The amended Minutes were unanimously approved. Board Member Terry Loftus made a motion to pay the bills and Board Member Christine Edwards Allred seconded the motion. The motion to pay the bills was unanimously approved. Friends of the Library Report Director Ron Baker gave the Friends of the Library Report. The shelving vender has promised that the new shelving will be installed in the friends' store in August. The store will be ready for the fall sale on October 14 and 15. Director's Report Director Ron Baker gave the Director's Report. ILS Migration: Progress Report Training for the ILS Migration will continue this week and next week in Boise and at City Hall. There may be additional policy issues—particularly password designation issues—to discuss at coming board meetings. New computers will arrive this week and will allow more library patrons to familiarize themselves with the web based catalogue. Strategic Plan Review Committee Meeting on West End Sites Ron, Stan, Nancy, and Jane met with the city's senior planner to discuss the possibility of using service fees to help fund a west end branch or additions to this building. The library would like to establish a policy that ensures that once the city reaches a certain number of residents, the city would be able to impose a fee on building permits to help fund three additional library branches, as needed, as well as improvements to this building. This means that the need for new library capacity created by new residents will be paid for by these new residents via a fe'on new construction. These service impact fees will be calculated at 2.6 persons per home. Service fees are typically used for capital expenses including building, equipment, the collection itself. Service fees do not cover maintenance and operations. The library staff and board members also discussed the issue of donated land, an option through which service fees could be paid at the developer level or the builder level. For instance, the developer may decide to donate two acres of land for a library branch. The developer may thus offer land in lieu of service fees calculated on individual homes. For tax reasons, this may become a tax incentive to encourage developers to make a donation. Library Liaison/City Hall Report Stan Bastian gave the Library Liaison/City Hall Report. The Lonesome Dove land was annexed by the city and approved for a zoning classification of no more than 12 units per acre. This is probably the densest housing allowance to date. The city council approved this dense housing because the land is close to a major corridor and a park and ride option. Of course, the city council will have opportunity to approve the final plans. A development just south of Merrill Park was also approved for condominium type living with a plaza area for the residents. It is also a higher density development. The city comprehensive plan stipulates that high density development may proceed along major corridors. The city council has approved a final plat for the Legacy development. They will begin preparing the ground and installing roads and sidewalks. This development, too, will be a higher density development. Eagle is a growing, vibrant community. The question is how to sustain it as livable community. The city council is engaging in a water study in order to determine the extent of the water resources available to Eagle in order to promote responsible and sustainable growth. Unfinished Business Budget Review for FY 2006/2007 The library is more financially robust than it anticipated earlier as reported on the "Library Fund Carry Forward" memo. Stan Bastian asked about the purpose and status of the reserve fund. The reserve fund of $160,000 was initiated four or five years ago. This is the fund out of which the library pays its bills if revenues fall short. The reserve fund is reimbursed as soon as new revenues come in. One of the challenges confronting the library and city hall is the absence of a shared LAN. City hall and the library each have their own accounting systems. Each system tracks separate variables. As the city grows, the city should address the integration of these data. The library has spent almost a month working to integrate the data from the two systems. One of the projects on which the library might choose to spend its overage is on a method of integration, both of data systems (LAN) and of telephone systems. The revised budget includes several revisions. $17,000 has been taken out of the budget because the city council reduced the library's proposed living increase of 3.5% and a one step merit increase. $35,000 has been included in building expenses and other minor expenses. The library has roughly $96,000 in surplus. The library board decided to dedicate $20,000 to contribute to the data and telephone integration and to leave $76,000 in a fund that the library may draw on in future years as needed. In good times, the library may use these funds for building and expansion. In bad times, the library may use these funds to pay for collection costs. Stan Bastian raised the question as to whether the city council might redirect the $96,000 to another city project. Ron Baker suggested that the contingency fund might be very important to the library in order to pass a bond because the library would need to hire architects and design plans to submit to voters. Ron Baker also suggested that a shared LAN/telephone line will be very important to increase efficiency as the library and city hall work together and as the library and future library branches work together. Continuing Education Issue Employee/Student In-service program had a very turbulent hearing at the last city council library budget review. Stan Bastian feels that the city council should support the applications of current library staff in pursuing education under this city council policy, but recommends that sideboards be established in the future to limit the policy to something less than 100% payback of tuition as currently exists. Amendment to EPL Policy Manual, Chapter VIII Restricting Materials/Challenges to Eagle Residents The current controversy over library holdings in Nampa was fomented by residents of Boise, not Nampa. However, during the holdings challenge, a Nampa Council Member concluded that the library's decision to raise the offending book to the top shelf rather than remove it from the collection was flawed. To address the concern that challenges to library holdings should come from Eagle residents or individuals holding library cards used at the Eagle Public Library, Ron will approach the city attorney with the question regarding whether the library may limit challenges to the library's collection to Eagle residents or individuals holding appropriate library cards. New Business One Day Closure for Automation Change-Over The library will need a one day closure for its automation change-over. The library is scheduled to go live on Wednesday, September 13 and may need to be closed that day, the day before, or the day after. Ron Baker is asking the board to allow the library to announce to the public that it will be closed one day the week of the 10th to the 16th. Terry Loftus moved that the director be given the authority to inform the public that the library will have a short notice, one day closure the week of the 10th to the 16th for automation change-over. Jane Marrs seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. Additional Items or Public Comment None. Selection of Next Meeting Date The next meeting will take place on September 11 at 7 p.m. Adjournment Board Member Jane Marrs made a motion that the meeting be adjourned. Board Member Terry Loftus seconded the motion. The motion to adjourn the meeting was unanimously approved. The meeting adjourned at 8:35 p.m.