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Minutes - 2011 - Eagle Public Library - 06/13/2011 - Regular EAGLE PUBLIC LIBRARY BOARD OF TRUSTEES MINUTES June 13, 2011 Community Room Board President Mary Berent called the EPL Board of Trustees meeting to order at 7:03 PM. Present were Board Members Margo Walter, Maureen Germano, Nancy Marshall, and Pete Dover, and Council Liaison Norm Semanko. Also present were Ron Baker, Library Director, Janice Campbell, Assistant Director, Jeanie Comerford, Operations Manager, and Terri Lenigan, Administrative Assistant. Margo Walter made a motion that the agenda be approved;Nancy Marshall seconded the motion. The agenda was unanimously approved. Maureen Germano made a motion that the minutes for the 9 May 2011 meeting be approved; Pete Dover seconded the motion. The minutes were unanimously approved. Maureen Germano made a motion that the bills be approved for payment; Margo Walter seconded the motion. The bills were unanimously approved for payment. Friends of the Library Report (Friends' Representative) Due to the absence of a Friends representative, Director Baker reported that the"Back Door" sale is still scheduled for Saturday, 25 June from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm. The new cash register that the Friends purchased has arrived and is in operation. Joe Prinn of HomeFix has constructed a buffer to protect the cash register from possible sticky hands. The Friends have also purchased 24 borrower browsing baskets. As soon as they have been identified as property of EPL and secured with a security strip, they will be available for patron use. The Friends have also purchased three book trucks for their use, thus freeing up the library trucks they were borrowing. These trucks are maroon making them easy to distinguish from the Library's putty colored trucks. Director's Report Statistical reports (handouts): Circulation statistics may not seem as robust as previous months due to no in-house children's programming in May. All programming was off-site at schools and pre-schools to promote summer reading. We are hoping that this access and advance publicity will help stimulate participation in summer reading. Once again, there has been a steady increase in the number of card holders. At the last LYNX! Director's Meeting, it was agreed that the annual purge will be changed from June to October, to coincide with the beginning of the fiscal year. Reciprocal borrowing remains strong with 67%to our own patrons, thus reducing the number of other library's patrons served. Precouncil session at Library, 14 June 2011, 5:30 p.m.: A tour of the library is planned. 2nd Council budget workshop, 23 June 2011, 5:30 p.m.: To be held in the Council Chambers. Shared/EPL ADMINBoard Minutes 13 Jun 2011 1 Library Director out of state, 17-21 June 2011. Library Liaison/City Hall Reports (Councilman Semanko) The Council has a full agenda with budget concerns, responses from the RFP to purchase City Hall, and the summer concert series topping the list. Unfinished Business In deference to Councilman Semanko, Director Baker requested that discussion regarding the FY 2011/12 budget be postponed until later in the meeting. Overdrive contract: After a long wait, we have finally received the contract from Overdrive. After a lengthy meeting with the Mayor and the City Treasurer, several budgetary issues have been brought to our attention. The Mayor has questioned the necessity of spending $8,000 in this economic climate, even though patrons are demanding this service. If we did purchase this database in this fiscal year and the funds are not appropriated in the next budget, we would not be able to renew our contract and would lose a substantial platform investment. Therefore, we have decided to be cautious and wait for the FY 2011/12 budget to be determined before making this purchase. 3M workstation issue, update: We are experiencing scanning problems and rejection of barcodes with the replacement workstation. After replacing parts, the problem has been identified as an erratic power supply. The scanner is very sensitive to power drops. We plan to have an electrician identify the circuit for this equipment and install a backup battery to mitigate any fluctuations. New Business Mayor's cost and service survey of comparable city libraries: At the first budget workshop,the Mayor and an unnamed researcher presented a study of comparable libraries' operating costs. This study showed EPL costs to be extraordinarily out of line with the other libraries. The data used in this study was from the webpage of Library Technologies, a provider of marketing data. Unfortunately, the data used was five to eight years out of date, which resulted in very skewed statistics. Current data is available through our annual reports to the State Library Commission and our monthly ILS reports. The Mayor has withdrawn this report and has sent e-mails to each recipient refuting the faulty data and statistics. The Director is working with the Mayor and Frank Nelson, the Data Specialist at the Idaho Commission for Libraries, to create valid "comparables" to EPL and updated data. Districtization workshop: The Mayor has once again raised the question of whether a city library or a stand-alone library district would be better for the City. The Board discussed some of the difficulties involved in setting up a district: • Legal issues • Difficulty of restructuring • Additional expenses involved in running a district • Bigger levy to cover all expenses Shared/EPL ADMIN/Board Minutes 13 Jun 2011 2 • Duplication of accounts such as attorney fees, accounting, and building maintenance • Large reserve to cover operation and maintenance problems, such as replacing the aging HVAC system • Ownership of building, grounds, and collection inventory When this issue first surfaced last year, President Berent wrote a letter to Councilman Shoushtarian explaining these issues. She also expressed the concerns of the Board that the decision to explore districtization should be made by the Mayor and Council. Once authorized, the Board would initiate a workshop to explore the pros and cons of becoming a library district. President Berent suggested that a copy of her letter be given to the Mayor so he may better understand this issue. Library involvement with"Cops and Bobbers" program: We have been asked by Chief Hippe to become involved with their"Cops and Bobbers" program. This program promotes safe fishing for kids (and even kids of all ages). Cabella's will provide the Library with 10 fishing poles and tackle. Ada County Sheriff's department will provide a rack for the poles which will be stored in the Circulation Manager's office. The equipment will check out just like any other library item. There will be no fines for damaged poles. All damages and replacement poles will be handled by the Sheriff's Department. A publicity campaign will be mounted by the Sheriff's Department. This program is also open to adults and all persons 14 years and older must have a valid fishing license. FY2011/12 budget process and prioritizing budget initiatives (Action Item): As part of our LYNX! responsibilities, we complete a survey regarding compliance with Consortium Membership Standards. There are five qualifying standards with which all libraries must have 100% compliance. There are 14 additional consortium standards with which all libraries must have at least 70% compliance. Last year, EPL could only comply with 80% of the Consortium standards. This year, we have improved to 100%compliance. In an effort to have a uniform budget presentation, all city departments have been asked to prepare budget initiatives based on department strategic plan costs. The proposed FY 2011/12 budget suggests a modest increase from last year's budget of approximately $83,000* which includes the 12% increase in medical insurance, a 4% COLA increase, and shifting the IT salary to the General Fund. We may be asked to prioritize the initiatives from most important to least necessary. The Board would like staff input before deciding on any priorities. Executive Session(personnel matter): At 9:05 pm, President Mary Berent convened an executive session to discuss leave time for Megan Williamson. The session adjourned at 9:18 pm. As a result of this discussion, the following motion was made: Referring to the Director's memorandum, Pete Dover moved that Megan Williamson be allowed to accrue 261 hours of leave and to use this leave time subsequent to the City's allowed maternity leave of one month. Maureen Germano seconded the motion, which carried unanimously. *Actual budget increase misreported; it is approximately $75,000. Shared/EPL ADMIN/Board Minutes 13 Jun 2011 3 Additional Items or Public Comment Orientation for new Board Member Pete Dover: An orientation session has been scheduled for Thursday, 14 July from 2:00 to 4:00. President Berent plans to attend. Selection of Next Meeting Date The next meeting of the EPL Board of Trustees will be 11 July 2011 at 7:00 PM in the Library Community Room. Adjournment President Berent adjourned the meeting at 9:25 p.m. Respectfully Submitted, Terri T. Lenigan Administrative Assistant Motions: Accrued leave for Megan Williamson. Topics: Friends "Back Door" sale scheduled for 25 June 2011 Friends purchase cash register, borrower browsing baskets, and book trucks Precouncil session to be held at Library, 14 June 2011 2nd Council budget workshop planned for 23 June 2011 Overdrive contract update 3M workstation issue, update Mayor's EPL library cost and service survey Districtization workshop Library involvement with"Cops and Bobbers" program FY 2011/12 budget process and budget initiatives Executive Session (personnel matter) Shared/EPL ADMIN/Board Minutes 13 Jun 2011 4