Minutes_Library Board of Trustees 2 26 15 Carnegie-Stout Public Library
Board of Trustees
Meeting Minutes of February 26, 2015
The Board of Trustees of the Carnegie-Stout Public Library (C-SPL) met in the Lacy
Board Room at 4:00 p.m. on Thursday, February 26, 2015.
Present: President Mike Willis; Vice President Jenny Weiss (entered at 4:10
p.m.); Secretary Dan Boice; Trustee Paula Connors; Trustee Jon
Trotter; Trustee Patty Poggemiller; Director Susan Henricks, and
Secretary Jennifer Long.
1. President Mike Willis called the meeting to order at 4:01 p.m. and the agenda was
adopted.
"Moved to adopt the meeting agenda of Thursday, February 26, 2015 "
Motion: Trotter
Second: Connors
Vote: Aye —5; Nay— 0
2. Approval of Library Board of Trustees' Minutes of Thursday, January 22, 2015, and
the Work Session Meeting Minutes of Tuesday, February 17, 2015.
"Moved to approve the Board Minutes of Thursday, January 22, 2015,
and the Work Session Minutes of Tuesday, February 17, 2015."
Motion: Connors
Second: Boice
Vote: Aye —5; Nay— 0;
3. Board President's Report: Communication with Dubuque City Council for January
2015.
"Moved to receive and file the Communication with the Dubuque City
Council from Thursday, January 28, 2015."
Motion: Connors
Second: Boice
Vote: Aye —5, Nay— 0
Weiss entered the meeting at 4:10 p.m.
4. Motion to Receive and File Informational Items:
A. Library Director's Report Summary and Update: Henricks provided a
written summary on the following topics to the Library Board with
additional comments:
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1) Library Financial Report Fiscal Year 2015 (FY15) — Henricks reported
that January marked 58 percent of the fiscal year lapsing with
expenditures at 55 percent and revenue collected at 65 percent of
projections.
2) Library Use Statistics — Henricks reported checkouts of library
materials is down with the exception of digital materials, which is up
nearly 22 percent. New library cards to Dubuque residents are up 9
percent over the previous year and visits have rebounded. This
reflects what many libraries are experiencing — that checkouts of
materials have decreased but statistics of people using the library
have not suffered.
3) Personnel Update — Henricks reported that Andrew Fuerste-Henry
has been appointed as Interim Adult Services Manager. The search
for a new manager will be extended and new advertising will take
place within a few months. Mirdza Berzins is retiring as of February
28, and the positon of a professional librarian in the Adult Services
Department has been filled by Sarah Smith, who was working as a
para-professional librarian. Due to the fact that the department will
be short-staffed starting March 1, Henricks reported that she will
return to working the Reference Desk three mornings a week along
with her regularly scheduled weekend rotation.
4) Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) Update — Henricks reported
that Bibliotecha has provided no solution to library staff having to fan
out or reposition materials on the antenna pads at checkouts. The
self-check machines, from Tech Logic, can checkout materials
without requiring special positioning so library staff have begun using
this equipment at the Circulation Desk to experiment and compare
the products. The early experiments indicate that performance is
better and if this continues, Henricks feels a request for a full refund
should be made and the library move to the Tech Logic product.
Henricks and staff has been testing the gates to ensure materials not
checked out are caught and have experienced issues. After
discussion, the Board empowered Henricks to proceed with the best
solution to the issues and to update the Board with the results of the
new product tests.
5) Strategic Plan Updates — Henricks reported that she has talked to
Tim Horsfield, Manager of the Parking Department, who was able to
speak with the City Manager about the possibility of the Library
purchasing or leasing the lot on Bluff and 11th Streets in order to
offer free parking to patrons. The City Manager called for a
meeting to further discuss this issue with the Manager of Parking
Services, the Economic Development Director and the Budget
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Director. Henricks stated she had not heard the results of this
meeting. Willis questioned if the Passport to Parking program is still a
possibility and Henricks responded that she is waiting to hear back
from Parking Services.
6) Heating Ventilation and Air-Conditioning (HVAC) Update — Henricks
reported that MEP Engineers have begun evaluating the HVAC
system and met with City Engineer Steve Brown to get his
perspective on the project. The next step is to perform a detailed
survey to take pipe length measurements and have Maintenance
Supervisor Dave March disassemble the auto flow valves, while they
are here, so they can see the internal condition. A final report
should be received between February 28 and March 16, 2015.
7) Grants — Henricks reported that she received an email from Ginger
Lacy stating the Lacy Trust will fund a gift of $50,000 to be used to
offer the complete archives of the Telegraph Herald, in a digital
format, for all Dubuque residents. Henricks also reported that she
submitted two grants to the Dubuque Racing Association; one for an
early literacy called "1,000 Books Before Kindergarten" and the other
for the purchase of supplies and marketing in support of 3D printers.
Four 3D printers were awarded from a separate grant. Henricks
stated a policy on the loan of the 3-D printers is being developed.
B. Library Comment Cards - The Library Board reviewed the three comment
cards received and concurred with the responses.
"Moved to receive and file the informational update from the Library
Director on the Library Financial Report, Library Use Statistics, Personnel
Update, RFID Update, Strategic Plan Updates, HVAC Update, Grants
Update, and the Library Comment Cards."
Motion: Connors
Second. Boice
Vote. Aye — 6; Nay— 0
5. Action Items:
A. Funding Staffing Levels — The City Manager has requested, through a
letter to Board President Willis, that the Library Board of Trustees consider
expending the interest from the trust accounts to fund staffing levels and
achieve an additional 5 hours per week, which will meet the minimum
requirements for accreditation. The Board discussed the balances of the
trust funds compared to the spreadsheet included with the letter. Several
funds have been spent down and much of the General Gift Fund is
reserved for committed projects, leaving only the Mutschler Trust fund
with any significant balance. The Board determined to not use the
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Mutschler Trust interest for salaries and instead move forward with plan to
open the satellite library funded by the Mutschler Trust with enough non-
duplicated hours to count toward the Library's accreditation next year.
B. Victim Impact Statement — Henricks provided the Board with a letter from
Christine Corken, First Assistant County Attorney to Crenna Brumwell,
Attorney for the City of Dubuque, in reference to the theft case involving
Barbara Nyheim. Willis stated that the sentencing is April 6, 2015, and at
that time the Library can make a victim impact statement. Nyheim is
seeking a deferred judgment, which Weiss explained would require her to
meet certain conditions for a period of time and pay some restitution.
Weiss further stated that if Nyheim does this, the charges would be
erased from her record at the end of the deferment time. Weiss stated
she is not in favor of a deferred judgment in this case, as it does not
reflect the severity of the crime. Henricks stated that the deductible for
the insurance claim is the only amount Nyheim would be required by the
County Attorney to pay as restitution. The Board discussed the impact
Nyheim's actions have had on the Library, the people that were
terminated due to the audits of employee accounts, and the way it has
changed the atmosphere of the Library. The Board decided that Willis
would draft a victim impact statement and present it to Henricks for
review. Willis, Henricks, and any available Board Members will be
attending the sentencing to present the victim impact statement.
C. Code of Ethics Policy — Henricks informed the Board that the city has
developed a Code of Ethics Policy which is an umbrella for many City
policies from purchasing to use of social media. Most of the policies are
already in effect through the Library's Employee Handbook, with the only
difference having to do with the freedom of speech section of the City's
policy. The Board discussed the policies and decided to compare the two
policies more in depth before agreeing to have Library staff sign the City's
Code of Ethics Policy. Interest was expressed in attending an upcoming
meeting with the City Manager to ask questions pertaining to the Code of
Ethics policy.
"Moved to table the Code of Ethics Policy until the Board can receive
additional information as to the City's motivation and explanation for why
they want the Library to sign this Policy and determine if the Library has a
policy that covers this issue."
Motion: Weiss
Second. Willis
Vote: Aye — 6; Nay— 0
D. Architectural Firms — West Side Satellite — Henricks provided the Board
with a revision of the compiled data from the February 17 Work Session
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that included Trotter's remarks that were not included in the first
summary. The Board discussed the three architecture firms that
interviewed at the work session and how the different firms brought
different strengths to the project. Willis stated this is a very important
project and the success will determine if a library levy will be possible in
the future.
"Moved to engage Selser Schaefer Architect."
Motion: Connors
Second., Trotter
Vote: Aye — 6; Nay— 0
E. Lacy Gift Acceptance for Telegraph Herald Complete Archives Project —
Henricks informed the Board that as previously discussed in the Director's
Report, an email from Ginger Lacy was received informing the Library that
the Lacy trust is providing a gift of $50,000 to be used to offer the
complete archives of the Telegraph Herald, in digital format, to all
Dubuque residents. Henricks and Information Technology Supervisor,
Jason Burds, met with the Telegraph Herald to discuss the terms of a
memorandum of understanding or contract. Once this is created,
reviewed and approved, movement can be made toward implementation
of the project, which will be very popular with the community as it can be
used from their homes at no charge through the Library web site.
"Moved to accept the gift from the Lacy Trust for the Telegraph
Herald complete archives project. "
Motion: Weiss
Second: Connors
Vote: Aye — 6; Nay— 0
F. Closed Session -
"Moved to go into closed session in accordance with Iowa Code,
Chapter 21.5(1) (j): To discuss the purchase of particular real estate only
where premature disclosure could be reasonably expected to increase the
price the governmental body would have to pay for that property."
Motion: Weiss
Second Willis
Willis called for a roll vote.
Boice —Aye
Weiss—Aye
Connors—Aye
Willis—Aye
Trotter—Aye
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Poggemiller—Aye
Motion passed with all 'Aye"votes.
The Library Board moved into closed session at 5:18 p.m.
The Library Board moved into open session at 5:47 p.m.
"Moved to go into open session of the Library Board. "
Motion: Connors
Second: Weiss
Vote: Aye — 6; Nay— 0
The Board directed Henricks to set up a lunch hour work session for available
Trustees to view the properties proposed for the west side satellite location now that
an architect has been selected.
7. Library Board Adjournment - The Board adjourned at 5:51 p.m.
"Motion to adjourn."
Motion: Weiss
Second: Willis
Vote: Aye — 6; Nay— 0
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Dan Boice, Board Secretary Date
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