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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - Library Board of Trustees - 07/16/2020 Approved Minutes South Burlington Library Board of Trustees Thursday, July 16 @ 5 p.m. Location: Zoom meeting Members Present: Margery Vagt, Ted Lenski, Lauren Ballard, Lee Freeman, Patrick Leduc, Stacey Pape, Penne Tompkins, Diane Bugbee, Jennifer Murray, Jay Pasackow, MargaretAnn Cross Members Absent: Sonya Krakoff Staff Members Present: Jennifer Murray Friends of the Library Present: Chair Patrick Leduc called the meeting to order at 5:04 p.m., and a quorum was established. Additions or deletions to the posted agenda: No additions and deletions to the posted agenda Comments and questions from the public not related to the items on the agenda: None Consent Agenda: Approval of regular board minutes of June 16, 2020 and Friends of the Library Report and Director’s Report Penne Tompkins noted a few minor typos in the minutes Upon a motion made by Trustee Penne Tompkins and seconded by Trustee Lee Freeman, the Trustees voted unanimously to approve the consent agenda with the suggested edits. Chair’s report The Chair welcomed the new members of the Board of trustees who were able to attend this first meeting and each trustee introduced themselves and gave a bit of background on themselves followed by the new trustees. All the existing trustees expressed their excitement to have such skilled and experienced citizens join the library board. Patrick then transition to extend his personal and the the Board’s gratitude to Mark Coel for his time working on the Board. Mark has been instrumental in the work to help design the new library space and has brought his deep experience and skills to the board in many ways, including his legal knowledge. The Trustees all shared their appreciation for Mark’s contributions. Patrick confirmed and the board expressed their agreement that Jennifer, the library Director, is doing a great job managing the opening of the library and confirmed their ongoing approval of Jennifer Murray’s authority in making iterative choices regarding increases of hours and days the library will open, based on the public’s need, staffing availability, and the City’s guidance. Governance and Nomination Committee Patrick shared noted the Board received more applicants this year then there were open positions on the board, which is a welcome experience. Patrick Leduc and Stacey Pape, along with Jennifer, consulted with the City as to the skills and experience of the applicants in relationship to any current skill gaps on the board. This helped the city in selecting who they appointed, and the city was thankful to have the input. Patrick Leduc has reached out to the applicants who were not chosen to thank them and ask if they would like to volunteer their services in the future. He and Jennifer will be following up with them. Election of Officers Patrick requested that Trustee Margaret Ann conduct the election of officers. Margaret Ann asked each current officer if they would like to make any statements in relationship to if they were willing to continue to serve in their role before asking for nominations from the floor. Patrick indicated he would be willing to serve as Chair for another year if that were the will of the trustees, and Stacey offered the same for herself in the role of Vice Chair. Diane expressed that she would be willing to continue as Treasurer if there was no trustee willing to take on the role and Lee expressed a similar position as to his role as Secretary. After some discussion Dianne and Lee both shared a short description of the accountability and tasks of the two officer positions. Following this Margery Vagt said she would be willing to take on the role of secretary and Ted Lenski said he would be willing to take on the role of Treasurer. Margaret Ann then asked for formal nominations from the floor. Lee Freeman formally nominated Margery Vagt to be Secretary and Penne Tompkins seconded. Jay Pasackow then nominated Ted Lenski to be Treasurer and Diane Bugbee seconded. Margaret Ann then restated the current slate of officers for consideration as: Chair - Patrick Leduc, Vice Chair - Stacey Pape, Secretary - Margery Vagt, and Treasurer - Ted Lenski Upon a motion made by Trustee Penne Tompkins and seconded by Trustee Lauren Ballard, the Trustees voted unanimously to elect the proposed slate of officers. Committee Membership Newly re-elected Chair Patrick Leduc opened the conversation on committee membership and asked people to review the materials made available in the board packet. Representatives of each standing committee then shared the scope and areas of accountability for each committee for the benefit of all present. Following healthy discussion, the board determined that the following will be the current committee make up. The finance Committee will be Ted Lenski, Penne Tompkins and Diane Bugbee. The Advocacy Committee member will be Diane Bugbee, MargaretAnn Cross, and Lee Freeman. The Governance and Nomination Committee will be Lauren Ballard, Margery Vagt, and Stacey Pape. The Evaluation Committee will be Penne Tompkins, MargaretAnn Cross, and Patrick Leduc Patrick then committed to following up with any members that have not yet selected a committee so that they can make a selection. Committee Chairs Following the discussion in the committee make up Chair Leduc appointed Ted Lenski as Chair of the Finance Committee, Lee Freeman as the Chair of the Advocacy Committee, Stacey Pape as the Chair of the Nomination Committee and himself as Chair of the Evaluation Committee Friends of the Library Report: No report this month Governance and Nomination Committee Committee Chair Stacy indicated she had no further report beyond what was shared earlier in the meeting. Finance Committee Report Committee Chair Diane shared that the committee had not recently meet and that the balance of the Blanchette fund was $398124.76, recovering some of its prior losses. Advocacy Committee Report Jennifer Murray requested Board Members contribute blog posts for the Library’s blog. Lee Freeman and Diane Bugbee volunteered to contribute one or more blog posts. Director’s report. Jennifer shared that a survey is forthcoming that she encourages Board members to fill out. She shared a color scheme from plans for the interior of the library, noting its visual appeal. Penne Tompkins noted Jennifer Murray’s hard work selecting the myriad material and aesthetic options in conformance with budgetary restraints over the past months. Jennifer then shared that the Board is invited to tour the Library’s construction site on Monday, July 20th, at 5 PM. All are welcome, though social distancing guidelines must be observed. Jennifer also shared that starting next week, the Library will open for more hours and more days beginning in August. Staffing issues with furloughs and City hiring freeze will be resolved as soon as possible. Curbside drop off is ongoing and selecting book holds are staff time intensive activities. Patrons are now able to remotely hold books, though the library is still taking telephone and online Holds. Jay Pasackow asked about the staff’s comfort level with the new hours, and how the public is reacting to reopening. Jennifer Murray says the public “is elated” at having the Library open. Patrons have been very happy to return; senior members of the public are especially pleased with the opportunities for social interaction, and the general public’s excitement demonstrates the library’s relevance to the public. Jennifer Murray, the City, and staff are engaged in discussions regarding returning to full time hours. Executive Session - For the purposes of discussing personnel matters (Evaluation of the Library Director) Patrick asked the Trustees to consider going into executive session for a discussion on personnel matters. Upon a motion made by Trustee Stacy Pape and seconded by Trustee Penne Tompkins, the Trustees voted unanimously to enter executive session The board exited executive session at 6:27pm Other Business Trustee Margery Vagt brought up the topic of library fines and Jennifer thanked her for her query. Jennifer Murray apprised the Board of differing schools of thought regarding the elimination of fees. Were fees to be eliminated, the City informed Jennifer Murray that the Library would have to make up the ~$3-4,000 in annual lost revenue. Jennifer shared that the analysis completed by her staff indicated that staff time dedicated to collecting fees brings this budgetary shortfall to nearly zero. Showing that it costs as much to collect as it brings in. Margaret Ann Cross noted that some libraries have a donation jar, something the South Burlington Public Library might consider. Ted Lenski asked about plans to deal with a possible increase in unreturned books. Jennifer Murray said eliminating fees would most likely have to be a permanent move. Options to pursue non-returned books would have to be explored, although Jennifer Murray said the percentage of patrons who do not regularly return books is very small. Margery Vagt noted that Milton Library has a no-fine policy, and it is effective, equitable, and enhances the library’s support of, and standing in, the community. Chair Leduc asked if the trustees supported the proposal by Jennifer to eliminate fines for late returns and they indicated their support for this direction. Upon a motion made by Trustee Lee Freeman and seconded by Trustee Jay Pasackow, the Trustees voted unanimously to support the plan for the elimination of fees for late returns and a recommendation to the city in that regard Adjourn There being no other business, Chair Patrick Leduc adjourned the meeting at 6:42 p.m. Next meeting: 8/13/2020 Respectfully submitted Lee Freeman, Secretary