ELISHA D. SMITH PUBLIC LIBRARY BOARD OF TRUSTEES
MEETING MINUTES
Elisha D. Smith Public Library
Company E Room
September 28, 2021


Called to order at 4:30pm by Chairman Golz
Present:     Chairman Golz, Vice Chairman Halverson, Trustee Lane, Trustee Schwerbel (via Zoom), Trustee Turner, Superintendent of Schools VanderHeyden and Trustee Witt (via Zoom)
Absent:    Trustee Franzoi and Teen Rep. Chintamani
Also Present:     Director Kopetsky, Support Services Supervisor Raschke, Adult Services Supervisor Moore-Nokes and Business Manager Dreyer

Public Comment/Communication
None

Consent Business
A motion was made by VanderHeyden, seconded by Lane to approve the Library Board of Trustees meeting minutes from August 24, 2021, and accept the 125th Anniversary Committee meeting minutes from August 27, 2021, and the Finance & Investments Committee meeting minutes from September 13, 2021.  The CIP budget reflects HVAC value replacement since the library has 33 values that are causing the HVAC to operate inefficiently.  Motion carried unanimously.  

Authorization of Bills
A motion was made by Halverson, seconded by Turner to authorize payment of the September 2021 list of bills, endowment fund and WALS Technology account from the 2021 budget.  The management expense (21 06) to David Schwerbel is reimbursement for mileage to visit architectural firms and libraries. Motion carried unanimously.  

Unfinished Business

Building & Grounds Committee Update
The RFP’s have been sent to architectural firms. Kopetsky emailed trustees a list of the architects who expressed interest in the project and are planning on visiting during the next couple of weeks.  Kopetsky is working on a list of questions and what to discuss during these visits.  The proposals are due back to us by November 1.  Kopetsky will email an RFP to Margaret Sullivan Studio.

Turner left the meeting at 4:53pm.

Organization of Friends Group Update
The Ad Hoc Committee to Organize a Friends Group met prior to this meeting.  Turner recontacted Dan Flaherty at Godfrey & Kahn to establish a 181 nonstock corporation and start the application process for the 501(c)3 since there was an email error.  Dreyer reached out to some of the library’s volunteers to see if they would be willing to serve on the Friends Board.  Three expressed an interest.  

New Business
Director’s Report

  • We just completed the first full book sale in over a year.  It was well attended, and the library sold $3,659.21 worth of materials.  We are discussing switching from the twice a year format to an ongoing book sale.  The sale is looked at as an event, but we can also better use the space where the books are stored.
  • Kopetsky submitted a grant requests to the Theda and Tamblin Clark Smith Family Foundation, Inc. and the Community Foundation for the Fox Valley Region, Inc. for a Bright Idea Fund Spark Grant.  
  • Ahead of our October in-service, we have begun program and activity planning for 2022.  Right now, we have 115 potential programs in the works though not all will be implemented, and some will be an ongoing series.
  • With the success of the 125th Anniversary Celebration and indoor programming limited due to COVID, we decided to show another outdoor movie in Smith Park on Saturday, October 9, at 7:30pm.  We will be showing the movie Coco.  
  • Lauren Radke joined our team as a casual Library Assistant.  She also works for the Neenah Public Library.
  • A draft of the job description for the new full-time librarian is complete.  It will soon be posted.
  • Increased infection rates in the city have led us to reinstitute mask requirements for everyone using the library regarding of vaccination status.     

August Statistics
Print collections continue to increase in circulation, steadily rising toward pre-COVID levels. Periodicals has seen a large increase.  DVD circulation seems to have leveled off.  Door counts are holding steady, though below pre-pandemic levels.

2021 Budget Status Report
Trustees reviewed the 2021 budget status.  Our part-time custodian resigned, and we have decided to go back to ServiceMaster.  We will have 3 major retirements this year.  Golz asked Kopetsky to report on any potential carry-over at each meeting.

Finance & Investments Committee - 2022 Proposed Budget
Trustees reviewed the 2022 proposed budget.  The budget reflects a 5.9% increase which is partly due to a decrease in Winnebago County funding.  The budget contains increases for active programming.  Motion made by Lane, seconded by VanderHeyden to approve the 2022 budget as presented.  Motion carries unanimously.

Staff Reports

  • Tech Services is working on making materials more findable.
  • The Fox Cities Book Festival will be held October 13 – 17, 2021.
  • The storage area is being cleaned out.
  • Adult Services is putting the history collection in order.
  • Kathy Beson is passing along information to Moore-Nokes and having conversations with her staff.

Adjournment
Motion to adjourn made at 5:47pm by Halverson, seconded by Witt.  Motion carried unanimously.

Respectfully submitted,
Kathy Dreyer, Recording Secretary

 

 

Board Minutes