ELISHA D. SMITH PUBLIC LIBRARY BOARD OF TRUSTEES
MEETING MINUTES
Elisha D. Smith Public Library
Company E Room
September 27, 2022
Called to order at 4:01pm by Chair Halverson
Present: Trustee Eisenach, Vice Chairman Golz, Chair Halverson, Secretary Lane, Trustee Stojanovic, Trustee Turner, Superintendent of Schools VanderHeyden and Trustee Witt
Absent: Trustee Franzoi and Teen Rep. E. Lane
Also Present: Director Kopetsky, Library Services Manager Raschke, Programming Services Manager Moore-Nokes and Business Manager Dreyer
Public Comment/Communication
None
Consent Business
A motion was made by Turner, seconded by VanderHeyden to approve the Library Board of Trustees meeting minutes from August 23, 2022 and accept the Finance & Investments Committee meeting minutes of August 30, 2022. Motion carried unanimously.
Authorization of Bills
A motion was made by Golz, seconded by Lane to authorize payment of the September 2022 list of bills from the 2022 budget and endowment fund. Motion carried unanimously.
Unfinished Business
Planning Process Update
Kopetsky reviewed the results of the community engagement process. There are some opportunities for improvement but no critical issues. He also reviewed the space summary that EUA put together. The internal library team will review to see if the square footage recommended for each space will work. On October 25, the Project Leadership Team, staff, Board of Trustees and community will have the opportunity to work on a puzzle play exercise that allows participants to explore and evaluate space solutions by using scaled puzzle pieces that represent the desired spaces and arranging them on floor plans to determine ideal locations and adjacencies.
New Business
Director’s Report
- The library was nominated for the WLA Innovative Programming Award. This award is for innovative and out of the box programming in libraries. Two letters of support were written on our behalf showing the impact our work has had in the community.
- On September 16, we held our annual library in-service. We reviewed the libraries emergencies procedures. Some of these procedures need to be updated and they all need to be reviewed on a regular basis. We reviewed the proposed changes to the personnel policy. The services and programming teams also familiarized themselves with the work done in the opposite departments.
- A draft of a new library brochure was distributed showing the services available in a way that is easy to understand. We also have been working on the framework for our library brand.
- Maggie Lerum joined our staff as a casual library assistant.
August Statistics
We are seeing increased circulation across the board and DVD usage has stabilized. Our information assistance has grown substantially in the past year though remains below 2019 levels. Our meeting room usage is increasing.
2022 Budget Status and Endowment Report
Trustees reviewed the 2022 budget status.
Approve Recommended Changes to the Personnel Policy
Trustees reviewed the changes to the Personnel Policy. Motion made by Turner, seconded by Witt to approve the recommended changes to the Personnel Policy as per the minutes of the Policies and Personnel Committee meeting minutes of August 8, 2022. Motion carried unanimously. These changes will be effective as of January 1, 2023.
Finance & Investments Committee Report – 2023 Budget Draft
The Finance & Investments Committee approved a 2023 budget, but the city is looking into cost savings for health care and the cost-of-living adjustment has not yet been determined. Public Works/Facilities recommended putting $6,000 into the capital improvement budget to complete the valve replacement.
Eisenach left the meeting at 5:09pm.
Staff Reports
- Circulation will be working on a weeding project in fall/winter.
- We held our first Latino Film Festival last weekend.
- We have many programs scheduled for October.
- Hometown Halloween will be held October 17.
- The Fox Cities Book Festival will be held October 13 – 16. The library is hosting events on Sunday, October 16.
Our next Board of Trustees meeting will be held on Tuesday, October 25, 2022, at 4:00pm.
Adjournment
Motion to adjourn made at 5:17pm by Golz, seconded by Lane. Motion carried unanimously.
Respectfully submitted,
Kathy Dreyer, Recording Secretary
