Minutes of Regular Meeting
ELISHA D. SMITH PUBLIC LIBRARY TRUSTEES
Elisha D. Smith Public Library Gegan Room
September 17, 2015
Call to order at 4:01pm by Murray.
Present: Crawmer, Englebert, Kaminski (teen rep) and Murray.
Absent: Golz, Rollins-Jump, VanderHeyden and Wicihowski.
Also Present: Director Lenz, Bongers (Head of Adult Services), Brandt (Head of Support Services) and Dreyer (Administrative Assistant).
Citing State Statue 43.54(1)(e) and library board policy Englebert moved to continue the meeting with a lack of majority quorum, seconded by Crawmer. Motion carried unanimously.
Public Comment/Communication
• Library patron and former library trustee Colleen O’Brien recently spoke with Lenz regarding the Veteran’s Memorial space and the utility enclosure. She feels the enclosure is unsightly.
• Paul Eisen resigned from the board. Lenz is working with Winnebago County Executive Mark Harris to fill this vacancy.
Consent Business
Motion made by Englebert to approve the Library Board meeting minutes from August 20, 2015, and the Special meeting minutes of August 27, 2015, seconded by Crawmer. Motion carried unanimously.
Authorization of Bills
There was one addition to the list of bills that was emailed to the board: $200 to Jose Encarnacion (MJD Trio) for the Latin Jazz Night on October 7, 2015. The $8.00 WALS expense was for Windows 8 through Techsoup, a 501(c)3 that offers donated and discounted software and hardware products and services to nonprofits, charities, foundations, and libraries. Motion made by Engelbert to authorize payment of the September 2015 bills from the 2015 budget, seconded by Crawmer. Motion carried unanimously.
Director’s Report/Information Items
1. August Statistics. Overall circulation is down 4.2% for the year. Meeting room use is 11.6% higher and overall program attendance is 2.2% higher than last year. Volunteer hours this year are up 37%.
2. 2015 Budget Status. The budget shows that 66.6% of the year has passed and 66.3% of the budget has been spent. The premium pay line looks odd in respect to the budgeted amount because straight pay for working summer Saturdays and winter Sundays comes out of the salary and wages lines and only the premium hourly bump comes out of that line. This has been corrected in the 2016 budget request.
3. Endowment Report. There was a decrease in earnings in August due to a decline in the stock market. Temporarily, this year’s disbursement has been added to the General Fund line.
4. Staff Reports.
a. Brian Rammer, Associate Executive Director of YMCA of the Fox Cites, met with Beson, YA Librarian Kirk Moore-Nokes, and Lenz to discuss ways to collaborate.
b. The Summer Reading Program final report was reviewed. There were 838 preschool – 5th grade kids that participated in the program. Gegan Elementary won the trophy.
c. The Kiwanis Club of Neenah-Menasha Roundtable donated $100 to the library for children’s books.
d. The used book sale took place September 10-14; proceeds were $2,866.05.
e. In the September 12 edition of the Appleton Post Crescent, there was a Good Neighbor article “Menasha Woman Sees Library as a Community Hub” which featured library volunteer Diane Hotynski. Lenz will email the link to trustees.
f. Beson has requested a paperback spinner for the Children’s Room. The cost is $799.99 plus shipping. There were no objections to this purchase.
g. There will be a Staff In-service tomorrow from 8:00 – 12:30pm. Trustees are invited to attend. The library will open at 1:00pm.
5. 2016 Budget. Budget review sessions will be held on November 4, 5, 9, and 11 at 5:00pm. The consensus was that November 4 would be the first choice and November 9 the second.
Discussion/Action Items
6. Fundraising Committee Projects.
The sale of the Smith Collection has been posted on our website. So far, there have been no bids.
7. Investment Committee Recommendations.
The Investment Committee (Murray, Golz, and VanderHeyden) met on August 26 and is recommending the following two actions:
a. Withdraw 5% from the Loescher, Vollmer and Howe Memorial Funds and 10% from the Graves Fund to be used for the purposes stipulated by the donors (Vollmer, Howe and Graves Funds for children’s materials and the Loescher Fund for materials or programs on crafts or dolls) and to add $1,426.71 to the Summer Reading Program fund from the investment pool’s 2015 annual disbursement with the remainder of the disbursement to stay in the General Fund. Motion made by Englebert to approve the above Investment Committee recommendation, seconded by Crawmer. Motion carried unanimously.
b. The 2015-2016 Endowment Budget includes funds for art at the library’s entrance, piano maintenance, an AED defibrillator in the lower level, the Fox Cities Reads and Book Festival, library materials, library programs, and bus trips to the library from local schools as reflected in the 2015-2016 proposed expenditures. Motion made by Englebert to approve the above Investment Committee recommendation, seconded by Crawmer. Motion carried unanimously.
8. Date of next Trustee Meeting.
Lenz is unable to attend the October 15 trustee meeting and asked if it could be postponed until October 22. Motion made by Murray to change the October 15 Board of Trustees meeting to October 22, seconded by Crawmer. Motion carried unanimously.
Adjournment
Motion to adjourn the meeting at 4:25pm was made by Englebert and seconded by Crawmer. Motion carried unanimously.
Respectfully submitted,
Kathy Dreyer, recording secretary
