MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING
ELISHA D. SMITH PUBLIC LIBRARY TRUSTEES
July 15, 2010
Call to order at 4:02 p.m. by president Enos
Present: Brunette, Derouin, Eisen, Enos, Kobylski, Nebel, Wisneski
Absent: Wicihowski
Also present: Director Saecker, K. Seefeldt (Administrative Assistant), J. Bongers (Head of Adult and Technical Services), C. Brandt (Head of Circulation Services)
Public Comment
President Enos welcomed Paul Brunette and Superintendent of Schools Bob Kobylski to the board. Enos also shared recent correspondence from Sue Werley in which she extended her best to board members as they continue their important work without her.
Election of Officers
1.
On behalf of the nominations committee, Director Saecker presented the following slate of names for the consideration of the board.
President: Jill Enos
Vice-President: Kathy Wicihowski
Secretary: Paul Eisen
There were no nominations from the floor.
Motion
Motion to elect Jill Enos as president, Kathy Wicihowski as vice-president and Paul Eisen as secretary by Nebel, seconded by Wisneski and carried unanimously.
Authorization of Bills
2.
Motion to authorize payment of the July bills from the 2010 budget by Eisen, seconded by Derouin and carried unanimously.
Consent Business
3.
Approve minutes from the Library Board meeting of June 17, 2010.
Motion
Motion to approve the minutes of the Library Board meeting of June 17, 2010, 2010 as presented by Nebel, seconded by Wisneski and carried unanimously.
Director’s Report/Information Items
4.
Statistics. Director Saecker stated that we had a great start to the summer with a 3.5% increase overall in lending. This continues three years of sustained growth in our summer months. Eisen noted that the attendance total of 2772 for children’s programs, community outreach and school tours was phenomenal. It was also noted that we had our highest totals for the year to date for door count, visitors per hour, lending per hour, self-check usages and teen programs.
5.
Walter Hoest Memorial. We received $700 in memory of Walter Hoest. The funds will be used to purchase thriller and other fiction materials. A memorial bookplate will be placed in each of the books.
6.
New Board Members. Bob Kobylski Superintendent of Schools, and community business associate Paul Brunette have joined our board. Mayor Merkes recently appointed Paul to replace Sue Werley.
7.
Kathy Stumpf. Technical Services clerk Kathy Stumpf has worked at the library for 40 years. The Board congratulated Kathy of her years of dedicated service.
8.
HAPLR Library Ratings. The Board received a summary of local libraries and their ratings on the Hennen’s American Public Library Ratings for 2010. Menasha did well with a score of 828 out of 1000.
Discussion/Action Items
9.
Friends and Foundations. Director Saecker shared information she obtained on merging library Friends and Foundation groups. She recommended 1) exploring whether there is interest in forming a Foundation for fundraising purposes with the possibility of combining with the Friends of the Library, 2) giving consideration to forming an Ad Hoc committee to research this issue and make a recommendation to our board, and 3) decide whether to form a Foundation or not so that we can proceed with fundraising plans. There was a consensus to explore the history of our Friends of the Library organization, identify tasks they could assume and determine overall what role they would play if they were to merge with a newly formed Foundation. President Enos offered to contact former Library Director Jack Fry and former Library Board President Joyce Schoepel to discuss this matter. This item will be added to the August agenda for further board discussion
10.
Winnefox Fine Issue. Estimated lost fine revenue, based on 2008 paid percentages, was $15,641.83. This amount will be reimbursed to us by Winnefox Library System from their unallocated reserve account in 2010 and 2011.
11.
Appointment of Committees. President Enos presented a list of recommendations for standing committee appointments. Discussion ensued. Committee appointments are as follows:
Policies & Personnel: Wicihowski (ch), Kobylski, Derouin
Finance: Enos (ch), Nebel, Brunette
Buildings & Grounds: Wisneski (ch), Eisen
Investment: Enos (ch), Brunette, Director Saecker
12.
Set day/time of meeting. Each year, board members are asked if the third Thursday of the month at 4:00 p.m. is suitable for them to meet. Members concurred that the day and time of their meetings should remain the same.
13.
2011 Closings. Director Saecker presented her recommendation for library closings in 2011. The list included an assigned closing on Monday, December 26. Salaried staff who are scheduled to receive December 25th as a paid holiday will be assigned to take that holiday on December 26th.
Motion
Motion to approve the list of 2011 closings as presented by Eisen, seconded by Wisneski and carried unanimously.
14.
Staff In-service. The annual staff in-service has been scheduled for Friday, October 1. The library will be closed that morning and will reopen at 1:00 p.m. Topics to be addressed include the future of our library per our Long Range Plan, the future of public libraries in general and customer service. Board members are welcome to attend.
Motion
Motion to approve closing the library the morning of Friday, October 1 for a staff in-service by Wisneski, seconded by Derouin and carried unanimously.
15.
County Board Appointment. Winnebago County Executive Mark Harris routinely appoints one member to our board as a county representative. This is in addition to our seven municipal appointments, all of whom have the responsibility to represent a cross section of our community. Eisen advocated for a second county appointment as an opportunity for residents in the Town of Menasha to have additional representation on our board. President Enos offered to discuss this option with the County Executive. She will report back to the board at a future meeting.
Joe Bongers left the meeting at 4:58 p.m.
Adjournment
Motion to adjourn the meeting at 5:01 p.m. by Derouin, seconded by Brunette and carried unanimously.
Future meeting dates
The next regular board meeting will be held in the Gegan Room on Thursday, August 19, 2010 at 4:00 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Paul Eisen, Secretary
Kris Seefeldt, Recording Secretary
