2002 Minutes
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____________________________________________________________________
ANDERSON, STONY CREEK AND UNION TOWNSHIPS
PUBLIC LIBRARY
BOARD OF TRUSTEES MEETING
JANUARY 16, 2002
The Board of Trustees of the Anderson City, Anderson, Stony Creek and Union Townships Public Library held their regular monthly meeting Wednesday, January 16, 2002, at 4:15 p.m. in the Board Room of the Main Library, 111 East 12th Street, Anderson Indiana 46016.
Trustees present: Bill Surbaugh, Rhea Parshall, Chuck Lacey, Stan Kilburn, Ann Teague, Doug Nelson
Trustees absent: Joni Brinkman
Staff attending: Marsha Grove, Director
Sarah Later, Assistant Director
Tonya Carman, Business Office Manager
Lova Gay, Recording Secretary
Linda Funk, Human Resources Manager
Erik Estep, Reference Services
Carolyn Metz, Circulation Manager,
Alice Milley, Technical Services Manager
Martha Green, Circulation
Others attending: Jim Freeman, Library Attorney
Ken de la Bastide, Herald Bulletin
Karen Nelson
President Chuck Lacey called the meeting to order. First of all there was a special presentation of a plaque to Doug Nelson. This will be his last meeting as a member of the library board. He has spent 16 years as a dedicated community servant. Doug stated that he was grateful for the opportunity to be part of the team for such a wonderful facility. Martha Green represented the staff in expressing gratitude to Doug and presenting him with a gift certificate to the library's staff account. At this time a motion was made by Bill Surbaugh and seconded by Stan Kilburn to adjourn and go into Executive Session. Motion carried.
After the Executive Session ended the regular meeting was again called to order. President Lacey said he personally needed to clarify something. He had made a comment during the December meeting regarding the accounting procedures. He in no way meant for the statement to sound like he thought we had poor accounting procedures. He apologized to Marsha and to Tonya.
The first item on the agenda was the approval of the minutes of the meeting held on December 19, 2001. A motion was made by Doug Nelson and seconded Rhea Parshall to approve these minutes. Motion carried.
Rhea Parshall has examined the bills and found them to be in order subject to an outside audit and made a motion to approve these claims for payment. Doug Nelson seconded. There were no comments on the claims. Motion to pay the bills carried unanimously.
There are certain claims that need authorization to be paid between Board meetings. These are payroll, insurance premiums, conference enrollment fees, utility bills, corporate VISA bill, and replacement checks. A motion was made by Bill Surbaugh and seconded by Rhea Parshall to approve paying these claims between meetings. The motion passed unanimously.
At this time Doug Nelson made a motion that the Director's salary be established at a rate of increase for the staff plus 1% which would equal a total of 6% effective on her anniversary date of January 14, 2002. Rhea Parshall seconded, motion carried unanimously.
President Lacey appointed the following members to the Nominating Committee; Stan Kilburn, chair, Bill Surbaugh and Rhea Parshall. They will have a slate of officers to be elected at the February meeting.
Sarah Later and Linda Funk reviewed the policy changes for the year. Art prints and Polaroid cameras no longer are circulated and will be removed from the Materials Borrowing Policy and the Circulation of Materials Policy. There has also been some revisions to the Staff Use of Computer Resources Policy. Most of the changes are technical but it does include not using passwords for files and changing passwords without the knowledge of the Computer Services staff. The Drug and Alcohol Free Workplace Policy has not been updated since 1998 and has some
more defined language in it, including notifying the library director within 2 days of being charged with a criminal drug statute violation. Doug Nelson made a motion to approve these policy changes and Ann Teague seconded the motion. Per Bill Surbaugh's suggestion, the statement the Library retains the right to check library computers, hard drives, and disks for appropriate use, at any time will be added to the Staff Use of Computer Resources Policy. Doug Nelson accepts Bill's suggestion and amends his motion to state the same. Ann Teague also amends her second. After some discussion about personal use wording the motion carried.
Marsha reported that the staff are looking at different software to use for monitoring computer use. So far they have only found one "sign-in software" program and would like to find another in order to compare the two. She hopes to have more information by the February meeting. There is some concern about free use of the computers by customers outside the library district.
Marsha has made a recommendation regarding retiree health insurance. The library will pay premiums at a bracketed rate depending on years of service. This will never exceed the current percentage paid by the library for staff who are still working. Bill Surbaugh made a motion to accept this policy. Doug Nelson seconded, motion carried unanimously.
President Lacey added an item to the agenda, the status of the Bixby's lease. Marsha and Chuck have been meeting with Richard Gould and he would like a few addendums added. First, the right to sell the café with the approval of the library; the right to re-negotiate the percentage paid to the library if sales fall below a certain level or goes above a certain level; the grease trap only has to be cleaned every 6 months (more often if necessary); and they want to sign the lease as Richard Gould, Manager and Phil Ontrop, Assistant Manager of LLC (Limited Liability Corporation). If these changes are approved by the attorneys, they are willing to sign the lease next week. Bill Surbaugh thinks we need a deadline as to when construction will start and when we will have an opening date included in the lease.
Sarah presented the year end accomplishments of the five year plan. All departments have exceeded their goals and one by as much as 1000%. Bill Surbaugh would like to see Adams Township added with Jackson and Richland Townships to be contacted about joining the library district. It was noted that Brad Howell is also attending library school. Doug Nelson commented that the goals are very good and he commends staff for accomplishing so much. The five year plan will be amended if changes to computer use are made.
Carolyn Metz gave a report on the Circulation Department. She handed out a circulation fact sheet for 2001. They take care of 206,926 items on 2 floors and 2 mezzanines. Circ staff work very hard not only handling materials, but also recording phone numbers on Telecirc, updating customer records, entering new library card information, and mending materials. In 2001 Circulation staff handled 78% of the 1,000,000 + items borrowed. Bill Surbaugh wondered what percentage of checkout was done by self checkout. Marsha said it is around 12% but she would like to see it at 25%.
Marsha gave her Director's report with information on all departments. She is completely pleased with the outcome of renovation. We are going to be able to use beautiful end panels from the old Carnegie Library on the new book shelves in the lobby. We are within budget on the project. She also mentioned that economically for Anderson the renovation has been very good. Many of the contractors are from Anderson. Also, some of the contractors and Montgomery's have gotten other library jobs because of this project. Doug Nelson would like a letter sent to staff thanking them for all the extra things they have done such as moving things and giving continuously good customer service. Bill Surbaugh offered the Board's support if needed for problems with the 21st Century Grant.
Being no comments from the floor Doug Nelson had the honor of moving to adjourn. Seconded by Rhea Parshall, meeting adjourned at 6:25 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Secretary, Anderson Public Library
Board of Trustees
____________________________________________________________________
ANDERSON CITY, ANDERSON, STONY CREEK AND UNION TOWNSHIPS
PUBLIC LIBRARY
BOARD OF TRUSTEES MEETING
FEBRUARY 20, 2002
The Board of Trustees of the Anderson City, Anderson, Stony Creek and Union Townships Public Library held their regular monthly meeting Wednesday, February 20, 2002, following an Executive Session at 4:15 p.m. in the Board Room of the Main Library, 111 East 12th Street, Anderson Indiana 46016.
Trustees present: Bill Surbaugh, Rhea Parshall, Chuck Lacey, Stan Kilburn, Paul Muething, Joni Brinkman
Trustees absent: Ann Teague
Staff attending: Marsha Grove, Director
Sarah Later, Assistant Director
Tonya Carman, Business Office Manager
Lova Gay, Recording Secretary
Linda Funk, Human Resources Manager
Sheila Love, Technical Services
Frank Lucas, Computer Services Manager
Others attending: Ken de la Bastide, Herald Bulletin
President Chuck Lacey called the meeting to order. First of all he introduced Paul Muething and welcomed him to the Board. Paul is the manager of Sears. His very first job was as a page in a Carnegie library in Louisville. He is married and the father of 3 sons. He is glad to be a member of the Board. After his introduction the Board went into Executive Session.
The first item on the agenda was the approval of the minutes of the meetings held on January 16, 2002. A motion was made by Bill Surbaugh and seconded by Rhea Parshall to approve the minutes of the regular meeting. Motion carried. In the absence of Ann Teague, President Lacey appointed Joni Brinkman as Secretary Pro-tem. A motion was made by Rhea Parshall and seconded by Bill Surbaugh to approve the minutes of the Board of Finance meeting. Motion carried.
Rhea Parshall has examined the bills and found them to be in order subject to an outside audit and made a motion to approve these claims for payment. Joni Brinkman seconded. There were a few questions regarding the claims. Paul Muething wondered about the bill for $700 to Walgreen's. Tonya explained that this was for cameras purchased with grant money for a program in Children's. Bill Surbaugh would like to know how we would tell if items listed were encumbered or in this year's money. He will provide a list of bills to Tonya and she will let him know if they were encumbered. Bill Surbaugh also questioned the charge for Manpower. This is for a temp position in Maintenance. Marsha told the Board she will also be hiring temps in Circulation and Children's to cover staff who are off. The library cannot function on a lower amount of staff. Marsha said if we hired directly, the library would be liable for Workmen's Compensation and unemployment benefits. Stan asked about the Kirby Risk charge. This is part of the on-going project to replace all the ballasts and bulbs with more cost effective ones. Bill wondered how grant money expenses were listed on the green sheets. Tonya explained that up-front grants are given fund numbers but most of the reimbursable grants bills are paid from library money and then the money received from the agency who gave the grant is put back into that account. Bill Surbaugh then asked about the money we borrow from the Bond Bank. Marsha explained that we are obligated to take this money. We had to take $50,000 at the beginning of February but we are taking the money as slow as possible. We can pay this money back early and the interest rate is only 1.89%. Motion to pay the bills carried unanimously.
Stan Kilburn presented the following slate of officers for the coming year and made a motion that this slate be accepted. Charles Lacey, President, Joni Brinkman, Vice President, Ann Teague, Secretary, and Rhea Parshall, Treasurer. There were no nominations from the floor. Joni Brinkman seconded the motion, carried unanimously. At this time Bill Surbaugh asked for a resolution to be passed for Doug Nelson and a letter sent to him from the Board recognizing his service. Bill also asked that the Board do something to honor Dave Bucove. Chuck
appointed a committee of Bill, Joni, and Marsha to make a recommendation at the March meeting. Chuck said he has had a wonderful year serving as President and looks forward to another one.
Bill Surbaugh made a motion to accept the Resolution pertaining to the Executive Session held January 16, 2002. Stan Kilburn seconded, carried.
Frank Lucas presented a report on computer sign in software. He has researched 4 different packages and recommends Cybrary N. This would allow the library to track who is on a computer, how much time they are on one, and what databases they are accessing. This would be at an initial cost of $9,490 (worse case scenario) and approximately $3,490 annually for their support feature. Rhea asked if this software would act like a filtering system. Frank said this is not really a filter but it gives us the capability to limit things people use. Chuck said he looked at it as a good first step. He asked if we could put a sign on the computer telling people their use could be tracked. Marsha thinks we need to talk to the attorney before we do that but a customer currently does have to click that they accept our policy. Paul asked Frank if he thought we would get a discount on filtering software from this company if we buy the sign in software. Frank will check on this. Bill Surbaugh made a motion to purchase the sign in module that Frank Lucas recommended. Rhea Parshall seconded. Paul asked if this would be connected to every computer in the library. Marsha said it would be connected to every public computer in the main library. Motion carried unanimously. Ken asked when this would be installed. Marsha said it should be in by the end of April. Bill Surbaugh moved that the Board accept the recommendation made two meetings back concerning the filtering system. That we put that in place as rapidly as possible. He thinks we have a commitment to the public regardless of the outcome of the lawsuit. Joni Brinkman seconded his motion. Rhea asked if this is what Frank is looking in to. Bill said the intent of his motion was to make sure the library has this in line by the July 1 deadline and to make sure the library does not lose in excess of $140,000 but most importantly it is to protect the employees and the public image of the public library. Frank's recommendation only included software to monitor who uses the computers but he is also looking into filtering systems. Bill feels that the longer we wait the more expensive the system will be. Joni asked Marsha how she feels. As she has stated, she professionally and philosophically does not agree with filtering because of all the valuable information it does block out. She also thinks we will have complaints from customers about this. Bill thinks we need a policy to allow valid research. Chuck asked Bill to add the word prudent to the motion. The vote was taken and carried unanimously. Marsha stated that she was very confused and wanted the Board to know that they have taken a major step in changing philosophy here at the library. Staff will need time to write new procedures and policies and have training in place for staff. Bill stated that the Board is doing it conceptually today and will implement it after staff had time to do these things. Marsha stated that people know how to get around filters. Ken asked a question regarding censorship. Bill stated that the staff will bring about a policy as to how it would be administrated. Rhea asked about the amount of staff time it would take to monitor and implement this. Marsha said it will take an enormous amount of staff time.
Marsha has written a draft of a new Computer Use Policy. It states that customers must have a library card to use library computers except the ones for the card catalog. This policy also means that customers who live outside the library district will have to purchase either a PLAC card or a non-resident card. Courtesy cards will be issued for customers outside of Madison County. This policy will not go into effect until the new software is in place and new procedures are ready. Bill Surbaugh complimented Marsha and the staff and stated he thought this new policy was most appropriate and he made a motion to accept it. Joni Brinkman seconded, motion carried unanimously.
There are 79 descriptive videos that were purchased in 1994 and 1995 that were not checked out through regular circulation nor through the Outreach program. Marsha recommends transferring ownership of these videos to the Madison County Chapter for the Blind. Paul Muething made a motion to accept this recommendation, Rhea Parshall seconded, carried unanimously.
Marsha stated there is no written agreement between Anderson Public Library and Ebbert Education Center for the Literacy program. Sarah Later has drafted this agreement. Bill Surbaugh moved that Marsha be authorized to sign this agreement on behalf of the library. Rhea Parshall seconded, motion carried.
President Lacey added 2 items to the agenda at this point. First, a report on Bixby's. Richard Gould is under Doctor's care and is not able to do anything for 2 weeks. Marsha still believes they are the best match for the café at the library and even though she knows this is very frustrating, she recommends they be given until the March 20 board meeting to move along. She believes the lease is ready to be signed and has been approved by both attorneys. Bill Surbaugh made a motion to accept Marsha's recommendation to either have a signed lease by the next board meeting or have it on the agenda to reopen it up for bids. Rhea Parshall seconded, motion carried. The next item added is a very short direction for health insurance, only meant to lay out information on the problem the board is facing. Bill Surbaugh reported that the insurance committee is working diligently on a proposal to present. Rhea expressed much concern over information received so far and expressed a desire to make sure staff needs are considered in the decision. There is still a lot of work to be done on this by the committee. Bill Surbaugh said he would be glad to answer any questions the board members may have. Marsha voiced concern from staff that, as taxpayers also, they would not want to help pay for the increased cost of insurance for other city/county workers and yet have our benefits cut. It is not just a matter of higher premiums, Aetna no longer offers the current policy we are under.
Sarah Later gave a report on Output Measures which were done in January this year due to renovation. She said the comment that sums up the work we do here is "Keep on keepin on". This report tells how good our collection is. Our fill rate for system total is 99% and the system satisfaction rate is 76%. Marsha commented that she was very proud of the staff and thought any business would be glad to have 76% of customers who were very satisfied. Rhea especially complimented the bookmobile staff for their customer service.
Linda Funk gave a report on the Human Resources Department. Chuck asked Linda to explain some of what Human Resources does. She said she keeps Personnel records, helps get staff hired, updates the handbook and does recommendations for policies. She represents Administration and staff. There was still a 40% turnover rate for staff in 2001. She reported that staff are very busy and wanted to brag on them. We had 43,800 customers in January with almost 7,000 items checked in/out. Rhea wanted to let staff know how much the Board appreciated all the hard work they do. Joni suggested doing lunch for them. Rhea, Joni, Stan and Paul will work on this possibility.
Marsha gave her Director's report with information on all departments. She reminded the Board that the Carnegie award nominations are due at next month's meeting. Rhea will contact the other Board members regarding their nomination. Renovation celebration will be held on Sunday, April 14. Board members should be getting ILF conference information in the mail. Please let Marsha know if you are interested in attending. Marsha also reported that since our business is so wonderful and statistics keep climbing, that we are at our limits with the current staffing. The amount of business is overwhelming for the current number of staff and Marsha will be asking for more staff in next year's budget. Stan, Joni and Rhea all agreed that this should be a priority. Stan also said he would like to see more progress being made at the Lapel Branch in staffing and services. Marsha said the Build Indiana Funds are targeted for technology updates at Lapel. Renovation is still moving right along but is not finished. There is no time contract but Montgomery's will not authorize payment until it is completed. Marsha is sure it will be done by the April 14 celebration.
Being no comments from the floor, Bill Surbaugh made a motion to adjourn. Seconded by Rhea Parshall, meeting adjourned at 6:35 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Secretary,
Anderson Public Library Board of Trustees
____________________________________________________________________
ANDERSON CITY, ANDERSON, STONY CREEK AND UNION TOWNSHIPS
PUBLIC LIBRARY
BOARD OF TRUSTEES MEETING
MARCH 20, 2002
The Board of Trustees of the Anderson City, Anderson, Stony Creek and Union Townships Public Library held their regular monthly meeting Wednesday, March 20, 2002, at 4:15 p.m. in the Board Room of the Main Library, 111 East 12th Street, Anderson Indiana 46016.
Trustees present: Bill Surbaugh, Rhea Parshall, Chuck Lacey, Stan Kilburn, Paul Muething, Joni Brinkman, Ann Teague
Staff attending: Marsha Grove, Director
Sarah Later, Assistant Director
Tonya Carman, Business Office Manager
Lova Gay, Recording Secretary
Linda Funk, Human Resources Manager
Sheila Love, Technical Services
Frank Lucas, Computer Services Manager
Alice Milley, Technical Services Manager
Leota Jones, Technical Services
Anita Fuller, Circulation Services
Martha Green, Circulation Services
Becky Gremes, Page Coordinator
Edra Waterman, Reference Services
Nathan Schwartz, Computer Services
Elaine Mathews, Reference Manager
Melanie Johnson, Extension Services Manager
Others attending: Ken de la Bastide, Herald Bulletin,
Bill Jenkins
Elliott Smith, Daily Grind
Perry Knox, Rax Restaurant
President Chuck Lacey called the meeting to order. He announced that there would be an Executive Session added at the end of the meeting. Rhea gave Ann Teague a gift certificate from the Board for a Rose of Sharon bush in memory of her father who passed away recently.
The first item on the agenda was the approval of the minutes of the meeting held on February 20, 2002. A motion was made by Paul Muething and seconded by Rhea Parshall to approve these minutes. Motion carried.
Chuck Lacey mentioned a letter he had received from the Citizens for Community Values group thanking the library board for taking a stand against pornography by insuring that filters will be used on library computers.
Rhea Parshall has examined the bills and found them to be in order subject to an outside audit and made a motion to approve these claims for payment. Joni Brinkman seconded. There were a few questions regarding the claims. Stan Kilburn asked about claim # 2581 for business furniture. This was for tables and chairs bought with money encumbered from the Friends. Bill Surbaugh asked about the $3,682.36 billing from Indiana Libraries. This is for our unemployment pool. Chuck asked about the bill from INCOLSA. This is for our cataloging. Motion to pay the bills as published carried unanimously.
Bill Surbaugh made a motion to accept the Resolution Relative to Advance Draw in order to get our tax money in advance. Joni Brinkman seconded, motion carried.
Bill Surbaugh made a motion to accept the LSTA Grant Resolution. This would authorize Marsha or Chuck to sign the contract with the State for that grant. Joni Brinkman seconded the motion , carried. This is a $10,000 reimbursable grant to upgrade servers. Along with that, Marsha asked for permission to move this $10,000 from the operating budget into LIRF so we can pay for that equipment. Marsha does not anticipate needing to move any more money right now. A motion was made by Bill Surbaugh and seconded by Rhea Parshall to transfer this money. Carried.
Since Doug Nelson is no longer a member of the Board it is necessary to change the names of people on the signature cards at the bank. Marsha recommends having Rhea Parshall and Chuck Lacey on these cards. This would allow them access to the safety deposit box and the bank accounts. A motion was made by Paul Muething seconded by Bill Surbaugh to accept this resolution. Motion carried.
The next item on the agenda was the renewal of the health insurance. Joni Brinkman and Bill Surbaugh serve on the Insurance Advisory committee and gave the following report. Joni Brinkman shared a worksite wellness program that is used at Community Hospital. The goal of this program is to go from being reactive to being pro active with staff's health care. The committee will bring a recommendation to the Board for this program. The Board would recommend a monetary bonus for staff who decrease their risk factors. Bill Surbaugh stated that the library is facing a premium increase of 40%. Our loss ratio is 124.9%. Aetna (the current provider) was the only company willing to give the library a firm quote. Companies have to look at us as a group in order to get the whole picture. We need to find a way to correct the loss ratio problem in order to protect our health insurance. The library has 16.75% of its budget dedicated to pay health insurance. With the new policy some of the changes will be; no cut in the breath of coverage, a $500 deductible per person capped at $1500 per family per year and an 80/20 payment. The recommendation is to increase the amount in the budget for insurance from $280,564 to $316,064 which would cover one half of the premium increase. He also recommends implementing the wellness program and putting a 5% cap per year for the next 4 years on the portion of increase that the library would be responsible for absorbing. Rhea Parshall expressed concern about finding $71,000 in the budget. Bill said this would be split between the library and the staff. The main thing we need to do for a reduction in the premium is bring down the amount of claims. The board expressed regrets about having to raise the employees share but also mentioned that this problem is happening everywhere, not just at APL. Stan asked how often we could get a claims report from Aetna. Tonya said we can only get one 2 times a year. It was the consensus of the board that implementing the wellness program would not only lower claims but would be incentive for staff to improve the quality of their own health. The recommendation of the insurance committee would be to accept the Aetna proposal of the new plan (the old plan no longer exists) with the $500 deductible and the 80/20 library/staff payment. Joni mentioned that she was concerned about staff paying more each pay period. Marsha reminded the board that the premium was already raised in January from 10% to 15% for staff. Paul Muething asked if it would be possible to somehow find the $71,000 this year and then put a cap on the amount of payment in the future and implement the wellness program to hopefully decrease costs. Marsha was asked for her comments. She thanked Bill and Joni for their hard work on the insurance committee. She stated that from the information she has gathered the library pays much lower premiums than the school system, city or county taxing entities. Marsha feels the Board needs to work as diligently as possible to keep the employee's share as low as possible. She reminded the Board that we are still under the maximum taxing rate. She recommends taking the money from the operating balance and that next year the Board approve taxing at the maximum levy. Marsha feels the 5% cap on the insurance increase might jeopardize keeping staff if their increase is too high. At this point Bill and Joni modified their recommendation. He proposes taking the $35,500 out of the operating budget and $35,500 out of the operating balance. Their proposal is as follows; add $35,500 to the $280,564 operating budget for a total of $316,064 and take the other $35,500 from the operating balance, implement a wellness program with appropriate incentives and put a 5% cap on health care costs for the next 4 years. Bill Surbaugh made a motion to accept this health plan. Joni Brinkman seconded the motion. Rhea Parshall asked if there was some flexibility in where the $70,000 will be taken from. Bill Surbaugh said that priorities will be looked at in the budget before cuts are made. Marsha stated there is not $35,000 extra in the budget. If we have to reduce the budget she will have to cut services. Stan Kilburn said we need to protect the employees. President Lacey thanked Bill and Joni for their time and effort serving on the committee. Marsha stated that she will expect the Board's support when services are cut. The vote was taken. The motion carried with Rhea Parshall abstaining from voting.
The next item on the agenda was the appointment of the Personnel and Budget committees. President Lacey has decided to combine these two committees into one. He appointed Stan Kilburn, chair, Bill Surbaugh and Paul Muething to this committee.
Joni Brinkman made a motion to approve the Resolution pertaining to the Executive Session held February 20, 2002. Stan Kilburn seconded, carried.
Since Bixby's has declined to sign the lease for the café it is necessary to advertise a Request for Proposal again. The Board would like for Marsha to call the downtown restaurant owners to let them know we are going out again for bid. If the Board has any suggestions for someone to contact please call Marsha and let her know. Joni Brinkman made a motion to advertise the Request for Proposal and make appropriate notifications to interested people. Rhea Parshall seconded the motion. Elliott Smith from the Daily Grind Café asked what purpose a café in the library would serve and stated that he can provide the same services. Perry Knox from Rax asked if the lease would be identical to the one proposed to Bixby's. Marsha stated it would be worked on individually with the selected company. Perry also stated that the downtown restaurant owners still do not want a restaurant in the library funded with taxpayer money. Ken de la Bastide asked what the library would do if they did not receive any proposals this time, would they abandon the idea or go out for bid another time. Marsha said that would have to be discussed if it happened. Chuck Lacey stated that as a member of the Board he would think it would go out for bid again. The vote was taken with Stan Kilburn opposing. Motion carried.
A motion was made by Rhea Parshall and seconded by Joni Brinkman that Dr. J. Douglas Nelson be given the Carnegie Award for his 16 years of service to the Board and his dedication to the library and the community. Motion carried unanimously. This award will be given to Doug at the April meeting.
Next on the agenda was the paying of ILF and ALA dues. These dues are based on each library's budget. The bill to ALA is $1615 this year. The benefits from ALA is a 10% discount on all books published by them, we receive many library journals, and they also sponsor several library conferences. ILF is funded by public libraries in Indiana. Last year's dues were $3400. They also provide many of the same benefits as ALA. They lobby the State Legislation on bills effecting public libraries. Bill Surbaugh feels the library should not be so supportive of institutions who have taken the stand on filtering that is against what our community wants. How do we express our ideas to them? He feels they should be helping libraries solve this problem and they also should be helping us with our automation consortium. There was no motion against the payment of these bills.
Marsha has written a revision to the new Computer Use Policy. She has found out that we cannot require a library card for people to use the public computers since they were funded with grant money. We can require they have identification. It is alright to request that customers have a library card to take computer classes. A motion to accept this revision was made by Joni Brinkman. It was seconded by Stan Kilburn, motion carried.
Frank Lucas gave a brief summary of how much thin screen computers save on electricity. His analysis stated that in a 5-year period the library would save $3,249 by using 20 thin screen monitors instead of regular ones. He feels that buying thin screens with our new computers is a very cost effective thing to do. There was no action needed by the Board.
Alice Milley's report on INCOLSA was tabled until the April meeting.
Marsha reminded everyone of the Renovation Celebration Sunday, April 14 at 2:00.
Being no comments from the floor, Joni Brinkman made a motion to adjourn. Seconded by Rhea Parshall, meeting adjourned at 6:10 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Secretary, Anderson Public Library Board of Trustees
____________________________________________________________________
Minutes of the Regular Monthly Meeting of the
Anderson City, Anderson, Stony Creek and Union Townships Public Library Board of Trustees
April 17, 2002
Trustees Present
Charles Lacey, President
Joni Brinkman, Vice President
Ann Teague, Secretary
Rhea Parshall, Treasurer
Paul Muething
Bill Surbaugh
Trustees Absent
Stan Kilburn
Staff Present
Marsha Grove, Library Director
Sarah Later, Assistant Director
Lova Gay, Recording Secretary
Tonya Carman, Business Office Manager
Alice Milley, Technical Services Manager
Others Present
Jim Freeman, Library Attorney
Ken de la Bastide, Herald-Bulletin
Michael House, Daily Grind
Elliott Smith, Daily Grind
Susan Mak, Golden House
Perry Knox, Rax
Doug Nelson
Karen Nelson
Wanda Mitchell, Secretary, Friends of the Library
President Lacey called the meeting to order at 4:15 p.m. in the Board Room of the library.
A motion was made by Joni Brinkman and seconded by Bill Surbaugh to approve the minutes of the meeting held March 20, 2002 as circulated. Motion carried unanimously.
President Lacey presented the 2002 Carnegie Award to Dr. J. Douglas Nelson. Doug was appointed by the Anderson Community Schools Corporation and served on the library board for 16 years. He was on the Board during the move to this building, the disappearance of the card catalog, starting of the AV department, the advancement of technology, the initiation of the Literacy and RSVP programs, and the recently completed renovation of the main building.
The Board expressed condolences to Bill Surbaugh on the recent death of his father.
Rhea Parshall has examined the bills and found them to be in order subject to an outside audit and made a motion to accept the claims for payment. Joni Brinkman seconded the motion. Bill Surbaugh wondered if the claim to Eden's is the last payment to be made for renovation. Marsha said that Montgomery's will not release the last claim for payment until the punch list is finished. Marsha did say there should be some money left to put into the operating balance. Bill also asked about the bill to Wyatt Electric. This was for electrical work that was done in the new book area which was paid for out of encumbered money. Chuck commented how nice that area looks. Marsha said she is constantly getting compliments about the library. Jim Freeman said he had talked to someone who wanted to compliment Marsha and the staff for such a nice facility and for having a wheelchair available for his wife to use. The vote was taken to approve the bills. Bill Surbaugh stated he will be voting to approve the bills with the exception of dues for ILF and ALA. He said that he, in good conscience, could not vote for the payment of these because of their lack of support in the filtering issue. Motion to pay the bills carried by majority.
Marsha presented a proposal recommending dropping health insurance coverage for all early retirees (ages 60-65). Early retirees are eligible for 18 months of coverage through COBRA at full cost. Ann wondered about long term disability coverage. This is a separate plan than the health insurance. Bill Surbaugh made a motion to approve this proposal from the director. Joni Brinkman seconded, motion carried.
A motion was made by Bill Surbaugh and seconded by Rhea Parshall to accept the Resolution of the Executive Session held March 20 pertaining to personnel. Rhea Parshall seconded, motion carried.
There was one café proposal received from Guy Pfanz. Ken de la Bastide asked why the proposal has not been made public. President Lacey said the Board needed time to study the proposal before any action was taken. He appointed a café committee of Paul Muething, chair, Rhea Parshall, and Bill Surbaugh and asked them to make a report at the next meeting. The Board is not prepared to vote on the proposal at this meeting.
Perry Knox asked if the café committee would be open to having a meeting with restaurant owners. Paul Muething asked him to provide a list of people for him to contact. Elliott Smith, owner of the Daily Grind, said he felt like he was excluded from making a bid because of certain parameters the request for proposal had.
Marsha gave a report on Unique Management. This is a debt collection agency that only deals with libraries. In 2001 there were 1,414 customers with lost materials totaling $131,000 and over $23,000 in overdue fees. The company charges $8.95 per name they contact. After a customer owes $25 or more to the library their name will be turned over to Unique Management. If the matter is not resolved after the customer is contacted by them with 2 letters and 2 phone calls the account will be reported to the credit bureau. They ask the customer to contact the library and all money collected will come here. The library can get a 90 day trial module from Epixtech. The company also has skip tracing so they can locate people out of state. There is an agreement to sign but it can be cancelled with a 60 day notice. The library will set up payment plans with customers. A motion was made by Paul Muething and seconded by Ann Teague to try the 90 day trial and go from there. Motion carried unanimously.
Alice Milley gave a report on INCOLSA. Some of the services they provide are cataloging, bibliographic records, reference databases, they manage our unemployment compensation pool, volume discount buying for supplies, training for staff, INSPIRE, and the wheels service between Indiana libraries. She also gave a report on the Technical Services Department. She is very please with the work her staff does. In the first 3 months of 2002 they have processed 16,593 items for the collection.
Wanda Mitchell, Secretary of the Friends, gave a report from Jayne Smith, Friend's President. Jayne wanted to thank the library and the Director and her staff for all the help they give the Friends and for such a nice area for their book store. Marsha said the library is very grateful to the Friends for all of their hard work and all the money they have given for programming.
Marsha gave her Director's report with information on all departments. She has some budget concerns she wanted to share with the Board. Two examples are increases in the amount of trash which will result in twice a week trash pickup and the number of the monthly calendar of events (@ Your Library) mailings has doubled which results in being over budget on the cost of printing and postage. This is a great concern to Marsha and Michelle Crowe, Manager of Community Relations because this is the one way we can get our name out to a lot of people. They have decided to now only print and mail it every 2 months. These increases are a direct result of more business. There are also some State funding problems that could effect next year's budget such as INSPIRE funding (about $100,000) and our T1 line funding ($16,500 annually). Marsha also gave a report on lapsed salaries. There is a total of $17,681.51 currently in lapsed salaries. She does not want to move this money into the materials budget at this time. Since there is $35,000 in increased health insurance costs to be paid for out of this year's budget Marsha would like to leave the lapsed salaries alone until the end of the year. Bill agreed that there was no need to take action at this time but it was the consensus of the Board to still receive the lapsed salaries report quarterly. Chuck commented that he appreciated Michelle Crowe's effort in helping him with the Carnegie Award and Rhea also complimented her on the Judith Viorst visit.
There were no comments from the floor. A motion was made by Rhea Parshall and seconded by Bill Surbaugh to adjourn. Meeting adjourned at 5:45 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Secretary, Anderson Public Library
Board of Trustees
____________________________________________________________________
Minutes of the Regular Monthly Meeting of the
Anderson City, Anderson, Stony Creek and Union Townships Public Library Board of Trustees
May 15, 2002
Trustees Present
Charles Lacey, President
Joni Brinkman, Vice President
Ann Teague, Secretary
Rhea Parshall, Treasurer
Paul Muething, Bill Surbaugh, Stan Kilburn
Trustees Absent
None
Staff Present
Marsha Grove, Library Director
Sarah Later, Assistant Director
Lova Gay, Recording Secretary
Tonya Carman, Business Office Manager
Judy Kratzner, RSVP Coordinator
Melanie Johnson, Extension Services Manager
Others Present
Jim Freeman, Library Attorney
Ken de la Bastide, Herald-Bulletin
Elliott Smith, Daily Grind
Perry Knox, Rax
Paul Baylor, Attorney
President Lacey called the meeting to order at 4:15 p.m. in the Board Room of the library.
A motion was made by Paul Muething and seconded by Joni Brinkman to approve the minutes of the meeting held April 17, 2002 as circulated. Motion carried unanimously.
Rhea Parshall has examined the bills and found them to be in order subject to an outside audit and made a motion to accept the claims for payment. Joni Brinkman seconded the motion. Chuck Lacey wondered what it means if we are already at 100% of budget on a line item. It usually means that item is something that is paid once a year and it is actually more than is budgeted. Professional Services is over budget because of temporary salaries being paid out of it. Lapsed salaries will be moved to cover this line item later this year. Jim Freeman wondered what the gift fund line item is. This is the money received from the Friends of the Library for programming. Bill Surbaugh asked if there were any flat screen monitors bought from Gateway. Marsha said yes, they were bought for Lapel and Children's. She also said we keep the old monitors to use for back-ups. Bill commented that even with the energy savings, we would need to keep these flat screened monitors for at least 5-10 years to break even. Ann asked if we ever sell computers. Marsha stated that computers go outdated so fast that the Friends can't sell them. Motion to pay the bills carried.
Bill Surbaugh presented a report on a Wellness Program for staff. The Community Hospital network made a proposal for the library on a testing and screening program that will be done on site and the employee will have immediate reports on these tests. This includes a lipid profile, blood pressure screening, body mass index screening, health risk appraisal, and personal risk analysis and group summary reports from them. The employee will be given a written report and counseling regarding problems they may have. This is all confidential. The library will receive aggregate information to see if there are certain trends among staff. This will be a cost of $32.50 per full time library staff yearly. Part-time staff and family members of all staff would be entitled to get the same testing done but they would have to pay the $32.50. Bill Surbaugh made a motion to adopt the Community Hospital Network Health Promotion Program with the library paying for all full-time employees. Rhea Parshall seconded the motion. Joni Brinkman mentioned that they also talked about monetary incentives for staff who improve their health risk factors. Stan asked if Bill thought this would help with health insurance costs when it comes time to renew. It will add to the claims issue hopefully by decreasing claims. Motion to accept this proposal carried by majority. Joni Brinkman abstained from voting.
Marsha made a recommendation to transfer the art prints that we no longer circulate to the Friends. She recommends having a sealed bid sale. There will be a minimum price on each print. Marsha will help facilitate this with them. The prints are in very good shape and Marsha thinks they will sell quite well. She may use some of them to hang in the building. A motion was made by Bill Surbaugh and seconded by Rhea Parshall to accept Marsha's recommendation. Motion carried. Bill Surbaugh said the Board should thank the Friends for all the money they put into the gift fund. Ken asked if they would be on display and when the sale would be. Marsha said yes they would be on display in the Friends area. There has been no date set but it will probably be sometime in June.
The Internet Acceptable Use Policy has been updated. A simplified policy has also been created for the children's computers. Chuck Lacey asked how this information will reach customers. They will have to click on the I accept button to access the Internet. Bill Surbaugh asked if the policy as written states that the library has the right to monitor use. Jim Freeman said there is no expectation of privacy in a public area so we can check. The sign in software will be in operation starting May 28. Bill thinks we need to be alert regarding the borrowing of cards in order to access the Internet and take classes. There has not been many changes to the policy, the main thing done was to meet the CIPA law and to inform customers that filters have been installed but they cannot monitor everything that is being accessed. Chuck asked if we can state that the library reserves the right to monitor the use of the computers. Marsha wants to avoid hanging signs on the wall or by the computers. She feels that does not create a friendly atmosphere. Joni Brinkman made a motion to accept the revised Internet Acceptable Use Policy with the statement "the library reserves the right to monitor all use of the computers" added to the top of the page. Bill Surbaugh seconded, motion carried unanimously.
Paul Muething gave a report from the café committee. The committee met with the downtown restaurant owners and listened to their concerns. The committee also met with Guy Pfanz and talked about his experience in the café business. They told Mr. Pfanz what the library expected from a café. Rick and Paula Schwartz who are partners of Mr. Pfanz, are waiting for a report on their application for financing and then they would like to discuss a lease. Ken asked if the public was going to find out what the proposal will be. Chuck Lacey said that the lease is in a negotiation phase. Mr. Muething wanted to make sure the public understood that the library would not be funding the café. Mr. Baylor asked if there was an affirmative action clause in the request for proposal. He said that was a concern that had been brought up to him. Jim Freeman said there was not one in the current request. He would check on that and advise Mr. Baylor accordingly. The first proposal Mr. Pfanz submitted was not accepted. It is the goal of the committee to bring an answer on the lease to the next meeting. Ken asked if the café in Huntington has been opened yet. It is Marsha's understanding it is to open in late May.
Judy Kratzner gave a report on RSVP. They have finished their directory of service providers. Marianne Cochran has taken the position of Judy's assistant in the office. All the grant money for RSVP is direct deposited. Judy and Tonya will attend a workshop on utilization of this money this summer. RSVP has volunteers in over 100 volunteer stations with volunteer hours totaling over 31,000. The Board complimented Judy on the directory. The library's contribution to the program is in kind services. Judy said that RSVP provides $6,000 to $8,000 in services to the community annually. APL is the only library that houses an RSVP program. Chuck commented how he thought Judy and Marsha have done a wonderful job to improve this program.
Marsha gave her Director's report with information on all departments. She reported that there was a 27% increase in circulation for the month of April, the highest increase in APL history. She has moved a full time circulation staff person to the reference department to work the AV desk. One of the full time reference staff is going to part time and one of the reference librarians is leaving so there will be an opening there. That is a concern because the recruiting of librarians is becoming more difficult. She feels like she is juggling staff to fill customer needs. Her and Linda have made the decision not to advertise in the Indy Star for the MLS positions in order to save money. Michelle Crowe has written a grant to the Community Foundation to fund a program where the whole community is reading the same book. She has titled this program "On the Same Page". We have partnered with the other county libraries to do this. Marsha reminded the Board that the meeting next month is in Lapel. Stan had a question about the large housing development going up in Green Township which is close to Lapel. He wondered if a church in Lapel has a daycare in this new development would the bookmobile service it? Marsha said not if the building is not in our district. Marsha has some concerns also about this new housing development. We are already getting several new customers from Pendleton at Lapel and she is worried about the demands on staff and the branch that this might bring.
Chuck asked for comments from the floor. Mr. Paul Baylor stated that it is the belief of his clients, Perry Knox and Elliot Smith, that the bids for café should be reopened. Bill Surbaugh asked Jim Freeman if we needed to do this. Mr. Freeman stated that it wasn't necessary until this proposal is decided upon. If we do not decide to accept this proposal it will once again go out for bid.
A motion was made by Bill Surbaugh and seconded by Joni Brinkman to adjourn. Meeting adjourned at 5:47 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Secretary, Anderson Public Library
Board of Trustees
____________________________________________________________________
Minutes of the Regular Monthly Meeting of the
Anderson City, Anderson, Stony Creek and Union Townships Public Library Board of Trustees
June 19, 2002
Trustees Present
Charles Lacey, President
Ann Teague, Secretary
Rhea Parshall, Treasurer
Paul Muething, Bill Surbaugh, Stan Kilburn
Trustees Absent
Joni Brinkman, Vice President
Staff Present
Marsha Grove, Library Director
Sarah Later, Assistant Director
Lova Gay, Recording Secretary
Tonya Carman, Business Office Manager
Nancy Lee, Lapel Branch Manager
Others Present
Jim Freeman, Library Attorney
Ken de la Bastide, Herald-Bulletin
President Lacey called the meeting to order at 4:15 p.m. at the Lapel Branch.
A motion was made by Rhea Parshall and seconded by Bill Surbaugh to approve the minutes of the meeting held May 15, 2002 as circulated. Motion carried unanimously.
Rhea Parshall has examined the bills and found them to be in order subject to an outside audit and made a motion to accept the claims for payment. Bill Surbaugh seconded the motion. Paul Muething wondered about the charge to the Credit Union Card Center. This is the Corporate Visa Card through Madison County Federal Credit Union. He also wondered what the purpose of the scanner is. This is used by the Community Relations Office to scan pictures into newsletters, brochures, etc. Bill Surbaugh asked about claim #25178 for business furniture. This is for the café tables and chairs and will be paid from Friend's money. Motion to pay the bills carried unanimously.
President Lacey added an item to the agenda. The Board wanted to go on record with a comment about the newspaper article that appeared in the Herald Bulletin on June 4, 2002 with the headline "Library pleased that court strikes down porn filters". He stated that this was a poorly done article and it was not reflective of the Board of Trustees. Bill Surbaugh agreed.
The next item on the agenda was the review of the Board of Trustees By-Laws. A motion was made by Bill Surbaugh and seconded by Rhea Parshall to reaffirm these existing by-laws. There was a question about consecutive terms served being and the number of times an office can be held. The number of terms served is covered by State Law and there is no limit to number of times an office can be held. Motion carried unanimously.
The Anderson Fine Arts Center has expressed an interest in three of the fine art prints that the library own. They are "Running Late" by Don Austin, and two by Ruthven Byrum, a landscape (untitled) and a snow scene. Since these are local artists Marsha made a recommendation to transfer these art prints to them. A motion was made by Rhea Parshall and seconded by Bill Surbaugh to accept Marsha's recommendation. Bill Surbaugh wondered how the library acquired these prints. Some were donated and , some purchased. Motion carried unanimously. There are 2 fine art prints, "Moose Hunters" and "Brookville Landscape" Marsha recommends keeping in the library but they do need to be refurbished. The appraiser estimated this would cost about $4,000. There are 12 pieces of fine art left that Marsha recommends having Dennis Jackson hold an open auction to sell. Rhea Parshall made a motion to allow Marsha to set up this auction with the proceeds to stay with the library. Bill Surbaugh seconded the motion. Paul Muething asked where the 2 prints that will be repaired will be hung. Marsha said they would be in a public area so our customers can enjoy them. Jim Freeman said he thought it would be good public relations to write letters to Anderson University, the Byrum family and the Church of God offices to let them know of the auction. Motion to approve the auction carried. A couple recently donated 4 pieces of artwork to the library, including a Salvador Dali print, with the intention they be sold and the money received be used by the library. The couple suggested they be sold on e-Bay. Jim Freeman suggested contacting an art dealer in Indianapolis. Bill Surbaugh made a motion to give Marsha permission to sell these 4 prints as a group or individually at her discretion. Ann Teague seconded, carried.
A motion was made by Bill Surbaugh and seconded by Rhea Parshall to have the 2 paintings repaired. The intent of the motion is to pay for this from the sale of the other prints. Motion carried unanimously. The library also owns a 1938 Howe fire truck which Marsha also suggests selling. Jim Freeman said this was donated to the library by Delco Remy when they did away with their in-house fire department. The Board thought Marsha should contact the Anderson Fire Department. Jim Freeman thought the Children's Museum in Indianapolis or John Gambs in Fort Wayne also might be interested. A motion was made by Bill Surbaugh that Marsha contact local organizations to determine interest in this fire truck and bring a recommendation back to the Board for further action. The Board does desire that no one get possession of it in order to make a profit, if it is going to be resold, ownership reverts back to the library. Ann Teague seconded this motion. Motion carried unanimously.
A motion was made by Paul Muething and seconded by Rhea Parshall to close the library May 16, 2003 for Staff Development Day. Motion carried unanimously.
Paul Muething gave a report from the café committee. There were 2 proposals received, one from the new owners of Bixby's and one from William Hullinger who is an Anderson University student. The committee will meet within the next 2 weeks to review these proposals. Ken asked when the proposals will be open to public inspection. He said that at the last board meeting it was stated that the proposals would be available. Bill Surbaugh said that the proposals should be public records but he feels that these are applications, not proposals. Paul asked Ken what specifics he was wanting to see. Ken said he would like to know how much they are willing to pay for the space. Bill Surbaugh feels the amount of money bid should be confidential until the lease is signed. Ken asked what the library parameters are for amount of rent. Paul said the Board only wants something that is successful for the library and also successful for the vendor. The committee will bring more information to the July meeting.
Stan Kilburn gave a report from the budget committee. The committee has met with each other and also with Marsha. The revenue for 2003 won't be known until the end of June. The committee wants to have all information available to them by July 10 so they can meet again before the July 17 board meeting. The Board must advertise the budget and the levy in July. Stan said if any of the Board members has concerns about the budget they should call one of the committee members before July 10. Marsha shared concerns she has about this year's budget process. She feels the library is at a critical point in making a difference in the future of our community. She would like permission to give a presentation to the Board at the July meeting regarding budgetary needs of the library. Rhea Parshall also voiced concern over the fact that there has been no discussion between the Budget Committee and Administration regarding the needs of the library. Jim Freeman said there might be a need for public input about services and/or an Executive Session to discuss staffing issues. There needs to be quite a bit of time dedicated to the budget at the July meeting.
Nancy Lee gave a report on services at the Lapel Branch. They host a lot of community groups in their meeting rooms. Comments from the public about their services are always very positive. They have a staff of 2 full time and 4 part time people. Their door count has increased 52% since 1999. Their program attendance is down but it is hard to get a blended interest in a small community and children's programming is only offered 1 day a week instead of at various times and days. Nancy is sure there will be growth in the community but it is hard to tell how much. The Board thanked Nancy for her report and for the hospitality received at the meeting.
Marsha gave her Director's report with information on all departments. There have been 3,600 bills sent to customers who have fines/fees owed. If there is no response these customers will be turned over to Unique Management for collection. There have been many items returned and owed balances paid. We have gone back one year with customers records and Unique Management does not recommend going back farther. APL has received $1,300 more than last year in PLAC money from the State Library this year. We are 3rd in total state distribution. Bill Surbaugh would like for ILF to encourage the State Library to increase the PLAC fee significantly.
Chuck asked for comments from the floor. Being none, a motion was made by Paul Muething and seconded by Ann Teague to adjourn. Meeting adjourned at 6:05 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Secretary, Anderson Public Library
Board of Trustees
____________________________________________________________________
Minutes of the Regular Monthly Meeting of the
Anderson City, Anderson, Stony Creek and Union Townships Public Library Board of Trustees
July 17, 2002
Trustees Present
Charles Lacey, President
Joni Brinkman, Vice President
Ann Teague, Secretary
Rhea Parshall, Treasurer
Paul Muething, Bill Surbaugh, Stan Kilburn
Trustees Absent
None
Staff Present
Marsha Grove, Library Director
Sarah Later, Assistant Director
Lova Gay, Recording Secretary
Tonya Carman,Business Office Manager
Melanie Johnson, Extension Services Manager
Michelle Crowe, Community Relations Manager
Elaine Mathews, Reference Services Manager
Linda Funk, Human Resources
Others Present
Jim Freeman, Library Attorney
Avon Waters, Herald-Bulletin
President Lacey called the meeting to order at 4:15 p.m. in the Board Room of the Main Building.
A motion was made by Paul Muething and seconded by Rhea Parshall to approve the minutes of the meeting held June 19, 2002 as circulated. Motion carried unanimously. Jim Freeman mentioned that John Gambs lives in Lafayette and not Fort Wayne. It was corrected. President Lacey added a report from the Café Committee to the agenda under Financial Matters.
Rhea Parshall has examined the bills and found them to be in order subject to an outside audit and made a motion to accept the claims for payment. Joni Brinkman seconded the motion. Paul Muething wondered what the charge to Caswell and Sons is for. This is an ongoing charge for the evening cleaning service. He wondered if the current staff would be able to do this work. Marsha explained that the current staff does much more than cleaning. Basically Caswell's does carpet sweeping and cleaning the public rest rooms. Bill Surbaugh asked about the claim for roof repair. This was to repair various leaks in the roof at the Extension Building. Bill also wondered about the claim for an extractor. We have bought a carpet cleaner so staff can clean the carpets instead of hiring it done. Motion to pay the bills carried unanimously.
Paul Muething gave a report from the Café Committee. He said one of the interested parties, William Hullinger, has asked to drop his proposal and the new owners of Bixby's has not provided the additional financial information requested. The committee proposes that the Board choose one of the following options; 1) re-open the request for proposal and give interested parties 60 to 90 days to respond 2) table the process for a time and then re-advertise or 3) explore an alternative use for the area. Marsha's understanding was that the new owners of Bixby's had until early August to provide their information. Paul then suggested that the Committee wait until early August to obtain this information and discuss this again at the August meeting.
The next item on the agenda was a report from Stan Kilburn, Chair of the Budget Committee. Stan thanked Paul, Bill, Marsha and her staff for all the work they have put into this effort. The committee has met several times and presented a proposal to Marsha with a tax levy of .2029. She then gave the committee a report on the needs of the library and convinced them that levy was too low. They re-evaluated their proposal and raised the tax rate increase from 3% to 5%. Stan then made a motion to advertise the tax levy for 2003 at .2066. Paul Muething seconded this motion. Joni asked if that number represented the information that was in the board packet. No, in the packet was Marsha's proposal of what she felt the library needs which is about a 7% increase. Bill Surbaugh said the committee's recommendation will enable the library to replenish the operating balance with what was taken out during renovation. Rhea Parshall is concerned about staff not being able to realize any pay increases with the 5% cap on our insurance premium increases and no more than a 3% cost of living raise. Bill Surbaugh thinks that with the new wellness incentives that staff are taking advantage of our insurance increase will be lower. Joni Brinkman disagreed with this. Rhea said the insurance question is just one small area. She feels that our library has done a marvelous job and hears all the time what a good thing we have going in the community. If we are so afraid to spend any money is the library going to become mediocre like the city of Anderson? Stan Kilburn said the library wants their employees to feel secure. Marsha said the maximum levy is $3,242,737 and the assessed valuation used is 95% of the current assessed valuation. Bill Surbaugh said again that as Board members they have a keen responsibility to the community and the 5% increase is 2-2 1/2% over the inflation rate. He said APL should be part of the solution to improve the quality of life in the community and not part of the problem by raising the tax rate and we should be willing to make some sacrifices. He also feels this is a significant compromise over the Committee's original recommendation. Rhea said she agrees that we owe something to the community and thinks it should be to provide the best library and the same quality of service. Paul mentioned that the 5% increase is higher than 4 of the last 5 years. Joni wondered how much less the
Budget Committee is recommending verses what Marsha recommends. Bill Surbaugh said it would be about $140,000 less. Stan feels Marsha needs to go over the budget to see what is actually necessary now and what might be needed in the future. He is not sure if 7 new employees is feasible when at one time we have 5 on leave. Maybe we could get by with 2 part time employees and re-evaluate the medical leave policy. Joni commented that there is nothing that can be done about FMLA, that it is Federal Law. Bill Surbaugh thinks the main issue is how much more do we want taxpayers to pay versus the needs of the library. He said the Budget Committee has worked very hard to balance this. He feels the library needs to prioritize its needs. Joni is concerned that we cannot meet the increase in demands with this proposed budget. Bill Surbaugh is confident we can. Rhea thinks there should be more compromise in the two figures presented. She stated that Marsha is here every day and knows what is needed to make the library successful. Stan said the committee spent hours working on these figures. Rhea said she wished the rest of the Board could have seen the Committee's figures before the meeting today so they could have reviewed them better. Rhea would like to see more of a compromise and Bill said they have already made a significant compromise. Rhea asked what services would have to be cut with the committee's proposed budget. Bill said he is confident we can provide the same services. Stan Kilburn said he had asked Marsha 4 times for input into the budget but got no positive answer back from her. He feels the committee did everything they could to talk about this with her and that didn't happen so they did the best they could to come up with a budget that would be fair to both the taxpayers and the library. Stan also said that the board members should have called someone on the committee if they had questions. Rhea said she is afraid we are going to lose good personnel. Bill Surbaugh said he thinks the library is average to above average on salaries. Marsha said it is hard to recruit people who want to move to Anderson. Rhea would like for the Board to advertise a little more than the committee's recommendation and then work hard to come down from that. Joni would like to see another $200,000 advertised. Marsha again mentioned that the current staff are working very, very hard at the maximum level they can do. Ann asked Marsha if she was sure she couldn't work with the proposed budget. Marsha stated she has delayed increases in staffing and done everything possible to keep from doing that but we have a 65% increase in growth. She feels that the board would get support from the community with a 7% increase. Bill Surbaugh again mentioned that the proposed budget increase is still higher than the inflation rate. The board cannot satisfy the needs of both the library and the community. Chuck wondered what will not get done if there is less money. The needs would have to be prioritized to see where cuts could be made. Paul said if we hired the 7 new part-time staff now we could discontinue the temporary positions. He also said Marsha does a fine job of running the library and but the committee feels the 5% is a very generous increase. President Lacey asked for final comments from the Board on the budget. There was more discussion along the same lines. The motion on the floor is to advertise a tax levy for 2003 at $3,061,612 with the advertised budget being $4,524,827. The vote was taken. There were 5 yea votes and 2 nay votes. Motion carried by majority. We also need to advertise a LIRF budget. Marsha is proposing putting $186,500 into the LIRF budget in 2003. The money would be spent on renovation for the rest of the 2nd floor (new carpet and paint), some new task chairs, new upholstery for furniture, and a new automation system. Bill Surbaugh made a motion to advertise a 2003 LIRF budget of $336,702. Paul Muething seconded, motion carried unanimously.
It was the consensus of the Board to approve the United Way Certification application that Sarah Later has prepared.
Sarah gave a brief overview of the 6 month accomplishments toward the 5 year plan.
Elaine Mathews gave a report on the Reference Department. She feels their job is to answer every information need of everyone. One of the trends in the Reference profession is "Collaborative Digital Reference" which is a network of libraries worldwide using software and profiles of expertise to pool their knowledge. Elaine would like to pursue doing this. The Board thanked Elaine for her report.
Marsha gave her Director's report with information on all departments. The sump pump in the sub basement will likely cost at least $5,000 to repair. The new sign-up software has meant more work on staff but keeps much better statistics on computer use. The number of uses has gone way up. The wellness screening for staff will be held July 31. There are 40 staff people and spouses currently signed up.
Chuck asked for comments from the floor. Being none, a motion was made by Rhea Parshall and seconded by Paul Muething to adjourn. Meeting adjourned at 6:45 p.m.
Respectfully submitted
Secretary, Anderson Public Library
Board of Trustees
____________________________________________________________________
Minutes of the Regular Monthly Meeting of the
Anderson City, Anderson, Stony Creek and Union Townships Public Library Board of Trustees
August 21, 2002
Trustees Present
Charles Lacey, President
Joni Brinkman, Vice President
Ann Teague, Secretary
Rhea Parshall, Treasurer
Paul Muething, Bill Surbaugh, Stan Kilburn
Trustees Absent
None
Staff Present
Marsha Grove, Library Director
Sarah Later, Assistant Director
Lova Gay, Recording Secretary
Tonya Carman, Business Office Manager
Frank Lucas, Computer Services Manager
Others Present
Jim Freeman, Library Attorney
Ken de la Bastide, Herald-Bulletin
President Lacey called the meeting to order at 4:15 p.m. in the Board Room of the Main Building. He read thank you cards from Stan and his wife for the flowers and a thank you card sent to Michelle Crowe from Pam Colletti thanking her for the information she gave her class reunion group.
A motion was made by Rhea Parshall and seconded by Joni Brinkman to approve the minutes of the meeting held July 17, 2002 as circulated. Motion carried unanimously.
Rhea Parshall has examined the bills and found them to be in order subject to an outside audit and made a motion to accept the claims for payment. Joni Brinkman seconded the motion. Ann Teague wondered about the leak that was in the south book drop room. The leak didn't come in around the new window or the foundation but actually came in through the brick. There will be more waterproofing done. Paul Muething asked about the charge for zig zag shelving. This is for additional shelving for the AV department which allows some of the DVDs and the videos to be displayed face out. He also wondered about the expense for Vendacards. This bill was to purchase more actual cards. Motion to pay the bills carried unanimously.
The surplus items in the basement have been inventoried by a volunteer and Marsha would like permission to go ahead with an auction. She would recommend getting Dennis Jackson to do this. Paul Muething made a motion to accept Marsha's recommendation and proceed with contacting Dennis Jackson. The motion was seconded by Rhea Parshall. Bill Surbaugh would like to save the chairs out of the old Carnegie Room. These were not on the list but Marsha will save them. Motion carried unanimously.
The Anderson Fine Arts Center has requested two more of the Byrum portraits. They are the ones of the woman in the red dress and the woman in the white dress. Bill Surbaugh made a motion to approve the transfer of these paintings. Paul Muething mentioned that we had paid the Fine Arts Center $100 for use of their facilities and asked Marsha if she could work out an exchange of services with them. This charge was for an RSVP program but Marsha will look into any future charges being waived. Joni Brinkman seconded the motion, carried. Bill Surbaugh then made a motion that the Director of the Fine Arts Center look at the items on the auction list and see if there is anything from the Carnegie Building she might be interested in. Joni Brinkman seconded this motion, carried.
Paul Muething gave a brief report from the café committee. They are still communicating with the owners of Bixby's. There has been some financial information given from them so far but the committee needs to meet again to see if this is enough information.
Next on the agenda is the meeting room policy and the staff card policy. The meeting room letters will be sent in September for 2003 reservations so the new policy needs to be approved before those letters are sent. Some of the new items are; library staff are not able to help meeting room groups carry in items, library carts cannot be used, the library will not create publicity for any groups, a $100 fee for early entry and a $10 fee for same-day equipment requests. There was some discussion about charging all groups for the use of the meeting rooms but this is not feasible since part of the library's mission is to be a community meeting place. Bill Surbaugh recommends getting a certificate of insurance from each group that meets here. None of the not-for-profit groups would have this form. Jim Freeman said we are covered with our liability insurance. After much discussion on this issue it was determined that it might be better to get certificates of insurance from the for-profit groups only. It was decided the best way to do things, in order to get the letters out as soon as possible, was to add the sentence "This policy is subject to modification at the discretion of the library" to the policy and ask the Insurance Advisory Committee to make a recommendation about the insurance certificates. A motion was made by Bill Surbaugh and seconded by Rhea Parshall to approve the meeting room policy with the recommended changes.
Marsha also recommends updating the Staff Card Policy. She feels staff should be held to a higher level than the public in taking responsibility for lost and/or damaged materials. The new policy explains in more detail the expectations for staff who have charges against them. A motion was made by Rhea Parshall and seconded by Bill Surbaugh to approve these changes. Motion carried unanimously.
Frank Lucas gave a report on the Computer Services Department. He said that all the statistics are higher in this area too, visits to the Technology Center, telephone assists, and technical assists have all skyrocketed lately. He told the Board of the impact this has had on the personnel in his department. In the last few months they have installed 36 new computers in the Main Building, met the Board's target dates for the installation of Cybrarian, and the sonic wall internet filtering system. There has been a lot of reorganization done in the department with renovation such as moving all the equipment such as servers and routers into the office, moving the Systems Administrator to the department, and doing all the planning to keep the library up-to-date with the latest equipment. In July, 2 staff members left. Frank was very grateful to the volunteer who devoted so much time to helping with classes. Even so, the rest of the staff fell way behind. They are still much behind in upgrading the current server. There have been 2 new staff people hired but they are not used to the system yet and it will take time for them to learn. All the advances in technology are really difficult to keep up with while servicing the 157 computers in the library system. He feels it is a must to hire additional staff to be able to continue to give good customer service to the public by staying caught up with all theses changes. Rhea Parshall complimented him on the wonderful job he is doing. Chuck Lacey asked Frank how many additional staff he would need. Frank said he could use 2 or 3 more. Would it be more cost effective to have outside businesses to step in? Frank said they have looked into this and their charge is around $150 per hour just to diagnose the problem and more to fix the problem. It is much better to have staff members who can do these things.
Marsha gave her Director's report with information on all departments. The increases in all services in the library just keep getting bigger. She is Secretary for the Indiana Public Library Association and she has been appointed to the Indiana Library Federation Legislative Committee. She handed out a brochure about INSPIRE which are several databases that is paid for by the State. The Build Indiana Funds have been taken away and Marsha has encouraged everyone to talk to their Legislators about this. If APL has to pay for this program it would cost us around $8,000 a year to subscribe. She is working with the Director of Muncie Public Library on a sample agreement for a shared automation system. She hopes to bring an agreement to the Board in October.
Chuck asked for comments from the floor. Being none, a motion was made by Joni Brinkman and seconded by Rhea Parshall to adjourn. Meeting adjourned at 6:02 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Secretary, Anderson Public Library
Board of Trustees
____________________________________________________________________
Minutes of the Regular Monthly Meeting of the
Anderson City, Anderson, Stony Creek and Union Townships Public Library Board of Trustees
September 18, 2002
Trustees Present
Charles Lacey, President
Joni Brinkman, Vice President
Ann Teague, Secretary
Rhea Parshall, Treasurer
Bill Surbaugh, Stan Kilburn
Trustees Absent
Paul Muething
Staff Present
Marsha Grove,Library Director
Sarah Later,Assistant Director
Lova Gay, Recording Secretary
Tonya Carman, Business Office Manager
Linda Funk, Human Resources
Melanie Johnson, Extension Services Manager
Becky Gremes, Circulation Services
Others Present
Jim Freeman, Library Attorney
Ken de la Bastide, Herald-Bulletin
3 students from Anderson University
President Lacey called the meeting to order at 4:15 p.m. in the Board Room of the Main Building. He added 2 items to the agenda under other action items; the transfer of items to the Fine Arts Center and transfer of lapsed salaries.
There was an incorrect amount on the minutes that were circulated of the public hearing on the 2003 budget. The correct amount of the LIRF budget that was advertised is $336,702. This amount was corrected on the minutes that are signed by the Board Secretary. A motion was made by Joni Brinkman and seconded by Ann Teague to approve the minutes of the public hearing held August 21, 2002 as corrected. Motion carried unanimously. A motion was made by Rhea Parshall and seconded by Joni Brinkman to approve the minutes of the regular meeting held August 21, 2002. Motion to approve these minutes as circulated carried unanimously.
Rhea Parshall has examined the bills and found them to be in order subject to an outside audit and made a motion to accept the claims for payment. Joni Brinkman seconded the motion. Bill Surbaugh asked about the several claims for postage. One of the claims is an account used for bulk mailing. This amount will last approximately 6 months. There is also a small account used for postage due on returned items. The claim to Purchase Power is for postage to replenish the postage machine. This postage was needed immediately so we had to get it from this vendor. The claim to the postmaster is for postage we can access by phone to replenish the postage machine. The claim from Pitney Bowes was for software we had to purchase to change the postage machine to the new postage rates. Motion to pay the bills carried unanimously. Chuck asked why we used money from the Madison County Community Foundation trust fund. The amount on the financial report is the interest we get from that fund which is spent on various things. Chuck also asked why the LIRF balance isn't higher. Only $10,000 of that money has been transferred so far.
The next item on the agenda is the approval of the 2003 operating budget. Stan Kilburn, the chair of the budget committee, gave a report on this budget. He said the committee asked Marsha to stay with the 3% salary increase, and a minimum of 2.7% increase in materials. He made a motion to set the tax rate at .2066 and adopt a budget of $4,419,471. Bill Surbaugh seconded the motion. He said this budget represents almost a 5% increase over last year with a 3% salary increase. He said this was very generous compared to the national increases and extremely generous compared to what other organizations are doing. He feels the library has more than adequate money to meet the needs of our customers very generously and yet be sensitive to the needs of the community. Chuck asked about the COLA increase of 3%. He wondered why it would not be divided into COLA and merit. Marsha said she felt 3% was not enough to divide and it would become meaningless. Joni Brinkman is concerned that there is a $105,000 difference between what Marsha proposes and what the Budget Committee proposes. Joni is also concerned that there is a $51,000 difference in the book budget. Bill Surbaugh said he feels that there are 5 areas where funds can be transferred within the budget. Chuck said the committee did not reduce the book budget but only recommended a 3% increase instead of the 10% increase the director recommended. He would like to see the 3% COLA divided into 1% cost of living and 2% merit. Bill Surbaugh said he feels that no matter how it is divided up it is still very generous. Marsha said not when you are talking about low salaried library employees. She feels that this staff works very hard and that Anderson Public Library is moving this community forward in giving people what they need. Joni is concerned that last year staff received a possible 5% salary increase and this year only a 3% increase. She said that is like taking a cut in pay. Bill Surbaugh said he would respectfully disagree that we have low salaries given our minimal turnover rate. Chuck asked why the other professional services line item went up so much. Marsha explained that $13,000 is budgeted for a salary study of all the positions in the library. It has been over 5 years since that has been done. She said that if the Board feels the salaries here are generous they may want to not do this study. Chuck also wondered why the line item for the telephone is up 30%. That is because the State funding is not there to pay for the T1 line which provides internet service. Rhea Parshall asked how many other governmental entities are taxing at the maximum levy. Bill Surbaugh said the County is at their maximum, the City is near theirs, and the school system is at theirs. The advertised budget for the library is $181,125 under maximum levy. Why aren't we proposing what we advertised? She also asked what happens if we cannot meet the needs of the library? Bill Surbaugh said we have a cushion we could use. Rhea said that she realizes we have to be sensitive to the budget but we also need to be sensitive to the people that we are giving service to. Chuck asked what the 34% increase in furniture and equipment outlay was for. Marsha said it was for items like servers, computers, a new air handler control for the hvac system, vacuum cleaner, bookmobile generator, and printers. Chuck said there is $40,000 that could be cut from the budget pretty quick if we take out the salary study and lower the furniture and equipment outlay figure. Joni Brinkman said her main concern is still for the staff. She really feels that it is the Board's responsibility to make sure the staff have adequate raises. She feels they make the library the great place that it is. Tonya commented that one of the reasons we don't have a big turnover rate is because of the good administrative staff we have. Ken de la Bastide asked for clarification on the 3% increase for staff. Marsha said all the staff will receive the full 3%. Her salary increase will be determined in January. Ken also made the comment that the city and county employees got a 3% raise but they also got a longevity bonus of $50 a year. Stan said there are also people out there in the library district who work 2 jobs and cannot afford for their taxes to be increased. Chuck polled the Board for final comments on the budget. There were none. At this time Bill Surbaugh amended the motion by increasing the book budget by $54,393 which would come from the following categories; eliminate the salary study, reduce professional meetings by $3,500, reduce printing, other than office, by $7,000, reduce furniture and equipment by $25,237 and reduce other supplies by $5,656. Joni said it seems the Board is trying to micro manage Marsha. She feels that they pay her a good salary to do these types of things. Chuck asked if things like the salary study should be a Board function and not at the Director's discretion. Joni feels like Marsha is just trying to budget the money in there. Stan Kilburn seconded the amendment to his motion. Bill Surbaugh addressed why he made the amendment to the motion. He feels that the book budget is very important. He feels there is adequate information out there for the Board to make these recommendations so he thinks the $13,000 could be more wisely spent on books. The $3,500 in professional meetings is for 1 meeting instead of 3. The 6 month accumulation on the printing was underspent this year so he doesn't feel like that increase is necessary. The furniture and equipment item should be in good shape with the 3% increase since we have gotten so much during renovation. The supply budget was reduced from a 10% increase to a 3% increase to stay more within the cost of living inflation rate. The vote was taken on the approval of the amended motion. The vote was 4 aye and 2 nay. Motion carried by majority. The vote was taken to pass the amended budget for 2003. The vote was 4 aye and 2 nay. Motion carried by majority.
Next on the agenda was the approval of the 2003 LIRF budget. Bill Surbaugh moved to adopt the 2003 LIRF budget of $336,702 in the various categories proposed by the Director. Stan Kilburn seconded the motion. This money will be used to finish the renovation of the 2nd floor and for the update of the automation system. We are still working on a consortium with other libraries to share the automation system. Motion to approve this budget carried unanimously.
The Anderson Fine Arts Center has requested the five oak file cabinets that are in the basement which were previously in the Carnegie Building. They have also asked for 2 additional fine art prints and they have decided they do not want "Lady in Red" that they had previously asked for. Rhea Parshall made a motion to transfer these items to the Fine Arts Center. Joni Brinkman seconded, motion carried.
There is $62,355.32 in lapsed salaries. Marsha proposes transferring $36,892.11 to other professional services to pay for the temporaries. This leaves $25,463.21 which she would like to transfer to the materials budget. Bill Surbaugh made a motion to approve Marsha's proposal. Joni seconded, motion carried unanimously. The Resolutions for these transfers will be signed at the next meeting.
The Café Committee will meet with the owners of Bixby's on September 27 at 4:00. The committee hopes to have more information to present at the October meeting.
Melanie Johnson gave a report Extension Services. Some of the highlights of the past year include moving all their collection to Main, and moving all staff to the 1st floor which has resulted in a savings on utilities. The Bookmobile has been to various community events. Jail Service statistics are up and Steve Cooper has been recognized state-wide and nationally for this model program. Melanie has been going to the 5 correctional facilities with him and she is amazed how much the people there read. The staff co-hosted the Indiana Bookmobile Conference in May. The Daycare Services has been moved to the Children's Department. Outreach Services will be expanded to better meet customer needs. Extension Services staff attend many conferences and they are always trying to learn more.
Marsha gave her Director's report with information on all departments. The auction of surplus items in the basement will be September 28 at 10:00 a.m. Chris Dodge, Literacy Services Manager, has resigned and this department will be re-organized and will become part of Reference Services. Brad Howell, Teen Librarian, will start working part-time at Lapel in January. Stan Kilburn asked about Chuck Lowe, Maintenance at Lapel. He is doing well and will return to work at the end of the month. Stan remarked how much good will Chuck spreads through Lapel on behalf of the library.
Bill Surbaugh had another item he wanted to bring forth for the Board's consideration. He would like the Board to establish a broad based policy on how we serve the people who do not live in our district. He thinks it would be appropriate to have this policy regarding the fairness of what they pay relative to our own constituents. He made a motion to establish a committee to create this policy of relationships. Rhea Parshall seconded the motion, carried unanimously. Chuck appointed Bill Surbaugh, Ann Teague, and Paul Muething to this committee.
Stan thanked everyone for their comments on the budget. The Board thanked Stan and the committee for all their hard work. At this time Marsha asked to have an Executive Session following the meeting.
Chuck asked for comments from the floor. Becky Gremes, Circulation Services, thanked Marsha for all her support and for working so hard on behalf of the staff. A motion was made by Joni Brinkman and seconded by Rhea Parshall to adjourn. Meeting adjourned at 6:05 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Secretary, Anderson Public Library
Board of Trustees
____________________________________________________________________
Minutes of the Regular Monthly Meeting of the
Anderson City, Anderson, Stony Creek and Union Townships Public Library Board of Trustees
October 16, 2002
Trustees Present
Charles Lacey, President
Joni Brinkman, Vice President
Rhea Parshall, Treasurer
Paul Muething, Bill Surbaugh, Stan Kilburn
Trustees Absent
Ann Teague, Secretary
Staff Present
Marsha Grove, Library Director
Sarah Later, Assistant Director
Lova Gay, Recording Secretary
Tonya Carman, Business Office Manager
Linda Funk, Human Resources
Beth Oljace, Indiana Room Manager
Others Present
Ken de la Bastide, Herald-Bulletin
Several Anderson University students
President Lacey called the meeting to order at 4:15 p.m. in the Board Room of the Main Building. In the absence of Ann Teague, President Lacey appointed Stan Kilburn Secretary Pro-Tem.
A motion was made by Joni Brinkman and seconded by Bill Surbaugh to approve the minutes of the meeting held September 18, 2002 as circulated. Motion carried unanimously.
Rhea Parshall has examined the bills and found them to be in order subject to an outside audit and made a motion to accept the claims for payment. Joni Brinkman seconded the motion. Stan Kilburn wondered why there was a bill for the repair of a vacuum cleaner and also a bill to purchase a new one. The repair was for a vacuum that is used by Maintenance inside the building and the new one is a "billy goat" that is used outdoors. Bill Surbaugh asked about the charge to INCOLSA. This is for supplies and OCLC usage. He also asked about the charge to Lectro Communications. This is for the purchase of indoor radios that will be used by Maintenance and Security. There will no longer be the monthly billing charge for the pagers that are currently being used. Bill asked about the Pitney Bowes bill. Even though we own the machine we have to rent the meter from the Post Office. Bill asked where the $16,800 received from insurance was deposited. It went into the operating balance. Motion to pay the claims carried unanimously.
Next on the agenda was the resolution relative to an advance draw on the December tax payment. This helps the library meet expenses between now and the end of the year. A motion was made by Bill Surbaugh and seconded by Joni Brinkman to accept this resolution. Carried.
The next item was a resolution to transfer LIRF funds. There is $176,500 left to be transferred. A motion was made by Bill Surbaugh and seconded by Rhea Parshall to transfer these funds. Motion carried.
A motion was made by Bill Surbaugh and seconded by Rhea Parshall to approve the 2003 salary schedule. This includes a 3% salary increase which will become effective 1/1/03. This was carried unanimously.
There has been no changes in the holiday schedule for 2003. A motion was made by Paul Muething and seconded by Joni Brinkman to approve this schedule. Carried unanimously.
Bill Surbaugh made a motion to approve the resolution relative to the Executive Session held 9/8/02. Joni Brinkman seconded, motion carried unanimously.
Paul Muething gave a report from the Café Committee. He said they are ready to ask for approval of a lease with the new owners of Bixby's. He mentioned that this lease should not be compared with the lease presented a year ago. Paul thanked Jim Freeman, library attorney, the original café committee and the current committee for all their hard work in this long process. He then made the following motion; I make a motion that the library board approve this lease with Bixby's, the current Café Committee be given the authority to work out minor undecided details with the lessee, and the board president be given the authority to officially sign the lease. Rhea Parshall seconded this motion. Stan Kilburn asked Marsha how she felt about the lease. She is very confident about the partnership. Paul mentioned there is a timeline with a tentative opening date of January 13. Motion carried unanimously. The café will be called "Bixby's @ the Library". Since we have to move very quickly on the plans Marsha wonders how much the board wants to be involved with the rest of the process. They gave her approval to move ahead. Paul mentioned that the committee is available if she needs their help.
There was no report from the Committee for Non-District Patrons.
The next item on the agenda was the upcoming agreement with Muncie and Marion libraries for the sharing of the automation upgrade. Marsha gave a brief overview of library automation. Nearly 90% of the public libraries in the nation, including APL, use an automation vendor for their systems. These systems control the circulation systems. Ours include the approximately 300,000 items cataloged, customer records such as name, address, etc., what customers have checked out, the system handles holds and enables customers to see what we own out on the Internet, and the ability to renew items. These systems need to be upgraded about every 5 years. We are wanting to move to a Windows based system instead of the current Dynix system. We are also concerned about the current system not being big enough to handle our increase in business. Bill Surbaugh had originally suggested looking into sharing a system with other libraries in the area. Marsha approached several libraries but the only ones interested were Muncie and Marion. If these three libraries join together it will save APL around $22,000. There should be around $204,000 initial costs. We have $253,342 budgeted in 2003 LIRF for this upgrade. This would consist of sharing all equipment (the mainframe) but all of the data will reside separately and each library will be able to make their own decisions regarding their materials. Bill Surbaugh complimented Marsha and her staff for all the work they have put into this effort. He feels this will provide better service at a reduced cost. He feels that the savings over the next 5 years will be about 40% of the purchase price. He would like to encourage Marsha to write a letter to the libraries who have not joined us encouraging them again to do so. In order to get a very good price on this update the agreement needs to be signed by December 31. Marsha will have Jim Freeman look at the agreement and bring it to the November meeting for approval and still have time to make changes and get the agreement finalized for approval at the December meeting. Stan asked what would happen if Marion decided to not go with the agreement. Since they are such a small library the cost would not be much different. Chuck asked what would happen if there was a situation that caused Muncie library to be shut down for awhile. Would we lose all of our information? Marsha said the system would be backed up off site but we would be off line for awhile. Stan Kilburn said that the T1 line should have a backup also. That is something that should be checked on with the vendor.
Beth Oljace gave a report on the Indiana Room. She presented a map of the United States with all the states colored in that have had people visit Anderson Public Library's Indiana Room. There have been 37 states represented just summer and fall of 2002. They are hosting the first "Genealogy Day" at the library next week which staff feel will be a big success. Phyllis Leedom retired this year and she was replace by Renee Anderson who worked at the Lapel Branch. They received a grant from the Madison County Community Foundation to create an index to their Black History Project. This has been finished. The 1930 Census figures were released in April and were available to customers a week later on microfilm. A genealogist from Salt Lake City was here and said that we have an excellent collection for a library this size.
Marsha gave her Director's report with information on all departments. She reported that the city is turning 12th Street into a 2-way street between Meridian and Central. This will be a big change for our customers who are used to 12th Street being one-way. We may also need to change some arrows in our parking lots but this should be relatively inexpensive. Ken de la Bastide mentioned he would also mention this in his report on the meeting. Anderson Public Library will be the host for ADOLPLI (Administrators of Large Public Libraries in Indiana) on November 7 and 8. Marsha expects to have about 30 directors here. Ken mentioned he would like to talk to some of them for a story. Bill asked Marsha to mention to them about the consortium. Stan Kilburn wanted to discuss an item for Lapel. There is only one direction the Lapel Branch could expand and that is on the north side. There is an alley between the existing building and the north lot. He would be willing to see if the town would vacate that alley so this would not be an obstacle in the future if we would want to expand. Marsha thinks this would be wise and she will touch on it with Jim Freeman and let Stan know. Chuck asked Marsha to give a short report on Unique Management. So far there has been an increase over last year of just over $16,000 that the library has collected in lost materials charges and fees. There has also been a large amount of materials returned. Marsha will be attending the ILF Legislative Forum on October 23 and 24.
Joni Brinkman and Bill Surbaugh will meet to discuss the summary of the staff wellness screening and present a proposal of further options to the Board at the November meeting.
Chuck asked for comments from the floor. Being none, a motion was made by Joni Brinkman and seconded by Rhea Parshall to adjourn. Meeting adjourned at 5:35 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Secretary, Anderson Public Library
Board of Trustees
____________________________________________________________________
Minutes of the Regular Monthly Meeting of the
Anderson City, Anderson, Stony Creek and Union Townships Public Library Board of Trustees
November 20, 2002
Trustees Present
Charles Lacey, President
Joni Brinkman, Vice President
Ann Teague, Secretary
Rhea Parshall, Treasurer
Bill Surbaugh, Paul Muething
Trustees Absent
Stan Kilburn
Staff Present
Marsha Grove, Library Director
Sarah Later, Assistant Director
Lova Gay, Recording Secretary
Tonya Carman, Business Office Manager
Linda Funk, Human Resources
Dave Coburn, Security Manager
Russ Jones, Maintenance Manager
Janet Yoder, Reference
Lynne Marmaduke, Reference
Others Present
Jim Freeman, Library Attorney
Ken de la Bastide, Herald-Bulletin
1 student from Anderson University
President Lacey called the meeting to order at 4:15 p.m. in the Board Room of the Main Building.
The first item on the agenda was the approval of the minutes of the regular monthly meeting held October 16, 2002. A motion was made by Rhea Parshall and seconded by Paul Muething to approve these minutes as circulated. Motion carried.
Rhea Parshall has examined the bills and found them to be in order subject to an outside audit and made a motion to accept the claims for payment. Joni Brinkman seconded the motion. Bill Surbaugh asked about the $5,000 claim to Management Information for a LAN audit. The CTC staff hired this company to look at our overall computer systems, servers, and connections. They have done some work for us but it is hoped that our staff will be able to do some of the follow-up work they suggest. This needed to be done to help improve our computer server systems. We have 11 different servers in the system. Chuck asked if this would be an expected annual expense. Marsha said it should be done on a regular basis but Frank Lucas had met with an Anderson University professor and has made arrangements for students to come in and also look at our system. This will be a win/win situation. We need the services and they need the experience. Bill also wondered about the $4,657 claim to Royal Flush. This was for the replacement of the 2nd sewage pump under the building. These pumps have been here since the original Sears was built. This was much more expensive than originally anticipated but this is the final bill for it. Paul asked about the $1,864 bill to Janway. This was for bags that are used to transport materials to schools for the Star Express program and to daycares. These were paid for out of Friend's money. He also wondered about the charge for 2 cellular phones since we just purchased new radios for Maintenance and Security. Marsha explained that Security still needs to have the ability to dial 911. They can't do that with the radios. The other one is used on the bookmobiles in case staff have emergency needs. Motion to pay the bills carried unanimously. Bill Surbaugh commented on what a fine job staff are doing in managing the budget this year.
The next item on the agenda was the approval of increasing the non-resident fees. Marsha recommends increasing this cost from $100 to $150 per year effective 1/1/03. There will be letters sent to our current non-resident customers letting them know of the change. Bill Surbaugh made a motion to accept this proposed increase. He also recommends this be reviewed annually, in November. Joni Brinkman seconded the motion. There are currently 566 non-resident cardholders. Paul wondered if it would be wise to spend so much in postage to send letters out to these customers. Marsha said the front line staff would very much appreciate that since they are the ones who have to deal with the customers when they come in. Motion to increase this fee carried unanimously.
Sarah introduced the new Reference librarians, Lynne Marmaduke and Janet Yoder.
Sarah gave an overview of the 2003-2006 Technology Plan. This has to be approved by the Board and filed every year by December 31 with the State Library in order for APL to remain eligible for any federal technology grant money that might become available. Some of the highlights that Sarah touched on were; the new web site, updating the number of classes offered, and investigating the collaboration with other libraries. Chuck wondered where we stand on INSPIRE. Marsha said it was a good time to contact the legislators to get them to put the $3,000,000 back in the State budget for it.
She said that sometimes legislators need to hear from constituents and it really does make a difference in the way they vote on issues. The State Library does have it in their budget and the Governor's office has left it in but it could be cut out at any time. Bill Surbaugh stated that he hopes we investigate wireless computers thoroughly since they seem to be much more cost efficient. The main problem is finding a tall enough building in Lapel for the antenna. We do have a wireless connection between Main and Extension. He also would like to discuss the flat vs. standard monitors before any are purchased. A motion was made by Bill Surbaugh and seconded by Joni Brinkman to approve the Technology Plan. Carried unanimously.
Next on the agenda was the approval of the automation sharing agreement with Muncie and Marion public libraries. Marsha handed out an attachment with the final pricing for this agreement. There have been some miscellaneous items added to the initial costs for each library. The final initial cost for APL is $74,832.19. It will also cost us about $70,000 to replace all the dumb terminals. These terminals will have to be replaced even if we do not go with this agreement. It is estimated that the maintenance costs will increase about 5% each year. It will still save the library about $10,000 per year on the maintenance agreement alone. Bill Surbaugh complimented the Directors and staff of APL, Muncie and Marion libraries for taking on this venture. He feels we will save over $100,000 in 5 years. Marsha thanked Bill for this idea to start with. It would be very hard for other libraries to join at this time but there may be some decide to join us at a later date. Marsha would bring that before the Board before it would happen. There has been no definitive answer on the backup of the T1 lines. Most of the additions, changes, and charges will have to be approved by the Directors of all 3 libraries before they can be done. Jim Freeman said this is a pretty standard agreement. He said there should be a line added that states that Muncie also needs to be held liable for any damages done due to their own negligence. Marsha and Jim will look closely at the language of the contract before it is signed. Bill Surbaugh made a motion to approve this automation upgrade contract with Muncie and Marion libraries subject to Marsha and Jim Freeman working out specific details. Joni Brinkman seconded this motion. Carried unanimously. Marsha said she hopes the new system is "live" by July 1 but the contract must be signed by December 31.
Joni Brinkman and Bill Surbaugh have served as Board representatives to the Insurance Advisory Committee and Joni gave a report on the health screenings that staff had back in July. The top 3 modifiable risk factors were cholesterol, weight, and stress. Community Health Network recommended the following interventions; nutrition education series, eap program, and a stress management class. She feels to get the most for our money they recommend two things. Weight Watchers @ Work and to have 4 seminars, one per quarter, on various topics. In order to do Weight Watchers @ Work you need to have 20 people participate. Joni feels the library should have around 10 staff who would want to participate. She recommends asking other downtown businesses to join in with us in order to get the 20 people needed. This costs $110 per person for 10 sessions. She would like to see the library subsidize half of this. This program is not just about weight but it also teaches you about good health and eating habits. There are 5 ten week sessions a year. This would cost the library $2,750. She also recommends providing 4 seminars next year which would be mandatory for all full time staff. This would cost the library $500. Joni then made a motion to allocate $3,250 for this wellness program in 2003. Bill Surbaugh seconded the motion. There should be enough money left from this year's budget to pay for it. Bill feels this would fall well into the scope for lapsed salaries money to be used. It will take a long time to know how this might impact the health insurance claims and therefore the costs. All full time employees will be eligible to participate in this program. Motion to accept this wellness plan carried unanimously.
Sarah Later gave a review of the Output Measures results. This survey tracks how well we can answer reference questions, how fast we fill requests for materials, if our customers found what they were looking for, and it gives customers a chance to comment on how we are doing. There were 76% of our customers who were very satisfied with their library visit. Most of the comments were positive ones, complimenting the staff and giving wonderful comments about the library. Marsha mentioned that there were a couple of comments about the library throwing away books. The only books that get thrown away are things that are in such bad shape most people don't even want to touch them. All the good books are given to the Friends for their sales.
Russ Jones gave a report on Maintenance Services. He has been very careful to do comparison shopping on supplies and materials. He also has rearranged personnel and now only uses the cleaning service 5 nights a week.
He reported that the heating and air conditioning system is ancient and the system will need new controls very soon. He has changed some of the air flow problems and feels this has helped. Chuck mentioned that he feels the library is one of the cleanest buildings in town and complimented the Maintenance staff. Rhea asked how soon Russ feels we will need a new heating and air conditioning system. He feels once the controls are purchased and put in place he can keep the system working for a long time. He is purchasing Honeywell controls which can be worked on by several contractors.
Dave Coburn gave his report on Security Services. There are now one full time and 2 part time staff which makes for more flexibility in coverage. Security also holds drills annually for various emergency situations and holds ACT guidelines training which is mandatory for all new staff. They work very hard to keep the noise level down in the building. He thanked the Board for approving the additional part time person that will be hired the first of the year. The goal is to have a security person here all the hours the library is open. He reported that in the 15 years he has worked here young people are much more aggressive. Marsha pointed out that we are always trying to make them feel welcome and at the same time making them behave the way they should in a public building.
Marsha gave her Director's report with information on all departments. She said the carpet re-installation is finished and she believes it was the right decision to have them replace it at no cost to the library. She appreciates Russ and some of the other Maintenance staff who worked odd hours to be here at night with the carpet crew. The library will be participating in the Downtown Winterfest by being open Friday, December 6 from 5-8:30. Only the lobby will be open and Santa and Mrs. Claus will be here for the kids to visit. Bixby's will be here with free samples of coffee and hot chocolate. RSVP volunteers are making 2,000 luminaries for the downtown area to be used that night. Jim Freeman said he sees no problems with the lease with Bixby's. He has talked to Rob Sparks and he said they are very anxious to sign the lease. Jim Freeman also thinks there will be no problems with the alley closure at Lapel but the legal process should take about 3 months. Stan Kilburn is going to talk to Lapel's Town Board about it.
Chuck asked for comments from the floor. Being none, a motion was made by Rhea Parshall and seconded by Paul Muething to adjourn. Meeting adjourned at 6:10 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Secretary,
Anderson Public Library
Board of Trustees
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Minutes of the Regular Monthly Meeting of the
Anderson City, Anderson, Stony Creek and Union Townships Public Library Board of Trustees
December 18, 2002
Trustees Present
Charles Lacey, President
Joni Brinkman, Vice President
Ann Teague, Secretary
Rhea Parshall, Treasurer
Bill Surbaugh, Paul Muething, Stan Kilburn
Trustees Absent
None
Staff Present
Marsha Grove, Library Director
Sarah Later, Assistant Director
Lova Gay, Recording Secretary
Michelle Crowe, Community Relations Manager
Russ Jones, Maintenance Manager
Others Present
Jim Freeman, Library Attorney
President Lacey called the meeting to order at 4:15 p.m. in the Board Room of the Main Building.
The first item on the agenda was the approval of the minutes of the regular monthly meeting held November 20, 2002. A motion was made by Rhea Parshall and seconded by Bill Surbaugh to approve these minutes as circulated. Motion carried.
Rhea Parshall has examined the bills and found them to be in order subject to an outside audit and made a motion to accept the claims for payment as published. Joni Brinkman seconded the motion. Stan Kilburn asked about the charge for police background checks. All applicants who are considered for a Security or money handling position are checked. Bill Surbaugh asked if the payment to Eden Enterprises is the final payment. Yes, everything connected with renovation is now paid for. The claim to National City Bank is a companion payment to Eden's. The payment to Wyatt Electric is not related to renovation. This is for the removal of the light fixtures from the second and third ceiling tiers and changing ballasts in the ceiling lights that Maintenance staff cannot reach. Bill also asked about the claim to Vasey for air handler controls. Russ Jones explained that the new control system will make the unit run much more consistently. Eventually Russ would like for all the controls to be made by Honeywell so anyone will be able to work on them. They should be installed so each area of the building will have its own heating and air conditioning control which will be much more cost effective. There is money in the 2004 LIRF budget to update the system. Bill also asked about the Telecirc update charge. This amount was included in the figure Marsha presented for the Epixtech system. He then questioned the claim for Unique Management. This is what we pay them for the referrals we send to them. Marsha still feels confident that we are bringing in a lot of materials and money as a result of this company. Motion to pay the bills carried unanimously.
The next item on the agenda was the 2002 transfer resolution. This is done annually to transfer money from lines that have been underspent to lines that have been overspent in the 2002 budget. Bill Surbaugh moved that the Emergency Appropriation be approved as presented. Rhea Parshall seconded the motion. Bill Surbaugh asked where the payment to the Indiana Bond Bank will show up on the reports. This is an electronic transfer so it will only show up on the bank statement. This will be transferred by the end of the year. Marsha mentioned that there is $32,925 encumbered from the 2001 budget that will be unspent and moved into the operating balance at the end of the year. Motion to approve the 2002 transfer resolution carried unanimously.
There is $58,774.19 not spent in the 2002 operating budget to be encumbered. Marsha recommends putting it into the book budget. Rhea Parshall made a motion to transfer this money per Marsha's recommendation. Joni Brinkman seconded the motion. Bill Surbaugh commented that it has always been the philosophy of the Board that encumbered money be used for emergency items and to build the operating balance and he feels this year should be no different. He feels there is plenty of money in next year's budget (over $800,000) to be used for books. He thinks the Board should continue to build the operating balance to replace money that was spent on renovation. Rhea Parshall stated that the book budget has already been cut in the budget process. She said books are expensive and we are in the business of supplying books. Marsha stated that this year's operating balance is very healthy and is as high as it has ever been. Paul asked if the 2003 book budget is greater than the 2002 budget. Yes it is. The book budget has only increased about 1% each year. Bill Surbaugh said the book budget percentage of our total budget continues to increase. Bill said this is the average of what all libraries are doing. Rhea said our library is not the average library and we need to do more. Joni Brinkman asked if Marsha would recommend buying books over offsetting some of the other expenses, such as health insurance cost. She said that she thinks that would be a very good thing. Bill said he still feels the money left over each year needs to go into the operating balance. The Board can always do an additional appropriation to purchase books at a later date. Paul stated that basically we have a choice. The choice is should we buy books or should we build up the operating balance? Stan asked if the money could be used to replace the roof at Lapel. There is a warranty problem with the roof. Chuck mentioned that the Lapel roof warranty problem has been added to the agenda. Chuck suspended the motion on the floor regarding the 2002 encumbrances to talk about the Lapel roof. Marsha stated that the roof at Lapel will probably need to be replace in the next 4-5 years. It was put on in 1991. The specifications for the roof called for a 25 year shingle. Russ Jones said the roof was not put on right to start with. The shingle company has offered the library $1,745.33 which is the cost of the shingles only and no labor costs. It is hard to say what it will cost for a new roof, at least $40,000. Bill said the pro-rated amount we should get for the shingles should be much more. Relative to the motion on the floor regarding the money to be encumbered., the vote was taken. The vote was 4 nay and 3 aye for putting the money in the book budget. Motion was defeated. The money will move into the operating balance.
Marsha recommends acting on the advise of the library attorney concerning the $1,745.33 offered for the replacement of the Lapel roof. Jim Freeman feels it is worthwhile to send a letter to the shingle manufacturer and ask them to send us a copy of the warranty and we will proceed from there. It was the consensus of the Board to have Marsha work with Jim on this issue.
The library is required by State Law to solicit bids on the Cash Management System every 2 years. A motion was made by Rhea Parshall and seconded by Bill Surbaugh to advertise this for bid. Motion carried unanimously.
Sarah Later presented the 2003-2008 Five Year Plan to the Board. Some of the highlights of the plan are; by January 2004 65% of the people living in the library district will have a library card (currently 60% have cards). Marsha said that is a wonderful statistic and should be celebrated. Community Relations and Children's have increased the number of programs they are holding, Indiana Room Staff are increasing the number of classes they are holding. Library staff are always trying to do more. Stan Kilburn mentioned that he noticed all the meeting rooms on the 3rd floor were in use tonight. He thinks that is great and he complimented the staff for being able to keep up with the heavy use. A motion was made by Rhea Parshall and seconded by Bill Surbaugh to approve this plan as presented. Carried unanimously.
A letter from Mike McKinley, Anderson Fire Chief, has been received stating that the Anderson Fire Department would like to have the fire truck that the library currently owns. Jim Freeman said that the only recommendations he would make is when we transfer it we should show that the library has a security interest in it and have the transfer be recorded in the miscellaneous records at the Court House. Chuck recommended the fire department send another letter stating their intent to keep this truck in its current condition, or better and also what they are going to do with it. A motion was made by Bill Surbaugh and seconded by Paul Muething to transfer the fire truck to the Anderson Fire Department subject to another letter with the above fine points included. Jim Freeman said it would either go to the City of Anderson, the Board of Public Works, or the Board of Safety since the fire department is not a public entity. Jim will take care of this paperwork. Motion carried.
Michelle Crowe gave her report on the Community Relations Department. She is trying to build constant awareness and re-occurring library usage in the community by targeting specific groups such as male teens and movie goers. She has built up a very good relationship with the Herald-Bulletin but also wants to reach out to other avenues such as the radio stations, Anderson University and businesses. The new web site was launched in August. Community Relations programming statistics continue to grow as does the number of people getting @ Your Library either home delivery or by e-mail. Michelle would really like to start sending this newsletter out monthly again but the money was not put in the 2003 budget for this so it will continue to go out bi-monthly. Anderson University would like to send us a Public Relations intern. This would not cost the library anything, however, a work station would be needed. Michelle would like to pursue this further. She would use this person on special projects. Michelle then gave the Board members library tee shirts that were purchased by the Friends. The Board complimented Michelle on all the wonderful coverage that the Herald-Bulletin is giving the library and the good job she is doing. Bill Surbaugh commented that he heard people really enjoyed visiting Bixby's at the Holiday Open House. They had to go back to their facility several times to get more food and coffee.
Marsha gave her Director's report with information on all departments. The lease with Bixby's has been signed. They have not set an official opening date but are still saying mid January. The 2003 board meeting schedule was distributed. Marsha asked for direction from the Board in writing the narrative for the Capital Projects plan for the Lapel expansion. Stan Kilburn said he would like to get input from the school, churches and the Town Council on what they feel the needs of the community are. He volunteered to work on a committee to do this. Marsha would like to help on this and it needs to be done by March. Bill recommends Marsha go ahead and write this plan with Jim Freeman's input. Jim will have all the technical info when he works on the alley right of way. She also offered to start the rest of the second floor renovation process. The money is there for this project. The Board asked her to start on this plan also. Bill Surbaugh wants her to mainly focus on the automation issue. He also asked that a report from a Literacy representative be given sometime in the future. The library has received a grant from United Way (amount not announced yet) to improve service to Day Cares in the district.
Jim Freeman distributed a detailed survey concerning the non-resident services and the PLAC charges. Jim would like for the Board to review this and give him direction if they want to pursue things further regarding our limit of services.
Chuck asked for comments from the floor. Being none, a motion was made by Rhea Parshall and seconded by Bill Surbaugh to adjourn. Meeting adjourned at 6:10 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Secretary,
Anderson Public Library
Board of Trustees
____________________________________________________________________