2005 Minutes

January	April	August	November
February	May	Public Hearing on 2006 Budget	December
March	June	September
Strategic Planning Meeting	July	October

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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

January 19, 2005

Trustees Present

Paul Muething, President

Chuck Lacey, Secretary

Rhea Parshall, Treasurer

Bill Surbaugh, Greg Fisher, Pat Dolly

 

Trustees Absent

Joni Brinkman, Vice President

 

Staff Present

Sarah Later, Director

Edra Waterman, Assistant Director

Lova Gay, Recording Secretary

Tonya Carman, Business Office Manager

Linda Manderson, Stephanie Holloway, Russ Jones, Christie Hamm, Carolyn Metz

 

Others Present

None

President Muething called the meeting to order at 4:15 p.m. in the Board Room of the main library.

 

A motion was made by Rhea Parshall and seconded by Chuck Lacey to approve the minutes of the regular meeting held December 15, 2004. Motion carried.

 

Rhea Parshall has examined the claims and found them to be in order subject to any outside audit and made a motion to accept the claims for payment as published. Greg Fisher seconded. Bill Surbaugh asked if the T-1 line is cost effective compared to DSL or dial up? The bill for this month is high because our sales representative forgot to renew our contract. The next bill will reflect our E-rate and will show our credit. Frank said the T-1 works a lot better with the IHETS connection. Motion to pay the claims carried unanimously. Bill complimented the Board and the staff for the excellent Financial Reports that are distributed each month. He did point out that the COIT income reflects the vibrancy of our community and we need to watch it closely. Paul also said the staff and the Budget Committee did a wonderful job of forecasting what the expenses would be. Chuck asked about the negative balance in the RSVP fund. Tonya explained this is a reimbursable grant and all of the funds have not been received yet. Judy does a good job with this program.

 

Sarah has recommended that the $97,703.29 left in the Operating Fund be transferred to the Rainy Day Fund. Chuck said he didn’t like the idea of a Rainy Day Fund and has not seen a written goal for the use of this money. Sarah cited Indiana Code that mandated we create a Rainy Day Fund with the surplus COIT money we received last year. Since our Operating Balance is very healthy, Sarah wants to add the money this year to the Rainy Day Fund to possibly be used for the Lapel Branch. Rainy Day Funds can be used for any future library needs. Lapel is annexing land to plan for growth. There is no more room in the Lapel building. Sarah wants to make sure we are ready to meet customer needs from this growth. A motion was made by Bill Surbaugh and seconded by Rhea Parshall to approve this Transfer Resolution. Bill asked why Sarah wants to do this instead of putting the money into the Library Improvement Reserve Fund. Sarah said we don’t do LIRF transfers until the middle of the year and we did not budget for it so there would be an additional cost for advertising, etc. to do that. The Board will have to approve all spending of Rainy Day Fund money. Chuck asked if a committee has been established to study a plan for Lapel. One has not been established.

Motion to approve the Resolution passed. Bill said we need to look at the whole picture for services needed at Lapel. He said our responsibility is to taxpayers in our district. We need to evaluate what we want to do. Would it be better to reconfigure, add on or build? Sarah presented information showing the increase in usage Lapel is currently experiencing. Paul asked if the consultant for strategic planning will help us with this. Sarah said strategic planning is a separate issue. It might be included in the overall plan for the system. Bill is chair of the un-served townships committee. He thinks the first step is to go to the County Commissioners to see if we can bring Jackson and Richland Townships into the district. Pat Dolly said Ivy Tech had hired a consultant to look at demographics and growth in this area. She will be glad to share the information with Sarah.

 

Next on the agenda was the Resolution to Pay Bills with Prior Approval between board meetings. A motion was made by Bill Surbaugh and seconded by Rhea Parshall. Motion carried unanimously.

 

Linda Manderson reported that the Wellness Committee is planning their activities for 2005, one of them being to start another series of Weight Watchers @ Work. The Board currently pays ½ of the $120 cost for full-time staff. Linda asked if they would also pay ½ of this for any part-time staff who wish to join. Bill Surbaugh made a motion to approve paying ½ of the cost of Weight Watchers @ Work for part-time employees who participate. Chuck Lacey seconded this motion, carried.

 

Every January the Board reviews library policies. There are very few changes to be looked at this year. We would like to start requiring individuals to present photo identification when they apply for a library card. Paul expressed concern about children who cannot get a library card because the parents won’t come in with them. Sarah said we have to have someone be responsible for any fees that might be incurred. There was also some discussion about the current non-resident fees. These fees will be reviewed at a later date. Currently customers have six months to return a lost item and receive a refund. Sarah would like to change this to three months.  Sarah is recommending changing the Smoke Free Facilities Policy to Read Tobacco Free Facilities. The Board would like to see if other libraries have a drug and alcohol free policy. Edra will check on that. There are a few minor wording changes in the Collection Development Policy. Bill wondered if we should keep books for a longer period of time if we have the shelf space. Greg Fisher asked if we have any rare books. Sarah said the Indiana Room might have a few things but that is not our mission. We are a popular materials facility. There are also some minor wording changes and clarifications in the Meeting Room Policy. The word electrical will be added to describe hotplate. The only new policy proposed is a Videoconference Policy. Bill Surbaugh made a motion to approve the recommended changes to the policies. Rhea Parshall seconded, motion carried.

 

Sarah received an estimate for the value of the fire truck from John Gamms. It is $1,500 wholesale and $2,500 retail. By law we cannot give the fire truck to anyone. Mike McKinley, Deputy Fire Chief, said they did not give it to the Military Museum. He told Sarah he would clear this situation up and get back to her but she has not heard any more from him. Chuck Lacey said he has talked to J.R. Rosencrans, Fire Chief, and no one at the Fire Department wants the fire truck. In order to sell the truck we would have to advertise. In lieu of time President Muething suggested waiting until Sarah hears from Mike McKinley to look at this issue further.

 

The first Strategic Planning meeting will be held at 3:00 on Wednesday, March 30.

 

Edra presented the year-end accomplishments toward the 2004 Goals and Objectives to the Board. She thanked them for making these accomplishments possible by their support of the staff. Some of the highlights include; 2,778 customers signed up for the summer reading program, the success of family movie nights at Lapel, 100% print rate of library press releases in the Herald-Bulletin, and the presence of APL staff at Anderson Community Schools free and reduced lunch and textbook sign up. Rhea said these accomplishments were really exciting. Bill Surbaugh wanted to reiterate that we keep looking for possible collaboration opportunities.

 

Carolyn Metz gave her report on Circulation Services. They are the largest department with 23 staff members. They are responsible for management of 304,497 items. Their main activity is check in and check out. Their highest month for this in 2004 was March with a total of 187,984 items being handled. Carolyn praised all her

 

staff and mentioned they always put customer service to our 51,498 cardholders first. Rhea said the numbers are overwhelming and Paul said customer service at Circulation is outstanding. Self-check is not working. Frank said 3M told him the newest upgrade to 7.4 would fix the problem. This will be done in the 2^nd quarter of the year.

 

Sarah gave her Director’s report with information on all departments. She pointed out the media packet, which contains the timeline for the Centennial Celebration. She also pointed out the recent Editorial in the paper praising APL. This was a wonderful surprise. We received a $28,000 check from the Friends for library programming.

 

Frank gave a demonstration of the newest feature to our website. Sarah said she has wanted this for a long time and asked Frank if was possible. He was able to accomplish it very quickly and Sarah said he and his staff are awesome. The minutes of all the board meetings held since 1990 are on our site. Not only did Frank put them on there, he made them searchable. This will be very helpful to staff if they want to find out when the board talked about a certain subject. There will be minutes from before 1990 added and each month’s minutes will be added as they are approved. Rhea complimented Lova on the great job she does on the minutes each month. The board members were very impressed with this feature and thanked Frank for demonstrating it.

 

Paul asked for comments from the floor. Being none, a motion was made by Rhea Parshall to adjourn. Meeting adjourned at 6:00 p.m.

 

 

Respectfully submitted,

 

 

Secretary

Anderson Public Library

Board of Trustees

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(Return to the Top)

Minutes of the regular monthly meeting of the

Anderson City, Anderson, Stony Creek and Union Townships Public Library Board of Trustees

February 16, 2005

Trustees Present

Paul Muething, President

Joni Brinkman, Vice President

Chuck Lacey, Secretary

Rhea Parshall, Treasurer

Bill Surbaugh, Greg Fisher

 

Trustees Absent

Pat Dolly

 

Staff Present

Sarah Later, Director

Edra Waterman, Assistant Director

Lova Gay, Recording Secretary

Tonya Carman, Business Office Manager

Linda Manderson, Stephanie Holloway, Russ Jones, Kristin Herr, Elaine Mathews

 

Others Present

Don Johnson

 

President Muething called the meeting to order at 4:15 p.m. in the Board Room of the main library.

 

Linda Manderson introduced Kristin Herr to the Board. She is the new Lapel Branch Manager. She is originally from Kansas and came to us from Fort Wayne. Kristin has moved to Lapel.

 

A motion was made by Chuck Lacey and seconded by Greg Fisher to approve the minutes of the regular meeting held January 19, 2005. At the January meeting the board passed a motion to pay ½ of the cost of joining Weight Watchers @ Work for part time staff. Chuck would like these minutes to reflect that the board has discussed the impact to the budget from this and that impact should be around $600. Motion to approve these minutes carried. A motion was made by Bill Surbaugh and seconded by Rhea Parshall to approve the Board of Finance meeting minutes also held January 19, 2005. Motion carried.

 

Rhea Parshall has examined the claims and found them to be in order subject to any outside audit and made a motion to accept the claims for payment as published. Joni Brinkman seconded the motion. Motion to pay the claims carried unanimously.

 

Next on the agenda was the Library Capital Projects Fund. Sarah presented the board with her recommended plan. If the Board gives Sarah permission to proceed with this plan it has to be advertised and a public hearing held. At this point, if the Board approves the plan, it goes to the County Council for their approval. If the County Council approves it we are allowed to collect that extra tax. That money will be used for a new building in Lapel. Rhea Parshall made a motion to accept the plan. Joni Brinkman seconded the motion. Bill Surbaugh said he thought the plan needed to be studied further. He handed out information about the growth in Lapel and Stony Creek Township. He feels the perception is completely different than the reality. He thinks we need to look at how we can better utilize our existing building. The school systems are already raising taxes. Rhea asked why they are building a new school if the growth has been so small. Greg Fisher said they are expecting the growth in Lapel schools to be in the middle schools on down in the near future. The new school will be a high school and the current high school will become a middle school. Sarah said the new housing addition would contain between 600 and 1,000 homes, all in Stony Creek Township and the Lapel Branch will have to serve these families. Bill Surbaugh said he thinks this growth will be very gradual. Sarah said there is currently $183,600 in the Rainy Day Fund. Sarah said this is a long-term project. There is no room to add on to the existing building. There is not enough parking and no elevator to access the 2^nd floor. Rhea said that we are in a Catch 22 position. If the housing development does not happen we may not need a new building. But if it does happen, and we don’t act now, we might not be able to serve these people. Sarah is worried about the cost of land going up before we can buy something and thinks we should start looking. After much discussion about the current facilities, Greg Fisher asked Sarah how big of a building she would like to have. She estimates between 17,000 and 20,000 square feet (170’ x 100’). The current building is 7,000 square feet. Chuck Lacey asked how Sarah arrived at the amount of the Capital Projects Fund. She said the State tells us how much we can collect. He then asked how much money she would estimate a facility of this size would cost. He thinks a dollar amount needs to be added to this plan. Sarah said there would be many variables and she could work with an architect to get an amount but it is going to take several years to collect the money. Joni Brinkman feels we need to start now looking for land. Bill Surbaugh said we need to separate hype from reality and feels we have adequate time to evaluate this further. He recommends a committee or a study group be formed or put this in our Strategic Planning process. Sarah said this decision is not something she has done overnight. She has studied it for two years. Marsha did the original plan and Sarah has modified it to meet the needs we have today, which is a new building. It was presented to the County Council 2 years ago and was turned down. After much more discussion, Bill Surbaugh made a motion to table the original motion made by Rhea. Greg Fisher seconded this motion. There was more discussion about the need for more computers and the need for all customers to be able to access the meeting room upstairs. Bill’s motion to table the original motion takes precedence. Bill said his motion to table the original motion was not made to defeat the motion but to postpone it in order to have adequate time to make a prudent study in terms of what direction we want to go with the plan. Joni wants a specific plan of how this is going to occur. Bill Surbaugh withdrew his motion and Greg withdrew his second. Bill then made another motion to table the motion on the Capital Projects 3-year plan, establish a study committee to report in 60 days to the Board and report at every monthly meeting thereafter with the goal of having a final report no later than December 31, 2005.” Joni Brinkman seconded this motion. Carried unanimously. President Muething appointed Greg Fisher as chair of this committee. Greg and Sarah will form it.

 

Bill Surbaugh made a motion to cancel the outstanding warrants that were listed. Joni Brinkman seconded. These are checks that were written but not cashed in 2 years. Motion carried.

 

Chuck Lacey, Chair of the Nominating Committee, presented the following slate of officers; Paul Muething, President; Joni Brinkman, Vice President, Chuck Lacey, Secretary, and Rhea Parshall, Treasurer. Bill Surbaugh made a motion to accept this recommendation. Joni Brinkman seconded, motion carried.

 

Sarah has made a recommendation to remove the columns and piping from the fountain and install shrubs and flowers. Bill Surbaugh made a motion to approve this recommendation. Joni Brinkman seconded, motion carried unanimously.

 

Next on the agenda was the approval of the Capital Asset Policy. This policy is required by the State Board of Accounts. The Board recommended two changes, both in # 5. Paragraph one needs to read “….without prior approval of the Library Director” instead of appropriate department head. Paragraph two needs to read, “….the Library Director (not department head) should ensure that a police report is promptly filed.” There was some discussion about omissions on the inventory list and how they should be handled. It was determined that the proper procedures would be done such as locating the item or filing a security report. A motion was made by Bill Surbaugh and seconded by Joni Brinkman to approve this policy with the above changes. Carried.

 

Linda Manderson gave her report on the Human Resources Department. We have 60 full-time employees and 34 part-time employees. This includes 3 grant-funded positions. In 2004 we had a turnover rate of 21%. We have 4 staff that are currently pursuing their Masters in Library Science. We now have orientation training plans and check lists for every person hired. We have started doing telephone and web seminars resulting in a cost savings. Linda is working with Baker and Daniels law employment attorneys in revising the employee

handbook. A staff member is conducting the 2^nd round of Spanish classes for staff. Staff Development Day is April 29. It will have a celebration theme in keeping with the centennial. We have continued our wellness newsletter and another round of Weight Watchers @ Work has started. We now get 4 free wellness presentations annually through United Health Care. Linda reminded the Board that the library newsletter, MORE than just books, is what the library staff is all about. This is what we do. Paul complimented the library on the 21% turnover rate. This is very good.

 

Elaine Mathews gave a demonstration of INSPIRE. It has a new user-friendly interface. The Indiana General Assembly funds this database. Last year the site had 4 million logins, 13 million searches, and 7.5 million full text articles. The State has budgeted approximately $1.5 million for this project. All residents of Indiana have access to use this. There are 26 databases in INSPIRE. The current level of funding is still in the State budget for this year. Sarah attended Legislative Day at the State House yesterday. She talked to our legislators and thanked them for this funding. Bill Surbaugh mentioned that this is one of the best examples of collaborative effort, which can work effectively. INSPIRE is only one of the many tools the Reference staff use. Sarah would appreciate it if the Board would contact the legislators and tell them what a great source of information it is. There is also a new INSPIRE ad campaign, “Go Where the Experts Go”.

 

Sarah gave her Director’s report with information on all departments. Joni asked if we have any idea of what we are doing with the vending process. Sarah and Edra met with a vending company last week and will meet with another vendor tomorrow. Sarah thinks vending is a good deal for us. Bill asked if she had investigated the other possibilities he had given her for café operators. Three people she contacted turned her down. Bill asked if we were going to set a good example of only healthy things being in the machines. It will be a variety of items. All the machines will be installed at the same time. Maintenance staff will keep this area clean. The profits received will go into the Operating Balance.

 

Paul asked for comments from the floor. Don Johnson said he uses the library frequently. He mentioned several problems with library equipment. President Muething thanked Mr. Johnson for attending the meeting and sharing his concerns.  Paul then read a note from former staff person Donna Cumberland congratulating the Board on the wonderful Haplar ratings the library received. A motion was made by Rhea Parshall to adjourn. Meeting adjourned at 6:05 p.m.

 

 

 

Respectfully submitted,

 

 

Secretary

Anderson Public Library

Board of Trustees

____________________________________________________________________

(Return to the Top)

Minutes of the regular monthly meeting of the

Anderson City, Anderson, Stony Creek and Union Townships

Public Library Board of Trustees

March 16, 2005

Trustees Present

Joni Brinkman, Vice President

Chuck Lacey, Secretary

Rhea Parshall, Treasurer

Bill Surbaugh, Pat Dolly

 

Trustees Absent

Paul Muething, President

Greg Fisher

 

Staff Present

Sarah Later, Director

Edra Waterman, Assistant Director

Lova Gay, Recording Secretary

Tonya Carman, Business Office Manager

Linda Manderson, Stephanie Holloway, Frank Lucas, Russ Jones, Ramon Salinas, Christie Hamm,

Shelley Bronkema

 

Others Present

None

 

Vice President Brinkman called the meeting to order at 4:15 p.m. in the Board Room of the main library.

 

Sarah has added a new item to the agenda. It is called “Customer Connection.” Every month she will choose a customer comment to share with the board. This will help us focus on our mission, the impact we have on our customers and our staff. This month’s was e-mail from Beth Hull about the wonderful customer service Martha Green had provided to Mr. Clyde D. Monroe in finding a particular piece of music for him. In Mr. Monroe’s words “she was a whiz-bang, a regular miracle worker.”

 

Linda Manderson introduced Shelley Bronkema, full-time bookkeeper in the Business Office, and Ramon Salinas, Reference librarian.

 

A motion was made by Bill Surbaugh and seconded by Rhea Parshall to approve the minutes of the regular meeting held February 16, 2005. Motion carried.

 

Rhea Parshall has examined the claims and found them to be in order subject to any outside audit and made a motion to accept the claims for payment as published. Bill Surbaugh seconded. Motion to pay the claims carried unanimously.

 

Next on the agenda was the Resolution Relative to Advance Draw. Bill Surbaugh made a motion to accept the Director’s recommendation to ask for the first advance draw for 2005. Rhea Parshall seconded the motion.  Sarah said we have the right to ask for this money twice a year. If the county has their tax money we may get a check for all or part of what we ask for.

 

Frank Lucas and Edra Waterman submitted a technology grant to the State Library. We were awarded $3,500. This will be used to create a wireless local area network that will allow customers to access the Internet inside the library or in the immediate area using their own laptops. Bill Surbaugh made a motion to authorize Sarah Later to sign and implement this grant. Rhea Parshall seconded. Motion carried.

 

Russ Jones would like permission to build a maintenance closet along the Northwest wall of the café area. This will enable staff to have access to water for easier cleanup in that area. They will install all the electrical outlets in the closet that they need. Russ has received 2 quotes. Frederick’s quoted $3,300 and Vern Hamlin quoted $3,100. Bill Surbaugh made a motion to accept Russ’s request and give him the authority to use either contractor. Chuck Lacey asked what the closet would look like. Russ said it would be an 8’tall wall. There will be a 4’ protrusion out of that wall. Maintenance staff will do the plumbing and electrical work. It will have finished drywall and baseboard. Motion carried.

 

Next on the agenda was the Carnegie Award nomination. There were three nominations from staff; Elsie Perdiue, Bob Meyer, and Frank Lucas. Chuck mentioned how Bob Meyer seems to be very involved with the library. Sarah said he spends many hours here helping with ESL classes and the Friends. Bill Surbaugh said Bob is a significant volunteer who makes a very positive contribution to the library on his own. Rhea asked if the board wanted to wait until the entire board was present to vote on this. Since there is a quorum it is all right to award it to someone today. Chuck made a motion to give the Carnegie Award to Bob Meyer. Bill Surbaugh seconded, motion carried. Bob will be invited to the April meeting to receive this award.

 

The Budget Committee was appointed. The committee will consist of Bill Surbaugh, chair, Pat Dolly and Joni Brinkman. Sarah will provide them with a timeline. The committee will also include Sarah, Edra Waterman, Tonya Carman and Kristen Herr.

 

Christie Hamm gave her report on the Children’s Department. They have a creative and dedicated staff of 9 who use their talents to provide services to children from birth through age 12 and the adults who care for them. They do an average of 10 programs a week in house and also visit preschools and daycares. They do book talks at the elementary schools. They give library tours and help scout troops and homeschool groups with resources. They have drawn many new users to the library. Christie came here from Los Angeles and told the board how impressed she is with our library. She said the facilities; the collection and especially the wonderful and dynamic staff would be the envy of any of the libraries she worked in in California.

 

Bill Surbaugh reported on the committee to add Richland and Jackson Townships to the district. They have met and are going to invite former trustees to meet with them and start some investigative work. He said the Lapel expansion committee will meet on March 30 at 2:00.

 

Sarah gave her Director’s report with information on all departments. She reminded the board of the strategic planning meeting at 3:00 on March 30. Our 2005 budget was approved. Sarah wanted the Board to know that booktalks are way up this year to elementary students as a direct result of Nancy Thomas sending letters to individual teachers instead of principals this year. Bill Surbaugh had asked for a report on the conservation efforts made by staff as ways to save energy. Russ has prepared this report and it was included in this month’s packets. Chuck asked if we needed to have an energy savings policy. Joni and Bill feels this report serves the same purpose. It will be updated regularly. Sarah reminded the Board of the centennial celebration on April 20 at 7:00. Former Board member Doug Nelson will speak and Beth Oljace will do an APL timeline. Chuck asked about the status of the vending machines. The old ones will be removed 4/4 and the new ones will be installed soon after. Joni reported for David Gillaspy that after week 5 of Weight Watchers @ Work a total of 103.8 pounds has been lost by the group.

 

Joni asked for comments from the floor. Being none, a motion was made by Bill Surbaugh to adjourn. Meeting adjourned at 4:40 p.m.

 

 

Respectfully submitted,

 

 

Secretary

Anderson Public Library

Board of Trustees

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(Return to the Top)

Minutes of the

Strategic Planning

Information meeting.

March 30, 2005

 

Trustees Present

Paul Muething, President

Chuck Lacey, Secretary

Rhea Parshall, Treasurer

Bill Surbaugh, Greg Fisher, Pat Dolly

 

Trustees Absent

Joni Brinkman, Vice President

 

Staff Present

Sarah Later, Edra Waterman, Tonya Carman, Linda Manderson, Stephanie Holloway, Russ Jones,

Christie Hamm, Carolyn Metz, Gene Vincent, Alice Milley, Beth Oljace, Elaine Mathews,

Jill Campbell, Judy Kratzner, Kirsten Herr, Melanie Johnson, Frank Lucas

 

Others Present

Ginny Andis, Indiana State Library

The meeting was called to order at 3:00 p.m. in the Miami Room of the main library.

 

Ginny Andis from the State Library presented an overview of Strategic Planning. She talked about the importance of planning and different planning models. Handouts were distributed about these models.

 

The meeting was adjourned at 4:00.

 

Respectfully submitted,

 

 

Secretary

Anderson Public Library

Board of Trustees

____________________________________________________________________

(Return to the Top)

Minutes of the regular monthly meeting of the

Anderson City, Anderson, Stony Creek

and Union Townships Public Library Board of Trustees

April 20, 2005

 

Trustees Present

Paul Muething, President

Joni Brinkman, Vice President

Chuck Lacey, Secretary

Rhea Parshall, Treasurer

Bill Surbaugh, Greg Fisher

 

Trustees Absent

Pat Dolly

Staff Present

Sarah Later, Director

Edra Waterman, Assistant Director

Lova Gay, Recording Secretary

Tonya Carman, Business Office Manager

Linda Manderson, Stephanie Holloway, Russ Jones, Christie Hamm, Kristin Herr, Carolyn Metz

 

Others Present

John Parshall, Paul Jarrett, Jean Pettigrew, Bob Meyer, Sherry Dougherty, Ray Meyer, Jane Smith

Terry Brunner

 

President Muething called the meeting to order at 4:15 p.m. in the Board Room of the main library. A report from the Lapel Study Committee will be added as “A” under Other Action Items on the agenda.

 

Sarah shared her “Customer Connections.” Some of the comments heard this month were; “The library is one of the most under-appreciated and under-used assets in the community.” A PLAC cardholder from Knightstown “likes her home library but she loves APL”. A mother said that Stephanie and Toni in Children’s went “above and beyond” the call of duty helping her son with a report for school. Lynne Marmaduke helped a customer find the price of Sears’s stock on August 6, 1964. She was amazed that we could find the answer for her.

 

The next item on the agenda was the presentation of the Andrew Carnegie Award. Paul Muething presented the 2005 award to Bob Meyer. He has been instrumental in turning the Friends of the Library into the vital group it is today. He has also taught many new Hispanic members of our community to speak English and many members of the community to speak Spanish. Bob was very pleased to receive this award and shared a story of his experience being a translator for the Pan Am Games.

 

A motion was made by Rhea Parshall and seconded by Bill Surbaugh to   approve the minutes of the regular meeting held March 16, 2005. Motion carried. A motion was made by Bill Surbaugh and seconded by Rhea Parshall to approve the minutes of the Strategic Planning meeting. It was noted by Greg Fisher that the date of the meeting was incorrectly recorded on the minutes as March 31. The meeting was held on March 30. Motion to approve the minutes with the corrected date carried.

 

Rhea Parshall has examined the claims and found them to be in order subject to any outside audit and made a motion to accept the claims for payment as published. Bill Surbaugh seconded. Motion to pay the claims carried unanimously.

 

A motion was made by Bill Surbaugh to increase employee’s mileage reimbursement to .40 per mile as of May 1, 2005 as per Sarah’s recommendation. Joni Brinkman seconded. This is an increase in amount only; all the requirements for reimbursement are the same. Motion carried. Sarah will keep an eye on the federal rate for this.

 

Greg Fisher gave a report on the Lapel Study Committee. They have had one meeting to identify and consider options for recommendation to the entire board. He then moved that the discussions of all options pertinent to the committee be retained in committee until the final report is submitted to the Board for adoption, and that between committee meetings members of the committee welcome input from all board members, staff and the public. Chuck Lacey seconded that motion. Rhea Parshall is concerned that there have been articles in the paper about the school/library merger and the board members have not been informed of what is going on. She feels that this is a big thing and feels all board members need more information. Greg has given assignments to the committee members and they are not having another meeting until June. The committee does not have anything to report yet. Joni would like further clarification of the meeting that took place last week with the Lapel school board. Paul explained that Bill was originally interested in exploring the possibility of a joint school/library facility. Ned Speicher had heard of this type of partnership in another state. Bill Surbaugh, Mr. Speicher and Nancy Likens met. This first meeting was strictly an exchange of ideas, mostly about the new school building itself. Next Paul Muething and   Bill Surbaugh met with Ned Speicher and Nancy Likens from the Lapel School Corporation. Paul Muething, Bill Surbaugh, Greg Fisher, Sarah Later, Edra Waterman, Kristin Herr then met with Ned Speicher, Nancy Likens, and John Mitchell. Melanie Hayes, a reporter, also attended this meeting. There was a lot of discussion about what could be and about the amount of space they were willing to give us, possibly just sharing the land with the school, and the collection. There was absolutely no decision made about any of this. The Lapel Study Committee was formed to explore the options for Lapel. This merger is only one of them. The editorial in the paper was pretty assumptive. Rhea feels the entire board did not know enough information to even answer questions they might get from the public. Tonya looked up the minutes from the February meeting. The charge of this committee is very general. Paul asked if we wanted to give specific language of what this committee should do. Bill said we need to explore all options and they all need to be on the table. The specific charge for this committee is to explore all opportunities to meet the needs of Lapel branch library and it’s constituents. There is still a motion on the floor. After more discussion about the intent and interpretation of this motion it was withdrawn. Greg wants to avoid spending time discussing the same things during the meeting that was discussed in committee. Chuck said the committee might do four hours of work but the board might only spend 15 minutes talking about it during the regular board meeting.

 

Next on the agenda was Sarah’s recommendation on this issue. She said she believes the intention of the school corporation is to maintain 2 separate facilities in Lapel. Normally this type of partnership is only formed if there is no other library service in the area Sarah recommends we do not explore this option. The school board meets tomorrow evening. Sarah said she did not give an opinion during the joint meeting because she feels she needs to report to the library board, not the school board. Sarah feels that we will be cutting services such as storytime if the library has 2 facilities and she will never recommend cutting services. Chuck feels that having 2 facilities in Lapel for library services is strikingly negative. The school corporation has already made their plans for the building. Bill Surbaugh said to keep in mind this area in the school would be 7,000 square feet instead of the 3,600 square feet of public space we have now. He said we would have access to a 600-seat auditorium. We need to keep this option open. They only have schematic drawings done, not final ones. Rhea Parshall made a motion to not pursue this further if they need to know right away. Joni Brinkman seconded this motion. Rhea Parshall restated her motion to read; We should not pursue this (the integration of the 2 libraries). Joni seconded this corrected motion. Bill again said we should keep all options open. The vote was taken by a show of hands. Rhea Parshall, Joni Brinkman, and Paul Muething voted yes. Bill Surbaugh, Chuck Lacey and Greg Fisher voted no. The vote was a tie so the motion dies. Paul reminded the board that they may have to make a definite decision if the school board comes to them with a proposal. Sarah recommends Rhea be on the committee since she is the only one on the board with any public school experience. In light of this, Paul Muething stepped down from the committee and appointed Rhea Parshall to it.

 

Next was the report on strategic planning. Sarah would like approval to move ahead with finding a consultant so we can be ready to go in the fall. Rhea Parshall made a motion to give Sarah permission to do this. Joni Brinkman seconded the motion. Chuck asked what the dollar amount of this will be. There has been $6,000

budgeted this year and a planned $6,000 will be budgeted for next year. Chuck asked if these consultants are library people. Bill Surbaugh thinks consultants are important but feels it should not be limited to people with only library experience. As long as whoever is hired meets the criteria set forth in the request it does not matter what background they have. Bill thinks we need broad vision, not just a library person’s, and he feels there are people here in town that can do this. At this point in time we are only voting on giving Sarah the authority to start the process. Motion carried. Board members are to send any names to Sarah of consultants who they would like to receive Requests for Proposals.

 

The Un-served Townships Committee met April 19. They had invited past board members to attend to give input on their experience with this process. Doug Nelson attended. The next step will be to invite the Richland and Jackson Townships Trustees to lunch and give them a tour of the library to actually show them what is available. We will ask them for their support and if it can’t be given ask them for their neutrality to let the people in their townships decide. The committee will report back to the board after this meeting.

 

Chuck asked what the status of the firetruck is. Russ reported that Joe McClain was waiting for the weather to   break so he could bring it back to us. Russ has offered to help him.

 

Terry Brunner, President of the Friends of the Library, gave their annual report. She handed out a copy of her report and a copy of their Treasurer’s summary for 2004. In 2004 they gave APL $28,000 for programming. They have added a student volunteer this year. It has been a good match for all of them. She thanked all the staff for their help. She also thanked Stephanie Holloway and Kendra Parks for the wonderful publicity they do. Terri feels this has definitely increased turnout for the book sales. The Friends held a one-day special sale with the proceeds to be used strictly for the library’s centennial celebrations. Terri presented Sarah with a check for $3,617.23 from this sale. Everyone was thrilled by this amount. The Friends worked very hard that day. Paul asked Terri to please extend to each and every one of the Friends a thank you from the Board. Chuck said he really appreciated the Financial Report. Bill Surbaugh made a motion to pass a Resolution from the Board and the Director thanking the Friends for their donations and their service. Motion carried.

 

Sarah gave her Director’s report with information on all departments. She asked the Board to please read her Director’s report every month. There is so much going on and we are so successful that she wants the Board to know all these things.

 

Chuck mentioned he noticed the progress being made on the planter out front. Bill Surbaugh asked what the status is on the self-checkout. We are waiting on the Horizon upgrade to see if it fixes the problem.

 

Paul asked for comments from the floor. He reminded the board members of the centennial celebration at 7:00. He also thanked staff for all their hard work on making the 100-year celebration a success. Being no other comments, a motion was made by Rhea Parshall to adjourn. Meeting adjourned at 5:45 p.m.

 

 

Respectfully submitted,

 

 

Secretary

Anderson Public Library

Board of Trustees

____________________________________________________________________

(Return to the Top)

Minutes of the regular monthly meeting of the Anderson City,

Anderson, Stony Creek and Union Townships Public Library

Board of Trustees

May 18, 2005

Trustees Present

Paul Muething, President

Chuck Lacey, Secretary

Rhea Parshall, Treasurer

Bill Surbaugh, Greg Fisher, Pat Dolly

 

Trustees Absent

Joni Brinkman, Vice President

Staff Present

Sarah Later, Director

Edra Waterman, Assistant Director

Lova Gay, Recording Secretary

Tonya Carman, Business Office Manager

Linda Manderson, Stephanie Holloway, Russ Jones, Kristin Herr, Elaine Mathews, Melanie Johnson

 

Others Present

Jim Freeman, Library Attorney

Edie Huffman, Indiana State Library

 

President Muething called the meeting to order at 4:15 p.m. in the Board Room of the main library.

 

Sarah shared “Customer Connections.” Some of the comments heard this month were; a lady visiting her grandchildren from Florida commented, “This library, especially the Children’s Department, is a jewel. They have nothing like this in my town”. She asked Sarah to please pass on her comments to the people who run this place; a new customer discovered she could do a lot more with her new library card than just check out books when she found out about public access computers and computer classes. She signed up for the library newsletter and is looking forward to doing more at the library. Paul complimented staff for the wonderful job they did putting all the 100-year celebration programs together.

 

The next item on the agenda was training by Edie Huffman, Indiana State Library, Library Development, on Committees, Meetings, and the Open Door Law. Edie has been at the State Library for 9 years. A library board member may only serve 4 terms on the board. If they are appointed to a term vacated by another person their first term is only the remainder of the other person’s term. It might be as little as one day. The library Board is a team made up of 8 people, 7 trustees and the director. The director should be a part of every committee. You must have a quorum (1/2 the board plus one) for each meeting. You must always post meetings and send notice to the media. The most important things you can do, in order of priority, is attend meetings, prepare well, take part in all discussions, and be willing to compromise. The focus of the board is the mission of the library and how best to serve the people in the district. Members should make reports to their appointing authority. Minutes are the official legal records of board meetings and are public record. All votes must be recorded in the minutes but board members cannot ask that their detailed views be recorded. Members should ask any questions on an issue before the vote is taken and they should feel comfortable with their decision. Secret ballots may never be taken and members should rarely abstain from voting. A vote has to have a majority of a quorum to pass. Edie said the Handbook on Indiana’s Public Access Laws and the In the Public Trust Handbook should be a board member’s “bible”. All meetings, full board and committees, must be posted 48 hours in advance. Minutes need not be taken at Executive Sessions and votes may not be taken at them. The Open Door Law does not guarantee visitors the right to speak at a meeting. The Library Director is the Board’s only employee. You cannot break during a regular meeting to go into Executive Session. The President of the board appoints all committee members. The Director should always be on the committee even though they cannot vote on an issue.  Committee members can also include non-board members.

 

Other board members can ask questions of committee members but should avoid repeating work the committee has already done. No one member can speak for the whole board. The Finance Committee is a standing committee who has to meet between the 1^st Monday and the last day of January each year. Board members should know the demographics of the library district. There is a trustee listserv available from the State Library.

 

A motion was made by Rhea Parshall and seconded by Bill Surbaugh to approve the minutes of the regular meeting held April 20, 2005. Motion carried.

 

Rhea Parshall has examined the claims and found them to be in order subject to any outside audit and made a motion to accept the claims for payment as published. Bill Surbaugh seconded. Motion to pay the claims carried unanimously.

 

Bill Surbaugh made a motion to authorize Sarah Later and Paul Muething to sign and execute the $2,500 grant received from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. This money will be used to replace the computers we received in 2001. Greg Fisher seconded, motion carried.

 

The phone system at Lapel is inadequate for our needs. Kristin wrote a proposal and has received one estimate from SBC.  Bill would like for Sarah to check the cost of a Centrex system. Rhea Parshall made a motion to give Sarah permission to move forward with the Lapel phone system as indicated in the Director’s recommendation. Greg Fisher seconded. Motion carried.

 

A motion was made by Bill Surbaugh and seconded by Rhea Parshall to close the library on March 17, 2006 for Staff Development Day. Motion carried.

 

Sarah gave the first of 3 reports on the budget process. She has been gathering information from managers about costs of contractual services and equipment needs for 2006. Tonya, Edra, and Sarah will attend the State budget workshop held in June and the Department of Local Government Finance meetings in July. Tonya will receive PERF figures in mid June. She must close out June before we can project revenue. They are also working with the Insurance Advisory Committee on health care costs for next year. The Board will need to set the tax levy to advertise in July. The Department of Local Government Finance will set the cap for the levy. Sarah will recommend advertising at the maximum levy. She will contact the Budget Committee for a meeting when we have all the information.

 

Sarah gave her Director’s report with information on all departments. INSPIRE has been funded through 6/30/07 which is very good news. Greg Fisher asked about the vending area. The maid’s closet has passed the city inspection. The vendor should put the machines in the 1^st week of June. The company will be here a lot at first to monitor what sells the best. There was some discussion about letters/articles in the newspaper regarding our receiving excise and COIT money. Tonya will ask the State Library Development Office how the state distributes this money. Sarah is always happy to explain to the public how the taxing process works.

 

Paul asked for comments from the floor. He again thanked staff for all their hard work on making the 100-year celebration a success. Being no other comments, a motion was made by Chuck Lacey and seconded by Pat Dolly to adjourn. Meeting adjourned at 5:50 p.m.

 

Respectfully submitted,

Secretary

Anderson Public Library

Board of Trustees

____________________________________________________________________

(Return to the Top)

Minutes of the regular monthly meeting of the Anderson City,

Anderson, Stony Creek and Union Townships Public Library

Board of Trustees

June 15, 2005

 

Trustees Present

Paul Muething, President

Joni Brinkman, Vice President

Chuck Lacey, Secretary

Rhea Parshall, Treasurer

Greg Fisher, Pat Dolly

 

Trustees Absent

Bill Surbaugh

Staff Present

Sarah Later, Director

Edra Waterman, Assistant Director

Lova Gay, Recording Secretary

Tonya Carman, Business Office Manager

Linda Manderson, Stephanie Holloway, Russ Jones, Kristin Herr

 

Others Present

Jim Freeman, Library Attorney

 

President Muething called the meeting to order at 4:15 p.m. at the Lapel Branch library.

 

Sarah shared “Customer Connections.” The comment shared this month came from Stephanie Clem in Children’s. She took a phone call from a lady who wanted her to spread the word about how awesome all the children’s programming is. She is planning on bringing her children and others to all the programs this summer. She extended her thanks to all the library staff.

 

A motion was made by Chuck Lacey and seconded by Joni Brinkman to approve the minutes of the regular meeting held May 18, 2005. Motion carried.

 

The bills to be allowed were moved down on the agenda.

 

Next on the agenda was the Resolution to Borrow from a Library Fund. We have not received our tax check yet. The auditor has until July 20 to issue it. Money is getting a little tight and Sarah would like permission to transfer money from the Rainy Day Fund into the Operating Fund. Hopefully in July we can transfer it back. Greg Fisher made a motion to transfer this money. Pat Dolly seconded the motion. As a matter of record Chuck wants it noted that this is caused by a late government function and not by anything done by the library. He also wants to know what the recourse is if we don’t have our money by July 21. Sarah does not know because the money has always been here by the deadline. The $183,623.04 borrowed will be adequate to get us through until the tax check arrives. Motion to adopt the Resolution carried.

 

According to State guidelines, the last day to adopt the budget this year is September 20. The regular Board meeting is September 21 so the meeting date has to be changed. It was decided to move the meeting to Tuesday, September 20, 2005 at 4:15 p.m. The meeting date and time has to be advertised when we advertise the levy.

 

Rhea Parshall has examined the claims and found them to be in order subject to any outside audit and made a motion to accept the claims for payment as published. Joni Brinkman seconded. Motion to pay the claims carried unanimously.

 

A motion was made by Joni Brinkman and seconded by Pat Dolly to approve the Resolution regarding the Executive Session held June 8, 2005. Motion carried.

 

Joni Brinkman gave a report on the Unserved Townships Committee. The Committee met with Karen Lumpkin, Jackson Township Trustee, on June 2. She did not seem to be in favor of joining the library district. Richard Cleaver, Richland Township Trustee, did not respond to our invitation to meet. The committee will meet again before the July board meeting to decide what they need to do next. Ms. Lumpkin did say she would take it to her Advisory Board sometime this summer. Joni thinks the Board should decide what they want to do and have a plan of action. Sarah will do a follow up call to Ms. Lumpkin later this year.

 

Greg Fisher gave a report on the Lapel Committee. They have met for a 2^nd time. Sarah has contacted K.R. Montgomery to get a cost quotation on a feasibility study for the Lapel Branch. This study is made up of 5 components, the first one being to establish the needs of the Lapel Branch and to compare the facility to those of comparably sized populations in the state. The cost for Component 1 is $3,000. It is the recommendation of the Lapel Study Committee to hire K.R. Montgomery and Associates to complete Component 1 of the study. Rhea Parshall made a motion to accept the committee report and the recommendation. This motion does not need a second since it came from the committee. Chuck asked what the time frame would be for this study. Sarah will set up a meeting with Montgomery’s. It should take about 4-6 weeks to complete the first phase. This study will establish the future needs of the Lapel Branch only. During the feasibility study K.R. Montgomery staff will talk to developers, utility companies and the schools. We will only pay the $3,000 to start the study. Motion to approve this study carried. This money will come from the operating budget.

 

Tonya gave the second of 3 reports on the budget process. She handed out a financial glossary of terms to know and a budget calendar. Our final budget calendar has not been completed yet due to the September meeting date change. Tonya, Edra, and Sarah will meet with the Department of Local Government Finance representative the 2^nd week of August. The Board will need to set the tax levy to advertise in July for the public hearing we will have in August. We do not know the growth rate or maximum levy. An estimate is 4.2% or 4.3% over the current levy. The State has until August 1 to give us the assessed valuation. Paul mentioned that it is wise to advertise at or near the maximum levy like we always do. We cannot increase the levy more than 5% without going to the County Council for approval. Sarah asked the board members how they feel about the budget process this year. Joni Brinkman thinks we need to be cautious. Sarah reminded the Board that we are not in the same situation as other government entities. We have managed our money very well. Paul recommends the Budget Committee hold off on meeting until Sarah has all of the puzzle pieces.

 

Kristin gave her report on the Lapel Branch. She mentioned in particular how their programming statistics have greatly increased for all ages and how people love to attend their programs. Their average daily door count is 171. (Yesterday they had 417!) She distributed a very colorful handout complete with pictures titled Look @ the Lapel Branch Library. Paul noted that through May there had been 1,564 juveniles participating in programming at Lapel. That is a 9% increase.

 

Sarah gave her Director’s report with information on all departments. Water recently leaked into the book drop room. Russ Jones, Jerry Beeman, Gene Vincent, and Sarah and her husband were here until midnight moving things out of that room, removing the water and cleaning up the mess. The only damage was to one book that had been put in the book drop. Russ is going to investigate ways to do more waterproofing to the outside of the building.

 

Paul announced that Sarah informed him that Elwood Public Library is looking for a Director. He wants to know how the board members feel about contacting their board and offering our services to manage that library system. Paul will be willing to call their Board President and talk to him about becoming part of our system. Sarah said this would move us toward a county wide library system. Chuck wants to make sure we don’t lose money on this type of merger. The first step would be for Paul to contact their Board. He will call and see if there is any interest on their part. Paul asked for comments from the floor. There were none. He thanked Kristen and her staff for all their hospitality. Paul passed around a thank you card from Rhea and reminded them of the Executive Session immediately following the meeting. Being no other comments, a motion was made by Joni Brinkman and seconded by Chuck Lacey to adjourn. Meeting adjourned at 5:30 p.m.

 

Respectfully submitted,

 

Secretary,

Anderson Public Library

Board of Trustees

____________________________________________________________________

(Return to the Top)

Anderson City, Anderson, Stony Creek and Union Townships

Public Library Board of Trustees

Minutes

July 20, 2005

 

Trustees Present

Paul Muething, President

Joni Brinkman, Vice President

Chuck Lacey, Secretary

Rhea Parshall, Treasurer

Greg Fisher, Pat Dolly, Bill Surbaugh

 

Trustees Absent

None

Staff Present

Sarah Later, Director

Edra Waterman, Assistant Director

Lova Gay, Recording Secretary

Tonya Carman, Business Office Manager

Linda Manderson, Stephanie Holloway, Russ Jones, Frank Lucas

 

Others Present

Bill Ehrlich

 

President Muething called the meeting to order at 4:15 p.m. in the Board Room of the main library.

 

A motion was made by Chuck Lacey and seconded by Joni Brinkman to approve the minutes of the regular meeting held June 15, 2005. Motion carried.

 

Rhea Parshall has examined the claims and found them to be in order subject to any outside audit and made a motion to accept the claims for payment as published. Greg Fisher seconded. Bill Surbaugh amended the motion to delete check #30497. It is a duplicate payment of check #30498. Check #30497 has been destroyed. Motion to pay the claims carried unanimously.

 

President Muething altered the order of the agenda. Next item of business was the approval to accept online credit card payments and the new policy on this. MasterCard and Visa have been very popular with our customers. Sarah would like to be able to offer customers the opportunity to make these payments on line and also make donations to the library online. A motion was made by Bill Surbaugh and seconded by Joni Brinkman to accept Sarah’s recommendation. Paul asked Frank Lucas if this would be a secure site. Yes, it will be. National City Bank recommended we use a company called Skipjack for this service. There will be a one-time set up fee of  $375, which will come from the operating budget and a $12.95 monthly fee. Motion to accept Sarah’s recommendation carried.

 

Bill Ehrlich, with Insurance Solutions, distributed information on iPlan. This is a Health Savings Account offered by United Healthcare. It is a different method of paying for healthcare costs. It has a large major medical deductible. Doctor co-pays and prescription co-pays are not part of the plan but do count toward the deductible. All the money contributed by the employee and the library belongs to the employee for medical expenses. If you use the money for non-medical purposes there is a tax penalty. It offers an employee a chance to save a lot of money if they are healthy. This major medical part does have a lower premium. No deductible applies to wellness procedures. The money goes into a banking account and can be spent with a debit card or a check. Bill Surbaugh said if a person were employed with the library for 20 years there would be about $100,000 in their account. He feels there should be a transitional period of 2 years and the board should help staff get started with this by making a contribution to their account. This money would come from the operating budget. Staff should be given an option of which of the 2 plans they want to have. Bill Surbaugh and Joni would like to have the authority to discuss the Board’s contribution towards this plan. Bill Surbaugh made a motion to accept the renewal of the existing health insurance plan with the 6.7% increase. He and Joni will bring a recommendation to the Board in the next couple of months concerning the new plan. The motion was seconded by Joni Brinkman, carried. Sarah and Tonya will meet with staff to discuss this new plan. Paul said he liked the idea of staff having a choice at first.

 

We have to advertise our 2006 tax levy. Sarah has been in contact with our Department of Local Government Finance representative to get the growth factor and assessed valuation information but that information is not yet available. Sarah recommends we advertise at the maximum levy of a 4.9% increase over the 2005 budget. Once we advertise the levy we can go lower but we cannot go higher. Rhea Parshall made a motion to accept Sarah’s recommendation to advertise at the 4.9% increase. Joni Brinkman seconded the motion. Bill Surbaugh moved to amend this motion to advertise at 4.0%. Rhea asked if we advertise at 4.0 this year wouldn’t that become the highest figure we could use next year? If the growth factor is 4.5 next year, we have cheated ourselves out of that difference. Chuck said there is a tendency to lean toward the number that has been advertised as the number we use. We cannot go higher than the growth factor but the State has not given that figure out yet. Last year the growth factor was around 4.3 and our budget increase was 3.5. Paul recommended going with the maximum again since we have so much uncertainty. Bill said our community for economic development has a serious tax impact problem. We need to send the right message to other agencies. He feels 4% is more than we need. Rhea said we look very good to advertise high and then lower the actual increase. Pat Dolly agreed with Bill. If we advertise below the maximum it sends a message. Rhea suggested going half way. Bill withdrew his original amendment and made a new one to advertise at 4.45%. Joni seconded this motion. Bill said the Board needed to vote up or down on the amendment and then either up or down on the original motion. Motion to advertise the levy at 4.45% carried. This will make the advertised levy $3,316,501. Rhea withdrew her original motion, Bill withdrew his amendment, and Joni withdrew her second. Rhea then made a motion to advertise the levy at 4.45%. Joni seconded this motion. Motion carried.

 

Bill Surbaugh made a motion to transfer $183,623.04 from the Operating Fund back into the Rainy Day Fund. Motion carried.

 

A motion was made by Chuck Lacey and seconded by Greg Fisher to transfer the appropriated $186,500 from the Operating Fund into the Library Improvement Reserve Fund. Motion carried.

 

A motion was made by Joni Brinkman and seconded by Rhea Parshall to approve the Resolution for the Executive Session held June 15, 2005. Motion carried.

 

A motion was made by Bill Surbaugh and seconded by Greg Fisher to approve the Resolution for the Executive Session held July 20, 2005. Motion carried. Joni made a motion to give Sarah Later a 2% merit increase on top of the 2% cost of living raise she received January 1 and that the Board make salary adjustments in the future at the Director’s anniversary date. Starting in 2006 the cost of living allowance will be discussed along with any merit on the anniversary date. Sarah’s 2005 cost of living increase will continue until her 2006 anniversary date. The motion was seconded by Greg Fisher, carried.

 

Paul appointed the following people to the newly formed Endowment Committee; Chuck Lacey, chair, Pat Dolly, and Paul Muething. Sarah will also be a member. They will set a meeting date at the end of this meeting.

 

 

 

There were 3 proposals received for Strategic Planning. Sarah recommends hiring Robert Smith and Associates for Strategic Planning. Joni Brinkman made a motion to accept Sarah’s recommendation, Rhea Parshall seconded. Pat Dolly asked if it would be possible to meet with the 3 companies who submitted proposals. Bill Surbaugh thinks it would be worth the Board’s time to meet with all of them. Sarah will contact the 3 companies to see if they will do a presentation to the Board before the August 17 meeting. Joni Brinkman withdrew her motion and Rhea withdrew her second. The Board will vote on this issue at the August 17 meeting. Sarah has all 3 proposals available for the board members to review if they would like to.

 

Bill Surbaugh presented a smoking ban proposal. This would ban tobacco products from all property and vehicles that Anderson Public Library owns or leases and any vehicle used for library business that the library is paying mileage on. It would apply to all people who come on our property, staff, customers, vendors, and

visitors. His intent is to protect people from second hand smoke and to create a healthy atmosphere. Joni said that Community Hospital offered cessation products to their employees free of charge. There was some discussion about who would enforce this policy and how offenses would be reported and tracked for personnel. Rhea asked if there was money in the budget to provide help to staff. Pat Dolly said Ivy Tech did not do that for students. Chuck Lacey said he did not think the board’s responsibility was to help people quit smoking; it was to make the facilities a better place. Bill Surbaugh said he thought the board would be receptive to a recommendation from the director if she thought some type of help was necessary. Tonya asked about the employees not being able to smoke in their own vehicles if the library is paying mileage. Bill said if mileage is being paid the vehicle becomes like a rented car owned by the library. Linda asked if the board would like for her to contact an employment specialist to make sure that this policy is perfectly OK. Paul said it was for the good of the library and for the good of the employee. Chuck made a motion to accept this policy. Pat Dolly seconded. The motion carried. The policy will become effective November 1, 2005. All outside ashtrays will be removed at that time.

 

Linda Manderson gave her report on the personnel part of the budget process. She handed out a benefit comparison between library employees and city/county employees. She based these comparisons on newspaper articles, especially what Mayor Smith has asked city employees to cut back on and recent decisions by the County Council.

 

Edra reviewed the 6-month accomplishments toward the 2005 Goals and Objectives with the Board. She thanked the Board for their support. She touched base on the library’s use of listserves, our active teen advisory board, and the fact that 18% of our budget goes toward books and materials. We allocate more than comparable libraries of our size in central Indiana. The Summer Reading program has surpassed last year. She also mentioned the great job Circulation staff does with the displays on the landing in the lobby. Our goal is to have 70% of the residents in the library district have library cards. Currently 68% have cards. September is Library Card Sign Up Month so we hope to exceed the 70% goal during that time.  Bill Surbaugh asked if we could set a goal to contact all the libraries from Tipton around to Greenfield for the purpose of Dynix. Sarah is always looking for other libraries that are interested in a consortium and she will keep the Board informed.

 

Sarah gave her Director’s report with information on all departments. Stephanie Holloway and Kendra Parks have added a part to the web page about the Carnegie Award. It features a picture of Bob Meyer and a list of previous winners. Kevin Gregory, meteorologist for Channel 6, will broadcast his summer Weather Camp live from the Children’s Department Friday.

 

Paul asked for comments from the floor. Chuck mentioned he thinks the vending area has been well received and was a good step for the library to take. Russ said he is afraid that if we remove all the ashtrays from the property people will just throw their cigarettes on the sidewalks and on the ground. Chuck said he would rather send the message that we are not supporting smoking on the property at all by removing the ashtrays. Paul told Russ to do whatever he needed to do. Being no other comments, a motion was made by Bill Surbaugh and seconded by Chuck Lacey to adjourn. Meeting adjourned at 5:55 p.m.

 

 

Respectfully submitted,

 

 

Secretary,

Anderson Public Library

Board of Trustees

____________________________________________________________________

(Return to the Top)

Minutes of the regular monthly meeting of the Anderson City,

Anderson, Stony Creek and Union Townships Public Library

Board of Trustees

August 17, 2005

Trustees Present

Paul Muething, President

Chuck Lacey, Secretary

Rhea Parshall, Treasurer

Greg Fisher, Pat Dolly, Bill Surbaugh

 

Trustees Absent

Joni Brinkman, Vice President

Staff Present

Sarah Later, Director

Edra Waterman, Assistant Director

Lova Gay, Recording Secretary

Tonya Carman, Business Office Manager

Linda Manderson, Stephanie Holloway, Russ Jones, Frank Lucas, Carolyn Metz, Kristin Herr,

Alice Milley

 

Others Present

Jim Freeman, Library Attorney

John Parshall

 

President Muething called the meeting to order at 4:34 p.m. in the Board Room of the main library.

 

A motion was made by Bill Surbaugh and seconded by Rhea Parshall to approve the minutes of the regular meeting held July 20, 2005. Motion carried.

 

Rhea Parshall has examined the claims and found them to be in order subject to any outside audit and made a motion to accept the claims for payment as published. Greg Fisher seconded. Motion to pay the claims carried unanimously.

 

The next item on the agenda was Strategic Planning. The Board has heard presentations from the 2 consultants who submitted proposals. The Board decided to wait until after the budget process to discuss this further. This will also give the board members time to look over the 2 plans.

 

Sarah gave her Director’s report with information on all departments. Stephanie Holloway and Kendra Parks have created a centennial page on our website. The State paid for an energy audit to be conducted on the building. The consultants from Design-Aire who did the audit told Russ we were way ahead of most of the facilities they had done. They will give a full report to share with the Board in approximately 4-6 weeks. The wireless network is up and running thanks to Frank and his staff. The auditor with the State Board of Accounts was here for 3 weeks. We had a clean audit. The auditor will meet with Rhea and Paul for an exit interview sometime after September 9. Sarah has introduced a new item to her Director’s report. At the end of the report she has added progress on goals staff have made. Bill Surbaugh asked how many libraries were contacted to see if they have any interest in joining our consortium. Muncie staff is handling this. So far they have contacted Tipton, Huntington, Union County, and Morrison-Reeves in Richmond. Tipton decided not to join us after it was discovered they were in a different telephone company area. It would not be cost effective for them to join.

 

Frank Lucas gave his report on Computer Services. His department consists of 2 full time and 2 part time staff. They are responsible for 11 servers and 183 computers. Paul asked how they keep abreast of all the changes there are in technology. One way is by attending a lot of workshops, both through the web and in person. They also do a lot of reading of professional journals and looking at resources on the Internet. Paul asked Frank who in Anderson knows more computer technology than Frank and his team. Frank feels no one knows more than his team. Bill asked about the impact of the loop around Anderson. Frank said some switches were installed to be able to handle that type of fiber network. They are still looking at benefits down the road. Total public computers we have are 80. Statistics for this month are staggering. Greg asked if we could tell where vacant computers are at if customers cannot find one. Yes we can. Staff usually take customers to the vacant ones. Rhea asked if we have room to put more computers if we need them. Frank does not think we do. Chuck asked what Frank thought we would need 5 years from now. Frank said we will need faster and better equipment. Rhea complimented Frank on the excellent job he does. Chuck said there is a certain amount of a feeling of comfort having Frank here. Frank said he really appreciated that and he will pass the compliments on to his staff. Paul thanked Frank also for finding solutions to problems and fixing them internally instead of going outside for vendors.

 

Alice Milley gave her report on Technical Services. She handed out stats to show the kind of work her 3 full time and 5 part time people do. It also shows the number of items per month they handle. Chuck asked about the magazine number. That is the number of magazines that have been checked in, barcoded, and put on the shelf for circulation. Alice said it not unusual to have 30 or 40 magazines a day come in to be processed. We started circulating magazines in 2000. We have around 600 different magazine titles. Greg asked if Tech Services processed materials that are withdrawn. Most departments do their own weeding but Alice deletes it from the system and gives them to the Friends to sell. Paul asked Alice to tell her staff how much the Board appreciates their hard work.

 

President Muething asked for comments from the floor. Being none, a motion was made by Rhea Parshall and seconded by Chuck Lacey to adjourn. Meeting adjourned at 4:50 p.m.

 

 

 

Respectfully submitted,

 

 

Secretary,

Anderson Public Library

Board of Trustees

____________________________________________________________________

(Return to the Top)

Minutes of the Public Hearing on the 2006 Budget

of the

Anderson City, Anderson, Stony Creek and Union Townships Public Library.

August 17, 2005

Trustees Present

Paul Muething, President

Chuck Lacey, Secretary

Rhea Parshall, Treasurer

Greg Fisher, Bill Surbaugh, Pat Dolly

 

Trustees Absent

Joni Brinkman, Vice President

 

Staff Present

Sarah Later, Library Director

Lova Gay, Recording Secretary

Tonya Carman, Business Office Manager

Edra Waterman, Assistant Director

Frank Lucas, Linda Manderson, Russ Jones, Carolyn Metz, Kristin Herr, Stephanie Holloway,

Alice Milley

 

Others Present

Jim Freeman, Library Attorney

John Parshall

 

President Muething called the public hearing to order at 4:15 p.m. in the Board Room of the main library.

 

Sarah said the Budget Committee has met twice. They have looked at revenue and expenses. They will meet again next week to finalize plans. The committee and staff are working very hard to have a balanced budget. Rhea asked if the members of the board, other than the Budget Committee, would get any information before the September meeting. Bill Surbaugh, chair of the committee, said information will be sent out after the committee meets next week. He feels there will be a consensus of the committee for a plan to present to the rest of the Board. Chuck asked if he looked at the plan and had a question that he felt Sarah or Paul could not answer could a special meeting be called before September 20? Yes, a special meeting could be called to only discuss the budget. Sarah said information from the Budget Committee meeting Wednesday, August 24 will be mailed to the rest of the Board on August 25. Rhea likes having choices. She feels it saves time. Greg Fisher said the idea of having a committee is for them to do most of the work and make a recommendation to the Board. Rhea said it is fine as long as the other members get information in plenty of time to review it. She feels the Board is made up of 7 valued members who need to be informed before the vote is taken. Bill Surbaugh said if the recommendation of the Budget Committee were voted down they would try to modify their recommendation. He also feels information needs to get to the whole Board as soon as possible.

 

Paul asked for comments from the public. There were none made.

 

A motion was made by Chuck Lacey to adjourn the public hearing.

 

Meeting adjourned at 4:33 p.m.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Respectfully submitted,

 

 

Secretary,

Anderson Public Library

Board of Trustees

____________________________________________________________________

(Return to the Top)

Minutes of the regular monthly meeting of the Anderson City,

Anderson, Stony Creek and Union Townships

Public Library

Board of Trustees

September 20, 2005

 

Trustees Present

Paul Muething, President

Joni Brinkman, Vice President

Chuck Lacey, Secretary

Rhea Parshall, Treasurer

Greg Fisher, Pat Dolly, Bill Surbaugh

 

Trustees Absent

None

Staff Present

Sarah Later, Director

Edra Waterman, Assistant Director

Lova Gay, Recording Secretary

Tonya Carman, Business Office Manager

Linda Manderson, Stephanie Holloway, Russ Jones, Frank Lucas, Tony Fort, Kristin Herr,

Melanie Johnson, Christa Cummings, Millard Sprinkles

 

Others Present

Bob Schuler, United Way

Nancy Taylor, United Way

 

President Muething called the meeting to order at 4:15 p.m. in the Board Room of the main library.

 

Bob Schuler spoke to the Board about United Way’s new mission and ways they are focusing on their services. They have changed their focus to mobilizing communities to create lasting changes in order to improve lives in Madison County.

 

Linda Manderson introduced new staff: Christa Cummings, Information Services, and Millard Sprinkles, Computer Services.

 

A motion was made by Chuck Lacey and seconded by Rhea Parshall to approve the minutes of the public hearing held August 17, 2005. Greg Fisher said he felt the wording should be changed in the 2^nd paragraph, sentence 8. The word “could” should be substituted for “did”. Motion to approve the minutes as corrected carried. A motion was made by Bill Surbaugh and seconded by Rhea Parshall to approve the minutes of the regular meeting held August 17, 2005. Motion carried.

 

Paul Muething has examined the claims and found them to be in order subject to any outside audit and made a motion to accept the claims for payment as published. Rhea Parshall seconded. Bill Surbaugh thinks the Board should have a check and balance system for the Friends of the Library. Sarah said they give us a check once a year for programming and a monthly Treasurer’s report. Motion to pay the claims carried unanimously.

 

Sarah would like permission for the library to sell blank CDs to our customers so they will be able to save information they have created. The CDs will sell for $2 each. A motion was made by Joni Brinkman and seconded by Bill Surbaugh to approve selling blank CDs. Motion carried.

 

The Federal Government has increased mileage reimbursement to 48.5 cents per mile. Sarah presented a resolution for the Board to approve which follows the federal guidelines for mileage. This will be a standing resolution to always follow the federal mileage rate. A motion was made by Bill Surbaugh and seconded by Joni Brinkman to approve this resolution. Carried.

 

Next on the agenda was the approval of the 2006 operating budget. Bill Surbaugh thanked the members of the budget committee and staff involved in the process for all their hard work. He made a motion that the proposed operating budget as submitted be approved for 2006. The motion includes a statement that it   is the desire of the Board to have a balanced budget (revenue and expenses) for 2006, and at the end of 2006 we have an operating balance equal to a minimum of 120 days’ operating funds available. He also would like for the Director to present a monthly report of revenue and expenses. If the revenue projections fail to reach the monthly expectations, we would have a hiring freeze to make necessary adjustments. Pat Dolly seconded this motion. Bill went on to explain that the members of the committee were concerned about employees so they approved a 2% Cost Of Living Adjustment. We are at the maximum tax levy (3.9%) for the first time since Bill has been on the Board. We received word that we will receive more COIT than we anticipated. The revenue projection for 2006 is $4,757,000. This budget also includes 18% for books and materials and $186,500 for the LIRF budget. On Friday, Sarah informed Bill of the extra $180,000 we will receive from COIT and said she would like to put that into personnel. Rhea Parshall asked why more money was put into the operating balance after the extra COIT money was added to revenue. Bill said as the budget rises that 120-day balance also must rise. Rhea does not want to stockpile money and not serve the needs of our customers. Bill said the purpose of the operating balance, along with being able to borrow money from LIRF and the Rainy Day Fund, is to be able to meet the operating needs of the library in anticipation of getting our tax draw in June. There is no line item for interest on money we might have to borrow from a bank without this reserve. Rhea asked if the hiring freeze would be lifted. Yes it will be. She also asked if a merit raise was included. No; only the 2% cost of living increase is budgeted. Bill said some of the scenarios the committee looked at included no raises. Joni Brinkman asked if we could fill the vacant positions now or if we would have to wait. Sarah thinks we can do it now. The Board agreed and Bill said the freeze would go back on only if the revenue doesn’t meet our expectations. Rhea asked what would happen at the end of the year if we have an excess of revenue. It can go into the operating fund, the Rainy Day Fund, or it could be encumbered or we could do an additional appropriation. Chuck asked if the $60,000 increase in personnel covers the 4 positions. Yes, it does. We are not adding any positions. He also asked if cutting the postage by $12,500 is correct. Yes, we are going to cut a service by not mailing the monthly newsletter. Chuck asked if this was a good idea. Rhea does not think so. Sarah does not think it is a good idea either but there is only so much you can cut. They are hard choices to make. Chuck said the committee has done a wonderful job with the budget. Travel expenses also are being cut which means fewer staff will be going to conferences. Building repair and maintenance was cut 40%. Sarah said Russ has made many improvements in the 4 years he has been here. She has put $15,000 in the LIRF budget for building repair if needed. Chuck asked what kind of formula is used for COIT. Tonya said the State projects the levy but she does not know what share we get. We could possibly get excess COIT from the amnesty program. Motion to approve the 2006 operating budget carried unanimously. Paul extended his thanks to the Committee and staff.

 

A motion was made by Joni Brinkman and seconded by Bill Surbaugh to approve the 2006 Library Improvement Reserve Fund budget of $75,000. This is to be used for major capital expenditures. Motion to approve the 2006 LIRF budget carried unanimously.

 

Secretary Lacey had to leave the meeting. President Muething appointed Greg Fisher as Secretary Pro-tem for the duration of the meeting.

 

Next on the agenda was Strategic Planning. Two consultants gave presentations at the August meeting. Joni asked Sarah what she thought. Sarah made a recommendation to the Board in July to hire Bob Smith. The money will be encumbered this year to spend next year. Paul thinks we should go ahead with Strategic Planning. A motion was made by Joni Brinkman to hire Bob Smith to do a Strategic Plan for the library. Pat Dolly seconded, motion carried.

 

Bill Surbaugh made a motion to accept the recommendation of the Insurance Advisory Committee concerning the Health Savings Plan. Joni Brinkman seconded the motion. Bill said this was an opportunity for the Board to

offer employees a more enhanced insurance program. The benefit to the employee who is a low insurance user is that the money is theirs. This plan costs the employee or the library no more money. He would like for it to be mandatory for all new employees who want health insurance coverage. The committee has set a goal of 2 years to transition out of the existing plan. He feels that after 2 years, there will be such an adverse selection in the remaining pool the cost will be unaffordable for the library. The library will make contributions to the plan.

Paul asked what adverse selection meant. Bill said those who were high users of insurance are less likely to select the Health Savings Plan as compared to others. As you get those who are wider users of the medical

savings account then the rate charged to the pool of people in the traditional plan will skyrocket. About 80% of staff will benefit from the new plan. Motion to accept the proposed healthcare plan carried unanimously.

 

A motion was made by Joni Brinkman and seconded by Greg Fisher to approve the Resolution for the Executive Session held August 17, 2005. Motion carried.

 

A motion was made by Bill Surbaugh and seconded by Joni Brinkman to approve the Resolution to join the statewide Internet consortium. We are complying with all filters in order to get the E-rate discount. Motion carried.

 

Melanie Johnson gave her report on Extension Services. They have 4 full-time and 8 part-time employees. They operate 5 different areas: Outreach, Bookmobiles, Jail Services, RSVP, and the library courier service. Paul asked Melanie what she thought the future of the bookmobile would be. She said the Chesterfield stops are very heavily used and she expected the bookmobile would become more important if we get more townships to join the library district so we can let people know of all the services we offer. Melanie also feels we are a vital service to the schools with the school bookmobile.

 

Sarah gave her Director’s report. She said the online credit card fee payment system started last Monday and so far we have had 8 payments made. Congratulations go to Frank Lucas and his staff for getting this up and running. Stephanie Holloway spoke to Marylaine Block, an author and consultant in Iowa, who had seen our website and liked what she saw. She is writing a book called “The Thriving Library”, which is due out next year. We may be included in her marketing chapter.

 

President Muething asked for comments from the floor. Being none, a motion was made by Bill Surbaugh and seconded by Joni Brinkman to adjourn. Meeting adjourned at 5:55 p.m.

 

 

 

Respectfully submitted,

 

 

Secretary,

Anderson Public Library

Board of Trustees

____________________________________________________________________

(Return to the Top)

Minutes of the regular monthly meeting of the Anderson City, Anderson, Stony Creek

and Union Townships Public Library

Board of Trustees

October 19, 2005

Trustees Present

Paul Muething, President

Rhea Parshall, Treasurer

Greg Fisher, Pat Dolly

 

Trustees Absent

Joni Brinkman, Vice President

Chuck Lacey, Secretary

Bill Surbaugh

 

Staff Present

Sarah Later, Director

Edra Waterman, Assistant Director

Lova Gay, Recording Secretary

Tonya Carman, Business Office Manager

Linda Manderson, Stephanie Holloway, Russ Jones, Frank Lucas, Tony Fort, Beth Oljace, Judy Kratzner,

Toni Graddy-Weaver

 

Others Present

13 students from Anderson University

 

President Muething called the meeting to order at 4:15 p.m. in the Board Room of the main library and welcomed the Anderson University students who were in attendance.

 

Sarah shared 2 letters she had received. One was from a customer who praised the Indiana Room staff for the wonderful service experienced via mail in response to an inquiry he had made. The 2^nd letter was from State Representative Teri Austin congratulating Sarah and APL staff for receiving the Chamber’s Centennial Award. She also complimented the entire staff for the valuable contribution the library has made to the community.

 

In the absence of Secretary Chuck Lacey, President Muething appointed Pat Dolly as Secretary Pro-tem.

 

A motion was made by Rhea Parshall and seconded by Greg Fisher to approve the minutes of the regular meeting held September 20, 2005. Motion carried.

 

Rhea Parshall has examined the claims and found them to be in order subject to any outside audit and made a motion to accept the claims for payment as published. Pat Dolly seconded. Motion to pay the claims carried unanimously.

 

Next on the agenda was the Resolution for Advance Draw. We are able to ask for an advance draw of the tax money we are due to receive 2 times a year. This resolution gives Tonya permission to ask for $500,000 from our December tax draw if the funds are available early. Rhea Parshall made a motion to approve this resolution. Pat Dolly seconded this motion, carried.

 

A motion was made by Greg Fisher and seconded by Rhea Parshall to approve the Resolution to Borrow from a Library Fund. This money will be transferred from LIRF to the operating fund.

 

A motion was made by Pat Dolly and seconded by Rhea Parshall to approve the 2006 Salary Schedule. The State Board of Accounts requires the actual salary schedule to be Board approved even though the budget has already been approved. Motion carried.

 

A motion was made by Rhea Parshall and seconded by Pat Dolly to approve the 2006 Holiday Schedule. These are the same holidays the library is always closed. Motion carried.

 

Next on the agenda was the approval of the 2006 Technology Plan. Frank Lucas has worked very hard with the Technology Team on this plan. Every year the Plan needs Board approval and then it is filed with the State Library. This makes us eligible to receive state and federal technology funding and grants. Frank said this also qualifies us to receive e-rate funding. Paul asked Frank if he thought there were any tremendous changes in technology coming along. Frank said yes. E-books and products such as Overdrive are covered in the plan. Paul said it would be interesting to see what happens to the library in 10 or 20 years with all technology changes. Paul thanked Frank and the committee for all their hard work. Greg asked who comprised the Technology Team. There are 10 or 11 staff members from the public service departments. A motion was made by Rhea Parshall and seconded by Pat Dolly to approve the 2006 Technology Plan as presented. Motion carried.

 

We have some surplus Dynix related hardware that we no longer have any use for since we migrated to Horizon. Huntington library has a need for some of these things. Sarah would like permission from the Board to declare these items surplus so we can give them to Huntington library and any other library that might be able to use them. These items have little or no market value and can no longer be purchased from a vendor. Rhea Parshall made a motion to declare these items surplus. Pat Dolly seconded the motion, carried.

 

The new Tobacco Free Policy goes into effect November 1. The policy that was approved this summer by the Board deals with a lot of procedures. We need something very simple to post on the web and put in our policy manuals. We have taken the current Tobacco Free Policy and simply changed the wording to include the grounds. There are already signs posted in various places on the property to let our customers know of this new policy and it has been promoted in the newsletter and the newspaper. A motion was made by Greg Fisher and seconded by Pat Dolly to approve the wording on the Tobacco Free Policy. Greg asked if the parking lots were included in the tobacco free policy. Yes they are. Motion carried.

 

Beth Oljace gave her report on the Indiana Room. They provide customer service in local and Madison County history and Genealogy. They have 2 full-time and 2 part-time staff. The newest tool in Genealogy includes DNA analysis. There are companies you can send DNA samples to that let you know what type of markers you might have, such as Native American. The Indiana Room cannot do this type of testing but they do have information about it. Paul thanked Beth and her staff for all their hard work.

 

Judy Kratzner gave her report on RSVP. They have 1 full time person, 1 part time person, and 1 VISTA person. They just received notification that they have been awarded another 3-year grant, which comes from the Corporation of National and Community Services. RSVP provides volunteers to 60 different agencies. They are always recruiting new volunteers. Rhea thanked Judy for the handouts, which included pictures of various volunteers and activities.

 

Sarah gave her Director’s report. She said we received a lot of praise from the State Board of Accounts and the IRS for our audit. She showed the Board some statistics from the 2004 public library data service report. We are above average in circulation per capita, library visits per capita, and reference transactions per capita. Paul said it was great to see that the people of Anderson are using the library and congratulated Sarah and the staff.

 

President Muething asked for comments from the floor. One of the AU students asked if there would be consequences for people who do not abide by the new smoking ban. Sarah said yes there would be, but she thinks things will go well. This policy also applies to employees. Judy answered a question from one of the students about RSVP and VISTA opportunities. A motion was made by Pat Dolly and seconded by Rhea Parshall to adjourn. Meeting adjourned at 5:00 p.m.

 

 

Respectfully submitted,

 

 

Secretary,

Anderson Public Library

Board of Trustees

____________________________________________________________________

(Return to the Top)

Minutes of the regular monthly meeting of the Anderson City,

Anderson, Stony Creek and Union Townships Public Library

Board of Trustees

November 16, 2005

Trustees Present

Paul Muething, President

Joni Brinkman, Vice President

Chuck Lacey, Secretary

Rhea Parshall, Treasurer

Greg Fisher, Pat Dolly, Bill Surbaugh

 

Trustees Absent

None

 

Staff Present

Sarah Later, Director

Edra Waterman, Assistant Director

Lova Gay, Recording Secretary

Tonya Carman, Business Office Manager

Stephanie Holloway, Russ Jones, Tony Fort, Gene Vincent

 

Others Present

2 students from Anderson University

President Muething called the meeting to order at 4:15 p.m. in the Board Room of the main library.

 

A motion was made by Rhea Parshall and seconded by Greg Fisher to approve the minutes of the regular meeting held October 19, 2005. Motion carried.

 

Rhea Parshall has examined the claims 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. Paul pointed out that the Appropriations Report is in a different format. He asked the other members of the Board to let him know if they do not like this format. He said it shows at-a-glance the comparison of this year to last year. Paul thanked Tonya for her work on this. Bill Surbaugh asked that the same format be used for the income side. Tonya said she would do this. Motion to pay the claims carried.

 

Next on the agenda was the Resolution regarding Rotary. Joni Brinkman made a motion to approve this resolution. Rhea Parshall seconded, carried.

 

A motion was made by Bill Surbaugh and seconded by Greg Fisher to transfer $180,000 from the Rainy Day Fund to the Operating Fund. This will be moved back in December. Motion carried.

 

Sarah recommends purchasing security cameras for key parts of the building to aid in being a backup for Security staff. There are lots of libraries that have security cameras. Russ can do most of the installation in order to keep the cost down. Sarah would like permission to spend up to $25,000 from the LIRF budget. Bill Surbaugh said there appears to be sufficient money in the current operating fund to purchase this. A motion was made by Bill Surbaugh to accept Sarah’s recommendation to purchase security cameras and that they be paid for out of this year’s operating money. Joni Brinkman seconded. Motion to purchase security cameras carried.

 

Edra talked about the 2006 Goals and Objectives. The main changes include adding Spanish materials to the collection. Spanish content has also been added to the web pages, publications, and handouts. Indiana Room staff is gong to do a history of Chesterfield and Union Township like the one done for Lapel. We have 2 librarians who have done lots of outreach to the Hispanic people in our district. Hispanic programming in the Children’s department has been very popular. Sarah said it is an opportunity to serve another segment of our community. Bill Surbaugh questioned the number of grants we apply for. Edra assured him that even though the goals say 6; we apply for many more that that. A motion was made by Chuck Lacey and seconded by Rhea Parshall to approve the 2006 Goals and Objectives as presented. Motion carried.

 

A motion was made by Rhea Parshall and seconded by Bill Surbaugh to change the December meeting date from December 21 to December 14. Motion carried.

 

Greg Fisher gave a report on the Lapel Committee. He first thanked all the committee members. He then made the following recommendations: 1. The feasibility study is terminated, 2. Retain in the Long Range Plan the goal to reinvestigate the Lapel Branch Library, 3. Continue unimpeded to service, maintain, upgrade, reconfigure, and remodel within Lapel’s existing footprint as needed when the funding becomes available, and 4. Discharge the APL Board Committee to evaluate the Lapel Branch Library. Rhea Parshall, a member of this committee, made a motion to accept the recommendations of the Lapel Committee. Sarah said we are committed to the Lapel community and services will not be changed. President Muething thanked Greg and the rest of the committee members for all their hard work. Motion carried.

 

Russ Jones gave his report on the Maintenance Department. He distributed the report on the energy analysis that was done by the State. They said we are leaps and bounds ahead of every other building they have been in. They only had 6 ideas for improvement. One of the things Russ feels needs improvement is the HVAC system on the 3^rd floor. This system was outdated when it was installed. Russ said one of the things he talked to the energy people about was the front entrance. The current set of doors lets cold air blast into the building. They suggested a revolving door. However, this is quite expensive. Russ feels the cost of pumping warmer air into the lobby vs. purchasing revolving doors might make the doors pay for themselves sooner and would definitely add to the comfort level of the lobby. We would also have to add a secondary entrance that is handicapped accessible. An estimate for these doors would be around $20,000. Russ would like to look into this. Greg Fisher wondered about the projected cost of gas and how it would affect the budget. Russ said gas prices only affects Extension and Lapel, not the main building. Russ has already requested that the HVAC system be upgraded at Lapel next year. Paul thanked Russ for his report.

 

Gene Vincent gave his report on Security Services. Some of the changes made in the year he has been here are; Lapel has full fire and burglar protection, there is a much smarter Sonitrol system here at Main that lets us know exactly what part of the building a problem is in, the new incident report software they use, and the new shirts for summer wear that are much cooler. Gene thanked Sarah, Edra, and the Board for their support in making the library system a safer place. Paul thanked Gene for his report.

 

Sarah gave her Director’s report. She said we gave away 226 books in the Fall Reading Program and that the Teen Read N Feed was very well attended both at Main and Lapel.

 

President Muething asked for comments from the floor. Chuck mentioned that Beth Oljace’s article in the paper was quite nice. Paul thanked the AU students for attending the meeting. A motion was made by Rhea Parshall and seconded by Joni Brinkman to adjourn. Meeting adjourned at 5:25 p.m.

 

Respectfully submitted,

Secretary,

Anderson Public Library

Board of Trustees

____________________________________________________________________

(Return to the Top)

Minutes of the regular monthly meeting of the

Anderson City, Anderson, Stony Creek

and Union Townships Public Library

Board of Trustees

December 14, 2005

Trustees Present

Paul Muething, President

Joni Brinkman, Vice President

Chuck Lacey, Secretary

Rhea Parshall, Treasurer

Greg Fisher, Pat Dolly, Bill Surbaugh

 

Trustees Absent

None

 

Staff Present

Sarah Later, Director

Edra Waterman, Assistant Director

Lova Gay, Recording Secretary

Linda Manderson, Stephanie Holloway, Russ Jones, Jill Campbell, Kristin Herr

 

Others Present

Bob Smith, Robert Smith and Associates Consulting Firm

Karesa Knight, Healthy Tobacco-Free Madison County

 

President Muething called the meeting to order at 4:15 p.m. in the Board Room of the main library. He said there were a few changes on the agenda.

 

Karesa Knight, from Healthy Tobacco-Free Madison County, presented a plaque to the library in recognition of maintaining a smoke free facility and grounds.

 

Paul introduced Bob Smith. He is the consultant doing our strategic plan. He will be here for 3 days interviewing managers and taking tours of the facilities. He asked the Board to fill out a Service Response Survey. It is about services they feel the library should be offering in the future. He asked them to choose 5 and prioritize them. He will compile the results and send a report to the Board. Bill asked him if he would be meeting with members of the Board. Mr. Smith said he would be back in late January or February and could schedule meetings at that time either individually or with the whole Board.

 

A motion was made by Rhea Parshall and seconded by Joni Brinkman to approve the minutes of the regular meeting held November 16, 2005. Greg Fisher would like more clarity for the Resolution regarding Rotary. He would like for the minutes to reflect this was for payment of Rotary membership dues. Motion to approve the minutes as corrected carried.

 

Bill Surbaugh would like to make a motion regarding budget procedures. He said he feels these procedures will make the budget process easier and will give the Director and staff reasonable guidelines to follow. He read the outline, comprised of 11 items, and made a motion that these procedures be adopted. Pat Dolly seconded this motion. Bill feels these are realistic options for the Budget Committee and the library. He said this allows flexibility in the budget. The numbers he used comes from 2002, 2003, and 2004 budget figures. Pat Dolly said it was customary to have fixed amounts of the pie for the budget. Rhea asked if we needed a Committee to do this. Paul said no. Rhea said she did not like having a fixed rate for the personal services component. Joni Brinkman said she would feel more comfortable if it were called guidelines, not procedures. Chuck said he feels the Board has 2 responsibilities: to have an adequate and balanced budget and to hire the Director. Rhea thinks Sarah should have been included in this process. Joni asked Sarah if this is something she could live with. Sarah said if these are truly guidelines, but we cannot see the future and she does not know how we can set the 2007 budget now. Rhea asked if these things could be changed and if staff will have important input. Bill answered yes. Pat Dolly feels it provides direction. Bill said the Board expects a balanced budget. Rhea said Sarah and Edra would not do a budget with a deficit. Greg Fisher said he felt guidelines would be helpful, especially to newer Board members. Joni Brinkman thanked Bill for his work on this. Chuck asked Sarah if she had any comments. She said she was really surprised that she wasn’t included in this and did not know about it until yesterday. She said the staff and herself will be happy to follow the Board’s wishes. Bill amended his motion to remove the word procedures from the entire document and Pat amended her second. Paul wants the document to reflect the aspects of personal services. This is salary of the director, salary of assistants,  wages of janitors, employer’s share of FICA, unemployment, PERF, group insurance, workman’s comp, and temporary employees salaries. Chuck feels item #1 should read Board President. Motion carried.

 

Rhea Parshall has examined the claims and found them to be in order subject to an outside audit and made a motion to accept the claims for payment as published. Greg Fisher seconded. Motion carried.

 

Bill Surbaugh made a motion to accept the 2005 Transfer Resolution. This is done every year to move money from lines that are over to lines that are short. Rhea Parshall seconded the motion, carried.

 

Bill Surbaugh made a motion to approve the 2005 Encumbrance Resolution. Chuck Lacey seconded, carried.

 

Bill Surbaugh made a motion to approve the Resolution to transfer funds to the Rainy Day Fund. Pat Dolly seconded, carried.

 

Rhea Parshall made a motion to approve the Resolution to transfer funds to LIRF. Bill Surbaugh seconded, carried.

 

In order to streamline procedures in the Business Office, Sarah would like to eliminate charge accounts at Target, Hobby Lobby, Office Max, Wal-Mart, and Gordon Foods. Sarah would like permission for 4 additional staff members to be able to use the Corporate Credit Card. This would help in the purchasing of programming supplies and necessary purchases for repairs. She would like to appoint a staff person in Children’s, Information Services, Lapel, and Maintenance to be authorized to use this card. A motion was made by Bill Surbaugh and seconded by Rhea Parshall to accept Sarah’s recommendation. Chuck asked if there was a person responsible for the monthly follow up on charges. Yes, the Business Office follows up with each purchase. Staff do not carry the cards, they have to be checked out in the Business Office and returned with receipts of purchase. Motion carried. A motion was made by Rhea Parshall and seconded by Bill Surbaugh to approve the Corporate Credit Card Policy. Carried.

 

Edra Waterman gave an overview of Output Measures that were done system-wide for one week in October. We had an overwhelmingly high satisfaction rate. 99% of the respondents were either very satisfied or satisfied with their library visit. A sampling of the comments were included in her report, there were 7 pages of comments in all. Paul mentioned that he noticed the #1 way our customers hear about programming is through the newsletter. This concerns him that we will not be mailing them any more. He would like for us to really keep an eye on that and keep the Board advised as to customer comments about the newsletter. Pat Dolly said maybe we should look at some alternatives, but still do a mailing. Sarah said it would not leave our minds. Chuck said he is always impressed with how busy staff is when he comes in the building. Rhea said she thinks it is important for the board members to verbalize this to staff whenever they can.

 

 

 

Stephanie Holloway gave her report on the Community Relations Department. She said the 3 staff in this department “wear many hats”. They do PR, marketing, advertising, communications, and publications design. They promote APL by using media relations and public services announcements. The Herald Bulletin continues to publish 100% of the articles and press releases we send to them. They also do printed publications. Another duty is building partnerships such as our successful relationship with David Reddick. Over 450 children participated in the Name the Dog contest we had.

 

Jill Campbell gave her report on Information Services. They have 6 full-time and 4 part-time staff. They changed the department name from Reference to Information Services because they do much more than just reference work. They are able to provide information on any topic and they follow through finding the answer, no matter what. They also develop and maintain the collection. Their number one duty is customer service.

 

Sarah gave her Director’s report. Paul asked Sarah about the mileage rate. He wanted to make sure the Board had given Sarah permission to change the mileage reimbursement rate as the Internal Revenue rate changes.

Yes, they did. She thanked staff for decorating the library so nicely for Christmas. Library card applications are now available on line in English and Spanish. Wireless logins have increased from 22 in September to 111 in November. Since November 1^st there have been over 700 meetings booked for 2006 in our meeting rooms.

 

Greg asked about signs for the Lapel property stating that it is smoke free. We have the signs, but Russ needs to order more sign mounts for them.

 

Bill Surbaugh said that the Madison County Community Foundation has purchased BIGONLINE, a database to search for grant sources. Library staff can go over to the Foundation office and access this database. It is for all not-for-profits in the community to use. Bill also said he would like for us to review the fee structures for non-resident fees and fines.

 

President Muething asked for comments from the floor. Being none, a motion was made by Bill Surbaugh to adjourn. Meeting adjourned at 5:40 p.m.

 

 

 

Respectfully submitted,

 

 

 

Secretary,

Anderson Public Library

Board of Trustees

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