MINUTES OF THE
BAY COUNTY LIBRARY SYSTEM
BOARD OF TRUSTEES
REGULAR BOARD MEETING
June 23, 2004
Michael Gray, Chairperson, called the regular board meeting of the Bay County Library System Board of Trustees to order at 8:00 p.m. on June 23, 2004 in the County Commission Chambers, Bay County Building.
Roll call present: Derald Adcock, James Davison, Michael Gray, Ella Jane Martini, and
Howard Wetters
Other: Georgeanne Adcock, Kevin Ayala, Rick Bukowski, Trish Burns, Dave Clark,
Stephanie Corona, Steve List, and Eileen Schulz
Michael Gray stated the reason for the late start time for the scheduled 6:15 p.m. meeting was due to the previous lengthy work session meeting trustees attended to discuss the Guaranteed Maximum Price for Central Library. He anticipates the board will take action on the GMP later in this meeting.
MINUTES
Motion by J. Davison, seconded by D. Adcock, to approve the minutes of May 26, 2004 regular board meeting as amended. Motion carried.
BILLS PAYABLE
Motion by D. Adcock, seconded by E. J. Martini, to approve the bills as presented for payment. Motion carried.
FINANCIAL REPORT
May 2004 Financial Report
May 2004 Penal fine Report
Motion by J. Davison, seconded by E. J. Martini, to receive the May 2004 Financial Report and the May 2004 Penal Fine Report. Motion carried.
OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
There was no public input.
CORRESPONDENCE
“Please Tell Us What You Think” - B. Fath, Penny Gaiser, Cindy Lipinski, and Karen Peglow. M. Gray noted the correspondence received from these four individuals; refer to the Sage Branch Library, and when it will be opened to the public. He thanked Trish Burns for her response to them.
Letter Bay County Board of Commissioner - M. Gray congratulated Ella Jane Martini on her reappointment of a 5-year term to the Bay County Library Board of Trustees.
Motion by E. J. Martini, seconded by D. Adcock, to receive the correspondence and the letter from the Bay County Board of Commissioners announcing the reappointment of Ella Jane Martini to a five year term on the Bay County Library System Board of Directors. Motion carried.
PROGRESS AND SERVICE REPORT
Horizon Training – T. Burns shared that the Horizon training is the new software for the library’s circulation that will be on-line sometime in August. Staff is currently attending a training session for the new software, which will take place in the library’s computer lab. There will be two weeks in July and a week in August for this training, which will limit the time the computer lab will be available for use by the public. These training session hours will be posted in advance.
Calendar Partnering – James Davison asked for a further explanation on the calendar partnering with Saginaw Valley State University. T. Burns responded that this is a Tri-County calendar of events that will give the Bay County Library System a venue to advertise many of the programs at the library along with other events scheduled throughout the region. The library’s web page will have a link to this calendar to make it easily accessible. SVSU has also offered to pay for the training and software to maintain the calendar.
Motion by D. Adcock, seconded by J. Davison, to receive the Progress and Service Report. Motion carried.
COMMITTEE REPORTS
Personnel Committee – James Davison, Chairperson.
No Meeting. No report.
Finance Committee – Ella Jane Martini, Chairperson
2004 Budget Adjustment – Ella Jane Martini reported that the Finance Committee is recommending for approval the budgetary adjustments for 2004. Kevin Ayala presented a brief explanation of those adjustments. On the revenue side Penal Fines have been reduced by $49,500 due to the past five month’s trend. Interest on investments has been decreased as well by $10,000, as the interest on investments have not come in as anticipated at the beginning of the year. However, State Aid revenue has come in at $13,175 higher than budgeted. With these changes the total revenue budget is decreased by $41,825.
The significant changes for the 2004 expenses are due to employee health care coverage, as employees have selected different insurance coverage and have opted out of the more expensive Traditional plan, a savings of $74,395. Under Personal Services, there have been changes made due to a shift in the time line for completion of the construction projects. The category for Other Services has a savings of $16,625, due to the switch from White Pine Library Cooperative to Mideastern Michigan Cooperative. The budget for Legal Fees has been increased due to anticipated union negotiations later this year. The other significant change is in the Miscellaneous/Contingency line item due also to the shift in the time line for the construction projects. Because of this, $11,932 will be transferred from this account and placed in the restricted, 1 mill account.
Rick Bukowski questioned the budget for Building Repair, that if this expense was incurred because of the problems with the roof at the Auburn Branch, why the architects are not taking care of this expense as well as the others. E. J. Martini responded that the invoices had not yet been sent to the architect but will be presented to them for reimbursement. K. Ayala pointed out that the line item for Insurance & Bonds came in lower than estimated, a savings of $8,000 and will be transferred back to the restricted, 1 mill account. He has also moved $2,000 into the Machinery & Equipment account in anticipation of purchasing a new recording system for library board meetings. A recommendation will be brought to the next Finance Committee meeting. These reductions in expenditures have helped compensate for the reduction in revenues and the library should now be in good shape financially through the end of the year.
Motion by J. Davison, seconded by H. Wetters, to approve the 2004 Budget Adjustment. Motion carried.
2005 Preliminary Budget – The Finance Committee is recommending approval of the 2005 Preliminary Budget. E. J. Martini stated that this is a first look at the budget for 2005 and must be submitted by the library to the County Commissioners by July. K. Ayala explained the process is to submit a balanced preliminary budget in July for the following year, but as the year progresses, the opportunity is there to adjust it as the end of the year draws nearer.
Motion by J. Davison, seconded by D. Adcock, to approve the preliminary 2005 Budget. Motion carried.
RFQ Review for Legal Council – E. J. Martini explained the Request for Qualifications for Legal Council was reviewed at the last Finance Committee meeting and has been deferred back to staff for additional clarification verbiage. M. Gray commented that the library’s Purchasing Policy provides the option to appoint a Quality Based Selection committee to act as a review board for the applications. Their role would be to review each proposal and with a set of established criteria, rank and score each one and determine the firms that would be interviewed. It was discussed at the Finance Committee meeting, that the full board will interview the candidates who meet the minimum score requirement. It was decided that the QBS Committee would include the Business Manager, Interim Director, and both chairpersons from the Finance and Personnel Committee.
LIBRARY IMPROVEMENT PROJECT
To accommodate the schedule of those present the order of the agenda was rearranged.
Construction Manager – Mark Paulus, Skanska
Construction Project Invoices – M. Gray asked that corrections be made to several bookkeeping issues within the packet of construction project invoices.
Motion by E. J. Martini, seconded by D. Adcock, to approve the Construction Project Invoices certificate #24 in the amount of $435,310.46. Motion carried.
Pinconning Branch – Technology and Security Quotes - Stephanie Corona shared that it was difficult to obtain bids for the Technology and Security for the Pinconning Branch, due mostly to the Project Labor Agreement where contractors were not able to sign, not interested etc., and also because of the size of the Pinconning building in addition with the workload they are experiencing at this time.
Motion by E. J. Martini, seconded by J. Davison, to approve the Technology and Security Quotes for the Pinconning Branch and if funds are available, should come from the Technology Budget. Motion carried.
Sage hand rails – M. Gray explained that according to the building code it has been determined to add infills to the handrails at the Sage Branch Library and that the recommendation from the library board will also need to be approved by the Architectural Review Committee. It was suggested after two trustees visited the Sage Branch Library this past week that the entire switchback ramp, the handrails which are not attached to the brick wall on the East and West staircases, and to both sides of the center staircase leading to the front doors of the library, should have infills installed. It was noted the installation of these infills would not delay the opening of the Sage Branch Library.
Motion by J. Davison, seconded by E. J. Martini, to approve the Sage hand rails location and design. Motion carried.
Sage Basement – M. Gray explained it was the intention to have a written plan for the Sage Basement available for discussion this evening, however, there was concern regarding where the water would drain to, as it may cause icy conditions during the winter months in the parking lot. Skanska was not able to receive the necessary documents for pricing in time for this meeting. Mark Paulus responded that Skanska should have those figures available by late this week or early next week. M. Gray suggested that the board could hold a Special Meeting to discuss this if the information is available.
Central Library Exterior
– M. Paulus displayed samples of two different exterior finishes for Central
Library. Trustees discussed the merits of the Rock Cast, smooth finished
surface compared to the split face product for the exterior of Central
Library. M. Paulus explained that it is the smooth finished product that is
included in the base bid for Central Library. The split face product is
offered as an alternate, which if approved, would be a credit of $5,400 $54,000.
It was noted that the County Building has a similar finish as the Rock Cast
sample and would be coming from a company located in Indiana. The split face
product is made locally at VanPoppelen Brothers. Neither product is a natural
limestone. S. Corona explained that there is brick used from the local
business around all four sides of the building. H. Wetters commented that
Central Library was designed to look like the County Building; the limestone
façade is a historic façade for government buildings. He believes if the split
face material is used it will appear to look like material that would be used
for a foundation. There are no other buildings in Bay City where the split
face material is used; they are either brick or limestone.
Motion by E. J. Martini to approve the product from the local firm.
After further discussion, E. J. Martini withdrew her motion.
It was noted that the split face material is used on the new Pinconning Branch Library. Trustees asked about the maintenance on the split face material. Keith Rittenger responded that there is minimal maintenance needed; the color of the product is all the way through the blocks and will not need to be painted in the future.
Motion by H. Wetters, seconded by D. Adcock, to use the smooth, Rockcast material on the exterior for Central Library.
Roll Call: D. Adcock – yes; E. J. Martini – no; H. Wetters – yes; J. Davison – no; M. Gray – yes. Motion carried.
Central Library GMP – M. Gray explained that trustees have discussed at a Work Session Meeting held prior to this meeting, the GMP for Central Library. It is being recommended for approval as discussed at that meeting and is attached to these minutes. M. Gray, referred to the document the board has received regarding the asbestos removal and whether it is included in the GMP. M. Paulus responded that there is an allowance for the abatement in the GMP and what is before the board is a recommendation on the bids received, for the removal. Bids have come in lower than the allowance and a separate approval is needed from the library board.
Motion by E. J. Martini, seconded by J. Davison, to approve Central library’s GMP as it has been discussed and recommend to the Building Authority that they issue the bids.
Roll Call: D. Adcock – yes; E. J. Martini – yes; J. Davison – yes; H. Wetters – yes; M. Gray – yes. Motion carried.
Asbestos Abatement – M. Gray stated he has received a copy of a letter addressed to Bob Redmond, Building Authority, from Skanska USA, for removal of asbestos from the buildings located on the site for Central Library. M. Gray asked if this work is included in the Guaranteed Maximum Price or if it is in addition to the GMP. Mark Paulus responded that what is included in the GMP is an allowance for the asbestos abatement and what is before the board this evening is a recommendation to approve the bid for removal, which has come in less than what has been budgeted. M. Paulus is seeking approval for the asbestos removal and shortly thereafter, demolition will begin.
Motion by J. Davison, seconded by H. Wetters, to approve the bid for removal of asbestos from the Old Jail and other buildings on the Central Library site. The cost for the abatement of the Old Jail will come from the County, not the library fund. Motion carried.
M. Paulus commented that once the Building Authority has approved the GMP and the asbestos removal bid, it will then take approximately two weeks to receive approval from the State of Michigan to begin the abatement. The abatement of the property will be done first; then Skanska will mobilize on the Central Library construction site placing fencing around the site. J. Davison questioned if the city still needs to approve the vacation of Jefferson Street. M. Gray responded the city has done so. H. Wetters commented as a point of clarification, the City wishes to offer to the library a one year license for Battery Park, and given that the vacation of Jefferson Street leads to Battery Park, the questions is whether the library will need permission to fence off the area for the construction. M. Gray stated that Steve List has a letter from the City, giving permission for a temporary construction fence, however if there cannot be a solution for the use of Battery Park, M. Gray is in favor of fencing exclusive of Battery Park.
Battery Park Agreement – M. Gray explained that at the last board meeting, H. Wetters and S. List were asked to work with Gary Bosco, legal counsel, to resolve the issue regarding Battery Park. Discussion has been on going for the past several years to obtain a lease for the use of Battery Park rather than selling it to the library, as it is designated as a public square. It has only been recently that the City has made the board aware that they can only offer a license, not a lease. A license would need to be renewed on a yearly basis and could be revoked at anytime. This development is a major concern for trustees as there has been $200,000 dedicated for enhancements and care of the park, and to now have only a 12-month license for an arrangement such as this is not a situation the board wishes to enter into. M. Gray stated the library board has had a lease for Pershing Park for the past 15 years without any complaints over the quality of the maintenance or that the library has stopped the public from using the park.
Trustees have received a letter from G. Bosco addressing the issues and concerns the board has with the City’s proposal. M. Gray asked H. Wetters’ and S. List for their comments on the content of the letter and whether they believe that it reflects the direction that the board gave to G. Bosco. M. Gray pointed out it was a request of trustees that the letter be directed to the Mayor and City Commissioners not to City staff as this draft shows.
H. Wetters responded that there are portions of the letter that clearly outline how long the library board has been working on this issue. He recalls many meetings he has been involved with regarding the issues of obtaining a 99 year lease for Battery Park, similar to what the library holds for Pershing Park. He pointed out the library has incurred costs for legal council to draft a variation of the 99 year lease which the board has for Pershing Park, at the City’s request. There are also other portions of the letter that do not strongly state the library board’s displeasure with the City’s change in position after this amount of time. The Library Board was very clear at the meeting with G. Bosco that they were not pleased with this development. The last page of the document is a letter from the City’s attorney, which offers language to be included in the license agreement, but is not an affirmative defense for the library. Although it states that the City recognizes the money invested by the library, to say ‘…the City will not act in an arbitrary or capricious manner’ it would be up to the library to take the issue to court an incur expenses to do so to prove otherwise. Given the money the library would be investing, this language is not adequate. The board had given direction to G. Bosco to have the standard be ‘gross negligence’ on the part of the library, to be incorporated into the language, where the only way the City would terminate the license is whether the library was grossly negligent in their duties to the park, the library would find this language acceptable. H. Wetters, from his perspective, believe this language should be the minimum of what needs to be changed. He compared it with the language offered from the City’s attorney, the burden of proof falls on the library board; with the language the library has offered, the burden of proof falls on the City, to prove that the library has been grossly negligent.
Gross negligence is a higher standard and harder to prove than arbitrary or capricious and the burden of proof with gross negligence as the standard, would fall on the City, not fall on the library board as their offered language would. H. Wetters pointed out, that as a board trustee; he would not want to bind a future board trustee with an agreement that may cost a significant amount of money, if the City would change its mind. H. Wetters believes that G. Bosco did not completely represent the feelings of the board. He suggested that as the board has asked other legal firms to address other specific concerns of the library board that the library board may want to seek an alternate legal council to address this issue as well.
M. Gray commented that over a year ago, G. Bosco’s partner had pointed out that the library could not proceed with any construction that impinged on city property, without a signed agreement. The fact that there still is not one, and now the library is ready to begin construction, is disappointing. M. Gray does not support investing taxpayer’s dollars to a site the library does not have some measure of control over. During the course of the discussion regarding this issue it was suggested that a staff member might possibly eject a visitor for using the park, which is absurd, as the library, not in the past 15 years that they have had a lease for Pershing Park, has ever asked anyone to leave for sitting in the park, or has the library had any complaints about the maintenance done on the park.
H. Wetters pointed out the crux of the matter is the City does not want the library to be able to use the park for only library business, such as a special event. The City seems to be maintaining the library would need to keep the park opened to the public at all time; however there are a number of times that the City closes parks maintained by them, to the public for special events such as the 4th of July Fireworks, River Roar, Pig Gig, etc. The City seems to be insistent the library could not operate Battery Park in front of the library, under the same set of rules that they do. H. Wetters stated he has never had an answer from G. Bosco or the City, as to why this is. He does not know if asking someone else to work on this issue will bring the acceptable results the library is after or not, but it is an issue that needs to be cleared up. He asked trustees if they would want a different law firm to address the issue. E. J. Martini questioned whether the City Commissioners are aware of the library’s concern. H. Wetters responded that he does not believe they are as the letter was not addressed to them as requested. M. Gray asked for a motion to authorize H. Wetters to meet with legal council and request the same letter as was requested two weeks ago and if he cannot do so, give the authority to H. Wetters to seek different legal council to accomplish this.
Motion by J. Davison, seconded by D. Adcock, to authorize H. Wetters to meet with G. Bosco to draft the letter asked for two weeks ago, and if it cannot be accomplished, to give him the authority to seek an alternative legal council. Motion carried.
M. Gray asked H. Wetters to inform G. Bosco this letter is addressed to the wrong parties as well.
National City Bank Environment Report – S. List reported that he has received the Phase I environmental assessment report and has forwarded it to the library’s legal council. After it is review it will be determined whether or not to proceed with a Phase II test.
CLOSED SESSION to consider matters exempt from disclosure under statue (as provided for under PA 267 of 1976) It was the general consensus of trustees to move the Closed Session portion of this meeting to a later date.
Motion by E. J. Martini, seconded by D. Adcock, to adjourn the meeting at 9:10 p.m.
_____________________ _______________________
Derald Adcock Eileen Schulz
Secretary/Treasurer Recording Secretary