MINUTES OF THE
BAY COUNTY LIBRARY SYSTEM
BOARD OF TRUSTEES
REGULAR BOARD MEETING
August 25, 2004
Michael Gray, Chairperson, called the regular board meeting of the Bay County Library System Board of Trustees to order at 5:16 p.m. on August 25, 2004 in the County Commission Chambers, Bay County Building.
Roll call present: Derald Adcock, James Davison, Michael Gray, and Ella Jane Martini
Excused: Howard Wetters
Other: Georgeanne Adcock, Kevin Ayala, Rick Bukowski, Trish Burns, Pam Clifford, Marilyn Kaeckmeister, Steve List, Sheila Pearsons, and Eileen Schulz
MINUTES
Motion by J. Davison, seconded by D. Adcock, to approve the minutes of July 28, 2004 regular board meeting and the August 2, 2004 Special Board meeting minutes. 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
July 2004 Financial Report
July 2004 Penal fine Report – Kevin Ayala reported that the July Penal Fines of $26,320, on an actual to budget comparison, are on track so far this year. He said if the Penal Fines continue to follow this pattern it is unlikely there will need to be any cuts made to the budget.
Motion by D. Adcock, seconded by J. Davison, to receive the July 2004 Financial Report and the July 2004 Penal Fine Report. Motion carried.
OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
There was no public input.
CORRESPONDENCE
Rick Bukowski questioned whether there are statistics supporting the response to Frances Stafford’s Please Let Us Know form, which suggests the library charge patrons outside of Bay County for a library card. He noted that the reply included in the packet, states there are many libraries around the state that do not charge for library cards. Trish Burns responded there are many libraries in the State of Michigan who belong to the Michicard program which allows, for example a Bay County Library System patron, to use their card at other member libraries at no charge. The use of cards from other libraries with a Michicard membership could be tracked at the circulation desk of each branch, if there was a need but currently, this information is not recorded. M. Gray added that charging for library cards was discussed at the Finance Committee meeting this afternoon. Trustees were in agreement the concept of a free, public library is important to hold onto and that the library would want to resist the notion of charging for library cards.
Letter from Karen Wiedman – Rochester Hills Public Library – In a letter from K. Wiedman from Rochester Hills Public Library, she thanked Marilyn Kaeckmeister for sharing her bookmobile expertise. The Rochester Hills Public Library has recently purchased a Bookmobile for their library and had relied on information from M. Kaeckmeister. T. Burns added that it has been a nice collaboration between the two libraries as M. Kaeckmeister has visited their library and K. Wiedman has visited M. Kaeckmeister to learn more about Bay County Library System’s Bookmobile.
Motion by D. Adcock, seconded by E. J. Martini, to receive the correspondence. Motion carried.
PROGRESS AND SERVICE REPORT
Summer Reading Program – Trish Burns reported the Summer Reading Program has ended for this year with a slight enrollment increase from last year. She thanked the many sponsors who helped once again to make for another successful Summer Reading Program.
Horizon Migration – T. Burns shared that the migration to the new circulation system cam on line August 19. T. Burns said that patrons should not see much of a change as the public access catalog looks very similar to the Dynix version.
Telecirc – T. Burns explained that Telecirc is the automated telephone notification system that will go into effect September 1, 2004. Instead of a paper notification, patrons will have the option to receive an automated phone call alerting them to materials that have come in for them. These phone calls will only be made during the daytime, not on Sundays or holidays. This system will save on postage, envelopes and staff time for processing the notices.
Scouts Help with Parking Lots – T. Burns thanked Scout Master Ron Comtois and Boy Scouts Shane Samborn, Nate Telfor, Dan Guerrero, John Samborn and Matt Rouse from Troup 108, for their help in painting the parking lines at the Bay City and South Side Library Branches. Ella Jane Martini suggested that the staff and library board honor these Boy Scouts at the next library board meeting. Steve List added this project enabled these five scouts to earn their Eagle Scout badge.
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.
Finance Committee: - Ella Jane Martini, Chairperson – E. J. Martini reported from the Finance Committee meeting held this afternoon, it was recommended for board approval, to release the Request for Proposal for legal council.
Motion by E. J. Martini, seconded by J. Davison, to approve the R.F.Q. for legal council and to authorize staff to solicit bids and to work with the QBS committee to determine which firms will be interviewed. Motion carried.
Satellite Branch at the Bay City Mall – E. J. Martini gave a brief update on the proposal from the Bay City Mall to keep a satellite branch at the mall after the Sage Branch Library moves back into their Midland Street location. She shared that the Bay City Mall has offered to keep the same location the library presently has at the mall; to have a coffee shop in the library and the rent for this to be given to the library; purchase 15 computers for public use at the library; and to reduce the yearly rent to $15,000 per year. She added that it is a very attractive offer and that trustees are looking into what options there are to allow the library to stay open at the mall.
Budget 2005 Hearing – E. J. Martini shared that the 2005 Budget hearing was held on August 13, 2004 and has been approved by the County.
Donations on the Web – Finance Committee members also discussed the possibility of having available on the library’s web page the different options for making donations to the library. It was suggested to list separately the Capital Campaign, commemorative or memorial donations and the Bay County Library Designated Fund administered by the Bay Area Community Foundation. The committee will bring a proposal for adoption by the full board.
Charge for library cards – E. J. Martini shared that she has had contact from several Senior Citizens asking why the library is now charging $75 for library cards. She believes they have come to this understanding because of a letter submitted to the editor of the Bay City Times. Staff has been asked to remind the public there is no charge for library cards at the Bay County Library System and also has directed T. Burns to request the Bay City Times print a notice in their paper stating the library cards at the Bay County Library System are free.
Sattelite Branch at the Bay City Mall: Referring to the Bay City Mall’s proposal for a satellite branch of the library at the mall, J. Davison asked if the Finance Committee would have material on this proposal for review by the full board. E. J. Martini responded that once the research is completed there would be a presentation to the full board. She noted there would be a significant decrease in the rent, $15,000 per year compared to the $45,000 per year that the library is now paying. She added this branch would be much smaller than what is currently there now; using some of the area as a community room that the library may be able to rent out to the public.
UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Library Director Search Update – M. Gray gave a brief update on the search for the Library Director position. Following the interviews from August 2, 2004, it was suggested that M. Gray contact chairs of the boards these candidates report to along with contacts made to the Directors of the cooperatives their library’s belong to. He has nearly completed these reference checks and believes they would be ready for a Special Board meeting next week for the full board’s review.
OTHER
Sage Branch Library Basement – M. Gray referred to the approved plan for the Sage Branch Library basement repairs and the discussion that followed regarding who would pay for these repairs. He asked R. Bukowski if he would attend a meeting S. List will be arranging with representatives from Skanska and FTC&H along with Howard Wetters to discuss this and to bring back a report to the full board.
NEW BUSINESS
Reading is Bay County’s Business – Pam Clifford – Bay Area Chamber of Commerce – Pam Clifford is from the Bay Area Chamber of Commerce and is the Director of the Education Work Force Development Division. She has come this evening to share with the board a relatively new program being offered by the Chamber, and to invite the library’s participation. The Chamber is gearing up for another successful year for the program; Reading is Bay County’s Business. During the past school year there were 215 volunteers from 60 area businesses and organizations who read aloud to 400, kindergarten through fifth grade classrooms. In the course of the first year, this program touched the lives of over 8,700 students in Bay County. Volunteers read aloud to students with books based on the core values of what students are currently being taught in their Social Studies curriculum such as: common good; justice; equality; diversity; patriotism; and popular sovereignty. The volunteer spends approximately 20 minutes to read the book; discuss the core value behind the book and also share their enthusiasm for reading and how it affects them in their careers. The books are provided by the Chamber and are given to the classroom as gift at the end of the reading session. The goals of this program are to help improve the reading skills of the elementary students; emphasize the value of reading and to bring employers and careers into the classroom. She invited library staff and trustees to volunteer for this very worthwhile program that begins November 1 and ends on May 31. This program covers all schools in Bay County.
MMLC Plan of Service – M. Gray referred to the by-laws of the Mideastern Michigan Library Cooperative which requires a non-staff member to represent the library on the board of the MMLC. Jane Smith was appointed as representative for the Bay County Library System and is an avid library user. She has been a regular attendee at these meetings. M. Gray, recently, had an opportunity to talk with her regarding the Plan of Service and she shared that she supports the proposed amendments and speaks very highly of the director for the MMLC. T. Burns pointed out some of the significant changes are the new membership of the Shiawassee/Corunna area library and an addition to the Attendance section on page 34: Currently the bylaws stipulate a trustee cannot serve for more than six consecutive years, and be off the board for at least one, 3-year term before being appointed again. T. Burns explained that if a replacement was appointed to serve out a remaining term that time would not be counted in the six year stipulation that an individual could be on the board.
E. J. Martini asked T. Burns to speak with J. Smith to either submit a written update or to present a verbal update at the library board meetings.
Motion by E. J. Martini, seconded by D. Adcock, to approve the MMLC Plan of Service. Motion carried.
Computer Reservation System – T. Burns described this software as a PC management system that will track how much time patrons have for using the public computers. Once this software is installed on the public computers, it will alleviate any question of how much time the patron has to use the computer. A message will appear letting the user know how much time they have left to use the computer and will also know whether there is another person waiting to use it and if not, will offer the current user additional time if they so chose. The pricing for this program has come in at $12,000 to $20,000. T. Burns shared that $7,500 of the cost is in the tech budget and because of the membership with MMLC, the library will receive $5,000 for computer upgrades. She is asking for board approval to purchase a system not to exceed $12,500.
Motion by J. Davison, seconded by D. Adcock, to purchase a Computer Reservation System as outlined in the board packet. The cost shall not exceed $12,500. Motion carried.
OTHER
D. Adcock thanked the board for the opportunity to view the video tapes of the three candidates for the director’s position.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
ADJOURN
Motion by J. Davison, seconded by D. Adcock, to adjourn the meeting at 5:55 p.m.
_____________________ _______________________
Derald Adcock Eileen Schulz
Secretary/Treasurer Recording Secretary