City of Champaign Public Library Board of Trustees met October 18.
Here is the minutes provided by the Board:
1. The meeting was called to order at 5:35 p.m. by Vice President, Pearson.
2. Members Present: Mark Ballard, Katie Blakeman, Deb Busey, Trisha Crowley, Michael La Due, Minnie Pearson, and Greg Stock
Members Absent: Charles Lansford and Rajeev Malik
Library Staff Present: Donna Pittman, Amy Al-Shabibi, Jill Bouvet, Essie Harris, Debbie Keith, Brittany Michaels, Amanda Raklovits, Mike Rogalla and Brandon Stokes
Visitors Present: Natalie Frankenberg, League of Women Voters and Jennifer Martinson, Lauterbach & Amen, LLC
3. Approve the Agenda:
• Motion by Ballard to approve the agenda as presented; seconded by La Due. All: Aye.
4. Approve the Minutes:
• Regular Meeting Minutes of September 20, 2017
• Motion by La Due to approve the minutes as presented; seconded by Busey. All: Aye.
5. 2016-17 Audit Report: Jen Martinson, Lauterbach & Amen:
• Martinson reported the audit revealed an unmodified opinion, which is the highest opinion they can offer.
Crowley arrived at 5:38 p.m.
• Martinson reviewed the report and pointed out various fund balances. The Management Letter contained a recommendation due to a new GASB statement, which requires an actuary study be done for the fiscal year ending June 2018.
• Motion to receive the audit as presented by Busey; seconded by Ballard. All: Aye.
6. Director’s Report:
a. Douglass Branch Library Activities Update:
• Pittman introduced Amanda Raklovits, Children’s Librarian at Douglass Branch, who gave a presentation that highlighted statistics, programming, and events such as the 20th anniversary of the Branch.
Stock arrived at 5:48 p.m.
• Pittman reported that after working with Joe DeLuce from the Park District, an agreement has been reached allowing Douglass Branch Library to reserve the meeting room at Douglass Branch all the hours the Branch is open. Formerly, the Park District booked the room evenings and weekends. This means groups will not be charged when using the meeting room during library hours.
• Pittman announced Staff Development Day will be held on Friday, November 10 (Veteran’s Day Observed). The main library and Douglass Branch will be closed for staff training. In anticipation of beginning our strategic planning process, Sue Grey of United Way will speak about community needs and trends they are seeing, and Skokie Public Library Director, Richard Kong, will talk about strategic planning and organizational culture.
• Pittman met with the architects at ILA last week. They discussed finishes for the Launch Center and the construction timeline.
• Pittman met with a group of Library Directors in Central Illinois at the Decatur Public Library. This group will be getting together periodically to share ideas and information.
7. Strategic Planning Consultant Selection:
• Blakeman reported the Visioning Committee met last week to review the RFP’s submitted for the Strategic Planning Consultant. The proposals were narrowed down to three consultants who were then interviewed. Library Strategies was chosen as the finalist. The price of their contract was within the budget and the committee was impressed with their strategy. The consensus of the committee is to recommend Library Strategies to begin the process in January.
• Motion from committee to authorize the Library Director to enter into a contract with Library Strategies as presented. All: Aye.
8. Telephone System Contract:
• Pittman presented a proposal for a new telephone system for the library. The City hired a consultant who assessed the City’s and the Library’s needs and issued the RFP’s, and helped with the selection of a vendor. The Library will contract independently with the vendor. The cost will be $66,808 for 141 phones for the library, which is well under what we budgeted. The City Council will review the proposal at its November 7th meeting. Pittman recommends this purchase and requests the Library Board to allow her to sign the contract once it is approved by the City Attorney. This expense will be paid from the Capital Fund.
• Motion by Stock to authorize Pittman to sign the Telephone System Contract as presented; seconded by La Due. All: Aye.
9. 2018 Per Capita Grant Requirements:
• Pittman reported that the 2018 Per Capita Grant application is due in January. New requirements are set every year. Pittman will provide the requirements for trustees via email. These include reviewing the Trustee Facts File, online education that focuses on safety, and services provided by the Illinois State Library Literacy Program. Pittman will send the links for members to watch prior to the November Board meeting.
10. Biannual Review of Closed Sessions:
• Busey recommends four sets of closed minutes be released at this time.
• Motion by Crowley to approve four sets of minutes to be opened as recommended; seconded by Ballard. All: Aye.
11. Financial Reports:
a. Approve “Check Register” and “Handwritten Checks” for September 2017:
• Keith attended the property tax update meeting last month at the City. For the tax year ending 2017, we will likely have an increase of 7% and optimistically a 14% increase. They are projecting a 5% increase in the 2018 tax year.
• Motion by Busey to file the check register, handwritten checks and check summary for September 2017 in the amount of $532,969.78 as presented; seconded by La Due. All: Aye.
b. 2017-2018 Financial Statements:
• Motion by Ballard to accept the financial statements for September 2017 as presented; seconded by La Due. All: Aye.
12. Correspondence and Communications:
• Articles from The News-Gazette written by Kelly Strom, Collection Development Manager, entitled “Darker Fiction for Shorter Days” (September 17, 2017) and “Shining the light on the darker side of reading” (October 1, 2017).
• Article naming Carol Ross Barney, (Ross Barney Architects who designed Champaign Public Library in 2009) the AIA Chicago 2017 Lifetime Achievement Award (October 11, 2017).
13. Committee and Liaison Reports:
a. Champaign Public Library Foundation:
• Pittman commented that no meeting was held this month and a Foundation event for donors in connection with the appearance of Gregory Maguire will be held at the Country Club.
b. Friends of the Champaign Public Library:
• Pittman reported the Friends approved a gift that supports an upcoming appearance by Jamie Ford and continuance of our art connection project with Unit 4 schools.
14. Comments from the Audience:
• None
15. Comments from the Board:
• None.
16. Next Meetings or Events:
• Policy Committee Meeting, November 1, 2017, Burnham Conf. Room, Main Library
• Staff Development Day, Friday, November 10, 2017 – Library Closed
• Regular Meeting, Wednesday, November 15, 2017, 5:30 p.m., Burnham Conf. Room, Main Library
• December – Holiday Gathering
17. Adjournment:
• Motion by Stock to adjourn; seconded by Blakeman. All: Aye. The meeting adjourned at 6:21 p.m.
https://cdn.champaign.org/October-18--2017-Board-Minutes.pdf
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