Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Tom Bunger, Steven Higgs, Rita Lichtenberg, Antonia Matthew, Janet Patterson, and Mercy Rodriguez.
President John Walsh called the meeting to order at 4:30 p.m. in Program Room 2B.
John presented a portion of the IN the Public Trust manual called “Board Member Ethics.” He indicated it came from the Indiana State Library.
Randy said he had thought about this and felt the Board was not saying the same thing in public as it was in private. He read a prepared statement. Randy said these standards were examples to follow. Just within the past few weeks, he received a letter from an officer indicating that when Randy spoke out about Ellettsville he was wrong. Randy felt what was wrong was for him to have received this message. Randy indicated the letter he received was an attempt to try to intimidate him. After becoming a board member, Randy said he had quickly found himself criticized. By the time summer came, he was the first trustee to speak out on some sensitive issues and open staff communication with trustees. Randy then read a letter he received from the past president of the board. Randy said he also received an anonymous letter from school board members. Randy indicated he only shared this matter with Fred, in part, because he was embarrassed to get to this point after only four months on the board. In his past positions, it had taken at least 18 months to get to that point. Randy spoke about free speech and the importance of free speech still existing at least in a library. He referred to an article in the Herald Times about an IU fan who wore a shirt in favor of Bobby Knight to a recent basketball game in Assembly Hall and was removed from the building. On the national level, Randy indicated we have all watched President Bush with the Patriot Act. Randy said the only people who stood up to Bush were the public libraries. Randy stated it is not enough to teach our kids about these kinds of things, we have to show them as an example. He stated he will continue to speak out on issues.
Penny responded she does not believe there was any secrecy. She felt it was important that the Board members work together. She indicated she felt everything was above board and she didn’t like to be accused of things she was not doing.
Randy replied he was the only one on the Board who has had an attempted recall. He said he wouldl take the heat but he would not be silent. He indicated what it said in the document was that the Board members should not disagree in public. Randy said he thinks that was wrong.
John said they could and should disagree in public. He said the point was the Board shouldn’t disagree once a decision had been made.
Randy says that was exactly what he was talking about. Randy said he was not in agreement with a document that indicated he could’t have a different opinion than that of the Board. He stated he wanted freedom of speech.
Fred noted that he heard Randy’s interview on WFIU. He felt angry because he felt accused of holding secret meetings.
Randy told Fred what he said on the radio was the Board had no right to have an Executive Session about collective bargaining. Randy would challenge anyone yet about this matter. He had emailed Sara and John and he hadn’t been given an answer yet.
Fred responded Randy had a right to say what he wants, but that didn’t make it accurate.
Fred indicated he thought Randy was wrong to go on the radio. He told Randy he didn’t say that Randy didn’t have a right to say it.
Randy stated that was nonsense. He said the Board had this debate last year and he thought it was settled, but now the same matter was before them again. Randy said if the Board was talking about matters in a private meeting, it would be inappropriate.
Sara presented the draft Capital Projects Fund plan. She reminded the Board that what they had asked her to reserve $1 million in the Library Improvement Reserve Fund (LIRF) and the entire amount in the Rainy Day Fund (approximately $413,000). The Rainy Day Fund is the only reserve fund in the Library that can be used for all the purposes of the Operating Fund.
Sara explained that page 3A of her report shows all the funds available for capital improvements. She said what she added after the last meeting was an estimated $150,000 per year in LIRF as an estimate to show that there probably would be a continued contribution to capital improvements from the Operating Fund.
John asked if the Library needed to include an amount in the budget for that.
Sara said yes.
Sara stated that as the building (the Main branch) approaches 10 years old, some things are wearing out. She indicated page 3B is a more definite list of the capital needs in the library. Sara said she had presented the list to the managers last week at their weekly meeting and they made suggestions.
A member of the public, Steven Higgs, asked what LIRF stands for.
Sara explained it stands for Library Improvement Reserve Fund and explained that the money in the fund is budgeted and then transferred from the Operating Fund at the end of the year. It is like a savings account for capital projects including facilities repair, construction of a new building, and technology.
Penny asked if the Library has to apply for the Capital Projects Fund each year.
Sara said yes and confirmed that the Library has to go to the County Council each year to request a Capital Project Fund.
Penny stated the 2009 funding is not secured until the County Council approves.
Sara said the Library is following the steps required to request the money. The Library does have to turn in a three-year plan to the County Council and the Department of Local Government Finance (DLGF) indicating the plans for the funds provided. The Library needs to add 2011 and has the opportunity to adjust the 2009 and 2010 plans. Income figures are estimates from the County Auditor so the numbers are not firm but projected.
The Building Corporation funds are left over from re-negotiating the Library’s bond interest when interest rates dropped. Over the last several years, the Library has spent most of the money, which will not be replaced. It is limited to capital expenditures.
Sara said the Library capital improvement funds total roughly $3.5 million of which $2 million would come from the Capital Projects Fund. Sara explained she has provided some broad estimates, which are based on bids received during the 2007 second floor renovation planning last year, not on detailed current bids. Sara said she has ordered additional AV shelving for the AV and Children's Department.
Steve asked Tom Bunger what the limits are for requiring bids.
Tom responded and said he thinks the limit is $75,000 for purchases. He believes the limit for supplies is $50,000 but indicated he doesn’t have the code with him. There are different limits for different types of purchases.
Steve asked if Tom thinks the amount for construction is $75,000. He replied yes.
Sara said that the Library will need a formal bid process, and she hasn’t undertaken that at this point.
Penny asked if these are estimates.
Sara responded that the figures are broad estimates, mostly drawn from the bid documents for the 2007 second floor renovation bid. Sara said all of the wiring, carpeting, and construction was one figure in that bid, so it has been hard to extract prices for parts of the project.
Funding priorities (with funding source in parentheses):
Mark Mobley, Facilities Manager, confirmed that the HVAC boxes can’t be repaired as he had originally thought.
Sara indicated she had talked to Curt Stevens who suggested that the Library might be able to sell the boxes because there are other people/organizations in the same situation with their HVAC systems.
Randy said he has talked to Faye about her space and Randy believes Faye is doing a great job there. Randy indicated Bookstore business is thriving. He notices people coughing and sneezing while visiting the Bookstore and believes dust is settling in the carpet there. He hope there might be some solution for the Bookstore if it isn’t moved.
Sara said the Adult Service Department had recommended move the Library’s books on tape and on CD to the second floor, closer to large print books and the rest of the book collection. The AV staff feels that those who use books on tape are a different group of patrons than the patrons using the CD’s and movies.
Sara stated she isn’t an architect and wouldn’t presume to make without having someone help.
Fred said moving the Bookstore to the PC Center would be a great move. He thinks that the larger number of people walking by the Bookstore would help clear out stored books.
Sara responded that the Bookstore already turns over materials quickly; she said for every item donated to the Bookstore and sold from the Bookstore, there is approximately a one-to-one turnover of materials.
Randy added the Bookstore made approximately $1,500 in sales during their clearance sale weekend.
Sara said the Library needs to help the Bookstore meet its storage needs.
John asked if the Bookstore could be moved up to the second floor and allow it to keep the tunnel downstairs as its storage.
Sara said she wasn’t sure, that's why she was asking for the Board’s help. Sara stated she needs to discuss the AV Department.
Randy said maybe the Board was making this more complicated than it sounds. If it is decided not to move the Bookstore, he suggested ripping up the carpet and putting in hard floors.
Penny agreed with Randy and said no matter where the Bookstore is located maybe the carpet should be removed.
Sara said the facilities staff would support getting rid of the carpet.
Janice said she knows custodians who work at schools who say it is more difficult to keep carpets clean than other flooring choices.
Sara said tile is probably not a good choice for a hard-floor material, but indicated there are a lot of flooring options. Sara shared that she attended a presentation on flooring and recently requested the presenters send her the Powerpoint which included research on cost, noise reduction, and life-expectancy of various floor coverings. She suggested the Board and staff educate themselves on flooring material choices before making a decision.
Janice responded that Sara’s proposal was very thorough.
John asked for any comments.
Fred left the meeting for another commitment.
Penny asked about the CATS van.
Sara said she thinks the Library needs to use LIRF funds in order to make the purchase immediately.
Steve asked John what the timeline is to get final approval on the proposals.
Sara said the Board needs to approve the plan in March for presentation at a public hearing in April.
Steve stated that the General Assembly was considering major changes in property taxes. The legislative session will end March 14, but there will be hundreds of pages to read and understand, so the full impact may not be known for quite awhile. There may be changes to the Library’s Capital Project Fund requirements. Steve indicated the Board needs to be flexible. He said they may know on March 15.
Sara asked what advice might have.
Steve said if the Board adopts something in March it may have to be changed again in April depending on legislative changes.
Sara said the plan has to be ready by the middle of March, with the same information that is included in the current plan. If there are changes in the process or the Library’s ability to request funding, the Library will have to adjust the plan.
John asked if possible changes from the legislature would result in reduced funding.
Steve said that he didn’t know.
John said anything could happen.
Sara said she didn’t believe the proposed property tax caps would result in much reduction for Monroe County. As she understood it, the State would take an organization’s current bond indebtedness and its Capital Projects Fund and that amount would be set as the cap. Sara states the organization could never go beyond the cap. So it would be very punitive for a library that didn’t have a bond or Capital Projects Fund.
Penny asked, if the Library did not receive approval for a Capital Projects Fund in 2008, would it attempt to bond for the projects?
Sara said that is one possibility and there are different approval requirements depending on the amount the Library sought to bond.
Tom said there are different limits.
Sara said the impact on taxpayers would be that they would have to pay interest, like that on a mortgage. A Capital Projects Fund would be cheaper because there would be no interest.
Sara asked if the board members had any feedback on the draft CPF plan.
Janice said Sara seems to be in touch with the people with whom she is working and has done a very thorough job. She believes there is no way as board members that they can be as educated as Sara is with the needs of the staff of the library. Janice indicated she respects Sara’s request and believes the Board should go with Sara’s suggestions.
Penny added if the Board plans to make any changes to the spaces in the Library, she thinks signage would help make it very visible how things are being moved or expanded.
Sara responded that in Ellettsville she will have the plans out for the addition and intends to hold a public meeting to get plenty of feedback before finalizing plans.
Janice said she does think the vehicles are a must, as it impacts the Library’s circulation.
Randy agreed with Janice and Penny. He said he has a lot of faith in Sara. He indicated the past director didn’t include staff in her decision making. Randy stated with everything he has heard for the plans in Ellettsville and at the Main branch, Sara is including staff.
Sara said she knows some may be worried that she is moving forward with plans, given the fund has to be approved yet. She stated that the plans were general, designed to help the Library get approval for the money, and that much more discussion and detailed planning lay ahead.
John postponed review of the Photography Policy and also postponed the matter as an action item for the Board meeting that followed immediately after the Work Session. He indicated it would be moved to the March work session.
Randy asked John if he was planning on rescheduling the Executive Session that was scheduled and then cancelled.
John said there are no issues right now, so there was no reason to reschedule at this time.
Randy stated he is opposed to holding a closed session.
None. (Due to time constraints, and in order to start the Board’s regular monthly meeting at 5:45 p.m., public comment was not offered.)
John adjourned the work session at 5:34 p.m.
Contact
Us Monroe County Public Library, Monroe County, Indiana ° (812)349-3050
Updated:
May 30, 2008
° http://www.monroe.lib.in.us/board/200802wrk.html
