Board Meeting Minutes 9-21-15

BOARD MEETING

Monday, September 21, 2015

Central Library Conference Room

7:00 P.M.

 

CALL TO ORDER/ROLL CALL

PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE

BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT

Ruth Jonen, President; Robert Frankel, Vice-President/Secretary; Julie Wroblewski Bosshart, Treasurer; Jillian Bernas; Gerald Bromley; Theresa Seyring

BOARD MEMBERS ABSENT

Anita Forte-Scott

STUDENT TRUSTEES PRESENT

Jessica D’Souza, Sruthi Gurudev

OTHERS PRESENT

Carrie Cichon, Jay Halim, Monica Harris, Mike Murray, Reiner Musni, Antrixa Patel, Stephanie Sarnoff, Gretchen Schulz, Lori Teipel

PUBLIC COMMENTS

None

BOARD COMMENTS

Trustee Seyring commented on attending the September 1 financial planning event, noting that the presentation provided valuable information about construction and tax rate referenda.

Trustees Bromley, Bernas, and Treasurer Wroblewski Bosshart commented on their attendance at the Library’s Naturalization Ceremony.

Trustee Bernas commented that she had participated in Virtual Services Coordinator Kristin Moo’s usability testing of the online Enterprise catalog.  She commended Kristin on the process.

RAILS – Mrs. Forte-Scott

None

APPROVAL OF MINUTES

Trustee Bernas moved and Treasurer Wroblewski Bosshart seconded that:

The August 24, 2015 Regular Board Minutes be approved.

The motion passed unanimously.

APPROVAL OF BILLS

Treasurer Wroblewski Bosshart moved that:

The Library Board approve the August 2015 Bill List.

Roll call vote:

Mrs. Wroblewski Bosshart      Yes

Ms. Bernas                              Yes

Mr. Frankel                             Yes

Mr. Bromley                            Yes

Mrs. Seyring                            Yes

Mrs. Jonen                               Yes

 

The motion passed unanimously.

The Board requested that all items on the Bill List over $20,000 be annotated to indicate the nature of the expense.

ADDITIONS OR CHANGES TO AGENDA

None

PRESIDENT’S REPORT

President Jonen requested that the May Regular Board meeting be changed to the fourth Monday (5/23) in May 2016 rather than the third (5/16).  All trustees consented to this schedule change.  She reminded the Board that the October Regular Meeting will be held at the Hanover Park Branch.

She commended staff for another successful Naturalization Ceremony, and thanked Literacy Coordinator Pat Barch for her dedication to the work she does so well.

The Board was provided with copies of the Library’s Mission, Vision and Values Statements.  Although the documents were approved by the 2014-2015 Board members, President Jonen offered the newly elected trustees opportunity to discuss the documents in advance of the September 29 Plan of Service Meeting.  In response to Trustee Bernas’ question about whether this document will be presented throughout the Library, Ms. Sarnoff reported that it will indeed, and that it would serve as a ‘living document’ to plan and evaluate financial, facilities and programmatic decisions.  The Board asked that the administration provide a quarterly update on the Plan of Service, indicating how actions and activities support the Library’s Mission, Vision and Values Statements.

DIRECTOR’S REPORT

Ms. Sarnoff reported that the Library will be closed to the public for the biennial Staff In-Service Day on November 6, 2015.  All staff are required to attend.  The Holiday Party will be on Saturday, December 12, 2015 at the Belvedere Banquet Hall in Elk Grove Village.  She introduced Jessica D’Souza and Sruthi Gurudev, the Student Advisor Trustees (SATs) for the 2015-2016 year.

Ms. Sarnoff reported that Amber Creger was appointed to the position of Director of the Youth Department and will assume her duties on Monday, October 5.  Elizabeth (Beth) Valenziano has been appointed to the position of Director of Finance, and will assume her duties on Monday, September 28.  Interviews for the Marketing Director will begin in the upcoming weeks. Literacy Coordinator Pat Barch announced her plan to retire at the end of 2015.  The search for a successor will begin in October. Former STDL staff member Jane O’Brien passed away earlier this month.  Jane began working in the Youth Services Department at STDL in1969, became the Head of Circulation in 1972, and retired in 2004.

Ms. Sarnoff recommended that the bid for the HVAC Preventative Maintenance, Monitoring and   Repair Service Contract be awarded to Murphy and Miller, the lowest responsible bidder, in the amount of $13,300. The Village of Schaumburg has agreed to include STDL in its Request for Bid (RFB) for snow removal services as an alternate.  If the effort to achieve cost savings through an intergovernmental agreement is not successful, the Library will create its own quote/bid request document.  Participation in cooperative purchasing agreements has realized a more than $6,000 savings for the purchase of ePlus Checkpoint Firewall Maintenance hardware and software.   Due to budget issues in Springfield, funding for the 2016 Per Capita Grant may be in jeopardy.  There is the potential for a $154,000 revenue shortfall this current fiscal year.

The Library received a Commercial Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request for all purchase orders from January 1, 2010 to date of receipt of request.  Another FOIA inquiry was received requesting any email communications with a current Library Board Trustee.  As per the recommendation of the Library’s attorney, official Library email addresses (stdl.org) have since been created for all Board members to conduct library-related communication between Trustees and Library administration, among themselves, and with outside parties.

A short Library staff-created video was presented for Banned Books Week 2015.  Ms. Sarnoff cited the stellar efforts of Jeremy Slayton, Helen Stewart, and Sarah Strzalka in its production.

DEPUTY DIRECTOR’S REPORT

August 15th marked the end of the 2015 Summer Reading Program.  3,595 patrons signed up to participate in this Library-wide program.  Ms. Harris mentioned that research supports that reading during the summer helps to prevent the “summer slide” in reading level that many students experience from the time they end school until the time school starts up again in the fall.

All departments have turned in their Selector Statements.  The data will be analyzed to provide a Library-wide collection plan later this year.

DEPARTMENT REPORTS

KidsZone – Gretchen Schulz

Assistant to the Youth Department Director Gretchen Schulz reported that the KidsZone and Teen Place merged on July 1 of this year.  She noted that first grade visits to the Library are underway.  Renovation and expansion of the Program Room will begin in October.  

Teen Place – Lori Teipel

Interim Head of Teen Services Lori Teipel reported that the Teen Place has been busy since the start of the new school year.  Three new power and USB charging stations were installed, a collaboration sofa will be reupholstered, the Media Box is now available to non-STDL cardholders, and, the onboarding process of District 211 high school senior volunteers concluded. 

COMMITTEE REPORTS

Plan of Service – Mr. Frankel

Vice-President Frankel reminded the Board that the Plan of Service meeting will be held on Tuesday, September 29 at 5:30P.M. in the KidsZone Classroom.

STUDENT ADVISOR TRUSTEE REPORTS

First time Student Advisor Trustee (SAT) Jessica D’Souza and returning SAT Sruthi Gurudev introduced themselves to the Board of Trustees.  Both commented that they attended their respective school Open Houses with a Library staff member and advised incoming students and their parents on resources that the Library has to offer.

TREASURER’S REPORT

Treasurer Wroblewski Bosshart reported  that approximately one million dollars in tax revenue was added to the General Fund and that two of the Library’s bonds were called.

UNFINISHED BUSINESS

The revised 2015-2016 Board Committee assignments were handed out.

NEW BUSINESS

Approval of the Property Tax Levy Ordinance

Treasurer Wroblewski Bosshart moved that:

The Library Board approve the 2015 Tax Levy Ordinance.

Roll call vote:

Mrs. Wroblewski Bosshart      Yes

Ms. Bernas                              No

Mr. Frankel                             Yes

Mr. Bromley                            Yes

Mrs. Seyring                            Yes

Mrs. Jonen                               Yes

The motion passed.

Approval of Bid for Maintenance and Monitoring Service for HVAC

Treasurer Wroblewski Bosshart moved and Trustee Bromley seconded that:

The Library Board approve the award of bid for Maintenance, Monitoring and Repair Services for HVAC to Murphy and Miller.

Roll call vote:

Mrs. Wroblewski Bosshart      Yes

Ms. Bernas                              Yes

Mr. Frankel                             Yes

Mr. Bromley                            Yes

Mrs. Seyring                            Yes

Mrs. Jonen                               Yes

The motion passed unanimously.

Approval of Waiver of Bid for ePlus (Intergovernmental Agreement Pricing)

Checkpoint Firewall Maintenance in the amount of $35,848.00

Treasurer Wroblewski Bosshart moved and Vice-President Frankel seconded that:

The Library Board approve the waiver of bid for ePlus Checkpoint Firewall Maintenance.

Roll call vote:

Mrs. Wroblewski Bosshart      Yes

Ms. Bernas                              Yes

Mr. Frankel                             Yes

Mr. Bromley                            Yes

Mrs. Seyring                            Yes

Mrs. Jonen                               Yes

 

The motion passed unanimously.

Approval of Change of By-laws Section 2, Article E, Subsection 2.27 Standing Committees to Reflect Change in Committees Structure

Trustee Bromley moved and Trustee Bernas seconded that:

The Library Board approve the change of the By-laws regarding Committee Structure.

The motion passed unanimously.

Approval of Submission of the 2016 Illinois Per Capita Grant Application

Trustee Seyring moved and Treasurer Wroblewski Bosshart seconded that:

The Library Board approve the submission of the 2016 Illinois Per Capita Grant Application.

The motion passed unanimously.

EXECUTIVE SESSION

None

ADJOURNMENT

Vice-President Frankel moved and Trustee Bromley seconded that:

The Library Board adjourn at 8:54P.M.

The motion passed unanimously.