Board of Trustees Meeting DRAFT Minutes: April 28, 2015

BOARD OF TRUSTEES MEETING
Draft Minutes
April 28, 2015
6:15 PM

Location Youth Program Room

Please click here to download a .pdf of these DRAFT Minutes: RFPLBoard4-28-15

Trustees Present: Carol Blackwood, Chair; John Bohannon, Karin Fischer, Pat Fowler, Leslie Lassetter, Ray Massucco & Martha Rowley
Trustees Absent: Doreen Aldrich
Library Personnel Present: Celina Houlne, Director; Mary Van Hartesveldt, Librarian
Members of the Public Present: Carolyn Frisa

The meeting was called to order at 6:20, Pat Fowler arrived at 6:23.

New Business: Houlne asked that the following items be added to the agenda: Complaints of dog urinating on library property, Employee Leave Policy, Approval of minutes of April 7th meeting.

Public Comment: Carolyn Frisa spoke about the Friends Annual Plant Sale. It will be held on Saturday May 9th in front of the library, 8 am – 3 pm. They need donations of plants, which can be dropped off at the library beginning May 4th. Anyone unable to bring plants during library hours, can leave them at the side entrance of the building. Volunteers are needed to work the sale and help with clean up (probably from 3-4 pm.)

Approval of Minutes: Minutes for both 3/24/15 and 4/7/15 were unanimously approved.

Trustee Board Membership: Blackwood regretfully acknowledged the resignation of David Gould. Trustees recognized his contributions, and wished him well. Lassetter agreed to solicit names of potential candidates to serve the remainder of Gould’s term, and invite them to attend a future board meeting and/or submit a letter of interest.

Director’s Report: In addition to items in the attached report, Celina noted that the library is scheduled to host the Chamber Mixer on Wednesday, October 21, 2015.

Committee Reports

Financial
Fowler moved that we approve additional payment for the following line items and amounts:
Custodial $2,000
Elec/Heat $2,850
NEH Grant Expense: $6,000
Fischer seconded and the motion passes unanimously.

Personnel
Blackwood noted that the committee will soon bring the Library Director Evaluation Form to the full board for review.

Historical Collection
Lassetter moved that money not to exceed $900 be spent for purchase and installation of locks for historical collection display cabinets. Fowler seconded and the motion passed unanimously.

There was a long discussion regarding money left by Ryan Ostebo, including concern that it not get absorbed by the budget deficit. There was some agreement that, although his bequest was not designated, and therefore does not exist as an individual line item, it should be used meaningfully and acknowledged with a plaque.

Fischer noted that Houlne will email the Historical Collection Management Policy for review and possible approval at the June meeting.

Building and Grounds
Massucco moved that $7,500 from the Whitcomb Fund be placed in a reserve fund for landscaping, with creation of a barrier at the back of the library property being the first priority. The actual landscaping plan will be subject to board review and approval.
Fischer seconded the motion and it passed unanimously.

New Business
Lassetter moved that Massucco compose a letter to the Wrights requesting that they refrain from allowing their dog to urinate on library property because it is damaging both the granite stair and the book drop.

Fowler seconded and the motion passed unanimously.

Blackwood requested that Houlne speak with her about the Employee Leave Policy to figure out the best way to address her concerns.

Next Meeting is scheduled for May 26, 2015 at 6:15 pm. The bulk of the meeting will be a discussion with Amy Howlett about strategic long term planning.

Pressing issues could be added to the May agenda, but Blackwood hopes that most items can wait until the regular June meeting.

Respectfully Submitted by Karin Fischer 4/28/15

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Director’s Report April 22, 2015 Célina Houlné

March Programs and Statistics
• Youth Programs – 24 events, attendance of 619
Bellows Falls Middle School Art Show was a huge success and visitors have been commenting how great it is to have art throughout the Library. Teen Tech Week was a success with several teens coming in to learn video game coding and basic electronics. The Teen Advisory Council brought back the Anime Club, which meets just before the Friday teen game nights.
• Adult Programs – 20 events, attendance of 203
On March 28 the Vermont Humanities Council program, Vermont and the Civil with Howard Coffin, was attended by 40 people, Eric Bye played the banjo, and the Friends cooked hard-tack and applesauce cookies. Tax-help, genealogy classes and the One-On-One Computer help continued to be very popular. The book sale began on April 10 and will run until May 9 in the top floor meeting room.
• Meeting Room and Program Room usage – 16 library, 2 non-library
• Adults Computer Use – 742 Public Access Computer Sessions
• Youth Computer Use – 130 Public Access Computer Sessions
• Wireless network use – 793 sessions for laptop and mobile devices
• New Library Cards issued – 31
• New titles added to collection – 275
• Items checked out – 3,134
• Inter-Library Loans (ILLs) – 32 items borrowed from other libraries, 58 items loaned

Budget
• March’s monthly financial report is for 9 months or 75% of the fiscal year. The current budget forecast for FY15 is that we’ll be within budget, barring any unforeseen circumstances that may arise.
• Revenue will be transferred from the savings account to pay for the designated Whitcomb fund expenses (the Youth furniture and office cabinets). See separate report on Whitcomb donation revenue/expenses.
• Two lines that are projected to be $1,000 over the budgeted amount need to be approved by the Board: Electricity/heat, and custodial. In addition, I listed the NEH grant expense of 6,000 as needing approval, though this expense is matched by grant income. See separate report on list of 1k items.
• Annual book sale revenue so far is approximately $1,400.

Building and Grounds
• I’ve contracted with Don Hashem, who also cleans Town Hall, to temporarily clean the library twice per week, as Bob Patch has resigned due to health reasons.
• Eric Clarke cleaned the walkways and removed the heavy layers of sand. He confirmed the Wright’s are continuing to bring their dogs onto library property to urinate near or on the building.
• Scott Bolotin, owner of Morningside Perennials, pruned the trees on the front lawn.
• The stone bench out front was repaired and put back up by town hall workers.
• I’ve contacted Rohr Cook who worked on the roof during the renovation, to ask him to evaluate the roof and find out why water is leaking inside.

Other Director Activities
• Staff – I have posted the custodian position with Vermont Job Link, town departments, and Eagle Times. I’ll be interviewing and hiring in May. We held our monthly staff meeting.
• Supervision – I’ve continued to provide training for Nancy Tusinski, our new Reference and Historical Collection Librarian. She’s been getting acquainted with the Historical Collection and the NEH grant with Emily Zervas; getting to know Library policies and procedures, helping patrons with computer questions and reference questions, developing reports to aid in collection development practices, and to quote Nancy: “most importantly getting to know the wonderful staff and the library patrons!” Nancy, in a very short time, has already become a valued member of the staff, jumping right into the fray, helping with technology issues and collection development.
• Fundraising – It has been a very busy month as I supervised setting up the book sale and spent many hours weeding the fiction, audio and video collections. Staff worked extremely hard, along with the Friends of the Library and other volunteers to get ready. The preview sale on Friday for Friends members was held on Friday and was a great success, as was the next day. This week everything is ½ price, and next week will be the $3 bag sale. Please come in and also tell your family and friends about all the great books that need new homes!
• Friends of the Library – I attended a planning meeting on April 2 for the Friends plant sale which will be held on Saturday, May 9 and they’re looking for donations of annuals, perennials, house plants, etc, (you can bring them to the library the week of May 9). They’ll also be having a raffle for garden-related items. The Friends bought us a new whiteboard for the meeting room, which was used by Howard Coffin at the Humanities Program. They also donated 4 baker’s carts to use for storage, 2 of which are now in use at the book sale.
• Grants – I filed Form 471 for the electronic filing for the e-rate federal grant. I attended ‘The Science and Art of Grant-Writing” day-long class held at the Stafford Technical Center in Rutland which was very informative. The instructor, Anne Lezak, is an experienced grant-writer, and she had many useful anecdotes and wise advice on what to do and what not to do when writing a grant. We reviewed the overall process, the individual steps, and the best language to use to explain the proposal. We reviewed online resources including the Vermont Directory of Foundations, and Vermont Quick Facts, and Vermont Indicators On-line, and other sources for statistics.
• Windham County Librarians – Nancy and I attended the meeting at Brooks Library and I introduced her to the other area librarians. We discussed VOKAL, KOHA, ILL, summer programs and the likely upcoming FY16 budget cuts for the state library.
• Community outreach – I attended the monthly Departments Heads meeting at Town Hall. I met with a local student who is working towards her MLIS at Simmons College to discuss library management.
• Personnel Committee – I attended the monthly meeting on April 21 at which we reviewed the month’s activities and the director’s evaluation process.
• Historical Collection Committee – I attended this meeting on March 30, at which upcoming tasks were reviewed, including updating the Historical Collection policy and pocket response plan (PReP) to be used in case of disaster such as when the local history room was flooded. I’ve filled out the PReP, to include the contact information for emergency personnel.
• Building & Grounds Committee – I attended this meeting on April 13, where we reviewed the list of interior and exterior needs. The committee will recommend to the Board that we use a portion of the Whitcomb Fund to complete the landscaping behind the building (estimate of $7,500); repair the existing sign (estimate of $375) and install the locks for the Historical Collection Display Cabinets (estimate of $850). I’ve asked Frank Hawkins for an updated estimate to repair the sign.
• Joint meeting with Selectboard – I attended the meeting where we went into executive session to meet with legal counsel, Stephen Ankuda, about the lawsuit.
• Board Meeting – I attended the monthly Board meeting on March 24.

Board of Trustees Meeting Agenda: April 28, 2015

Board of Trustees Meeting

28 April, 2015

6:15 PM

Location: Youth Program Room

 Please click here to download a .pdf of this agenda: Board Amended Agenda 28 apr 15

AGENDA

 

  1. Call to order
  2. Additions to the agenda for routine administrative matters and/or pressing matters that will require ratification at a future meeting.
  3. Public comment (3 minutes per person)
  4. Approve minutes of 24 Mar 2015 meeting
  5. Trustee Board Membership
  6. Director’s Report-   Highlights and Financial Report
  7. Committee Reports
  8. Financial – Ostebo bequests update
  9. Personnel
  10. Historic Collection-Lock Proposal and Collection Policy
  11. Buildings and Grounds- recommends for most immediate repairs
  12. Review tasks
  13. Input for next meeting agenda (Date: 26 May 15)
  14. New Business
  15. Executive Session (as needed)
  16. Adjourn

 

 

 

 

 

Posted and emailed April 24, 2015

Historical Collection Committee Meeting Agenda: Monday, April 27, 2015

Board of Trustees
Historical Collection Committee Meeting
Monday, April 27, 2015
9:00 AM
Location: Youth Program Room

Please click here to download a .pdf of this agenda: 2015 04 27 Historical Collection Committee Agenda docx
AGENDA
1. Call to order
2. Additions to the agenda for routine administrative matters and/or pressing matters that will require ratification at a future meeting
3. Public comment (3 minutes per person)
4. Approve minutes of from March 30, 2015 meeting
5. Review Collection Management Policy in preparation for review by Board
6. Discuss lock installation on historical cabinets and make recommendation to Board
7. Follow up on status of Tru-Vue grant
8. Review disaster plan
9. New Business
10. Review tasks
11. Set date for next meeting and review agenda items
12. Adjourn
Posted and emailed April22, 2015
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The meeting rooms are accessible by elevator at the entrance to the left of the front stairs.
Rockingham Free Public Library, 65 Westminster Street, Bellows Falls, VT 05101
Phone 802-463-4270 Fax 802-463-1566 rockinghamlibrary.org

Personnel Committee Meeting DRAFT Minutes: April 21, 2015

RFPL PersComm

04/21/15 meeting minutes

Page 1 of 1

 

 Click here to download a .pdf of these draft minutes: perscomm4 21minutes

Rockingham Free Public Library

Personnel Committee Meeting Minutes

April 21, 2015, 5:00PM. RFPL Youth Department Program Room

 

Committee members present: Carol Blackwood (Chair), Pat Fowler, John                                                                           Bohannon, Karin Fischer

Library personnel present:                   Celina Houlné (Library Director)

Members of the public present:           None

 

  1. The meeting was called to order at 5:08PM by Blackwood.
  2. There was no change to the agenda.
  3. There was no public comment.
  4. The minutes of the meeting of March 17th were amended to properly spell one name and then were approved.
  5. The committee discussed the process for the annual evaluation of the Library Director. A draft model for the written evaluation was developed and agreed upon by the full committee. Blackwood will consolidate and type the draft and e-mail it to the committee and Director prior to the next meeting. At that time it is hoped we can approve the draft and prepare to present it to the Library Board at its next meeting.
  6. The committee, with the Director, entered into executive session at 6:15PM to discuss the Library Director’s contract and conduct the monthly performance review. The committee came out of executive session at 6:30PM.
  7. There was no new business brought before the committee.
  8. The next meeting is on May 11th at 5PM at the RFPL.
  9. The meeting adjourned at 6:30PM.

 

 

Respectfully submitted by John Bohannon, Committee Secretary, April 22, 2015.

 

 

 

Personnel Committee Special Meeting Agenda: April 21, 2015

Trustees Personnel Committee Special Meeting
21 April, 2015
5:00 PM

Location: Top floor Meeting Room (or Youth Program Room)

Click here to download a .pdf of this agenda: Personnel Committee 21 apr 15

AGENDA

1. Call to order.
2. Additions to the agenda for routine administrative matters and/or pressing matters that will require ratification at a future meeting.
3. Public comment (3 minutes per person).
4. Approve minutes of 17 Mar 2015 meeting.
5. Library Director Evaluation Process
6. Review tasks
7. Set date for next meeting and review agenda items
8. New Business
9. Executive Session
10. Adjourn

Posted and emailed —–, 2015

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The meeting rooms are accessible by elevator at the entrance to the left of the front stairs.

Historical Collection Committee DRAFT Minutes: March 30, 2015

Rockingham Free Public Library BOARD OF TRUSTEES

Historical Collection Committee

MARCH 30, 2015,   9 AM

 Click here to download a .pdf of these minutes: RFPLHistoricalCollMinutesMarch 30 2015

Trustees Present: Karin Fischer, Pat Fowler, Leslie Lassetter & Martha Rowley

Library Personnel Present: Celina Houlne, Director, Nancy Tusinski, Emily Zervas

Members of the Public Present: Carolyn Frisa & Duane Whitehead, Committee members

 

  1. The meeting was called to order at 9:21am in the top floor meeting room.
  2. Agenda items were added for the Collections Policy Management & Locks for the cabinets
  3. There was no public comment.
  4. Karin Fischer was elected as Chair, Pat Fowler as Secretary
  5. Minutes of the Feb 23 meeting were approved as corrected to include a time constraint for the grant that was received on Jan 1 and must be completed June 2016.
  6. The new Reference Librarian, Nancy, is being trianed by Emily and is reviewing paper and computer files on Mondays through April 27.
  7. NEH Grant must be completed by June 2016. Ordering of materials is almost complete. Nancy will be working with an Intern from Simmons College on the project once a week. Carolyn & Emily indicated that Vermont Pretzel is selling some wide wire racks similar to the ones we have.
  8. New Business: Collection Policy Management was reviewed at the last meeting. This should be reviewed at our next meeting and then sent to the full board for approval. Tru-Vue Grant will be submitted with updated numbers on using low glare plexiglass and retrofitting the old cabinets with locks. A Conservation framing grant will be re-evaluated on costs and resubmitted paying the conservator. Dick’s Locks has submitted an estimate for approximately $800. A motion was approved that this project be referred to the full Board for approval and funding.
  9. Review of Tasks for next meeting: Celina will email corrected Collection Policy Management with changes indicated to the committee members. Carolyn will update costs on the Tru-Vue grant to enable us to resubmit it. Lock proposal and Collection Policy Management should be added to next agenda of the full board for approval. Tru-Vue grant review. Pat to contact Carol Blackwood with agenda items of the Lock Proposal and Collection Policy Management.   A reminder that New Business should be moved before the Review Tasks item on our agendas so that tasks developed under the new business can be added for the next meeting.
  10. Next meeting will be held on April 27 at 9am
  11. Meeting adjourned at 10:02am

 

 

Respectfully submitted by Patricia Fowler

 

Buildings and Grounds Committee DRAFT Minutes: April 13, 2015

Minutes of RFPL Buildings & Grounds Committee

April 13, 2015, 5:00 PM

Youth Meeting Room, RFPL

Click here to download a .pdf of these DRAFT Minutes: Buildings and grounds 4-13-15

Those Present:  Ray Massucco, Doreen Aldrich, David Gould, and Celina Houlne, Library Director

Call to Order by Temporary Chair Gould at 5:00 PM

Additions to Agenda:

Custodian Bob Patch has resigned due to health issues.  Houlne will be seeking a new custodian with possible assistance from Don Hasham, who does the Town Hall.

Gould has submitted his Letter of Resignation from the RFPL Board of Trustees effective April 28, 2015.  He will not be at that meeting because he is undergoing surgery that day.

Eric Clark has reported that Deb and Cass Wright’s dog continues to urinate and defecate against the Library building and on the Library grounds without any attempt to clean up.  Eric to be invited to the next Board meeting to explain the situation and seek remedies.

There was no election of Committee Officers – it was determined to wait until a new B & G Committee member can be named.

There were no previous minutes to approve – there has not been a B & G Committee meeting for over one year.

Following a discussion of Exterior and Interior Building Projects, the committee, by consensus established the following priorities:

* Exterior – Landscaping behind the building; Solar panels; and Flat roof replacement.

* Interior – Insulate staff office ceilings; Door lock replacements; Lighting for youth circulation desk; and Locked shelving for local historical collection.

* Celina suggested that a portion of the Whitcomb Fund be used to complete some of the projects.  Approximately $11,000 has been used to date leaving $14,000.  Her recommendations include:  The landscaping behind the building ($7500?); repair the existing sign ($375?); and obtaining locks for the Historical Collection Display Cabinets ($850?)  By consensus the B & G
committee agreed with these recommendations and will present them to the Board of Trustees on April 28, 2015.

Celina further recommendation that new door locks; the flat roof repair; solar panels be financed by future Capital Fund Campaigns.

During the Landscaping discussion Celina stated that during her previous attempts to get bids, Scott Bolotin  stated that existing landscaping plans call for Sumac, while being a native plant is very invasive and probably not best suited for our purposes.  Celina will continue to obtain
landscaping bids with the understanding that any change in the landscaping plans must be approved by the Planning Commission.

The committee felt that the construction of a fence around the HVAC unit should be dropped at this time.

The next B & G Committee meeting will be set following the Trustees meeting of April 28, 2015.

The meeting was adjourned at 5:50 PM

David Gould, Temporary Secretary
Submitted on April 15, 2015

JOINT Rockingham Selectboard / Board of Trustees Special Meeting DRAFT Minutes: April 7, 2015

Draft Minutes

Please click here to download a .pdf of these draft minutes: ExecSess4_7_15

Joint Meeting: Rockingham Select Board & RFPL Board of Trustees

Select Board Members Present: Tom MacPhee, Chair; Ann DiBernardo, Peter Golec, Susan Hammond, Joshua Hearne

RFPL Trustees Present: Carol Blackwood, Chair; Doreen Aldrich, John Bohannon, Karin Fischer, Pat Fowler, David Gould, Leslie Lassetter, Ramond Massucco, Martha Rowley

Library Personnel Present: Celina Houlne, Library Director

Municipal Representatives: Town Manager Willis Stearns II, Attorney Steven Ankuda

Members of the Public Present: None

The meeting was called to order at 7:15pm.

The select board moved and approved entry into executive session on their behalf.

On behalf of the RFPL trustees, Fowler moved to enter Executive Session for the purpose of discussing mediation regarding SMP where premature general public knowledge would place the RFPL at a substantial disadvantage. The motion was seconded by Aldrich and passed unanimously.

Fowler moved to enter executive session to discuss confidential attorney-client information and invite Attorney Steven Ankuda, Municipal Manager Willis Stearns II, and Library Director Celina Houlne. Bohannon seconded the motion and it carried unanimously.

At 8:26 pm the boards came out of executive session. Gould moved to adjourn, Lassetter seconded, and the meeting adjourned.

 

Respectfully Submitted by Karin Fischer, 4/13/15

 

 

Buildings and Grounds Committee Meeting Agenda: Monday, April 13, 2015

Buildings and Grounds Committee Meeting

Rockingham Free Public Library

Monday, April 13, 2015

5:00 PM

Location:  Youth Program Room – Lower Level

 Click here to download a .pdf of this agenda: 4-13-15 Building Committee Agenda

AGENDA

 

  1. Call to Order
  2. Additions to the agenda
  3. Public Comments (Three (3) minutes per person)
  4. Election of Committee Chair
  5. Approval of previous meetings  (There has not been a B&G Committee for over one (1) year – there are no minutes
  6. Review and Prioritize projects
  7. Review Tasks
  8. Set date for next meeting and review agenda items
  9. Adjourn

 

 

 

 

 

Posted and emailed  April 9, 2015

 

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The meeting rooms are accessible by elevator at the entrance to the left of the front stairs.

 

Rockingham Free Public Library, 65 Westminster Street, Bellows Falls, VT 05101

Phone 802-463-4270     Fax 802-463-1566     rockinghamlibrary.org

JOINT Rockingham Selectboard / Board of Trustees Special Meeting Agenda: Tuesday, April 7, 2014

Board of Trustees Special Meeting
Tuesday, April 7, 2015
Approximately 7:00 PM

Click here to download a .pdf of this agenda:  2015 04 07 Joint Board Meeting Agenda
Location: Lower Theater of the Rockingham Town Hall

AGENDA

1. Call to order
2. Additions to the agenda for routine administrative matters and/or pressing matters that will require ratification at a future meeting
3. Public comment (3 minutes per person)
4. Executive Session – with the Rockingham Selectboard – Pending Litigation
5. Adjourn
Posted and emailed April 2, 2015
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Rockingham Free Public Library, 65 Westminster Street, Bellows Falls, VT 05101
Phone 802-463-4270 Fax 802-463-1566 rockinghamlibrary.org