Rockingham Free Public Library
Board of Trustees
Tuesday, May 5, 2020
Click here to download a .pdf of these minutes.
Present: John Bohannon, Dale Kondracki, Martha Rowley, Kathleen Hacker, Don Tretler, Mary Shepard, Ellen Taetzsch, Brady Weinstock, Duane Whitehead, Celina Houlne; Sam Maskell, library staff
Absent: n/a
LOCATION: To protect the health of the public, the meeting was held online via Zoom.
1. Call to Order: 6:10 pm. John Bohannon read a statement from the State of Vermont regarding rules for a public meeting online. There is public access to the meeting via Zoom and phone, which were published in the agendas.
2. Additions to Agenda for routine administrative matters and/or pressing matters that will require ratification at a future meeting: n/a
3. Public Comment (3 minutes per person): n/a
4. Approve Minutes of March 10, 2019 Meeting: Brady moved, Mary seconded. Motion was unanimously approved.
5. Director’s Report & FY20 Budget Status Report: Governor has allowed libraries to begin curbside delivery, and we will start with this tomorrow (May 6). Advertising will start next week. Staff are strictly adhering to state rules for this, as well as for their in-person work in the library, to keep themselves and the public safe. Staff have continued with their normal work, logging, cataloguing, etc., from home and in the building as allowed. There has been an increase in need for tech help for patrons, which is done over the phone by staff. Library staff has also been calling patrons to check in on them. Some questions about current year budget; book sale revenue is low because it was postponed; youth audiobooks line item is still $0 because these are usually purchased in late spring after book awards are announced, guiding Sam’s choices and in time for summer when students will be listening. The Friends of the Library paid for (and Sam designed) lawn signs to advertise online services, and they have been posted around town. Genealogy program is now online, and people are encouraged to join in.
6. Review FY2021 Budget: Celina wants to be creative about fundraising, so this will continue to unfold as the weeks and months progress – maybe we can still hold in-person fundraisers, maybe the plant sale can be changed in format, maybe some funding will trickle down from the state. Celina will talk with Chuck Wise, interim town manager, about online donation possibilities.
7. Financial Actions: Reserve Funds & FY20 Transfer of Funds: Martha moved that any monies received as Designated Miscellaneous, Memorial, or Historical Donations that remain unspent as of 6/30/2020 be moved into the appropriate Reserve Funds so that they can be used in the future. Mary seconded, motion was unanimously approved.
Kathleen moved that the Treasurer of the Rockingham Free Public Library Board of Trustees is hereby authorized and requested to pay to the Town the FY 2020 Trust and Interest Income received to date in the amount of $14,796.76 such amount to be withdrawn from the River Valley Credit Union account #271036 in a bank check made payable to the Town of Rockingham. Library staff will record the payment and deliver it to the Town. Dale seconded, motion was unanimously approved.
8. Director’s Semi-Annual Evaluation: Ellen moved that the board authorize the suspension of the semi-annual evaluation of the executive director for this calendar year due to the unusual circumstances related to covid-19. Martha seconded, motion was unanimously approved.
9. Other Business: There was a question about what the summer reading program will look like, which Sam answered. The exact program is still unfolding – Sam is putting together a program that will not look like what the kids have been doing with school, so that it is a needed break from passive online learning. It will offer experiential activities such as “Story Walks”, virtual field trips, etc. The methods of quantifying “success” will be different, as it will not be possible to bring in 75-100 kids and people at one time into the building.
10. Review and Approve Warrants: n/a (This is all being done virtually.)
11. Review Agenda Items for Next Meeting: n/a
12. Review Date for Next Meeting: July 7 at 6:00 pm
13. Executive Session (If Necessary): n/a
14. Adjourn: Ellen moved, Martha seconded, unanimously approved.
Respectfully submitted,
Brady Weinstock, Secretary