HomeMy WebLinkAbout~Master - Ames Public Library Board of Trustees Minutes of the Regular Meeting 03/19/2015Ames Public Library Board of Trustees
Minutes of the Regular Meeting
March 19, 2015
The Ames Public Library (APL) Board of Trustees met in regular session on Thursday, March
19, 2015 in the Dale H. Ross Board Room, 515 Douglas Avenue, with Acker, Bradley, Briese,
Budd, Linch, Manus, Meier, and Stow present. Campbell was excused. Library Director Lynne
Carey and guest Wayne Rohret were also in attendance.
Call to Order: Board President Stow called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m.
Consent Agenda:
Moved by Meier, seconded by Budd, to adopt a resolution approving the following
items on the consent agenda:
1) Donations
a) From the Story County Genealogical Society for genealogy books ......... $215.98
b) In memory of Mike Christiansen from Anonymous ...................................... $25.00
c) From the estate of Joan Breiter ................................................................ $4,685.94
2) Minutes of the regular meeting of February 19, 2015
3) Minutes of the special meeting of February 26, 2015
4) Payment of Claims 2/1/2015 – 2/28/2015
Vote on Motion: 7-0. Motion approved unanimously. Resolution adopted.
Acker informed the trustees that their contributions for the Staff Day breakfast exceeded the
actual expenses, so the excess was donated to the library via the APL Friends Foundation
(APLFF).
Public Forum: No one was present to speak, but Stow shared a written communication from
Gail R. Konglan, who said she does not care for the charcoal-colored stain on the exterior brick.
Stow noted that the Building Project Committee discussed the matter at length before making
the decision to change the color.
Ames Public Library Friends Foundation (APLFF) Report: Stow reminded everyone of the
one man play about Churchill which will be presented on April 30. He said the Teen Advisory
Group (TAG) is working hard on plans for its Zombie 5K fundraiser in September and will be
looking for sponsors soon. TAG is also sponsoring movies this week and making plans for
“Cupcake W ars” in May. The APLFF’s annual April solicitation will be mailed soon. Catherine
Noble, who is a part time librarian in State Center, will begin as the APLFF’s part-time
Development Director soon. The Budget and Finance Committee is starting work on next year’s
budget and reviewing financial controls. Stow said Literary Grounds continues to have excellent
sales; $2,760 was earned last month. A donation box will be installed near the beverage stand.
The spring book sale will take place April 17-19, with a $1-for-all-you-can-carry day on Monday,
April 20.
Strategic Planning Committee Report: Acker said the committee met on March 18.
Nationally known library director and thinker Jamie LaRue is going to be in Ames to address the
State Library staff next month, and arrangements have been made for him to work with APL on
Saturday, April 11. Carey said that a general session open to the public is being planned at 10
a.m. and work with the library’s boards and staff will take place in the early afternoon. Contact
has been made with the ISU StatCom group for help with surveys and analysis, and the
Agenda Item 2
committee anticipates involving the public in both big meetings and focus groups during the
process.
Administrative Staff Report: Carey said that many successful programs are taking place at
the library these days. Some are APL programs and others are co-sponsored by the library but
run by the organizing group. World Friendship Day and the 5th Grade Battle of the Books had
exceptional attendance. She also spoke about upcoming programs, including: Step Into
Storybooks; the Sixth Grade Battle of the Books; a One Species program that will include a
parade and concert; and a bike tune-up program that will take place in the plaza. Carey said
plans are also in the works for some new programs that will take place after hours and outside
the library.
Carey also advised that:
• The City’s Boards and Commissions Luncheon is scheduled on March 26;
• A documentary on the Library Renewal Project produced by Derek Crisler recently won
the Best of Show Award at the 2015 Best of the Midwest Video Fest;
• The Story County budget passed with a 2% increase to the libraries.
• The City budget was approved as requested.
• The City’s Comprehensive Annual Financial Report includes photos focused on a
different project each year and the most recent report features the library.
• The Iowa Library Association (ILA) Legislative Lobby Day was held March 18. It focused
on the ILA legislative agenda as well as mental health issues that affect libraries. All
Ames’ legislators were in session and Carey sent them notes.
Manus asked if any requests were made of the legislators. Carey said the main request is for
continued funding, in hopes of inching back to previous levels of library support. ILA is also
asking the legislators to preserve home town governance by retaining the autonomy of library
boards of trustees.
Briese asked about staffing levels in the new, larger facility. Carey said programming was
purposely curtailed for a couple months while staff got acclimated to the new building. She said
that operating at the current staffing level is a stretch, and that is one reason the departments
are so keen to work with community groups and let them take over some of the work. Briese
asked if any additional risk were associated with that approach. Carey said not really; the library
adheres to its volunteer policy and monitors for quality control, but being so busy and so
stretched necessitates taking a more creative approach.
Building Project Construction Update: The Renovation Project Financial Report, which had
been left out of the packet, was distributed around the table. Stow stated that the library still has
about $700,000 left in the contractor’s change order allowance and the project contingency
budget. Carey said that last month it had seemed that the fix for the glycol leaks might consume
the change order allowance, but the chilled beam system designer covered the costs of a
solution that has been implemented and seems to be working very well.
Carey stated that one final change order will be prepared for The Samuels Group before closing
out that contract. Reporting on recent developments, she said:
• The outside brick on the south end of the building has been stained and many
comments (both positive and negative) have been received.
• The landscaping punch list is still 32 pages long, but contractors are reinstalling pavers
and will be responding to the plant issues later.
Agenda Item 2
• The custom furniture company (SBD) will be back on March 23. Some existing furniture
is still failing, but all of it is under warranty and staff is tracking the issues.
• The front doors were modified so that the right-side doors in both directions are now
automatic and the left-side doors are manual. The manual sides are much less resistant
than before and the automatic option still remains for those who chose it. The trustees
noted that the doors are still quite heavy, but did not feel the matter should be pursued
further.
• Only a few items remain on the interior punch list.
Carey said that work continues on acquiring technology for meeting rooms. Technology for a
digital media lab will come later, and the Art Committee will need to meet again to discuss
artwork and the interactive play wall.
Director’s General Job Duties Policy:
Moved by Manus, seconded by Budd, to adopt a resolution approving changes to the
Director’s General Job Duties Policy as presented/amended.
Vote on Motion as presented: 7-0. Motion approved unanimously. Resolution
adopted.
Expressions of Concern Policy:
Moved by Bradley, seconded by Briese, to adopt a resolution approving changes to
the Expressions of Concern Policy as presented/amended.
Stow said certain text changes were being proposed for the sake of consistency across all
library policies. Meier pointed out one more instance where the word “library” specifically
referred to APL and needed to be capitalized.
Vote on Motion with an additional capitalization of the word “library:” 7-0. Motion
approved unanimously. Resolution adopted.
Public Participation Policy:
Moved by Meier, seconded by Acker, to adopt a resolution approving changes to the
Petition Policy as presented/amended.
Vote on Motion as presented: 7-0. Motion approved unanimously. Resolution
adopted.
Donation of Art from the Family of Lisa Fawcett Nelson:
Moved by Briese, seconded by Meier, to adopt a resolution accepting a donation of
art from the family of Lisa Fawcett Nelson.
Stow explained that Ms. Nelson’s family and friends paid for the work that hangs in the Lisa
Fawcett Nelson Study Room; the artist is a family friend. Carey said the Building Project
Committee felt it was appropriate to allow some recognition of the person(s) for which a study
room was named, but policy requires that the Board accept all non-monetary donations.
Vote on Motion: 7-0. Motion approved unanimously. Resolution adopted.
Freedom to Read Foundation Membership: Carey stated that the management team
discussed membership in the Freedom to Read Foundation and, while they appreciate the work
done the organization, there are many foundations that do similar work. The library can’t belong
to all of them. The team didn’t know where they would draw the line with respect to other
Agenda Item 2
memberships or whether taxpayer money should even be used for this purpose. She noted that
the trustees were welcome to join as individuals, if they would like to.
Manus asked if APL had belonged to this organization before. Carey said it had not, although
the American Library Association (ALA) has an organizational membership and many libraries
also join.
Manus wondered if there should be a policy on what the library should do with respect to
memberships of this sort or if ALA had a best practices framework. Carey said she would look
into whether or not the City has a policy and could propose one for the library.
Director Performance Evaluation: Stow stated that Carey had requested that the meeting be
closed under the provision of Iowa Code Section 21.5(1)(i), which refers to the evaluation of the
professional competency of an individual whose performance is being considered.
Moved by Budd, seconded by Manus, to close the meeting under the provisions of
Iowa Code Section 21.5(1)(i) for the purpose of discussing the Director’s performance
evaluation.
Roll Call Vote: 7-0. (Voting aye: Acker, Bradley, Briese, Budd, Linch, Manus, Meier)
Motion carried unanimously.
The meeting was closed at 7:36 p.m. and all but trustees left the room.
Persons waiting outside were invited back into the Board Room at 8:00 p.m.
Moved by Budd, seconded by Meier, to re-open the meeting.
Roll Call Vote: 7-0. (Voting aye: Acker, Bradley, Briese, Budd, Linch, Manus, Meier)
Motion carried unanimously.
The meeting was re-opened at 8:02 p.m.
Director’s Salary for FY 2015/16:
Moved by Acker, seconded by Bradley, to adopt a resolution setting the Director’s
salary for fiscal year 2015/16 at $124,800.
Roll Call Vote: 7-0. Motion carried unanimously. Resolution adopted.
Election and Installation of Officers: Stow reviewed the slate of officers presented by the
nominating committee at the March meeting: Jane Acker for President; Kyle Briese for Vice
President; and Sherry Bradley for Secretary. He asked if there were any further nominations for
the office of president. Hearing none, he declared nominations for the office of president closed.
Stow welcomed further nominations for the office of vice president. None were offered and
nominations for the office of vice president were declared closed.
Additional nominations for the office of secretary were invited. None were offered; nominations
for the office of secretary were declared closed.
Moved by Meier, seconded by Budd, to elect the slate of officers as presented.
Vote on Motion: 8-0 (including Stow). Motion carried unanimously.
Stow declared the slate to be elected and installed for the upcoming year.
Agenda Item 2
Recognition of Retiring Trustees: Stow expressed thanks and gratitude on behalf of the
Library staff and trustees for Sherry Meier and Harry Budd’s years of service. He noted that
Meier was originally appointed in April 1, 2007, and Budd began his first term in May 13, 2008.
Certificates of Recognition were presented.
Trustee Comments:
Acker said she is looking forward to the upcoming year.
Briese thanked Budd and Meier for their dedication to the library and said he appreciated
Meier’s help on the Finance Committee.
Bradley also thanked the retiring trustees.
Manus congratulated Acker for assuming the board presidency, and thanked Budd and Meier
for their work on the Construction Subcommittee and Building Project Committee.
Meier said she feels privileged to have been part of the library’s renovation. She recalled that
eight years ago the Board was just getting ready to do the Feasibility Study. A lot has been
accomplished since then and she appreciates the great people and great teams she has been
able to work with.
Budd offered heartfelt thanks to the APL employees, volunteers, and members of the Board for
their assistance to him over the years. He said he is confident that the library is on the correct
path into the future and believes it will continue to be as successful as ever.
Stow said it has been his pleasure to serve as President for the last three years and as Vice
President for two years before that—the entire time that encompassed the building project. It
has been a great time of change and progress for the institution and the community. He said he
was also pleased to be part of the search and hiring of the new Director.
Adjournment: The meeting was adjourned by consensus at 8:10 p.m.
The next regular meeting will be on Thursday, April 16, 2015, at 7:00 p.m., in the Dale H. Ross
Board Room, Ames Public Library, 515 Douglas Avenue.
Agenda Item 2