BOARD OF TRUSTEES MEETING MINUTES

Geraldine Branch Library

Wednesday, April 27, 2022

Geraldine - 12:15 pm

1. Call to order: 12:21 pm by Ron Young
2. Present:

1. Board Members: Ron Young - Chair, Janet Worrall - Vice Chair, Kim Hibl, Nancy Grossman, Dani Engellant
2. Director: Emily Wicks
3. Public Visitors: Darlene Cline, Lennie Stone

3. Public Discussion:

1. Leonard Stone stopped in to make sure that the board or foundation discussed what they want done with the front of the building in light of the major difference with the window reconfiguration.

4. Minutes:

1. Janet said that she feels nine pages of minutes is too long and pointed out a few places where what was included in the minutes was not talked about in the meeting and needed to be taken out. She also said that some personal information was included and needed to be removed. Nancy and Kim commented that the last meeting was unusual and that detailed minutes were needed to include everything that was covered. Ron said that detailed minutes are an appreciated change from what the board has received in the past. It is nice to be able to look back at the minutes and be reminded of the meeting flow. Kim Hibl moved that the minutes be approved as submitted and Nancy Grossman seconded. Minutes approved.

5. Budget:

1. Discussion of the budget included questions about specific purchases such as the lollipop order and a playaway order.

1. Overall, all branches are on track for spending in the fiscal year. We are 75% through the year with three months remaining and all branches are under the 75% range.
2. Kim asked about the overages in the Big Sandy budget on line items:

1. 210 - office supplies & materials (111%)
2. 219 - items for inventory. This line item has zero dollars. We are not sure why the stool for Big Sandy was coded to this account. Or why there is a line item with zero dollars. This is a question that Emily will ask Cheryl.
3. 322 - books, catalogs, brochures, printing (118%) The amount in this line item has been an ongoing issue. When the FY2023 budget is developed this amount will change.
4. 360 - maintenance and repair services (196%) The major costs in this line item were light fixture replacement in the bathroom, emergency flood light fixture replacement in the meeting room, ordering of 30 fluorescent bulbs for replacements, and a sewer blockage.

3. Janet Worrall moved that the budget be approved as submitted and Kim Hibl seconded. Budget approved.

6. Reports:

1. Big Sandy - Darlene Cline reported that the theme for the month was Dr. Seuss and “Oh, The Places You’ll Go” with a truffula tree display in the children’s room. Other activities included: Read Across America, Friday movies, meeting room use - Garden Club led by Tyler Lane extension agent, Homeschool, etc. -, the opening of the seed library which includes donations by patrons, seed companies and Rotary.
2. Fort Benton - There have been a variety of themes for the month of April. Low attendance for Ken Robison’s presentation of “Cold War Montana” due to winter storm conditions. There was not a lot of foot traffic for National Libray week although patron usage stays steady and seems to be increasing. There are plans in the works for more in-person activities. The Fort Benton branch also has a seed library in the planning stages. The board asked if Tyler Lane has presented to the local garden club. They have met but he has not been a part of it lately.
3. Geraldine - Remodel update to follow in the Director’s Report.
4. Highwood - Nothing to report. Nancy asked if any money is being spent at the Highwood branch. There is not at this time.

7. Director Report:

1. The Geraldine remodel has slowed.

1. The shelving materials have arrived in Great Falls. Lennie Stone was not sure of the arrival time of these materials and had schedule other jobs in the mean time. He should be able to get to Great Falls soon to pick up the materials. When he has an opening it should only take up to a week to get the shelves built. After the shelves have been built and the trim is finished Sami Jo, along with two librarians from Fort Benton, will start moving books back into the building with the goal of completely emptying at least one trailer as soon as possible.
2. Dani has been in touch with Bob Tadej and Alan about the lighting. They do not have a time line as yet for the installation of the energy efficient, LED lights. This project will include a rebate. Dani will be taking care of that paperwork.
3. The doors are on site but still need the hardware installed before they can be put in. The windows are estimated to be in the second week in May. Lennie will be completing the installation of the doors and windows.
4. The Geraldine Fun Days will not be held in conjunction with The Ranch Run. This event will be the second weekend in June. The “soft” opening will hopefully be held on June 11 during Fun Days. A Grand Opening will follow when the project is complete.

2. A Summer Food Program Mini Grant of $1,000 was awarded to the Big Sandy Branch Library by the Chouteau County Health Department. This money will be used to provide lunches once a week for seven weeks to the youth of Big Sandy. Darlene will be working with The Mint, the Friends of the Library and the local 4-H chapter to provide these meals on Wednesdays. The Fort Benton Branch Library will be the location for the health department’s distribution in Fort Benton. Nancy Lachapelle heads up this program. It will be happening on Wednesdays.
3. Confirmation has been received for Emily Wicks to attend the Public Library Directors Institute in Great Falls May 16-19. A report will follow at the May trustee meeting.

8. Announcements/Dates to remember:

1. May 1 - June 30 - Marc Steinberg, Missoula resident and artist, Alzheimer’s art work exhibit on display at the FBBL
2. May 5 - Pathfinder Federation Meeting. This event is being hosted by the Fort Benton Branch Library and will be held in person in the McLeish Room. Emily Wicks and Janet Worrall will be attending. Estimated attendance is 35. The event will be catered by Alex Salazar with The Public House. The trustees have agreed to provide desserts for this event.
3. Wednesday, May 25 at 6:00 pm Dr. Bird will be giving a program on Alzheimer’s. Nancy Lachapelle will be providing refreshments at the FBBL.
4. Friday, May 27 - Book Sale 9:00-5:00 - McLeish Room of the FBBL. Some books will be outside weather permitting.
5. All branches will be closed Monday, May 30th in observance of Memorial Day weekend. The Fort Benton branch summer hours will be on Tuesday, May 31st. These hours are Monday + Tuesday 9:00 am - 7:00 pm, Wednesday through Friday 9:00 am - 5:00 pm.

9. Unfinished Business:

1. Budget Building:

1. The first round of the FY2023 budget numbers will be presented to the trustees at the May trustee meeting. This should allow time for review from the trustees and for input to be taken into consideration before the budget is submitted to the county commissioners in June.
2. If additional meetings need to be scheduled to discuss budget concerns, this can be arranged.
3. Emily will be looking at individual line items as well as overall amounts in each line item. The overall amount of the budget is not expected to change much except for COLA for employees. What will most likely be changed is where the money is stored. Ie: Some of the travel budget will be moved to repair and maintenance since Emily is using the county vehicle for site visits. With personal auto use the money comes out of 370 for travel mileage. For county car use the money comes out of 230 for gas usage. Therefore money will be shifted to where it is needed. Cheryl’s constant reminder is that staying within the line items is not the major concern, but staying within the overall budget is the goal.

2. Big Sandy Branch Library open clerk position:

1. Jody Haaland’s last day as BSBL clerk will be May 18th. Tavie Wortman will be subbing the clerk position until Rachel Baumgarn is able to start in June. Rachel has resigned from the school effective at the end of this school year and has requested a change of assignment to be the clerk and custodian starting in September 2022. Since Rachel is already a county employee the board only needs to confirm this appointment. After discussion by the trustees Ron Young moved to confirm the change of assignment and Janet Worrall seconded. Change approved.
2. Rachel requested a leave of absence from the custodial position over the summer. Tavie Wortman would then be the substitute custodian June through August. The board decided that an interview would not need to take place since it would be sub coverage. Tavie may also end up subbing for some librarian or clerk hours during that time frame. The board approved of this idea.

3. Big Sandy Branch Library proposed schedules:

1. Branch Librarian Darlene Cline has chosen the following schedule:

1. 8:30am-5:00pm Monday-Thursday; 9:00am-3:00pm Friday   No lunch break is included with this schedule.
2. Big Sandy Branch 28-hour per week Clerk/Custodian position: The schedule options will be discussed with Rachel Baumgarn during her annual evaluation on May 20 at 9:00 am. A final schedule decision will be presented to the trustees at the meeting on May 25.
3. Having these set schedules, along with the shared Google calendar updated by Friday close of each week for the next week only, will create better communication, follow up, verification of time cards, and adequate library coverage. Kim asked Darlene if she was becoming more comfortable with the Google calendar format. Darlene told the trustees that she spent about four hours doing the initial set up of the Google schedule as she transitioned all of the information to this central location. The calendar is completed up through the end of July. Kim asked if quick changes could then be made without a lot of extra time needed. Darlene did confirm that she will make any updates as changes are noted.

4. Evaluation Process:

1. The evaluation process is on schedule as far as the original schedule was laid out. Jody Haaland’s evaluation was cancelled since she will be leaving the area. There are two evaluations left to complete.
2. When all of the evaluations are completed feedback will be asked for from staff and a report will come to the trustees in June or July. Starting in 2023 the goal is to have all evaluations completed in January.

10. New Business:

1. Circulation and statistics reporting changes:

1. The current statistics record keeping is done by hand and is not an accurate accounting of what the libraries are trying to keep track of. Therefore Emily is exploring the following options:

1. Automated patron counter/tracker as users enter the building. This takes out the need for the staff to manually mark patrons. The device being looked at will transmit the information straight into the computer system allowing the director to pull reports. This will also show usage patterns by time among other things.

1. Janet commented that Montana law states no one can video tape people without consent. Emily assured her that this is not that kind of system.

2. Cybrarian - This is a system that would be put on all computers to track computer usage. There are different options for logging in, limiting usage if necessary, wi-fi printing capabilities, even by personal devices - that would mean the FB branch could discontinue the use of Princh which is $750/year, and pull usage reports. This is not a filter system and would not affect what patrons can access on the public computers.
3. These two systems are an effort to streamline procedures and create uniform practice across the branches.

2. Summer Celebration Book Sale: The FBBL staff is going to have a busy Summer Celebration with events outside of the library. Basically no staff will be available to work on Saturday. Hours for the book sale Saturday, June 25 will be 10:00 am - 2:00 pm. A sign up schedule will be sent to trustees and foundation members to ensure coverage of this event. Surplus furniture from the Geraldine branch will be included in the sale with any monies coming in going straight back into the foundation account for Geraldine. It was asked that Joan Trindle retrieve any of the shelving that she had requested by June 4th.

11. Executive Session:

1. The regular trustee meeting closed at 1:49 pm and moved into executive session at 1:50 pm. This session closed at 2:13 pm.

12. Next Meeting:

1. 12:15 Wednesday, May 25, 2022 - Fort Benton Branch Library