Lebanon Public Library Board of Trustees Meeting Monday, December 9, 2013
Attendees: Paula Gross, Luanne Holper, Sy Korte, Susan Meister, Samantha Rogers, and Miranda Wright- Kauffmann. Not in Attendance: Warren Gale
Call to Order
Meeting called to order at 7:12 p.m. by Susan Meister. The resignation of Jeff Gray and Betty Willyard as board members was announced.
Proposed Bylaw Amendments
Miranda Wright-Kauffmann proposed two amendments to the bylaws. Voting will be held on this at the next meeting. No one expressed any objections.
Amendment 1: Quorum of the board of trustees meeting shall consist of the majority of currently filled trustee positions.
Amendment 2: Two elected officers of the board, excluding the treasurer, may authorize payment of bills in the event a meeting cannot be held.
Motion was made by Miranda Wright-Kauffmann to have Susan Meister serve as chair for this evening’s meeting. Motion seconded by Paula Gross. Motion approved unanimously.
Secretary’s Report
Minutes of the prior Board of Trustee meetings were reviewed. Minutes submitted for the November 11 meeting were not approved. These minutes will be reconsidered at the next meeting. Minutes of the November 25 meeting were reviewed. Motion was made by Paula Gross to approve the minutes with one correction of the date “Information back to 1978 shows that our share…” to reflect 1978. Samantha Rogers seconded the motion. Motion passed unanimously. Minutes of the special meeting called for November 29 were reviewed. Motion made my Miranda Wright-Kauffmann to accept the minutes as presented. Sy Korte seconded the motion. Motion approved unanimously.
Correspondence, Communications & Public Comments
Al Gerdes in attendance but made no comments at this time.
Library Director’s Report
- Kelly Wilhelm reported that a plan for the restroom has not been approved by the city. The lastthing we heard was that nothing has been approved by public property. This appears to be a longway out. Volunteers are able to use the restroom but the public cannot.
- Work continues on the groundwork for the grant. Kelly would like to find a way to thank theteachers at Lebanon Grade School for their continued support as she reviews the potential space forthe new library.
- The library recently received a unique donation that is currently in storage at Kelly’s home. InMemory of Manchester Fire Chief a 55 gallon aquarium and supplies were donated to the newchildren’s library. The donation was made by Myrt Davis in memory of her father.
- Some computer upgrades in the future may be necessary for viruses, etc. Kelly will bring a proposalto use Heather in her current role to do this work.
- As of January 1 we will need to track everyone’s worked hours on our own. Kelly will contact thecity to determine the balance of all employees’ earned time off. It was noted by the board that the Page 1 of 4
spreadsheet used to track this information should include a password and be maintained only by
Kelly.
- Kelly will work on security for electronic and paper records pertaining to employees since we areassuming additional personnel responsibilities in the new year.
- Luanne Holper, board treasurer, is working with Paul Grob, city treasurer, to make the requestedfinancial separation changes by the city.Treasurer’s Report
Motion to pay the bills as presented was made by Miranda Wright-Kauffmann. Motion was seconded by Paula Gross. Motion passed unanimously.Luanne expressed concern about personnel expenses when compared to budgeted amounts. After this evening’s bills we are $4,000+ over budget. Paychecks are issued every two weeks. We need more information about this issue to deal with this concern. We will keep an eye on this issue.Old Business
Applications for new board of trustee members are available through the library. Application deadline is December 31. Board will consider all of the applications during our January meeting. If you know of someone who is interested in serving please encourage them to apply.Elections of Board President & Vice President
Susan Meister nominated for president by Miranda Wright-Kauffmann. Sy Korte seconded the nomination. Nominations were closed. Election held with unanimous consent that Susan Meister shall serve as president.Samantha Rogers nominated to be vice president by Luanne Holper. Sy Korte seconded the nomination. Nominations were closed. Election held with unanimous consent that Samantha Rogers shall serve as vice president.
Old Business, Continued
Susan Meister provided a status report on the library’s financial relationships with City of Lebanon. Three letters have been sent to Paul Grob, city treasurer who will forward to city council. The first letter informs the city that effective December 1 the library will carry out own insurance agency rather than pay a portion of insurance through city hall. Second letter questioned why we’ve paid 80% of the insurance bill for the last three years. Third letter states we should receive PPRT and requested that current payments are made beginning in January. We are under discussion what to do about the prior years. Board determined that Luanne Holper, library board treasurer, shall be the contact person regarding the financial dissolve from city hall.Motion to publish the 2014-2015 in local newspaper to satisfy state law by Sy Korte motioned. Paula Gross seconded the motion. Motioned passed unanimously. Due to financial separation from city hall, our budget no longer needs to be submitted to city hall for review on an annual basis. Kelly Wilhelm has a form to help determine tax increases for future years. Luanne Holper requested a copy of this information and associated timelines. Discussion held, with a decision to be made in the future, about an independent audit of the library financial records. Currently we are included in the city hall audit. This will not be the case in the future. Kelly Wilhelm to determine who conducted our audit in prior years and a price quote.
Page 2 of 4
Luanne Holper to ask Paul Grob who is paying retirement, if those payments even exist. As part of separation from city hall, we need to determine if library employees are city employees. None of our employees are paying IMRF. Paperwork should exist historically to determine if IMRF payments are made, this paperwork should be located in the near future. We also need to address paid leave accumulated for employees. City hall is currently tracking paid leave hours. Paid leave will be tracked by Kelly Wilhem beginning January 1.
Discussion was held, with decision to be made at future meeting, about carrying our own unemployment policy.
Discussion was held, with decision to be made at future meeting, regarding appointment of someone to learn the role of treasurer and serve as backup for Leanne. It was mentioned that signatures on the library banking accounts need to be updated due to Jeff Gray’s resignation. Susan stated she would work with Leanne to get these updated this month. Reminder provided that Betty Ford needs to be removed from the safety deposit box and return her copy of the key.
Motion to seek our unemployment rate or status separate from the City of Lebanon was made by Miranda Wright-Kauffmann. Paula Gross seconded the motion. Motion approved unanimously.
Website Status
Al Gerdes reported that he is dropping his website hosting contract and that the library’s website can no longer be hosted through Al. Susan Mesiter volunteered to design and host website. The website setup would be donated and the hosting fee would be approximately $20. Susan would need to design the website in the final weeks of 2013. Al Gerdes offered a full year of hosting and design as a donation to library. He stated that any design could be posted to the website but the current Jumula template will no longer be supported and need to be converted. Our current hosting agreement will end March 2014. We have plenty of time to move or recreate. Susan Meister motioned to table the website decision. Miranda Wright-Kauffmann seconded the motion. Motion received unanimous approval.
Policy Review
Miranda Wright-Kauffmann and Susan Meister will work on this and bring a proposal to January 2014 meeting. The first priority is board bylaws, second priority is standing rules for the board and the third priority is review of the policy and procedure book.
New Business
Kelly Wilhem reported LeRoy Dawson, local architect, is interested in helping with architectural details of the grant for the new library. He is unable to work for free but has been asked to provide a competitive proposal. Mr. Dawson has friend that could assist with the grant. Kelly met with the school superintendent, Mr. Keeney, today. The library was welcomed to attend school board meeting on Wednesday at 7:30 to give five minute or less on how the donation of a building will benefit the community. At this time the school board unable to make a decision on the deposition of the building. Mr. Keeney noted there may also be a change in which building they are offering. Discussion determined that the library needs to have a presence at this school board meeting and future meetings. Kelly Wilhelm will attend and present at the Wednesday school board meeting.
Luanne would like to contact the payroll service that is currently doing our work to determine cost and length of service contract. Motion was made to continue payroll services through ADP if annual cost will
Page 3 of 4
not exceed $400 by Miranda Wright-Kauffmann. Sy Korte seconded the motion. Motion received unanimous approval.
Sy Korte motioned to provide current staff members the same bonus structure as we did last year. Paula Gross seconded this motion. Motion received unanimous approval.
Kelly Wilhelm reported the employee and volunteer Christmas dinner will be held on December 20. She requested the board to pay for volunteer dinners. Susan Meister motioned that $60 be used for holiday party for volunteers. Sy Korte seconded the motion. Motion approved unanimously.
Al Gerdes requested content for the library website.
Miranda Wright-Kauffmann motion to adjourn the meeting. The motion was seconded by Paula Gross. Meeting adjourned at 9:05 p.m.