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HomeMy WebLinkAbout06-26-2013 Library Board of Trustees MinutesBozeman Public Library Board of Trustees Regular Meeting Board Meeting Room Bozeman Public Library Wednesday, June 26, 2013 Minutes Attendance Present: Board Chair Ron Farmer; Trustees Judy Mathre, Jacki McGuire, Jennifer Pawlak, John Gallagher; Bozeman Public Library (BPL) Director Susan Gregory; BPL Department Heads Terri Dood, Lois Dissly, Cindy Christin; BPL Friends President David House; BPL Foundation Director Paula Beswick; Deputy Mayor/Library Liaison Jeff Krauss; City of Bozeman Director of Economic Development Brit Fontenot; City of Bozeman Community Development Associate Planner Doug Riley Guests Thomas Winston, owner of the Harrington property. Call to Order The meeting was called to order by Chair Farmer at 4:04 p.m. Approval of the Minutes Trustee Jennifer Pawlak moved that the minutes of the May 22, 2013 be approved with a correction of the date for the staff meeting held May 15, 2013. Trustee Judy Mathre seconded the motion. The Board voted unanimously to approve the minutes as amended. Correspondence BPL Director Susan Gregory shared correspondence from library patrons. A patron suggested that the Library ban cell phone conversations. Another requested purchase of a Stephanie Bond book for Kindles. A third patron asked if the Library is going to fix the chair/table height. A man was pleased with the service the Library provides. A staff member suggested a program on peer pressure for teens after finding a note in the YA area written by someone who was experiencing it. Staff member, Kari Grimm, handed in her letter of resignation effective July 12. Public Comment and Items for Discussion/Action City of Bozeman Director of Economic Development Brit Fontenot and City of Bozeman Community Development Associate Planner Doug Riley presented plans for the Olive and Wallace Development Project application by the new owner of the Harrington property, Thomas Winston. The presentation was made to allow the Library, as a neighbor, to have input on the plans. The property has been rezoned from R4 (Residential) to B3 (Mixed Use) to allow expansion of the downtown business area. Winston plans to demolish warehouses located on the north and south ends of the building. He will proceed with a voluntary clean-up plan for asbestos that might be found under the warehouses. The application includes a parking lot on the south end, a patio on the eastside which abuts library land, and a courtyard plaza on the north end that could allow for a pedestrian connection to the Library. Riley said that the Planning Department has concerns about pedestrian safety with regard to crossing the Library's parking lot as it is currently formatted. Fontenot talked about the project being the first step in opening access in what he termed the blue wall that runs along Wallace Street. The City has a role to play in making pedestrian connections safe and he asked the Board to allow that opportunity. Costs involved might include restriping, new curbs, crosswalks, and bridging the swale. Board members expressed enthusiasm for the concept but were not willing to reconsider shared parking. The Board indicated that it would like to see proposals from the City Engineering Department on ways to improve the parking lot for pedestrian safety. Gregory presented a proposal to give non-represented staff a COLA (Cost of Living Adjustment) of 1.7% which would cost under $2000 for the Library to do so. Trustee Action Mathre moved to approve the raise. Trustee Gallagher seconded the motion. The motion was approved unanimously. Action Trustee Gallagher moved to approve the FY2014 Holiday Schedule. Trustee Mathre seconded it. The motion was approved unanimously. Gregory and Personnel Improvement and Enrichment (PIE) Committee have been meeting to plan the annual Staff Development Day. Plans include inviting Roberta Stevens, former American Library Association (ALA) president, to visit with the staff, Friends, Foundation, and the public about the importance of library advocacy. The Committee would like to have the training on November 11, 2013, which is Veteran’s Day, and the Library will be closed. Farmer stated that he thought it was an internal decision for staff to make but that the Board had no objections to the date. Director and Staff Reports Chair Farmer thanked Trustee Judy Mathre for agreeing to a second term on the Board. Director Gregory reported that Senator Max Baucus filmed a television commercial for his leadership institute at the Library on May 30. That same afternoon, 85 patrons visited the Overdrive Bookmobile which was in the Library parking lot. There was also a surprise visit from a group of students and faculty from the Grand Teton Science School in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Gregory attended the June 10 City Commission meeting to explain the Library's personnel requests. The money would allow the Library to be open on Sundays in the summer, bring a longtime employee up to one pay level, and provide for one new FTE for a computer training center coordinator. Bob Hietela from Gallatin College visited the Library and told Gregory that he did not think the classes offered by the College and the Library would overlap. The marketing position will be built into next year's budget. Gregory and Foundation Director Paula Beswick will attend the American Library Association Conference in Chicago from June 27- July 3. They will be participating in a program called Library As Culture House. Gregory was very pleased with the Ted Turner event for the Library, held at the Ellen Theatre on June 21st. Department Head Terri Dood reported on the successful kick-off for the new Most Wanted collection which is being paid for by the Friends. Children's Librarian Cindy Christin plans to plant a rainbow garden outside the Children's Library and has other ideas to make the outside of the Library more interesting. Gregory mentioned that staff member, Beth Boyson, will also be attending ALA in her role as president of the Montana Library Association. City Reports Deputy Mayor Krauss spoke briefly about the City Manager's proposed budget; the Library's requests will be before the City Commission July 1st. The application for the new Town Pump located across from the Library has been approved and includes a light and pedestrian crosswalk on Main Street. Krauss spoke to City Parks and Recreation Director Mitch Overton about replacing the dead trees in front of the Library. He believes that the City's economy has improved but is not back to the pre-2008 level. He attended Governor Bullock's economic initiative roundtable June 25 and said he believes that the city and state need to plan their economies to encourage clustering of businesses including biochemistry companies. Friends Report BPL Friends President David House reported that Consultant Sue Hall will be meeting with the Friends August 26 to help them develop their own strategic plan. The group is very happy with how the Most Wanted collection is going; Friends are grateful for positive publicity from such projects. The next book sale will be July 19-21. Foundation Report Library Foundation Director Paula Beswick presented an update on her activities, including: The Ted Turner event at the Ellen Theatre was very successful. The interview was filmed by C-Span Books. Beswick will be doing two additional presentations at ALA, one on fundraising and the other on library-community partnerships. The Interchange rally will be held out front of the Library on Saturday, June 29 and workshops will be in the Library's meeting rooms. Beswick had flower baskets put out front of the building for the summer. Former staff member, Katie Chambers, will be helping the Foundation with its Facebook and webpage. Beswick is interviewing for a replacement for Jeannie Gracey-Etgen. She visited with Bill Staudahr of Gallatin Ahead. More benches will soon be installed around the grounds. Camera Obscura will be relocated from the Montana State University (MSU) campus to the front of the Library. Beswick has been asked to join the advisory committee for MSU's School of Letters and Science. She and Todd Wilkinson will talk to Sunrise Rotary July 12 about One Book One Bozeman. She will have ad and editorial pieces in the new publication Out and About. The Chamber Music and Jazz and More programs have been very popular. The next art reception, July 12, will be for the Southwest Montana Artists group. The Pinky and the Floyd concert will be held July 28 on the Library Plaza. It will be their only free Montana appearance this year. Jeannie Gracey-Etgen has been working on developing the creative workshops for August. Yoga For All is proving to be very popular now that all ages can attend. Executive Session The Board went into Executive Session at 5:52 p.m.