NORTHVILLE DISTRICT LIBRARY BOARD OF TRUSTEES
Regular Meeting Minutes
Thursday, April 22, 2010 – 7:30 p.m.
Northville District Library Carlo Meeting Room
1. Chairperson Joe Corriveau called the
Regular Meeting to order at 7:31 p.m.
1.1 Roll Call - Present:
Trustees Joe Corriveau, Robert Sochacki, Alan Somershoe, Judy Sherman,
Jean Hansen, and Jim Morché. Also
present: Julie Herrin, Director; Anne Mannisto, Assistant
Director; Judith Williams, Administrative Assistant; and Paul Snyder,
President of the NDL Friends. In the audience: Library staff
members Al Smitley and Denise LaMotte.
Absent: Trustee Mike DeFrancesco.
1.2 Approval of the
Agenda:
MOTION: Jean Hansen made a motion to approve the
agenda. Alan Somershoe seconded the motion. Motion
passed.
1.3 Approval of the Regular
Board Meeting
minutes for March 18, 2010: MOTION:
Robert Sochacki
moved to accept the minutes for the Board Meeting of March 18, 2010, as
corrected. Alan Somershoe seconded the motion.
Motion passed.
1.4 Approval of the Minutes for
the
Executive Session held on March 18, 2010. MOTION:
Jean Hansen moved to accept the minutes for the Executive Session on
March 18, 2010 as presented. Judy Sherman seconded the
motion. Motion passed.
1.5 Citizen Comments:
None.
2. Correspondence:
Julie read a
note from Northville Girl Scouts thanking the Library for allowing them
to hold meetings in the Carlo Meeting Room four times each
year. Their note came with a box of Girl Scout Cookies that
were enjoyed by the Board Members. Julie also distributed
copies of the Friends of the Library’s Annual Report for the
Board Members to review.
3. Director’s Report:
Statistics: Julie noted that the March
statistics show
circulation to be up 8.5% over last year. She noted that
these numbers were compiled prior to the closing of the Novi Library
but could be up because Novi stopped accepting
“holds” in January. She commented that
there will likely be a greater increase in numbers in April and May
when Novi is closed and their patrons come here. The door
count has increased by 9.5% this month. Computer use has also
increased dramatically. Database usage is steady.
Website visits have also increased, to 25,722 in March 2010.
Youth Programming: The Youth Department
has held 32 events
this month, with a total of 883 children attending. A group
of 45 6th grade students from Our Lady of Victory School attended a
program on databases and were able to practice accessing and searching
them following the presentation. The Battle of the Books was
a great success again this year with a total of 163 students
participating and a total attendance of 343 for the event.
Adult Programming: The Adult Services
Department held several
programs this month. The Foreign Film Series hosted 32
viewers this month. The Program Going beyond Google had 31
attendees. The Book Discussion had 20 participants, and the
Home Safe Home Program hosted 39 people.
Community Read Program: The Library will
be participating
with the Novi, Salem-South Lyon, Wixom and Lyon Township Libraries in a
Community Read Program this fall. The selected book is
“Annie’s Ghosts: a journey into a family
secret,” by Steve Luxenberg. There will be a program here on
Eloise on September 29, a special book discussion here on October 25,
and a presentation by the author at the Novi Library on October 21.
Facilities: Julie reported that the re-lamping of
the
Library’s upper level is complete. Plans are to
proceed with re-lamping the lower level with the generous financial
support of the Friends of the Library. There will be a meeting with the
City and School District next week regarding the proposal to
consolidate the energy source for the public buildings in the
area. This was originally proposed last year and is now being
revisited. Julie also reported that she would like the Board
to consider replacing some of the windows in the Carlo Meeting Room
with ones that open. As a preliminary step, the company that
installed the original windows was contacted for pricing on this
project. The Board requested that additional research be done
and competitive bids be obtained to present to the Board at the May
meeting.
Public Relations: Julie reported that a
very complimentary
editorial about the Northville District Library was published in the
Northville Record during National Library Week. She also
reported that the Library shared an exhibit with the Friends of the
Library at the Taste of Northville last month. Also she and
Anne Mannisto attended the State of the Community Luncheon on
Wednesday, April 21, where they were able to distribute flyers about
Library services to many of the attendees present.
Jim Morché suggested that a Microsoft program on protecting
children on the Internet would offer valuable information to the
community. Julie indicated that this would be considered at
the next meeting on program planning.
4. Friends Report:
Friends
President Paul Snyder noted that the Friends Annual Meeting was held on
Sunday, March 21. The event included State Representative
Marc Corriveau and Dr. Charles Hansen, President of the Friends of
Michigan Libraries (FOML), and featured Irish music. He
reported that the Friends have initially approved $28,350 of the
Library’s Wish List. He stated that the Friends
have formally ended their relationship with Randall Books;
subsequently, he has received letters of resignation from Andrea and
Chuck Murdock and Margaret Emminger related to their duties with the
used books. Joe Thomas has been appointed the new Used Book
Director for the Friends. Paul also stated that there are
still tickets available for the Friends’ Book and Author
Luncheon on Friday, May 7, to be held at the Fox Hills Country
Club. The tickets can be purchased at the Library’s
Circulation Desk.
5. Budget and Finance Review:
5.1 MOTION:
Treasurer Jean
Hansen made a motion to approve payment of the Northville District
Library List of Bills over $1,000 for April 2010 as presented to the
Board. Robert Sochacki seconded the motion. Motion
passed.
5.2 Jean distributed the
Financial
Reports for March. She noted that the Financial
Reports were
on target and unremarkable, except for one small issue. She
explained that funds received from the City were electronically
transferred to the incorrect account and therefore a correction needed
to be made. MOTION: Jean made a motion to transfer
$495.74 from the Debt Account to the Operating Account to make the
adjustment. Jim Morché seconded the
motion. Motion passed.
5.3 Jean noted that there are
very
limited ways that the Library can increase its revenue.
One
way is to increase Library Overdue Fines. MOTION:
Jean made a motion to increase Library Fines from 10 cents to 20 cents
per day on all applicable items, effective July 1, 2010. Alan
Somershoe seconded the motion. Motion passed. It
was noted that this increase in fines would be announced in the next
newsletter, which will be distributed the first week in June.
5.4 MOTION: Jean made
a motion to amend
the current Operating Budget, as follows: 1) reduce Building
Maintenance from $77,000 to $65,000; 2) reduce TLN and Baker/Taylor
Fees from $10,000 to $6,000; 3) reduce Special Programs from $10,000 to
$8,000; 4) reduce Advertising from $500 to $150; and 5) increase the
budgeted amount for Auditing Services from $7,000 to $9,000.
With these amendments, the amount needed to balance the 2010 Budget
would be reduced from $68,800 to $43,450. Jim
Morché seconded the motion. Motion passed.
5.5 Jean Hansen distributed a
new 5-year
plan projection (on blue paper) based on new revenue figures
from the
Township and City. These figures, which show the increased
Library fines and reflect the budget cuts that are being initiated in
FY 2010, mean that the Library could lose both its Essential and
Enhanced status ratings from the Library of Michigan with the drastic
decrease in Acquisitions. She then distributed a 5-year plan
projection ( on lavender paper) which demonstrated cost savings to the
Library if it were to reduce personnel costs by closing on 32 Fridays
during the school year and furloughing staff members. This
scenario would have the Library open on Fridays (while still closing on
Sundays) during the summer months. The estimation is that
$3,500 would be saved for each Friday that the Library is closed, with
a total of $112,000 in savings to the wages line item.
Possible reductions related to closing one day will be discussed with
Plante & Moran to get a clear estimate of savings.
5.6 The Board discussed the
options in
proceeding with a millage campaign. The initial
determination
is that a millage proposal would not be placed on the ballot in August,
but would be pushed back to the November election. This would
mean that the 2011 Budget would need to be based on current figures
from the City and Township and the assumption that the only revenue
increase would be from the increase in Library Fines. Jean
suggested holding public information sessions to explain the need for a
millage for the Library. The conclusion of the Board members
was that any public session should be held after the planning session
with Bill Schroer, tentatively planned for mid-June. The date
selected for the Public Information Session is Wednesday, July 21 at
7:00 p.m. Following that, a millage committee would need to
be formed and Library supporters should be targeted. The
Library needs the opportunity to explain how the reduction in revenue
would impact Library services. The Board also discussed
having information in the June newsletter, informing residents of the
financial constraints facing the Library
6. Committee Reposts:
Finance Committee
The Finance Committee scheduled a special meeting on Thursday, May 6 at
7 p.m. in the Youth Activity Room to continue developing the 2011
Budget.
7. Announcements and Comments
The next regular monthly Finance Committee meeting will be held on
Tuesday, May 25 at 10:00 a.m. in the Carlo Meeting
Room. The Regular May Board Meeting will be held at
7:30 p.m. on Thursday, May 27, 2010, in the Carlo Meeting
Room.
MOTION: Jim Morché made a motion to adjourn the
Regular Meeting. Bob Sochacki seconded the motion.
Motion passed. The Meeting was adjourned at 9:10 p.m.
Respectfully Submitted,
Mike DeFrancesco
JW 4/23/10