NORTHVILLE DISTRICT LIBRARY BOARD OF TRUSTEES
Regular Meeting Minutes
Thursday, October 28, 2010 – 7:30 p.m.
Northville District Library Carlo Meeting Room
1. Chairperson Joe Corriveau called the Regular
Meeting to order at 7:30 p.m.
1.1 Roll Call - Present: Trustees Joe
Corriveau, Robert Sochacki, Alan Somershoe, Jean Hansen, Mike
DeFrancesco, 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 Judy Sherman.
1.2 Approval of the Agenda: MOTION: Jim
Morché made a motion to approve the agenda. Jean Hansen seconded the
motion. Motion passed.
1.3 Approval of the Regular Board Meeting minutes for
September 23, 2010: MOTION: Jean Hansen made a motion to accept
the minutes for the Board Meeting of September 23, 2010. Robert
Sochacki seconded the motion. Motion passed.
1.4 Citizen Comments: None.
2. Correspondence: Julie Herrin read a note
from Lynn Osaer, with the organization Women with a Purpose, thanking
the Library for allowing a collection box for coats to be placed in the
lobby area. Over 150 coats, plus hats, gloves and boots, were
made available to families through Northville Civic Concern and to
Detroit inner-city homeless.
3. Director’s Report:
Statistics: The statistics for the month of September 2010, are
down just under 2% from September 2009, while the door count is up
almost 3%. Checkouts of eBooks totals 197 and audio books are 221
for this month. Youth eBooks total 103 for this month, making the
annual circulation total 2,037 to date. Database accesses are
also up from August because of the resumption of school and the
training presented by the Library.
Youth Programming: 951 children participated in 35 Library Youth
Department events this past month. There were 3 Real Research
classes with 50 Our Lady of Victory students in each. There is
also a class scheduled for Montessori students tomorrow. A
program featuring the Balloon Meister had 20 tween (youth ages 8 to 12)
participants. The Teen Book Discussion had 9 attendees.
Adult Programming: The two Investment Education Programs had 35
and 40 participants. The Foreign Film this month had 55 viewers,
and the Book Discussion had 12 participants. There were 37 people
at the program on composting and 25 attendees at the program on Digital
Photography. New computer classes that are being planned for the
winter include Skype, Overdive downloading, and Database classes that
will be subject focused. The Community Read events were very
successful. Expenses were covered by money withdrawn from the
Endowment Fund. The 29 copies of the book “Annie’s Ghosts”
purchased for the event have now circulated a total of 141 times.
The special Community Read book discussion had 17 attendees. The
History of Eloise Program, which was held at the Community Center, drew
110, and the visit with author Steve Luxenberg at the Novi Public
Library drew 187.
Endowment: The 2010 Endowment letter will be mailed out during
the second week of November and the Library Giving Tree is to be
installed about the same time. Fourteen leaves will already be
engraved with donor names when the tree is installed.
Public Relations: Julie reported that articles about the
Northville Library have appeared in both the Detroit News and the
Detroit Free Press. She also reported that the Library and Parks
and Recreations Department are discussing the possibility of partnering
to co-sponsor events, such as a movie night and summer concerts in the
park adjacent to the Library.
Facilities: Julie reported that discussion has begun with Library
Design to make space adjustments in the Teen area, using the remainder
of the Endowment money for part of the renovation. Increasing
shelving space and making the area more inviting to teens are the
objectives.
Staff: Two staff members attended a workshop on programming on a
shoestring and two other staff members attended a workshop on legal
resources. Allison and Julie attended webinars on Overdrive
training. There were 65 volunteer hours in September. Julie reported on a new option
offered by MERS as part of its Health Care Savings Program, the
tax-exempt program for post-Library employment health care expenses the
Library subscribed to last year. MERS members may now deposit
their longevity pay into a MERS HCSP account. This would offer tax
savings to both the Library and the staff member opting to do
this. MOTION: Julie requested a motion for approval of
adding this option to the Library’s plan. Jean Hansen moved to
adopt the proposal to add longevity pay to the MERS Health Care Savings
Program. Robert Sochacki seconded the motion. Motion
passed.
4. Friends Report: Friends President Paul
Synder reported that the Friends Fall Used Book Sale in October
netted $1,621. He reported that the Friends of Northville Library
participated in the Friends of Michigan Libraries (FOML) workshop at
the Novi Public Library and that Joe Thomas presented a program on how
used books are processed here that was very well received. Paul
stated that he had submitted a letter on behalf of the Friends to the
editor of the Northville Record which was published in the October 28th
edition, expressing support of the Library millage. The Books for
Babies program is now underway; Judy DeFrancesco has had about 6 new
moms participate so far. Paul also reported that the Friends will
be selling used books at the Art House, Solid Grounds and at the First
Friday Art Walk events. He also reminded the Board about the
upcoming Picks and Sticks Program.
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 October 2010 as presented to the Board. Robert
Sochacki seconded the motion. Motion passed.
5.2 Jean distributed the Financial Reports for
September, noting that the expenditures were on target and that an
additional but unexpected $4,500 in State Aid was received this past
month. She also reported that $71,000 of delinquent taxes have
now been received with an additional $15,000 to be forthcoming from
Wayne County. Jean stated that funds from Strategic Planning
Reserve are being used to increase alternative funding for the Library,
one of the Strategic Plan goals, with the installation of a Library
Giving Tree.
5.3 Julie Herrin reported that she received a call
from Standard & Poor’s regarding the Library’s Bond Rating.
After Julie responded to a series of questions, the S & P
representative stated that the Library’s Bond Rating has been increased
from A to AA-. The Construction Bonds for the Library will be
retired in 2015.
6. Announcements and Comment
6.1 Julie requested that a Personnel Committee be
scheduled to discuss a staff member’s request to purchase additional
Service Credit through the MERS Pension Plan. The Personnel
Committee Meeting was set for 7:00 p.m. on November 18, prior to the
November Board Meeting.
6.2 The next Finance Committee meeting will be held
on Tuesday, November 16 at 10:00 a.m. in the Carlo Meeting Room.
The next Regular Meeting of the Board will be held on Thursday,
November 18 at 7:30 p.m. in the Carlo Meeting Room. This will be
on the third Thursday due to the Thanksgiving Holiday.
6.3 The Annual Staff Holiday Party is scheduled for
Wednesday, December 8, 2010. All Board Members are invited and
their assistance will be greatly appreciated.
MOTION: Robert Sochacki made a motion to adjourn the Regular
Meeting. Jim Morché seconded the motion. Motion
passed. The Meeting was adjourned at 8:12p.m.
Respectfully Submitted,
Mike DeFrancesco Secretary
JW 10/1/10