NDL Board of Trustees Minutes

NORTHVILLE DISTRICT LIBRARY BOARD OF TRUSTEES
Regular Meeting Minutes
Thursday, November 18, 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, Judy Sherman 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 member Al Smitley and Trustee-elect Suzanne Miller.
Absent: None
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 October 28, 2010: MOTION: Jim Morché made a motion to accept the minutes for the Board Meeting of October 28, 2010 as corrected. Robert Sochacki seconded the motion. Motion passed.
1.4    Citizen Comments: None.

2.    Correspondence: Julie Herrin reported that she had received correspondence from Steve Luxenberg, author of Annie’s Ghosts, the Community Read book selected for this year, thanking the Library for participating in the program. Julie also shared a card from the Circulation Department thanking the Board for all of their hard work on the successful millage campaign. Julie then distributed copies of a letter from the entire Library Staff also thanking the Board for their efforts on the millage campaign. (The originals are included with the minutes of this meeting).

3.    Director’s Report:
Statistics: The circulation statistics for the month of October 2010 are down nearly 8% from October 2009. The door count is also down about 6.6%. Julie believes that this is due to the opening of the new Novi Public Library. Other near-by libraries have also experienced a decrease in circulation while Novi’s circulation is currently up about 15%. Database accesses, especially remote, are up from August and September.
Youth Programming: 668 children participated in 23 Library Youth Department events this past month. There were 86 attendees for the Turkey Lady program and 100 children participated in the Thanksgiving Craft event. Two preschool groups visited the Library for storytimes and book talks.
Adult Programming: The Estate Planning Program had 85 attendees. The Foreign Film this month had 65 viewers, and the Book Discussion had 26 participants. The program on buying a computer had 25 attendees.
Teen and Tween: The Tween Craft event had 19 participants, while the Teen Family Board Game Day had 35 participants.
Staff: Staff members attended 3 webinars on the topics Building Community, Ethics of Innovation, and Encyclopedias.
Facilities: Julie reported that there is a need to replace the carpet tiles in the Meeting Room, as the many stains can no longer be removed. She has received a proposal of between $4,000 and $5,000 to replace the carpet tiles from Library Design. She would like to coordinate the carpet tile replacement with the planned renovation of the Teen Area, so that carpet tiles removed from the Meeting Room can be used to fill in uncarpeted sections that may show up when shelving is shifted. The Board agreed on the need for replacement of the carpet tiles in the Meeting Room and gave permission to proceed with this purchase.
Universal Service Fund: Julie reported that the possible FCC rule changes to the Universal Service Fund regarding compliance with the Children’s Internet Protection Act may require that filtering software be added to the Public Computers. The Library has not added this type of filtering software to its computers because filters cannot truly distinguish between appropriate and objectionable websites. We have chosen to have computer content monitored by the staff members who observe the Public Computers. The funding received from the Universal Service Fund was $3,464 in 2008, $4,638 in 2009, and $3,349 in 2010. If the Library does not comply with CIPA by filtering the Public Computers, it may lose this funding. The Board agreed that this was not a significant amount of money to forgo and prefers not to filter, due to fundamental principals regarding censorship, access issues and expenses related to filtering.
Technology: The print release station for the Public Computers is to be installed in January.
Donations: Julie reported that the Library will begin tracking how many donated items are being added to the collection, starting in the new Fiscal Year.

4.    Friends Report: Friends President Paul Synder reported that there has been a drop in the Used Book Sale revenues this month. Also, there is now a cooperative agreement for mutual discounts at the Friends Store and the Art House. The November Friends Board Meeting was not held as there were not enough Board Members present for a quorum.

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 November 2010 as presented to the Board. Alan Somershoe seconded the motion. Motion passed.
5.2    Jean distributed the Financial Reports for October, noting that the expenditures were on target with only one month remaining in the Fiscal Year. She reported that the $71,000 received from Wayne County previously in delinquent taxes and tax refunds needed to be redistributed between the Operating Budget and the Debt Fund. We are still awaiting an additional $15,000 from Wayne County.
5.3    Jean distributed a revised 2011 Operating Budget based on the passage of the .2 mill tax increase in the November election. She stated that tax payments to the DDA have reduced the revenue received from the City by about $30,000 annually. Reduced contributions to the MERS Retiree Health Plan and the Building Preservation Reserve Fund will offset the loss of revenue to the DDA. The Library will still need to use Reserve Funds to be able to maintain the current level of services. Ways to increase Alternative Funding, such as the new Library Giving Tree, will also be pursued, since it is a strategic objective. MOTION: Jean Hansen made a motion to accept the Revised 2011 Budget to reflect the millage increase, replacing the originally adopted 2011 Budget. Alan Somershoe seconded the motion. Motion passed.
5.4    MOTION: Jean Hansen made a motion to transfer $100,000 from the Reserve Fund to cover the cash flow needed to sustain the Library until the tax revenue for 2011 is received in late December 2010 or January 2011. Alan Somershoe seconded the motion. Motion passed.

6.    Committee Report
6.1    Robert Sochacki reported that the Personnel Committee met to review the request from staff member Judith Williams to purchase service credit with the Municipal Employees Retirement System of Michigan. The Committee reviewed the forms outlining the amount of service time being requested and agreed to allow the purchase of time based on the parameters described. RESOLUTION: Julie Herrin read the Governing Body Resolution provided by MERS. Jim Morché moved that the resolution be adopted as read. Alan Somershoe seconded the motion to adopt the resolution. A roll call vote passed unanimously.

7.    Announcements and Comments
    7.1    The next Finance Committee meeting will be held on Tuesday, December 14 at 10:00 a.m. in the Carlo Meeting Room.
    7.2    The next Regular Meeting of the Board will be held on Thursday, December 16 at 7:30 p.m. in the Carlo Meeting Room. This will be on the third Thursday due to the Christmas holiday.
    7.3     The Annual Staff Holiday Party is scheduled for Wednesday, December 8, 2010 at noon. Jean Hansen and Jim Morché offered to assist with the set-up for the Luncheon. All Board Members are invited.

MOTION: Alan Somershoe made a motion to adjourn the Regular Meeting. Judy Sherman seconded the motion. Motion passed. The Meeting was adjourned at 8:25p.m.

    Respectfully Submitted,
Mike DeFrancesco Secretary
JW 11/23/10