HomeMy WebLinkAbout1994-02-14 MinutesMinutes Fayetteville Public Library Board of Trustees Meeting 2/14/94 at 4:00 p.m. Attending: Jeff Koenig, Carol Phillips, Anne Prichard, Michael Thomas - Trustees; Linda Harrison- Fayetteville Public Library Director; Karen Duree - Ozarks Regional Library Director; Mary Jo Godfrey, Lynaire Hartsell, June Jefferson, Mim Neralich, Susan Sissom - Library Staff; Steve Davis - Budget Coordinator for the City of Fayetteville; Gina King - The Morning News Reporter President Koenig called the meeting to order at 4:00 p.m. After Koenig added "if requested by the City" to the end of the sentence on line 9 of page 4 and Duree changed $2,000 to $10,000 on line 14 of page one, the Minutes for 1/10/94 were approved as presented and amended. Correspondence was a letter of resignation from the Board from Charles Kirchen, dated 1/29/94, and a subsequent memo from Harrison to the City Clerk, Sherry Thomas, 2/2/94, requesting that this position be filled. On behalf of the Board, Phillips will acknowledge Kirchen's resignation and express the Board's appreciation for his many years of service and his promotion of the Library's interests before other community organizations. Harrison presented the Statistical and Financial Reports. Duree noticed the omission of 6,000 from the circulation figure for the year 1993. The corrected figure of 304,797 in the Year End, 1993 Statistical Report is over the 300,000 mark for the first time in the history of this Library. The January, 1993 Statistical Report is similar to last year. In the Financial Report ending 1/31/94, the third column from the right in the Statement of Revenues and. Expenditures that says "Budget 1 Month", is actually the approved annual budget figure for 12 months. Phillips noted that confirmation has been received for Mcllroy Bank & Trust to have FDIC backing up to $250,000 insurance for the Library's deposits. Hartsell reported that the Library has received sample overdue software programs from Winnebago and DATATREK. The Staff is looking at these and have questions to ask the sales representatives. Neither system has been seen in operation but it is hoped that Staff will have information on locations of the systems in operation by the next Board meeting. The Rogers Public Library is working with the DATATREK program and a library in Arkansas has Winnebago. Both programs are within budget. An Americans with Disabilities Act compliance memo from Phyllis Rice, ADA coordinator for the City, dated 2/4/94, was discussed by Harrison. Rice came to the Library 2/8/94, to look at items on the 2 page transition plan developed by previous ADA coordinator Jerry Cooper. Harrison pointed out to her that the Library has complied to the spacing regulations between bookshelves (#8) and the door into the Genealogy Collection (#5) is now accessible to wheelchairs. Rice also wrote a memo, 2/10/94, to department and division heads of the City, reminding them that they have until the end of the year to comply. Harrison hopes that this work will be budgeted by the City. The Board requested these items in their budget to the City but the City neglected to fund them. Harrison would like to have Board imput of how to respond to Rice. Koenig would respond that the Library has made these requests in the Cooper document well known. Until we receive funding from the City,:. the Library does not have the resources to comply. The Board is committed and on record in a motion almost two years ago to complete these projects but the Library building is a City facility 2 and the Library needs money from the City to make the necessary changes. The elevator issue is just one smmall part of it. The rest rooms are the big ticket item. Koenig suggested that Rice be sent a history of all the actions and requests the Board has taken to comply. Realizing the enormity of the problem, the City has prioritized the locations that have more usage and occupancy. It would not be out of line to suggest to Rice that the Library should be considered a high priority considering their high attendance and circulation figures. Thomas noted that ca. $130,000 has been allocated for rest rooms for two City parks which are not used 12 months of the year. Harrison added that the elevator is already licensed for passen- ger use. Montgomery could modify the present box and replace the existing car for $25,000 to make the car ADA compliant.• The elevator is not a freight elevator without safeguards. It is a regular cable elevator with a heavier load rating. Koenig noted that the $41,396 bid for the ADA rest rooms is now two years old. Presently, the rest rooms in Genealogy come closer to ADA compliance than any others in the Library. Duree reported on the 2/11/94 meeting of the Washington County Library Board which voted to support the one mill increase to the County library millage. Earlier, the Springdale Public Library Board passed a resolution supporting the one mill increase. This resolution went to the Springdale 'City Council and they concurred. Three out of the four Fayetteville Public Library Board members were present at the meeting of the Washington County Library Board. Koenig brought local assessments. Location within a certain school district determines a person's exact millage. Duree thought it would be nice to ask for a two mill increase since we are going to all this work but a request for a one mill increase has the better chance of passing. A County reassessment may upset some people. The vote for a millage increase will probably take place at the November general election which occurs after the school elections. The library millage, which can now increase to five mills, may need to be reconsidered every few years. Koenig has heard that there is a projected 20-25% increase in assessed value, so an increase of one mill may result in a 1.25 increase in today's revenue. It may take 3 years to reassess the whole County. Koenig hopes to have a commitment from the City not to take back revenue from this increase. It is probably the City's intention to keep the Library at the same funding level. The Board was delighted to see Steve Davis present at this meeting as well as so many Staff members. Thomas noted that the results of voting for millage increases across the State showed that it drops off in direct proportion to the extras requested. Any increase over one mill is less likely to pass. The same ratio will be used by the Ozarks Regional Library for the distribution of allocations to the branch libraries. There may be a big expenditure for automation that may change during subsequent years. Automation is the first item on the long range plan and is not a one time expense for the necessary hardware, software and maintenance. The Staff of the larger County libraries have wanted automation for years, especially witha figure of 300,000 in circulation each year manual operations are a tremendous burden. Savings would be realized when every library in the County is tapped into the system. Staff could be shifted to cover other services that are presently impossible. Computers offer more service with the same Staff. With an on-line catalog and automated circulation all libraries in the County and their resources would be more accessible. A reference network is also in the long range plan. Koenig would like a list with assigned budget numbers of the specific things the additional millage would provide - a plan in solid form to present to the voters. The campaign in Fayetteville will be for the County as well as the City. Duree felt the Steering Committee would formulate a presentation to the voters of how the money will be spent. A bench mark survey needs to be made before there are detailed commitments. Prichard senses a momentum in favor of an increase that has been shown by the supporting votes of the Springdale Public Library Board, the Springdale City Council and the Washington County Library Board. Duree reminded the Board that any increase will be for an operating budget not a capital budget. The expenses of the first year might not be theexpenses of the next years. Still, Koenig would like to know how the monies will be appropriated. Phillips and other Board members felt the Board supported the idea of a millage increase contingent upon a 3 budget to be presented to the voters. Prichard moved that the Board of the Fayetteville Public Library be on record as supporting an increase in the County library millage from one mill to two mills, subject to the submission of a specific plan of how the projected revenues would be spent. Phillips seconded and the Board approved. Phillips then nominated Thomas to be the Fayetteville Public Library Board Trustee to serve on the Steering Committee for the millage campaign. Prichard seconded and the. Board approved. The first meeting will be March 3rd at the Fayette- ville Public Library. Enlarging the size of the Board of the Fayetteville Public Library was discussed. There is a 4 member Board at Lincoln, a 5 member Board at Alma, Fayetteville, Green- land, Ozarks Regional, Van Buren, Washington County and West Fork, a 6 member Board at Elkins and a 7 member Board at Prairie Grove, Rogers and Springdale. Prichard felt that since Fayetteville has such a large and important library within the system, it should have 7 members on its Board. Phillips was concerned that cities appoint these Boards. If we had more input in the nomination and selection of the Board members, she would not object to a 5 member Board. As it stands, she objects. Koenig will talk to Director Edens about this. Thomas liked the idea of giving some guide- lines for the next selection of a Board member. Harrison ..'replied that this has been done in the past and it has beentotally ignored. This is an opportune time. The present vacancy has already been advertized. Phillips thought 7 might be an unwieldly size for a Board. The Library has been through its toughest times duringthe expan- sion and the Board managed with 5 members. A11 agreed with Koenig that there was no harm done in exploring the possibilities. The more people you have on a Board, the more support you have from the community. Phillips countered with the opinion that if you have good people in the first place you get the same involvement of people who are truly interested. We understand that many people have applied to be on this Board. We need a variety of people. Koenig emphasised that anytime you get a cross section of the community, you get a stronger Board. Thomas was asked, when he was interviewed for the Board, if he had an opinion about its size because the Directors had heard there was some difficulty getting a quorum. Harrison remembered that during the past year at only one meeting, the special meeting to approve the CIP budget, only one out of five Board members was present. Prichard asked if the additional two members could be appointed at the same time the vacancy is filled. Harrison added that the terms run from April 2 through April 1st for six years. Koenig wondered if the new positions could be staggered with one, two or three year appointments. This is one of the smallest Boards in the City with a fair amount of responsibility. Maybe the City would feel more comfortable with a few additional members. He felt the City views the problem the same way he does: the greater the cross section of the community, the better any Board would be served. Koenig talked to Jo Ann Sandlin and she has sent information about application to the United Way Fund. If the millage campaign is a success, this issue would not be as prevalent. Application is made to the Board of United Way. To qualify, an organization within the community must have the ability to raise their own operating funds. Koenig anticipates that the Library would have difficulty with such an evaluation and might have a lower priority among all other organizations. Thomas reported again that the Director of the U. of A. Press can not give anything away. The Director can sell remainders to whomever he wants. Titles the Library wants right after publication can be purchased at a discount of 20-30%. Thomas has investigated book signings at libraries. Some libraries have them as often as they can. Most of the 50-300 people who attend have not been in the library before. Friends of the Library sponsor the event, help promote it and recuit new members at the event. A local book store brings in the books and their cash box. 4 A donation of $50-100 is given to the Library for the use of the space and the Friends list of members. Arkansas books would be appropriate. Refreshments are often served so people will stay and enjoy the library. Thomas asked whether the Board thought this would be a good idea to pursue. Harrison responded that it was up to the Board to decide because some policy revisions would need to be made, e.g. commercial gain. The Friends Book Sale is entirely for the benefit of the Library. Phillips suggested that the Friends be asked. If the Friends will handle it and there is a donation to the Library,. the Library usually gives the Friends a free hand in what they do. The Board would probably approve and gave Thomas a sense that it was appropriate to pursue the project. Fayetteville has the only Friends of the Library organization in Washington County. Koenig suggested to Duree and the Steering Committee that when defining the expen- ditures of the increased millage, long term and short term plans be presented. Compare the present personnel with state and national averages and that with the increased millage additional positions would be possible. - The request for an increase will be strengthened if voters know what they are buying for their dollars. Phillips added that we may not be able to say what will happen in 5 years but we certainly can say what we plan to do with the opening years. Koenig is also aware that everything changes. It is no different from what everyone does in their own life and businesses. Decisions are made before people try to raise money. Koenig adjourned the meeting at 5:16 p.m. Submitted by, Anne Prichard, Secretary A.TALAistet Follow-up reports will be given by: Hartsell - nearby locations of Winnebago and DATATREK overdue software programs in operation Koenig - the possibility of two additional Board members with Director Edens Thomas - book signing projects with the Friends - report on the Steering Committee