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MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE PARK RIDGE PUBLIC LIBRARY HELD AT 7:30 P.M. ON JULY 17, 2007 IN THE FIRST FLOOR MEETING ROOM OF THE LIBRARY CALL TO ORDER Mr. Schmidt called the meeting to order at 7:33 p.m. ROLL CALL TRUSTEES PRESENT: John Benka, Shlomo Crandus, Margaret Harrison, Dorothy Hynous, Patricia Lofthouse, John Schmidt. TRUSTEES ABSENT: Arthur Davis, Eileen O'Neill-Burke, Richard Van Metre. OTHERS PRESENT: Janet Van De Carr, Library Director; Jodi Bemis Whitney, John Doyle, Linda Egebrecht, Kate Hall, Vivian Mortensen, Kathy Rolsing, Michael Vollmer, Tom Weiland, Library Staff. ELECTION OF OFFICERS Mr. Schmidt asked for a motion to elect a President Pro-tem. Mr. Crandus made a MOTION: to nominate Mrs. Harrison as President Pro-tem. Mr. Benka SECONDED the motion. Roll call vote. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. A copy of the minutes from the Nominating Committee was distributed. Mrs. Harrison reported that the Nominating Committee had met on Thursday, June 28, and she reviewed the nominations for officers and stated that all those nominated stated that they would be willing to serve if elected. There being no other nominations from the floor, Mrs. Lofthouse made a MOTION: to close the nominations for the slate of officers for the Library Board of Trustees for the 2007/2008 term. Ms. Hynous SECONDED the motion. Roll call vote. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. Mrs. Harrison made a MOTION: to accept the following slate of officers for the 2007/2008 term:  President:John SchmidtVice President:Shlomo CrandusSecretary:Margaret Harrison Treasurer:Dorothy Hynous Ms. Hynous SECONDED the motion. Roll call vote. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. Mr. Schmidt thanked the Board for the honor of electing him President again. CONSENT AGENDA Mr. Schmidt noted that the date on the minutes of the Nominating Committee meeting needed to be corrected and changed to June 28. Mr. Schmidt asked if there were any comments regarding the Consent Agenda. Mrs. Lofthouse asked about Warrant Fund List Total for June 30, in which the North Suburban Digital Consortium showed an expenditure in the amount of $3,446.68 and asked where that comes from. Mrs. Van De Carr explained that the Park Ridge Public Library administers the Consortium and each library is billed for their membership for the year, with payment corresponding on their anniversary date. Mr. Benka asked if there was any follow up regarding the Public Opinion Laboratory of Northern Illinois University (POL) survey which they will be conducting for the Library. Mrs. Van De Carr stated they were contacted and they stated they would be available to meet with the Board on Saturday, August 18. She added that they also agreed to the amount the Board approved for the survey ($12,177). Some discussion ensued regarding deciding upon a meeting date. Mrs. Lofthouse asked who Dave Rudolph, listed on page 3 of the warrants, was to which Mrs. Hall, Children's Services Manager, explained that he is a performer/presenter who gears his shows to a theme picked by the Library. Mrs. Hall added that this particular program was filled to capacity and he is a performer who is very popular and gives a consistently good performance. Mr. Crandus MOVED to approve the Consent Agenda. Ms. Hynous SECONDED the motion. Roll call vote was taken on the Motion. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. COMMENTS FROM THE GENERAL PUBLIC None. SECRETARY'S REPORT Mrs. Harrison circulated two folders of correspondence and information, which included the following:
TREASURER'S REPORT Ms. Hynous reviewed the financial reports for June, stating that the Summary by Line Item Report for Period June showed that with 17% of FY07/08 elapsed, 15% of the budget (excluding the Capital Budget) had been expended. Mr. Crandus asked for clarification on the Technology Replacement Fund and General Fund and whether the fund balance would be higher at the end of the Fiscal Year. Mrs. Van De Carr explained the funds and stated that the City Finance Director monitors the funds and balances and how they are invested and answered, yes, it is likely that the funds will be higher. She added that the Summary By Line Item doesn't always reflect everything that is expended (such as IMRF) but those things are reflected in the City's Budget lines. Mrs. Rolsing further explained the funds. Mr. Crandus asked Mrs. Van De Carr if it would be possible for Ms. Lembesis to attend a Board Meeting to explain budgeting and the Library Fund, to which Mrs. Van De Carr stated that probably September or October would be a good time since that is when the budget is being formulated for the next Fiscal Year. LIBRARY DIRECTOR'S REPORT Mrs. Van De Carr reviewed the Library's statistics for the month, reporting that circulation and the Library door count were down slightly for June compared to June 2006, which she believed was due to the construction and fencing around the outside of the building, Mrs. Van De Carr added that despite this, program attendance was higher than last year, there were more programs than last year, and Outreach statistics were substantially higher over last year. Some discussion ensued regarding the various statistics. Mrs. Van De Carr added that library card registration was currently 71% of population, but that this is the time of year when library card accounts inactive for three years are purged from the system, so this number will change next month. Mrs. Van De Carr announced that Alderman DiPietro was appointed as the Library Liaison. She had spoken to him recently at which time he stated that due to the reduced size of the City Council and all of the other meetings he has to attend, he would be unable to attend the Library Board meetings regularly but that he would welcome an invitation when there is a meeting that the Board feels it would be important for him to attend. He said he would like to attend any meetings at which the Board will discuss future planning or facility issues. Mrs. Van De Carr added that Alderman DiPietro receives a copy of the Board Packet every month. Mrs. Van De Carr solicited questions regarding her report. In regard to video games, Mr. Crandus stated that there had been an article in the Wall Street Journal that in Japan they are using Nintendo DS games for teaching. Mrs. Van De Carr reported that District 64 had been contacted regarding the use of video games and teaching, and at this time they are not using video gaming, per se, as part of the curriculum, although for the last 25 years or more they have used computer games to enhance the learning of basic skills in the schools. Mrs. Van De Carr reported that the Circulation Department had issued 22 library cards for the residents in the new development across the street. Mrs. Van De Carr discussed some aspects of the 2006-2007 Annual Report with the Board. She mentioned that copies of the Annual Report were sent to the Mayor, City Council, and City Department Heads and a summary of the year will be printed and made available to the public. Discussion ensued regarding the various charts and statistics. Mr. Benka asked if she would look into a way to obtain statistics on the usage of the computers in the Library i.e., how many times the computers were used every day since it is a type of circulation i.e., circulation of information. Some discussion ensued. Mr. Michael Vollmer, Access Services Manager, replied that he would look into the possibility of being able to do so. Mr. Benka stated that, in regards to the City Commons project, he continues to be bothered by the perception some community members have that money for the City Commons has come from the Library, when in fact it is totally a City project. There is a great deal of misconception regarding the project and he would like to make clear that the $1.154 million didn't come from Library funds nor by the taxes raised by the Library assessment. Mrs. Van De Carr stated that the Library had asked that a sign be posted on the fencing out front by the City (to explain the project), but was told by the City there would be no sign. Mr. Benka asked if a disclaimer could be published in the Library Newsletter or Library website explaining that only $95,000 of the $1,200,000 project came from the Library to which Mrs. Van De Carr stated that the next issue would have an article explaining this matter. Mrs. Lofthouse reported that she had attended the July 16 City Council meeting, where they were discussing the public art debate. She stated a final decision was not made, that the Council had tabled the discussion and the Mayor recommended that they look for donations of art. Mrs. Van De Carr shared pictures from her visit to the Amsterdam Public Library during her recent vacation. She also passed around a copy of the Amsterdam Library's fold-out map and brochure. Mrs. Van De Carr concluded her report by stating that Commonwealth Edison would need to make a major connection for the power to all of the new outdoor light fixtures and the Library will experience a down time of about four hours while they make the connections. Mrs. Van De Carr stated she had spoken with the City and they're going to see if this work can be done early on a Saturday or Sunday morning so as to not disrupt the business day too much. When the exact date is known, signs will be placed in the Library to inform patrons that the Library may be opening a little later on that day and why. COMMITTEE REPORTS Planning & Operations: No meeting. Marketing & Fund-Raising: No meeting. Library Resources: No meeting. Building & Grounds: No meeting. FRIENDS OF THE LIBRARY No report. UNFINISHED BUSINESS Mrs. Van De Carr asked the Board to see what day or evening would be best to meet to discuss the Strategic Plan as well as the Community Survey. After some discussion, Mrs. Van De Carr stated she would follow up with the other Board members to verify whether 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. on August 30 or September 6 would work for everyone. Further discussion ensued regarding the public art, the Reading Garden, and other issues concerning the work outside of the building. It was determined that some comment should be made regarding the need to do something with the concrete block that was to support a piece of artwork in the Reading Garden, as well as the grey sand/gravel that is currently under the tree on the south side of the main walkway/plaza in front of the Library. Mr. Benka also raised the issue of the need for the crosswalk lines to be painted on Prospect in front of the Library as well as prominent safety signs at the crosswalk and that Alderman DiPietro had told him that Lakota had built this safety landscape into their plans and that it should have been completed by now. Mrs. Van De Carr stated she would be sending a letter to the City regarding the issues still of concern. Mrs. Lofthouse announced that there is a traffic safety meeting being conducted by concerned families of Washington School, scheduled for 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday, July 18 at District 64 headquarters. The issue of traffic safety along Touhy Avenue, Western Avenue and Busse Highway were among the areas of discussion. Mrs. Van De Carr thanked her for the information. NEW BUSINESS Mr. Schmidt made a MOTION: for the Board to move into Executive Session at the end of the current Board meeting to discuss a personnel matter. Ms. Hynous SECONDED the motion. Roll call vote. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. COMMENTS FROM THE GENERAL PUBLIC None. EXECUTIVE SESSION The Board went into an Executive Session at 8:52 p.m. ADJOURNMENT EXECUTIVE SESSION Mr. Benka MOVED to come out of Executive Session. Mrs. Lofthouse SECONDED the motion. Voice vote. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. Executive Session adjourned 9.45 p.m. ADJOURNMENT Mr. Benka MOVED to adjourn the Board meeting. Mr. Schmidt SECONDED the motion. Voice vote. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. The meeting adjourned at 9:47 p.m. |
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