Library Board Minutes

Teton County Library Board
April 20, 2006

President Amy Robinson called the meeting to order. Present were board members Bill Resor and Joe Albright, Director Deb Adams, County Commissioner Andy Schwartz, and Dail Barbour, staff. Guests present were Sue Heffron and Kirsten Corbett.

Approve Vouchers and Minutes
Bill moved to approve the vouchers and the minutes, Joe seconded, all voted in favor.

There were no reports from the Foundation or the Friends

Financial Report
Section 215 Report
There have been no requests under Sections 215 or 404 of the Patriot Act.

Alta Library Summer Hours Proposal
Deb suggested that Alta's summer hours be the same as last year: Monday-Friday, 1-6PM and Saturday, 9AM-6PM. Bill moved to approve this schedule, Joe seconded, all voted in favor.

Review of FY 07 Budget
Deb went over some of the more substantial changes in the proposed budget. These included:
An increase in Consulting, 5150, and Advertising/Marketing, 5213, to facilitate strategic planning as well as 7460, Other, to assist the technical strategic planning group.
Extra hours for the substitute budget to provide additional help for busy after school hours in YS and coverage for regular staff to enable them to work on strategic planning.
Salaries had their normal increase for step raises and associated taxes.
Health insurance went up but only about 5%.
Additional costs in 7400, Phone & Computer, included increased WYLD fees, domain registration costs and a second T-1 line to provide open wireless internet access at the library.
Additional software, 7430, is planned and includes a Microsoft office upgrade, Adobe, and calendar software. Receipt printers for the Circ desk are to be purchased this year as well (7440).
Capital expenditures were increased as the library needs a new phone system and we are hoping to begin a solar installation to assist with our electricity costs this year.
Deb included the appropriation from the state legislature for library materials in a separate category, 6300, as we are anticipating getting all of the funds this year even though the total was a two year appropriation.
As the county wage & salary study was not completed in time for budget figures, Deb has estimated the approximate amount needed and included it as a line item under Contingency, 9100, for reclassification of library positions. This is separate from a county-wide cost-of-living increase which is not in the budget as directed by the county clerk.

Currently, property taxes are estimated to increase 9%. If this level is correct, the library's mill request should be the same or less than last year.

The board had a few questions and there was a short discussion about some publicity for the open wireless technology and public opinion concerning the expansion of wireless access. Joe then moved to approve the budget as presented, Bill seconded, all voted in favor. The board thanked Deb and the staff for their good work this year on this important effort.

Facilities Committee Update: Timeline and Public Participation Proposal
Deb presented the draft timeline (attached) for the facility planning process. The board discussed elements of the plan and how to address the Alta situation in an equitable and effective manner during the process. Deb updated the board on the results of her recent visits to the Alta branch library to collect comments from patrons. Andy pointed out that the timeline assumed that all the SPET tax requests would pass which may not be the case. If some fail, the collection time will be shortened which means the next SPET election may be sooner than 2009. Bill made a motion recommending that the board not approve the facility planning timeline until the result of the SPET tax vote is known and the next visit to receive input from the Alta community has been completed. Joe seconded, all voted in favor.

New Business
Response to Grand Targhee Resort Master Plan Land Use Application

Deb informed the board that she had received a response from Grand Targhee about the library comments on their original draft plan. Currently, about 1/3 of Alta library use is related to Targhee employees. Based on Targhee's projections with additional development at the mountain, 100 additional people per week will be added to library use numbers in five years. Deb had replied that the Alta library could not handle that increase and, as the majority of library use involves Internet use, she suggested Targhee provide Internet access on site for employees. They have agreed to do this and wanted any additional suggestions from the library by May 17th. After discussion by the board, it was agreed that the library was not far enough along in our planning process to provide additional comments. The board asked Deb to write a letter reiterating our support of Internet access on site and offering to help with determining the amount of space needed for the service and other issues as appropriate.

The board asked if our guests would like to comment at this time. Sue Heffron thanked the board and Deb for their hard work, particularly on the Alta issue. She spoke about the participation of the Alta community and their interest in the Alta library. She believes a collaborative effort to maintain library service in the area is an opportunity in the present circumstances. The increasing growth in Teton County, ID probably means more demands on the library system. As many of these new residents are working in Jackson, she suggested it would be an innovative solution for both states, Wyoming and Idaho, to collaborate in order to provide the services. She encouraged the board to consider giving the Alta community some idea of what an interim solution might include. Bill gave some examples of several different long term solutions in an effort to illustrate how many possible interim solutions are available. He and the board generally felt it was too soon to be able to pick one, particularly with the amount of initial research to be done on all areas of the county for the continuation of strategic library planning. Several comments emphasized the issue of creating support from a majority of county voters for library improvements anywhere in the county if they are funded by the SPET tax. The board thanked Sue for her attendance and comments.

Bill moved, Joe seconded, to adjourn the meeting at 6:30PM. All voted in favor.

Dail Barbour
Administrative Assistant to the Board