February 18, 2010
Teton County Library Board Meeting
February 18, 2010
President Lisa Delaney called the meeting to order. Attending were board members Anne Ladd, Bill Wotkyns, Patricia Mueller, and Clark Heindl. Director, Deb Adams, Assistant Director Isabel Zumel and Facility Manager Dail Barbour also attended as well as Andy Schwartz, County Commissioner.
Correspondence from the Public: None
Approval of Minutes: Clark moved to approve the January 21, 2010 minutes, Anne seconded, all voted in favor.
Section 215 Report: No requests
Foundation Report: Donation Box
Executive Director Missy Falcey and her assistant Pauline Towers-Dykeman joined the meeting to discuss having a receptacle for small donations. Missy explained that there have been numerous discussions over the past year about the feasibility of this approach as well as enquiries from patrons. Staff also feels there should be a place for “small change” contributions as it creates an opportunity for people to give a small amount which they think doesn’t exist now. Missy and Pauline have spoken to Bland Hoke about creating something sculptural and attractive for the receptacle, not the usual Lucite box. They wanted to get feedback from the board about proceeding with this idea. Library board members in general were in favor. Deb explained that a bottom line consideration is that the presence of the box will not be perceived as a barrier to attending the library. Anne suggested that the labeling also be done in Spanish to help our Latino patrons with information about library services. The message needs to be very clear that it is not a charge to come to the library. Missy thanked the board and said they will go forward with the effort.
Financials
Monthly Report-Questions & Answers
Deb informed the board that expenditures are steady and we are on track so far for 2010.
Approve Vouchers: Anne moved to approve the vouchers as presented, Clark seconded, all voted in favor.
Librarian’s Report
Staff Vacancies & Recommendation on Library Hours
Deb reminded the board that we currently have seven vacancies and that the management team has decided in the interest of the budget situation not to fill those positions. This savings will net a library a carryover of about $200,000. At the end of the fiscal year, cash-on-hand helps to reduce the request for the next year’s budget, but it is not tied to any particular budget category. The county is facing a 3 million dollar shortfall as all funding sources are declining.
Preliminary FY 11 Budget: 10% Reduction, 20% Reduction, 30% Reduction Plans;
The county has also asked us to furnish information about our budget using service priorities. Deb has divided these into four categories: public services, collection development, educational programs, and support. She has also formulated preliminary budgets with 10%, 20%, and 30% reductions as requested by the County. She reminded the board that the Sherriff’s department, Parks & Rec, and the Library are the three largest county budgets so we should be prepared to take a hit with the new budget.
Currently we are short 72 hours on the public desks. Many staff members are pitching in through reassignment of their duties to the public desks. For example, one full-time staff member has been completely reassigned to Patron Services and several staff members from Education & Programs are now spending more time on the public desks and less time on classes. But still the library is short of coverage for its three public desks. Deb is proposing that we make a change in library hours starting during Spring Break. This would involve closing at 8:00 PM on Monday through Thursday, and opening on Saturday at 1:00 PM. The board asked Andy Schwartz if we would be at risk if we cut hours now, i.e. will the library hours get trimmed again? He said he thought the Commissioners would recognize our attempt to help the economic situation. Deb also gave the board a snapshot of what a 10% budget cut would mean: all full time staff would go to 37 hours per week. A 20% cut would mean that we would close at 7:00 PM on Tuesday through Thursday, and being closed all day Monday as well as reducing staff hours to 30 hours per week. A 30% cut would mean laying off staff and reducing hours below the eligibility level for benefits. Andy said he did not think the Commission would ask the library for a 30% cut as we would be bearing a disproportional share of the shortfall.
Bill commented that the county has said that revenues would be at the same level as 2002. The board discussed taking a look at what the library was doing in 2002-services, number of staff, hours, etc. Deb reminded the board that there were other considerations, numbers of patrons, inflation, other cost increases. The board agreed that Deb should take a quick look at comparing the differences between 2002 and 2010.
There was some discussion about the timeline to reduce hours-when would it start? Deb explained that the Spring Break date, April 5, would give us time to inform the public and time to adjust well before summer. Andy said he thinks it is the smartest thing the library can do indicating that we are being responsible and cutting hours as part of a plan to keep the operation going in the long term. He thinks the board should give Deb the go ahead now. He feels the public response will be very telling. Patricia voiced some frustration that the Jackson library will still be open most of the time while Alta is not. All agreed that this is a tough step that no one wants to do.
Action Items: Review/Approve Recommendation on Library’s Hours
Bill moved to approve the reduction of hours as follows: the library will close at 8:00pm Monday-Thursday and open on Saturday at 1:00PM. Patricia seconded, all voted in favor.
Facilities Planning
Alta Branch Facility Update: Patricia says word on the street is that there is money to hire an extra part time person in Alta. Back in December, we thought we would ask, but with the hiring freeze, now we won’t. Deb gave a short update on resolving issues dealing with the water district and replacing the outside air ventilation in the building which was inadvertently left out by the mechanical contractor.
Main Library Improvements & Addition
Action Items: Review & Approve Design Work to Date
Peggy Gilday and John Stennis joined the meeting and presented the current addition design. This included interiors, exteriors, parking, and landscaping. (Attached)
There was a short discussion of upcoming presentations on March 4 to staff, board, and patrons. Peggy emphasized the amount of work to be done in order to have a firm number by April 15 for the SPET ballot. She shared that there will still be fine-tuning after that point in terms of workspace numbers, locations, and technical considerations.
She asked for a sign off from the board on the interior floor plan, parking lot configuration, landscaping, outside elements, and materials. Anne inquired about the LEED status and Peggy and John said it will be silver or gold. Clark moved to prove the design work to date as presented, Bill seconded, all voted in favor.
New Business
Set March board meeting dates-architects, budget, regular business.
The board set the following meetings:
March 4
8:30-9:30 Staff opportunity to view design and talk to architects
3:15PM Library Board meeting with architects & final sign off
March 11
3:15-4:15 FY 2011 Budget Review
March 18
3:15-4:15 Library Business Meeting
April 22
3:15 Library Board Meeting
The board agreed to change the start time of the board meetings to 3:15PM to accommodate Patricia’s schedule.
Anne reminded the board that her term is up in June and we should be thinking about a replacement.
The next facilities team meeting will be on March 1, 2010 at 2:00 PM.
Clark moved to adjourn the meeting at approximately 5:00 PM.
Dail Barbour
Administrative Assistant to the Library Board