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HomeMy WebLinkAboutLibrary Board - Minutes - 02/08/2006Chairperson: LIBRARY BOARD MINUTES REGULAR MEETING — FEBRUARY 8, 2006 Ben Manvel WrMR, 6:00 Staff Liaison: Brenda 221 A regular meeting of the Library Board was held on February 8, 2006 in the Ben Delatour Room of the Main Library at 201 Peterson Street. The following Library Board members were present: Nina Bodenhamer, Bob Burns, Don Oehlerts, Ralph Olson, Melissa Pattison, Mary Robertson, and Molly Thompson. City Staff Members Present: Council Liaison: Friends of the Library Liaison: Visitor: Brenda Cams, Marty Heffernan, and Marjorie Teklits Ben Manvel Sharon Bleicher Nancy Baker, Library Trust Foundation The meeting was called to order at 6:00 p.m. by Chairperson Ralph Olson. Don Oehlerts moved to approve the minutes of the January 11, 2006 meeting; Bob Burns seconded the motion, and it was unanimously approved. Correspondence: Fliers concerning an Election Seminar for Local Government Leaders on Thursday, March 2"d were distributed, and Board members asked to advise Marge if they would like to be registered. Copies of the Colorado Public Library Board & Trustees Pocket Handbook from the Colorado State Library were made available; it is also available online at vvtiwv.cde.state.co.us/cdelib/Lib/Dev/PubLib/Trustees Pocket Handbook/Handbook Home htm. Reports/Presentations: a. Director's Report - Brenda Cams Information concerning recent Library events and programs are available in this month's written Director's Report. b. Friends of the Library — Sharon Bleicher Sharon reported that 2005 was a good year for the Friends of the Library. They raised approximately $50,000 from their three booksales and the Friends Shop at Harmony Library took in approximately $45,000. Friends Vice President Terri Sullivan is representing the Friends on the Fort Collins Read On Committee. James McBride (author of The Color of Water) will speak at Lincoln Center next month as part of the event. Terri is also representing the Friends on the Library Awareness Committee. She and Sharon recently attended the Library District Workshop in Denver with staff and others interested in learning more about Library Districts. The next used book sale is scheduled for March 10-12 in the Community Room at Harmony Library. Lastly, the Friends are upgrading their website. C. Library Trust — Nancy Baker The Library Trust is just finishing up their second annual fundraising appeal to the community and are happy to report $12,000 in donations have been received; this is a significant increase over last year when just under $3,000 was raised. The Trust is sending a letter to City Council urging their support for a Library District. In addition, invitations have been sent out to a Seuss Brunch at Harmony Library on March 5`h. The Trust is hoping to double attendance from last year at this fun event. Posters have been placed at both branches with invitations and reply cards. Guest speaker Jamie LaRue will talk about Districts and funding. Bob Burns asked if the Trust has done anything toward asking people to remember the library in their wills by setting up an endowment. Nancy said they have examined the concept but are just not there yet. They have received a few small bequests which are very welcome. d. Public Relations/Library Awareness — Nina Bodenhamer, Molly Thompson A draft of the latest newsletter from the Board prepared by Molly was handed out. It will be distributed to all recipients by the end of the week. Nina reported that the Friends are helping with the cost of the READ poster campaign which is in full swing once again. Latest "models" for the posters were Tom and Jean Sutherland, Al Yates and Christine Chin of The Coloradoan. The Board is very grateful that The Coloradoan has agreed to run some of the posters as a quarter page filler at no cost. There is a great deal of compatibility between the newspaper and the library; if you read a newspaper, you usually use a library and visa versa. Nina further added that she is expecting a bid for making the posters into postcards for correspondence and giveaways. The larger posters will be on display in places like Poudre Valley Hospital's Harmony Campus and the Student Center. It has been a fun project and it is good to get the word out about reading and the library. Brenda added that the Northern Colorado Business Report is interested in doing something in-depth regarding the economic benefits of the library. e. Library Funding Marty Heffernan said that at their February 14 Work Session, Council will be considering a variety of funding options for balancing the 2007 budget. The formation of a Library District is a strong consideration as it would free approximately $3.5 million to the General Fund. Other options include a sales or property tax, a transportation maintenance fee, Pilots (such as, a park maintenance fee, an occupation tax on liquor establishments), as well as reduction in services and expenses. Ben Manvel said if a Library District is the option chosen, there would have to be a contingency plan in place in the event a District does not receive voter approval and the public would need to know what that plan is. The business community might not favor a property tax increase because they pay a higher portion than the share paid by residential property owners because of the impact of the Gallagher Amendment. Don asked if we have an estimate of the number of properties that would be encompassed in a Library District. Brenda said about 15% of the Library's clientele comes from outside the city limits; the approximate number of properties in the proposed District boundaries is 56,000. Ralph asked if the City does any polling. Marty replied that a BFO offer was accepted by the City to explore alternate funding options, so there is money to fund a survey and communication of information until the issue appears on the ballot. If Council considers the District option, things will move fast. Mary Robertson motioned that the Library Board strongly urges a Library District as the preferred option Council take for the City to close the funding gap for the 2007 budget as well as enabling the library to add additional services. Nina Bodenhamer seconded the motion and it was unanimously approved. Mary Robertson further moved that Library staff draft a memo to be approved by the Library Board Chair for inclusion in the February 14 Council packets summarizing the Board's position. Nina Bodenhamer seconded the motion and it was unanimously approved. Old Business a. Election of Officers — Ralph Olson, Mary Robertson (Nominating Committee) The Library Board's nominating committee moved to elect the following new officers, effective March 2006: Nina Bodenhamer, Chair Don Oehlerts, Vice Chair The motion was seconded by Bob Burns and unanimously approved. b. 2006 Work Plan The 2006 Work Plan was revised as suggested. Copies will be distributed at the next meeting. New Business a. Library District Workshop — Don Oehlerts Don reported everyone at the January 31 st workshop seemed to think highly of Library Districts. Certainly given our national and state economic condition, we need to go for something that is more controllable in our local situation and have a tax approved that will be dedicated to library operations. The library is just not going to make headway if it loses money each year because there is urgent need for the funds elsewhere. Once a Library District is formed, you know what funding is going to be, it's not a mystery. People want library service, and there is a cost. Now it is a somewhat hidden cost and we have to move toward secure funding. We're just not getting anywhere by supplying funds for some other shortfall elsewhere. A binder containing information about Library Districts, including forms, projections, case histories, how to transition, etc., was available at the workshop, and Brenda said copies will be catalogued into the collection for the public. The Library Board expressed interest in obtaining copies of the workbook as well. Ben Manvel said workshop attendees learned how quickly money becomes available once a District is approved (April following the election), and Marty added that there are financial vehicles available to bridge the gap. Brenda reviewed current and future needs of the library and suggested the Board review the "Into the 2Is' Century" document created by a previous Library Board who did a great job in providing a roadmap of the library's future needs. Along that vein, in 2002 Council expressed interest in pursuing alternate funding and support of the capital plan proposed in that year. Marry Heffernan said that Building Community Choices (BCC) provided money for a new main library site. After the last election, the Museum may relocate to a new home but discussions are still very preliminary. The building where the Museum is currently housed would work well for library use instead of the site approved by BCC. Brenda said that with approval of 3 Mills, the Library could restore services, open a southeast branch and reinstate the book budget. Other Ben Manvel asked about impact fee money on hand for a southeast branch and what would happen to that if a District wins approval. Marty said that there would have to be an Intergovermental Agreement formed and the facilities could be leased from the City. Ben Manvel added that the facilitator at the workshop mentioned that the public actually has more control of a library if they are a District because they get to vote on funding for the library. Library Board members agreed to attend Library Trust meetings on a rotating basis each month. The next Trust meeting is Tuesday, February 2 1 " and a volunteer will be chosen at each Board meeting to attend the next Trust meeting. Melissa volunteered for the February meeting. Mary Robertson recently met with the President of the Chamber of Commerce. He indicated the Chamber might not actively oppose a District, although it is not an easy question given the fact that it represents an increase in property tax. Brenda spoke with the Director from Red Feather Mountain Library District this week; she is interested in talking to their Board about joining a Library District endeavor. The meeting was adjourned at 7:40 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Marjorie Teklits Administrative Secretary