Palmyra Community Library
Monthly Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes
April 20, 2023, 6:30 p.m.
Present: Sandy Goehle, Mike Braell, Sharon Sweeney, Chris Ossont, Barbara Lloyd, Sarah Wimer, Sheila Koeberle-Library Manager, Sheryl Ladelfa-Treasurer
Excused: Mary Beth Poupart
Mike opened the meeting at 6:30. Welcome to your first Board meeting, Sheila!
Reports:
Meeting Minutes:
Upon a motion made by Chris and seconded by Sarah, “ the minutes of the March 16, 2023 Monthly Board of Trustees Meeting were unanimously approved.”
Upon a motion made by Sharon and seconded by Barb, “the corrected minutes of the Special Board Meeting of March 27, 2023 were unanimously approved.”
Director's Report:
Upon a motion made by Sarah and seconded by Chris, “Patricia’s Director's report for March 2023 was unanimously accepted.”
Treasurer's Report:
Upon a motion made by Sandy and seconded by Sarah, “the amended March 2023 Treasurer’s Report was unanimously approved, including Abstract #4, vouchers 2023-50--- 2023-68, with $10,862.65 funds requested and approximately $17,500 for payroll transferred.” Upon a second motion made by Sandy and seconded by Sarah, “the corrected March 16, 2023, Treasurer’s Report, including Abstract #3, vouchers 2023-33---2023-49 was unanimously approved.” Sheryl reported Sheila had received the final check/amount from the NYS Library Construction grant, which will be deposited in the Capital Reserve Fund. Sheryl also reported a communication from the Rochester Community Foundation regarding details of the recently opened endowment fund in Patricia’s honor. Contributions may be accepted to the original $10,000 amount and interest of approximately 5% will be disbursed annually in May/June, beginning in 2024.
Public Comment: none
Committees:
Finance Committee: Met April 12, 2023, minutes have been digitally shared. Mike shared salary and expense projections for next year, with questions remaining about the NYS minimum wage increases and the PCL Fund 3rd quarter earnings.
Policy Committee: Sharon discussed several policy changes that she’d shared digitally. Upon a motion made by Sarah and seconded by Barb, “the amendments to the PCL Code of Conduct,
Open Meeting Policy, The FOIL Policy and the PCL Emergency and Disaster Plan were unanimously approved.” Mike shared a draft of a First Amendment Audit Response Policy. After discussion, a motion was made by Sharon, seconded by Chris and unanimously approved “to accept the First Amendment Audit Response Policy as written.”
Facilities Committee: Did not meet but Sheila expressed concern over the condition of the back driveway culvert. A tentative June meeting will be arranged among all concerned parties.
Evaluation Committee: Did not meet., but Mike suggested we use a previously used tool to evaluate the Library Manager, with Sarah agreeing to collate and share the results.
Director Search committee: Is no longer needed and will disband.
Upcoming Trustee Workshops:
Check the OWWL website for new Trustee workshop offerings in 2023. There are several workshops of interest coming up. Reminder of 2 hour Trustee Educational requirement.
Items for Discussion/Resolution:
· Mike shared updates on the Civil Service Library Manager Position. CS has approved Sheila’s appointment, therefore her first day, April 3, 2023 will be the beginning of her 52 week probationary period. Patricia’s retirement papers have also been sent to CS. After discussion, a motion was made by Sarah, seconded by Chris and unanimously approved “to offer the Library Manager 2 hours per month overtime, payable at time and a half, from April-December 2023. Additional overtime may be preapproved, as needed.”
· Sheila reported she’d spoken with Diane Rhodes about maintaining the PCL website after her upcoming retirement and leaving the area. The Board had previously approved a $1,200 yearly stipend for ongoing PCL website updates, to post meeting dates, agendas, minutes, policies and anything else necessary to keeping the PCL website current. Sheila and Alison will also have access and the ability to update the website as needed.
· Patricia had begun the conversation and Sheila continued to discuss the need for a plan to replace the aging PCL computers. OWWL has a deal with Dell and suggests replacing 3 per year. After discussion, a motion was made by Sarah, seconded by Chris and unanimously approved to “authorize Sheila to purchase 2 new tower and monitor computers for public use, and 1 all in one computer to be used by Emily for cataloging purposes, making use of budgeted money and up to $1,000 from the Memorial Fund to cover the total cost of these computers.” (recent computer purchases were 2019-Sheryl, 2021-Patricia, 2022-Molly.)
· Sheila shared an estimate from Down to Earth Landscaping of $1,600 for spring cleanup of the grounds, mulching flower beds and replacing Hosta around the gazebo. A motion was made by Sarah, seconded by Chris and unanimously approved to “accept the $1600 Down to Earth estimate for spring cleanup and mulching, minus the cost of Hosta, at this time.” (with possible repairs to the gazebo coming up, planting in the work zone does not make sense.)
· Sheila reported receipt of an estimate for lawn care services this summer, from Dave Peck. After discussion, a motion was made by Sarah, seconded by Barb and unanimously approved to “accept Dave Peck’s estimate for summer lawn care at $35 per trip, to include mowing, trim work and blowing of cut grass.”
The annual Dixie Pritte Award ceremony was discussed, as were several possible recipients. A June 12th, 2023 date was selected , with more details to be decided at a later date.
· Patricia had reminded the Board that the election details for PCL Trustees need to be included in the May 11 PCL Summer newsletter. ( 3 seats will be open, with Sharon running again for 1 seat.) Good candidates needed.
· Sandy led a discussion of “Staff Appreciation” plans. Sheila reported that treats on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, April 25-27, would catch all staff. All of the trustees have generously offered food or money for food. Arrangements have been made for the delivery of bagels, cream cheese and fresh fruit on Tuesday, cheese bread, tea cakes, ice tea on Wednesday, and quiche, yogurt and fresh fruit on Thursday. We appreciate the dedication and hard work of all of our PCL staff! Thank you!
· Sandy suggested using an additional sign board out front of PCL in honor of Right to Read Day and National Library Week. The Board agreed. Sandy and Barb will take care of it for Monday display.
A motion was made, seconded and unanimously approved to “adjourn at 8:20”.
Next meeting- Thursday, May 18, 2023, 6:30.
Respectfully submitted,
Sandy Goehle
Upcoming Events at PCL: Please refer to the April newsletter, PCL website or call the Library to check out all that’s going on.
Strategic Plan 2023-2027:
· Develop a plan to replace the culvert under the South driveway entrance.
· Develop a plan for the use of the current garage space.
· Offer programs that appeal to community members.
· Offer collections in multiple formats that reflect current interests and needs of community members.
· Increase community awareness of PCL services through the use of social media, social marketing, etc.
· Increase collaboration with community organizations.
· Adapt PCL services and offerings to the ever growing and ever changing world of technology.
· Explore new and innovative technologies that could provide savings in utility costs, etc.
· Continue to develop a long term financial plan that will maximize use of PCL resources as well as ensure the funding necessary to cover projected annual operational expenses.