Palmyra Community Library
Monthly Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes
September 21, 2023, 6:30 p.m.
Present: Sandy Goehle, Mike Braell, Sharon Sweeney, Sarah Wimer, Mary Beth Poupart, Barb Lloyd, Sheila Koeberle-Library Manager, Sheryl Ladelfa-Treasurer
Excused: Chris Ossont
Mike opened the meeting at 6:30.
Motion to amend the Agenda – none
Reports:
Meeting Minutes:
Upon a motion made by Sharon and seconded by Mary Beth, “ the minutes of the August 17, 2023 Monthly Board of Trustees Meeting were unanimously approved.”
Manager's Report:
Upon a motion made by Sarah and seconded by Mary Beth, “the Library Manager’s Report for August 2023 was unanimously accepted.”
Treasurer's Report:
Upon a motion made by Sharon, seconded by Barb, “the August 2023 Treasurer’s Report was unanimously approved, including Abstract #9, vouchers 2023-138--- 2023-157, with $15,206.20 funds requested and approximately $17,500 for payroll transferred.” Sheryl noted the PCL CD had been renewed for 11 months at a rate of 4.91%. A question about the invoices/check register was resolved and the accounts are aligned. Sheryl asked if she could make a paper copy of the monthly reconciliations to share with the Board rather than posting all of them. The Board agreed, with Mike requesting that info be made available to the Finance Committee.
Public Comment: none
Committees:
Finance Committee: The minutes from the September 20, 2023 meeting were shared digitally. The next meeting will be Oct. 18, 6:30.
Policy Committee: Sept. meeting minutes were shared digitally, with several items deferred to the Finance Committee.
Facilities Committee: Did not meet.
Evaluation Committee: Sarah sent out the Library Manager’s Evaluation with a reminder to Trustees that submissions can be completed online by October 3, 2023.
Upcoming Trustee Workshops:
Check the OWWL website for new Trustee workshop offerings in 2023. Reminder of 2 hour Trustee Educational requirement.
Items for Discussion/Resolution:
· Sheila noted that 3 candidates had submitted petitions for PCL Trustee positions and that all is in order for the October 10, 2023 Trustee vote. Absentee ballots are also now available.
· Sheila shared a proposed snowplow estimate from Jon Westerman for the 2023-2024 winter plowing season. As it contained a substantial increase, it was agreed to table action on this contract for now and look into other options.
· Sheila discussed a possible autumn clean-up day. Bulbs will be donated and volunteers sought to help with planting.
· Mike opened a discussion about the historical holdings of the PCL, including items currently housed in a safety deposit box at the Newark branch of the Community Bank, and items currently stored in the former apartment space in the library. He asked the Board to start thinking about these in regard to the mission of our Library. What items should continue to be part of the library’s holdings, how would these items best be preserved, how would these items be made available to the public, what to do about items that don’t really belong in the library’s holdings, etc.??? This topic to be revisited.
· Mike reminded the Board that, with the end of the current Secretary’s term in October, an interim Board Secretary will need to be appointed to serve from October to January2024, when the next officer elections will take place.
· A discussion of a possible External Audit for 2024 took place….complete or partial…other auditor options? Sheila and Sheryl will explore and report back to the Board.
· Mike briefly led the Trustees in a review of the Library Policies Section of the NYS Library Trustees Handbook, p. 38-40. In addition, the PCL Building Use Policy and the Library Bill of Rights were reviewed. Ongoing reviews and updates to policies will continue, with the Policy Committee taking the lead on this. Mike will forward a list of policies that need to be reviewed to the Policy Committee.
· Anything else? Mary Beth encouraged engagement in the Banned Books week, the first week of October. Barb brought up 2 safety concerns, traffic across the sidewalk out of the rear parking lot, and handrail needs in the stairwell into the basement. Both items were referred to the Facilities Committee. Sheila reported an OWWL donation of $1,800 to help defray the financial impact of upcoming Windows changes.
A motion was made by Sarah, seconded by Mary Beth and unanimously approved to “adjourn at 7:50”.
Next meeting- Thursday, October 19, 2023, 6:30.
Respectfully submitted,
Sandy Goehle