Monday, September 22, 2008

Call to Order: The September meeting of the Board of Trustees was held at the Paulding County Carnegie Library. Board President Sue Derck called the meeting to order at 6:00 pm.

Roll Call: The following were present: Board Members: Leah Smith, Sue Derck, Susie Thrasher, Corey Walker and Terry Wehrkamp. Fiscal Officer, Wilma Mullins and Assistant Director, Diana Coy, were present. Board Member Michelle Stahl and Director Susan Pieper were absent.

Minutes: Leah Smith made a motion to approve August minutes with the revision that Diana Coy be added to the Roll Call. Corey Walker seconded and the motion passed.

Financial/Fiscal Officer: Sue Thrasher motioned to approve financial reports. Cory Walker seconded the motion. Motion passed unanimously. (Pay- X: 11872 – 11952 ; Finance : 14046-14097). There were three pay periods during the month of August. The Fiscal Officer presented a concern about fees listed from the First Financial Bank. The decision was to re-visit this after more information is collected. Any fee structure will be requested in writing and other options will be explored in the event that additional fees are attached.

Fiscal Officer Additional Report:

-The expense report for the Visa bill was reviewed.

-Mrs. Mullins will be filing a budget reduction report with the County Auditor’s office to reflect the $15,500 loss of revenue for Calendar Year 2008

-Mrs. Mullins stated that the tax penalty of $666.39 for the Pritchard addition was refunded. The Library must continue to pay the taxes until determined otherwise by the State of Ohio Auditor.

-The Board discussed the possible need for a Deputy Clerk Treasurer (now a Deputy Fiscal Officer). The decision was made to do some research on this. Problems occur for the Fiscal Officer whereby it is difficult for her to take vacation or a day off and this also leaves the Library without a backup. Diana Coy previously served in this position. It was decided to secure the advice of the Ohio Library Council to assure that there would be no conflict. The Fiscal Officer will also provide a list of possible duties and the time allowed for those duties for the Board to review.

- Michelle Sidle looked into the wireless and did manage to get a router installed at the Oakwood Branch and it is on a separate network to maintain security. She will wait for a couple weeks to make sure that things run smoothly before installing wireless at the other branches. The wireless capability has not been advertised except for at the branch.

Old Business: Jim Stykemain has not responded to the letter sent from the Director to vacate the lot or begin paying rent. It appears that there are still vehicles parked in the lot. A motion was made by Sue Thrasher to turn the matter over to the county prosecutor. Corey Walker seconded the motion. Motion passed.

New Business:

New Storage Building: A decision on a storage building will be tabled for the next meeting due to the director’s absence. Diana Coy reported that the current storage units will be reviewed for items that can be permanently removed. Mrs. Mullins reported that at one time there was a policy created on the disposal of old assets.

Levy News: The Fiscal Officer reported that she was reminded by the Board of Elections that there is no PAC and no “Friends of the Library” group and no treasurer and that there cannot be any money spent without all of these things being in place. It has been determined to allow the levy to run its course without expenditures for any type of campaign. News articles will continue to be submitted to local newspapers. In the meantime Sue Derck will contact Bill Fast to see if he would be willing to serve as a treasurer of the Paulding County Carnegie Library Levy Committee/ PAC.

AED: A decision on the purchase of an AED will be tabled for the October meeting. Questions arising concerned cost, whether all branches should have them, whether we can afford them, what the liability is to the library. Corey Walker agreed to call Randy Shaffer, County EMS Director on AEDs.

ALA Midwinter/Annual Bundle Registration Discount: The director is requesting approval of the registrations which have already been made to attend the Mid-Winter and Annual ALA meetings. Corey Walker motioned that this be approved with Leah Smith seconding. Vote was 4 to 1 with Terry Wehrkamp voting no. We will discuss this issue and obtain clarification at the October meeting.

Staff Development Day: The staff development day, scheduled for November 7^th, will be canceled.

Executive Session: The Board went into Executive Session to discuss personnel issues at 8 pm and returned to open session at 8:21 pm.

Board, Fiscal Officer and Director Evaluations: The Board discussed the need for a more complete evaluation process. The motion was made by Corey Walker and seconded by Terry Wehrkamp to appoint a committee to put together a plan for Board, Fiscal Officer and Director evaluations as directed in the Ohio Public Libraries Trustee Handbook. The committee consists of Terry Wehrkamp and Corey Walker. The committee will plan to complete this process by the end of January. We will go into executive session during the October meeting.

Adjournment: The motion was made by Terry Wehrkamp and seconded by Corey Walker to adjourn. The next meeting will be held at the main library on October 21, 2008 at 6 PM.

ACTION PLANS:

Corey: Will contact Keith Turvey and/ or Linda Murray

Terry: Will contact John Eiten on Deputy Fiscal Officer questions

Diana: Will direct staff to remove the political convention displays

Sue D: Will contact Bill Fast on the Treasurer position

Wilma: Will look to see if she can find the Old Asset Disposal policy

Corey: Will Contact Randy Shafer on AEDs

Board: Discuss ALA at October Meeting