Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Call to Order: The October 2010 meeting of the Board of
Trustees was held in the meeting room of the main historic Carnegie library in
Paulding. President Sue Derck called the meeting to order at 6:05 p.m.
Roll Call: The following were present: Board members:
Susie Thrasher, Barb Reighter, Corey Walker, Terry Wehrkamp, Geoff Hyman and
Sue Derck. Director Susan Pieper, Assistant Director Diana Coy, and Wilma
Mullins, Fiscal Officer, were also present.
Additions/Corrections to the Agenda: Mrs. Pieper asked to
include "Bookmobile Purchase" to the Agenda.
Action Plan Recorder: Geoff Hyman will be the Action Plan
recorder for this evening’s meeting.
Minutes: Corey Walker moved to approve the September 2010
minutes. Susie Thrasher seconded the motion. Motion passed.
Executive Session: At 6:07 p.m., Corey Walker moved and
Barb Reighter seconded that the board adjourn into Executive Session pursuant
to ORC 121.22(G)(1) to consider personnel matters. A
roll call vote resulted in the affirmative. At 7:45 p.m., Corey Walker moved
that moved that the board moved back into regular open session. Geoff Hyman
seconded the motion. Motion passed.
Status of Levy revenue: Mrs. Mullins informed the Board
that one additional payment has been received from the levy revenue. This will
be added to the amount ($626,153) that has previously been received.
Status of Ohio Public Library Fund (PLF): Mrs. Mullins
shared that the total projected at this point from the PLF is $568,537.
Payment of Bills: Motion to pay bills for September
(Pay-X not available for the meeting); (Finance 15350-15406) was made by Corey
Walker and seconded by Terry Wehrkamp. After a general discussion addressing
workflow routines, Mrs. Mullin's request for a Deputy Fiscal Officer, online-bill
pay possibilities and auto payment deduction, the motion passed
Additional Fiscal Officer Report:
Continuing Education: Mrs. Mullins updated the
Board on CMI classes she will be attending at Deer Creek State Park on Monday
and Tuesday, October 25 & 26.
Director's Report: Mrs. Pieper distributed a report of
activities in which she had participated, including teaching classes in the
State Library of Ohio Mobile Training Lab.
Staff Kudos: Mrs. Pieper praised the entire staff for
working together as a team during recent staff transitions. She gave special
recognition to Rick Ross for quietly working behind the scenes organizing and
streamlining maintenance duties.
OLD BUSINESS
Action Plan for October's Meeting
Mrs. Mullins did not have the information
regarding naming the Public Library Fund revenue account, but does have a phone
number of a contact who might be able to provide the information.
Mrs. Mullins updated the Board of the transition
of $250,000 into an interest-bearing account with the Antwerp Exchange Bank.
Mrs. Derck shared a correspondence she sent to a
former employee regarding a request for a meeting with the Board. (The request
was denied).
Mrs. Pieper shared that she had contacted the
Senior Center and posted news on Facebook regarding the SLO Mobile Training Lab
being available for community use. In the future, if the Lab is scheduled, Mrs.
Pieper will begin this process far in advance.
Pieper shared with the Board that a policy
regarding benefit payment -- if any -- upon involuntary termination/separation
from employment (being fired) is included in the revised Personnel Manual to be
reviewed and approved by the Board.
Board member Walker had previously forwarded an
Ohio Attorney General's opinion regarding a county-library being an independent
political subdivision and not a part of the county government. This finding was
supported by the opinions of the Ohio Library Council. The issue was in regards
to the Family and Medical Leave Act and the eligibility of employees since the
library employs less than 50 people.
Board member Walker also shared his
understanding that the library does not have to offer compensatory time as an
option for over-time hours. However, if the library did offer comp time, the
option of time and a half pay must also be available.
Pieper is scheduled to resend a letter to
ThyssenKrupp Elevator in April and August of 2011 reaffirming the library's
intent to NOT renew the contract that expires on December 1, 2011.
Pieper shared that insurance representative Don
Foltz will be scheduled to attend the November meeting to answer questions
regarding the library's coverage.
Mrs. Mullins asked the Board to clarify the
request of what a 10%, 20%, 30% and 100% reduction in PLF would look like for
our budget. Board member Walker explained that the Board wants to identify the
essential services and payments that would have to be made and still stay open.
Mrs. Mullins informed the board that a total of
approximately $58,000 was transferred from investments over the past five years
in order to meet gaps in the operation budget (due to funding reductions).
Motion: Corey Walker moved to transfer $65,000 from the
checking account to the Antwerp Exchange Bank Platinum fund to replenish the
money that had been transferred out of investments to operate the library over
the past five years. Susie Thrasher seconded the motion. Motion passed.
Director Pieper will work on a plan that is
based on improvements to the branches over the next two-three years.
Pieper is reevaluating space needs based on the
option of moving the Fiscal Officer's office to the current Technical Service
department. She will provide updates as they develop.
The Director shared a sampling of expenditure
limits that require approval by the Board. Currently the Director is to bring
purchases that are over $500 for approval by the Board.
Motion: Corey Walker moved to increase the expenditure
level to $1,000 before the Director must bring the expense to the Board for
prior approval. Terry Wehrkamp seconded the motion. Motion passed.
The Board will continue to review policy
revisions as submitted by the Director.
Mrs. Coy is investigating other options for
library color/black & white copy machines rather than entering into
expensive maintenance contracts.
Pritchard Building Update: The Director distributed
copies of the lease that was approved by the county prosecutor. The lease will
be forwarded on to the Caring and Sharing Food Pantry to be signed.
Staff Development Day: Mrs. Pieper reviewed activities of
the staff during the recent Staff Development day held at Systemax Inc. east of
Piqua. The staff attended the Global Symposium, toured the Systemax computer
assembly factory and warehouses, met with a variety of vendors offering new
electronic gadgets and peripherals, and also participated in an electronic
classroom.
Connect Ohio Update: Mrs. Pieper has reevaluated the time
it would take to participate as a trainer for the new initiative Every Citizen
Online (ECO). It will not be feasible to offer classes at the library. There
will be classes offered through Vantage Career Center and the Northwest State
Community College. Pieper will submit information to the COMNET team (Paulding
County telecom consortium) identifying the need for high-speed connections at
all library locations. This should expedite the ability of fiber for the
library's internet connections at all locations.
Time Clock Update: Mrs. Pieper shared the web software
the library will be using to record staff attendance. The product is produced
by Time Force and will allow employees to clock-in via an online site. The
product will also provide tracking of vacation, sick, holiday and personal
leave pay. Also, scheduling can be tracked and a variety of reports printed for
record-keeping.
Mobile Lab Update: Mrs. Pieper provided an update on the
classes recently offered in the State Library of Ohio Mobile Lab.
New Database Update: Mrs. Pieper provided an update on
the database Ancestry.com which is now available via the computers at the main
historic Carnegie library in Paulding.
NEW BUSINESS
Personnel Issues: Mrs. Pieper informed the board of the
following hiring, staff transitions, and staff issues:
Hiring of Kathy Heffley and Jamy Manson as a 25
hour per week library clerks at the Main library.
Transitioning of Teresa Reel as
Technical Services Assistant and Kirk Baker into the Children's Department.
The staff evaluations
for 2010 have been conducted.
CD DVD Disk Cleaner: Terry Wehrkamp moved to approve the
purchase of a Vermill Opto
Clean VMI 3500 CD Buffer to clean/repair DVD and CD disks for a price of
$1868.90. Corey Walker seconded the motion. Motion passed.
Day After Thanksgiving: Corey
Walker moved and Susie Thrasher seconded the motion to close the system the day
after Thanksgiving and award it as a paid holiday to the staff in recognition
of their excellent service the past year. This will be in lieu of a Staff
Appreciation Dinner. Motion passed.
Personnel Manual: Mrs. Coy distributed a draft of the
revised Personnel Manual in hard copy for the Board to review. Mr. Wehrkamp
requested that Pieper send him an online copy with changes noted.
Website Development: Mrs. Pieper informed the board that
the library's website will be transitioning to an open
source software that will allow more browser types to be compatible. Currently,
those browsers supported by Apple products are in compatible.
E-Rate Disbursements: Pieper and Mullins shared a list of
the telecommunication discounts / rebates that were received for 2010. The
amount is approximately $3,500 after Ohio E-Rate consultant fees.
Bookmobile Purchase: Terry Wehrkamp moved that the
library not purchase a used bookmobile from the Caldwell Public Library for
$3,000. His motion died for lack of a second. Geoff Hyman moved to purchase a
used bookmobile from the Caldwell Public Library for $3,000. Corey Walker
seconded the motion. Motion passed.
This bookmobile will provide library service to the
under- or un-served populations of Paulding County, where by continuing to
fulfill the mission of the library to provide library service to all citizens
of the county.
Mrs. Mullins informed the Board that new accounts must be
set up with funds transferred in order to proceed with the transition in a
timely manner.
New Account: Corey Walker moved and Terry Wehrkamp
seconded that two new accounts be established for the bookmobile purchase and
for Fuel/Supplies/Parts. The Bookmobile Purchase account will be numbered
100.01.55710. The new account for Fuel/Supplies/Parts will be numbered 100.01.52330.
Motion passed.
Transfers: Geoff Hyman moved, Barb Reighter seconded and
the Board passed the motion to approve the following transfers:
Amount From To
$4,000.00 100.01.55410 100.01.55710
Building Improvements Bookmobile Purchase
$1,000.00 100.01.55410 100.01.52330
Building Improvements Fuel/Supplies/Parts
Adjourn: Susie Thrasher moved to adjourn the meeting at
10:15 p.m. Corey Walker seconded the motion. Motion passed. The next meeting of
the Board of Trustees will be held Tuesday, November 16th at the main library
in Paulding, unless otherwise announced.
________________________________
______________________________
Geoff Hyman, Board Secretary Sue Derck, Board President
GH:snp