BOARD OF TRUSTEES MEETING MINUTES

Corrected & Approved

Date of Meeting:  Tuesday, June 8, 2021 @ 7:00 pm

Members Present: Nancy Heckel (Chair); Jen Call; Emily Cooper; Nancy Glynn (Secretary); Marcy Vierzen (Treasurer); Betsy Anderson (Alternate); Elizabeth Geraghty (Library Director) 

Members Absent:

Note: This meeting was conducted on ZOOM for all present. 

Public Present: No members of the public were present;  No guests were present. 

In light of COVID-19 concerns and applicable executive and emergency orders, this evening’s SFL Board of Trustees meeting is being held per the Governor’s Executive Order 2020-04, Section 8, Emergency Order #12 Section 3. 

CALL TO ORDER:

Roll Call, Introduction of Guests
The SFLBOT meeting was called to order at 7:07pm by Board Chair Nancy Heckel, and roll taken. There were no members of the public present, and there were no guests present. Further, no members of any households of Trustees were present within listening of this meeting. 

Review of Minutes
Minutes from the 5/11/2021 meeting were reviewed with corrections made. Board Chair Heckel invited a motion to approve, with revisions, the minutes from the 5/11/2021 meeting. Board Member Jen Call made a motion to approve the minutes, seconded by Board Member Marcy Vierzen. The motion was carried unanimously in the affirmative.

 

Correspondence

Director Elizabeth Geraghty reports Sutton Free Library received a bill for the emergency flushing of the pipes. Director Geraghty will address this further in the Building and Grounds portion of the agenda.

 

REPORTS:

Old Business

Financial/Treasurer’s Report
Board Member Vierzen noted the beginning balance of the Trustee Account for Sutton Free Library in May was $8,751.29. There were two deposits made to this account during the month of May 2021… 1.)$2,137.10 from transfers from Operating Account into Trustee Account. These checks were inadvertently written from the Trustee Account in April 2021 instead of the Operating Account, so Board Member Vierzen transferred these funds, individually by check, from the Operating Account back into the Trustee Account on 5/12/21. 2.) An earned interest credit of $3.11

One Check was written to Baker & Taylor for books in the amount of $1,052.22. This is another check that was inadvertently written from  the Trustee Account that should have been written from the Operating Account in April. Board Member Vierzen will be transferring  money from the Operating Account into the Trustee Account to remedy this.  

The bank balance on the Trustee Account at the end of May was $9,839.28. 

 

Director’s Report
Library Director Geraghty and members of the board had an active discussion about the changes in NH Covid-19 regulations and updates on Governor Sununu’s virtual meeting criteria. Members on the board discussed meeting in person. Director Geraghty shared that not all members must go back in-person but a majority of the board must commit to meeting in-person with the option for members of the public to attend. 

 

Director Geraghty reports that through the American Rescue Plan Act, the state of NH has received funding for public libraries. Population drives the allotted funds available for each town. She is applying for a grant and researching if the funding can cover our Story Walk activity. Director Geraghty will share further details at the July SFL BOT meeting.

Director Geraghty made a request for 2 book order bills. One totalling $45.54 and another for $33.76. She requested that the restricted funds be used for the book order. This would result in an overdraw of $52.88 and the restricted funds to have a zero balance. Board Chair Heckel made a motion to accept the use of restricted funds. Board Member Call seconded the motion. The motion was carried unanimously in the affirmative.

Museum Pass Update:

The list of potential museum pass offerings was shared with the SFL BOT for voting. The BOT would like to keep museum pass offerings to in-state. Squam Lake received the most votes but does not offer a significant discount. Strawbery Banke, McAuliffe Discovery Center and the Kearsarge Indian Museum also received the most votes. SFL will cover the cost of Strawbery Banke and McAuliffe Discovery Center and the Kearsarge Indian Museum will go to the Friends for a request for funding. SFLBOT also discussed the possibility of adding 5 more offerings online. Board Member Cooper asked about creating a “Donate” button on the SFL Facebook page. Director Geraghty will investigate this further.

Board Member Vierzen has been actively working on an online evaluation of SFL. She will send out her draft evaluation to fellow board members with approvals and suggestions needed no later than Thursday at 5:00. The link to this evaluation will be accessible in many forms.

Building and Grounds
Director Geraghty noted that the roofer came the week prior about the slate roof. Town Administrator Elly Phillips will be tasked with billing for this project as the Town of Sutton contracted with the roofer. 

Director Geraghty had made a report at our May SFL BOT meeting that there was a peculiar smell coming from the bathroom. This resulted in the emergency flushing of the pipes. A bill for $500.00 was sent to SFL and will be submitted to Town Administrator Elly Phillips.

 

Board Member Call shared an update from Capitol Alarm. Board Member Call noted that the agreement for the cameras totaled $3200.00 with an option of adding a 4 channel DVR. This would cover what SFL would currently need for cameras but if SFL decides to add more later then an 8 channel DVR would be more sufficient. Funding for the cameras is certain but there are still questions on the funds for the panic buttons.

 

Michael Gebo said he would look at fixing the light on the front of SFL. Director Geraghty reports that the junction box is not screwed into anything and that the whole piece would need to be replaced. Board Chair Heckel will ask Town Administrator Phillips in regards to the funding of this project. 

 

NEW BUSINESS:

Reopening

Director Geraghty shared plans on reopening as developed by herself and Assistant Librarian Kristin Snow. SFBOT has hopes for clarity on the future of reopening indefinitely from the collection of responses from the evaluations patrons are filling out. 

June 21, 2021- SFL will reopen for browsing and computer use by appointment only. Masks will be mandatory inside of the building. Appointments can be made by calling or emailing. 

June 30, 2021- Story time will begin on the back lawn. Assistant Librarian Snow has requested that masks be worn outside. Mask guidance prompted an active discussion from BOT. Discussion resulted in masks will need to be worn inside but not outside so long as social distancing can be achieved. 

July 1, 2021- Interlibrary loan will resume.

July 19, 2021- SFL will be open for browsing without an appointment. There will be a 5 person limit or a single family unit as building capacity. Masks will be required. 

Director Geraghty reports many tasks need to be completed before reopening. The tasks are overwhelming in relation to the allotted time she has to finish the tasks. Alternate Board Member Betsy Anderson recommends additional hours to be budgeted for Library Director Geraghty and Assistant Librarian Snow for next year. 

Board Member Glynn makes a motion to accept the reopening plan as discussed. Board Member Vierzen second the motion. The motion was carried unanimously in the affirmative.

SFL BOT expressed the need to increase communication on the reopening of the library. Alternate Board Member Anderson expressed a need to thank the community for their support and patience during this process while citing activities that have been taking place over the course of the pandemic. An ad will be placed in The Shopper which will be crafted by Board Chair Heckel and Board Member Vierzen. 

Website Update:

Board Member Vierzen reports that she will be working on the website with hopes to complete the website within a week’s time. 

 

The next Sutton Free Library Board of Trustees Meeting is Wednesday, July 7th at 7pm.
Board Chair Heckel made a motion to adjourn the meeting, and this was seconded by Board Member Vierzen. The motion was carried unanimously in the affirmative. The Board of Trustees meeting ended at 9:12 pm.