BOARD OF TRUSTEES REGULAR MEETING MINUTES  

Corrected & Approved

Date of Meeting:  Tuesday, January 5, 2021 @ 7:00 pm

Board Members Present: Nancy Heckel (Chair); Jen Call; Marcy Vierzen, Yvonne Howard, Betsy Anderson (Alternate for Diane Lander), Elizabeth Geraghty (Library Director)

Board Members Absent: Diane Lander

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

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

 

In light of COVID-19 Concerns and applicable executive and emergency orders, this evening’s Sutton Free Library (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 Sutton Free Library Board of Trustees (SFL BOT) meeting was called to order at  7:10 pm by Board 

Chair Nancy Heckel and roll taken. Heckel designated Board Member Betsy Anderson to sit for Board Member Diane Lander. No members of any households of Trustees or other members of the public were present within listening of this meeting at the beginning of the meeting. 

 

Review of Draft Minutes

Minutes from the December meeting were reviewed, and corrections made. Anderson made a motion to approve, as revised, the minutes from the December 1, 2020 BOT meeting, seconded by Board Member Jen Call. The motion carried unanimously in the affirmative. 

 

Correspondence

Geraghty noted several checks that have come in to the library in the past month. These include the return of a check that was inadvertently paid twice for maintenance of the library snowblower by All & Awl, a $50 donation check from a family who requested the donation be put toward the purchase of books; a $20 donation, and a $500 donation. Geraghty will forward the donor details to Anderson, who will write thank you notes. 

Call made a motion to accept these funds, and Howard seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously in the affirmative. 

REPORTS

Financial/Treasurer’s Report

Heckel reviewed the final 2020 statement for the SFL Trustee Checking Account, noting the starting balance in January 2020 of $10,445.18 and the balance at the end of December 2020 as $10,020.59. The duplicate check of $153.50 sent in error to All & Awl will be re-deposited into the Trustee account. Heckel stated that she will be organizing the Trustee financial information for the auditor. 

Library Director Report

Geraghty noted that SFL ended 2021 by returning approximately 8.26% of unused funds to the town. This amounted to approximately $5,575.90. 

Heckel noted that, following the SFL BOT Meeting on December 1, 2020, she had sent Sutton Budget Committee Chair Bob DeFelice an email on December 2nd regarding applying some of the unused funds from SFL, prior to their return to the town, for security cameras and panic buttons for the Library, as part of the library alarm system. Having discussed this matter previously, time was of the essence, given the closing out of 2020. After receiving no response, Heckel made a second attempt to contact DeFelice on January 3. DeFelice responded to Heckel on January 4, and explained that there has been a change in policy, and that every communication has to come from the Budget Committee, rather than directly from him. DeFelice further explained that the Budget Committee planned to meet on Monday, January 4, 2021, and that the committee would discuss this matter at that point. With remaining funds having been returned to the Town at the end of 2020, however, it would seem that an alternative way of funding both the cameras and the panic button needs to be considered. 

Regarding library automation, Geraghty noted that progress continues to be made. 

Geraghty shared that she is currently working on the SFL yearly submission for the town report, as requested by Town Administrator Elly Phillips. 

Geraghty mentioned that recent library patrons had requested information on genealogy, specifically in relation to their connection to the first settler in Sutton, NH, originally called Perrystown. There are various resources available through the library for such genealogical information, and Geraghty was able to direct these patrons on to documents stored in a vault at Musterfield Farm which will be helpful in their quest.

Last, Geraghty asked that the Trustees consider advising to the Select Board that both she and Assistant Librarian Kristin Snow be paid the full Cost of Living Increase (COLA) from the town of Sutton. Anderson motioned to send a request for the full COLA for Geraghty and Snow, and Heckel seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously in the affirmative and Heckel agreed to send this formal request to Town Administrator Phillips to be presented for consideration by the Select Board.

Buildings & Grounds Update

Geraghty noted that snow removal from the library is going well. 

A public hearing on the library ramp will be held on Monday, January 11 at 6pm at the Town Hall. Members Heckel and Marcy Vierzen agreed to attend this meeting.

OLD BUSINESS

Evaluation

Board Member Vierzen reviewed the framework for the evaluation and ongoing improvement of Sutton Free Library. Noting that the purpose of a Library is to connect people to resources, she and Anderson proposed that the focus of research and evaluation be on understanding and evolving library resources and gathering feedback from both users and non-users of the library from various demographics, interests, and backgrounds. Such an understanding, driven by both information collection and feedback, will serve to improve and grow Sutton Free Library and enhance its vital role within our community. Those who are interested in exploring this further, first by defining who the users/non-users are and how to best connect with them, as well as which resources are most valued, are invited to connect by ZOOM on Wednesday, January 13 at 7pm. Anderson will send out a ZOOM invite for this meeting.

Master Plan 

There is nothing new to note at this time regarding the Master Plan. 

Pandemic Policy 

Geraghty noted that Jaffrey Public Library has paved the path regarding its pandemic policies. Jaffrey’s first plan addressed library actions and policies put in place during the initial phase of the pandemic. The second plan addresses how the library functions during a pandemic, from safety and sanitation, to resources provided, such as circulation, virtual services, community outreach. 

Geraghty noted that Jaffrey Public Library gave full consent for libraries throughout NH to use their plan as fully as necessary to complete viable policies and emphasized the importance of having policies in place. 

Election

With Board Members Yvonne Howard and Lander vacating their Trustee positions in March 2021, there was discussion regarding encouraging Sutton residents to consider running for these openings. 

Member Howard will provide Trustees and Director Geraghty information on the filing deadline when it becomes available to her. 

Regarding a post-pandemic time, or when meeting in person becomes viable, it was agreed by those in attendance to the Trustee meeting that audio and/or video conferencing in to meetings provides a greater degree of flexibility and accessibility to meetings. 

NEW ACTION ITEMS

Upcoming Select Board Meetings 

Mon, Jan 4 @ 4pm: Betsy Anderson

Mon, Jan 11 @ 4pm: Yvonne Howard

Mon, Jan 11 @ 6pm: Marcy & Nancy (Public Hearing for library ramp)

Mon, Jan 18 @ 4pm: Betsy Anderson

Mon, Jan 25 @ 4pm: Nancy Heckel

Mon, Feb 1 @ 4pm: Marcy Vierzen 

Mon, Feb 2 @ 7pm: SFL BOT Meeting

ADJOURNMENT:

Vierzen made a motion to adjourn the meeting; seconded by Anderson. The motion carried unanimously in the affirmative. The meeting was adjourned at 8:41pm.