BOARD OF TRUSTEES REGULAR MEETING MINUTES

Corrected & APPROVED

 

Date of Meeting                Tuesday, October 6, 2020 @ 7:00 pm

Board Members Present Nancy Heckel (Chair); Jen Call; Diane Lander; Marcy Vierzen, Elizabeth Geraghty (Library Director)

Board Members Absent   Yvonne Howard

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 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 7:06 pm by Board Chair Nancy Heckel and roll taken. No members of any households of Trustees or other members of the public were present within listening of this meeting.

Review of September 2020 Meeting Draft Minutes

Minutes from the September 15, 2020 meeting were reviewed and corrections made.

Heckel invited a motion to approve as written the minutes from the September 15th meeting. Board Member Jen Call made a motion to approve the minutes, seconded by Board Member Marcy Vierzen. The motion carried unanimously in the affirmative.

Correspondence

Library Director Elizabeth Geraghty noted that Town Administrator Elly Phillips had sent responses via a hard copy letter to the questions directed to the Select Board of Sutton from the Sutton Free Library Board Trustees, for clarification of the responsibilities of the Town of Sutton to the SFL.

REPORTS

Financial/Treasurer’s Report

Heckel stated that the current balance of the Trustee account is $10,010.59.

Heckel received an invoice of $30 which she will pay, dated August 2020, from the New Hampshire Library Trustee Association for Board Member Diane Lander’s Trustee membership. Lander noted that this membership is assigned to a Trustee, not to the library, and is transferrable from one trustee to another.

Library Director Report

Automation

Regarding the current status of automation, Geraghty noted that progress continues to be made, albeit slowly, with approximately 3,000 of 10,000 items of SFL cataloged.

Make & Take Crafts

Geraghty noted that ‘Make & Take’ crafts have slowed to about 25 per week since the beginning of the school year. Participation remains higher than anticipated.

Buildings & Grounds

Geraghty noted that Lori Himes, Town Bookkeeper, had contacted Jim Lord for plowing and snowblowing the library this upcoming winter. Vierzen offered to contact and make arrangements with Awl & Awl for them to perform the annual tune up of the snowblower.

Regarding the dehumidier, Call will follow up on a second quote for a dehumidifier for the library.

Regarding the ramp for the library, Lander noted that New Hampshire legislature recently voted to change from a 2/3 majority (67%) to a 3/5 majority (60%) to pass a bond. This translates to less approval necessary to pass a bond. Call noted that she would ask Budget Chair Bob DeFelice if the bond for the ramp needs to go through the Select Board or the SFL. As well, she will figure out if the bond needs to go through in 2020, or 2021.

Regarding the security of the library, there was discussion on calling a Security company for cameras for the library, and the needs, such as panic buttons, cameras, and connections, as well as the benefits and costs involved. Currently, Northmark is the security company that SFL uses. Call offered to contact Capital Alarm as well to get a second quote.

The roof of the SFL was discussed, in regard to inspection of the slate roof, as it has not been inspected in several years.

Old Business

The Library Moving Into 2021

Trustees discussed the possibility of moving toward a hybrid model of greater financial independence, and what that would entail. Costs and considerations would be the purchase and/or annual subscription costs of Quickbooks, supplies including checks and toner; and the cost and number of hours for bookkeeping.

Trustees discussed updating the MOU which would detail out which expenses the library is responsible for, and which expenses the Town is responsible for. Trustees are volunteer positions and are elected with three year terms; consistency is a concern in regard to background and skill levels and how these factors may impact taking on additional financial responsibilities such as bookkeeping moving into the future.

Heckel invited a motion to move forward with the proposed hybrid model of financial independence for the library. Lander made a motion for the Trustees to take over the general accounts, not payroll, subject to a signed MOU agreement with the Select Board, and conditional upon the additional expenses being approved by the Town. This motion was seconded by Vierzen, and the motion carried  unanimously in the affirmative.

Heckel will distribute the latest draft of the MOU to the Trustees and to Geraghty, and suggestions for updates are invited for discussion at the next Trustee meeting.

Next Trustee Meeting

Due to the date of the upcoming election coinciding with the regular date of the Board of Trustees meeting, the next SFL Board of Trustees meeting will be on Tuesday, October 27 at 7pm.

The attendance to the Select Board meetings by SFL Trustees will be as follows:

Monday, October 12: Diane Lander

Monday, October 19: Marcy Vierzen

Monday, October 26: Nancy Heckel

ADJOURNMENT:

Lander made a motion to adjourn the meeting; seconded by Call. The motion carried unanimously in the affirmative. The meeting was adjourned at 8:36pm.