October 10, 2019 | Librarian TOWN of SUTTON SUTTON FREE LIBRARY 5 Corporation Hill Road Sutton Mills, NH 03221 Board of Trustees May 7, 2019 Regular Meeting Corrected and Approved Minutes Board Members Present: Nancy Heckel, Treasurer and acting Chairperson; Elizabeth Geraghty, Library Director; Jennifer Call; Diane Lander; Diane O’Neil; and Betsy Anderson, Alternate Trustee Board Member Absent: Yvonne Howard Public Present: Bill Bastille, Sutton Resident Call to Order As acting Chairperson, Board Member Heckel called the meeting to order at 6:58 p.m. and then called the roll. Motion: Board Member Call moved to appoint Board Member O’Neil as Chairperson for the 2019 year. Board Member Lander seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously in the affirmative. Board Member Heckel then turned the meeting over to Board Member O’Neil. Chairperson O’Neil designated Alternate Board Member Betsy Anderson for Board Member Howard. Approval of Minutes Corrections to the April 11, 2019 regular meeting minutes: Name corrections (bottom page 1): Julie Griffiths, Anita Blakeman Other Business (1st paragraph): Add – Alternate Board Member Anderson will continue to review the library policies. Delete the last sentence re: Board Member O’Neil assuming the duties of the Chairperson. Motion: Chairperson O’Neil moved to approve the minutes of the April 11, 2019 regular meeting as amended. Board Member Heckel seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously in the affirmative. Correspondence NHLTA awards criteria. Invoices received: Kelley Plumbing & Heating for the first opinion re: the septic system problem. H. R. Clough for cleaning and servicing the heater. Mark Hubert, ProSelect Window Cleaning, called and said the cost to clean the windows for this year would be the same as the cost for last year, $225. He also said he does carpet cleaning. The Board decided to wait until the scheduled/expected construction is completed to consider this cleaning. Fritz Pratt, Sutton resident, donated a bag of quarters. Motion: Board Member Heckel moved to accept the donation. Board Member Anderson seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously in the affirmative. Reports Financial Reports Treasurer’s Report Balance as of last meeting (April 11, 2019): $10,726.66 Deposits: $500 in the memory of Beth Cernek, $50 donation, $105 cash Balance as of this meeting (May 7, 2019): $11,381.66 Librarian Geraghty stated that the 2019 donation in the memory of Beth Cernek has no stipulations. However, previous donations in the memory of Beth Cernek had been designated for the garden and the sense of the Board was to designate this donation for the garden as well. Librarian Geraghty had reviewed the library’s operating budget for April 2019 and was concerned that the “Custodial” account was significantly lower than expected. Librarian Geraghty discussed this with the Town Bookkeeper and they found that the Assistant Librarian wages had been incorrectly posted to the “Custodial” account. The Town Bookkeeper will adjust the “Custodial” and “Salaries” accounts accordingly. Librarian Geraghty also informed the Board that the operating book budget is a bit behind due to the change in librarians and that, for the Spring 2019 book order, she would like to use the donations from September 2018 to May 2019, excluding the donation in the memory of Beth Cernek and the Prime family donation. She also noted that the budgeted $3,400 is not sufficient given the increase since the 1980s in the number of library patrons and the prices of books. Board Member Call asked about the books the Library received from the 2018 CLiF Grant it was awarded. This grant is for children’s books only. Librarian Geraghty showed where the books are located and mentioned that many of the books received are audio books. Motion: Board Member Heckel moved to fund $530.66 for book acquisition from the September 2018 to May 2019 donations, not including the donation in the memory of Beth Cernek and the Prime family donation. Board Member Call seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously in the affirmative. Board Member Lander volunteered to work with Librarian Geraghty to revise the Library general ledger accounts, to reallocate amounts from the current old accounts to the new accounts, to record future changes/postings to each account, and to prepare the 1st draft of the next annual operating budget request. Friends of Sutton Free Library Report There was no Friends meeting this month. A number of the members attended the regional meeting held on May 1st at the Pillsbury Free Library in Warner, NH. Following a discussion held at the recent regional meeting, the Board discussed erecting Little Free Libraries at various locations around Sutton. There currently is a Little Free Library at Musterfield Farm, which is managed by the Musterfield Farm staff. One possible new location mentioned is Horse Beach. Board Member Heckel said she might be able to provide the wood. The Board discussed that this might be a good senior high school or Eagle Scout project. Building Committee Report The Town has no records re: the furnace or any maintenance/service performed on the furnace. The Board has not received any further information about the ramp. Selectman Curless is the Board of Selectmen liaison for this project. Chairperson O’Neil said she will contact the architect directly. Old Business Septic System The Board learned that the septic system has 3 caps and a filter in between the 1st and 2nd caps. If something is put down the toilet, the filter stops it from going from the holding tank to the septic tank. Cleaning this filter each year needs to be added to the Library’s annual maintenance schedule. The septic system has been repaired. A septic system pipe had been crushed by a Town pipe, which drains to the river and lies on top of the septic pipe, and the toilet, which had been partially blocked, was replaced. In addition, risers were added to the septic caps so they are now only 6” to 8” below ground. Although any maintenance work will be paid for by the Library, the emergency work may be paid for by the Town. Roger Rodewald, Sutton Resident and septic system specialist, provided advice was instrumental in getting the septic system repaired. The Board sincerely thanks Roger for his time and efforts. SFL Building Inspections and Summary At the last meeting, Board Member Anderson showed the Board Members an Energy Audit Report that had been prepared in February 2012. It was then decided that the Board Members would individually review this report, the 2013 State of the Building Report, and the 2014 Inspection Check List and then send Alternate Board Member Anderson a list of which equipment purchases and repairs/updates each viewed as priority action items. Alternate Board Member Anderson combined the lists she received and prepared a summary list for the Board to review and consider. The Board Members sincerely thank Alternate Board Member Anderson for her excellent work preparing this summary list. The Board then spent significant time reviewing and considering the summary list of equipment purchases and repairs/updates. A revised list will be prepared and various action were assigned to some Board Members. New Business Preparing a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Town of Sutton for Library expenses. The Board added this to the summary list of equipment purchases and repairs/updates as an action item. Due to the time, the following were postponed until a future meeting. Communications: posting news, meetings, website. Review of information from recent educational offerings (NHLTA Orientation Workshop). Continuing Education: NHLTA online learning. Director’s Report. Other business that may legally come before the Board No other business was brought before the Board Announcements and Next Meeting The NHLTA annual meeting will be on May 29th. Board Members O’Neil and Call are considering attending. The Sutton Free Library Board of Trustees will pay the registration fee. The next meeting is scheduled for June 4, 2019 at 7:00 p.m. Before this meeting starts, the Board Members are to walk the library property to look for the “sink hole” that is supposedly by the river. Adjournment Motion: There being no further business, Board Member Anderson moved to adjourn the meeting. Board Member Call seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously in the affirmative. The meeting adjourned at 9:20 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Diane M. Lander, Recording Secretary