The Chairperson, Michelle Farell, called the meeting to order at 7:30 PM.

• Present:
  Nancy Eggenberger, Michelle Farell, Jasmine Lee, Jane Pandit, Don Turner, Amy Watts
• Absent:None
• Also Present: E. Davis, K. Gladden

Call to Audience

(M. Crowther, M. Das, L. Golden, R. Havenstein-Coughlin, T. Heller, D. McHugh, M. Nicholson, L. Papa, K. Powers, M. Swartz, N. Szczepanski, Chess Club supporters)

Chair Michelle Farell presented outgoing Information Technology department head Leo Papa with a gift from the Board of Trustees.

Organizers Manmohan Das and Tim Heller and supporters of the community chess club, which is under a six-month suspension for violation of library policy, spoke of their experiences and belief that their program offers an unparalleled opportunity to members of the local community. They indicated their desire to continue meeting at the library and their hope that the board will reconsider its meeting room policy, which currently precludes the group’s ability to use library facilities while collecting entry fees.

Approval of Agenda

The agenda was approved by unanimous consent.

Approval of General Meeting Minutes

The minutes were approved by unanimous consent.

Communications

The board discussed a letter received from a teen patron, who requested that the library expand its hours an additional 12 hours per week (or 624 additional hours per year) to accommodate her perceived needs of high school students. It was agreed that a response prepared by Chair Farell would be mailed to the patron.

Director’s Report

Eva Davis thanked Trustees Nancy Eggenberger and Amy Watts for attending the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Friends’ newly renovated Secondhand Prose Used Bookstore.

Davis reminded the board that L. Papa’s last day is February 28; a retirement cake will be served at 2:00 PM and the board is invited to attend.

Beth Meade of the Canton Community Foundation will be present at the March board meeting to discuss the library endowment fund and the results of the last endowment appeal campaign.

Davis and Business Services department head Marian Nicholson met with Candice Cataldi, the library’s Nationwide representative, who informed them that Nationwide offers a zero percent fee 457 plan for employees. She will also be present at the March meeting. The library’s attorney will draft a resolution to be used, should the board choose to exercise its option to go with the Nationwide 457 plan. (This is not tied to the defined benefit plan for which Davis and Nicholson are seeking alternatives.)

Davis reviewed the financial reports.

Trustee Comments

Vice Chair Don Turner stated that he had learned much from L. Papa’s business and technology acumen and had much appreciated Papa’s “steady hand.” The other board members in turn also thanked Papa for his 14 years of service.

Turner asked if the board wanted to review the meeting room policy, in light of the comments from the chess club members. The trustees agreed that they should have that conversation; it will appear on the March agenda.

Committee Reports

None

Unfinished Business & General Orders

None

New Business

Library Finance Overview

Plante Moran representatives Michael Swartz and Melanie Crowther reviewed financial reporting, fund balance, and budgeting from an auditing perspective. Trustee Eggenberger asked if Swartz could recommend questions the board should be asking in its approach to pension funding. While Swartz had no recommendations, he did point out that, with changes to mortality tables, defined benefit pension plans are becoming more costly to employers, while defined contribution plans are more portable for employees.

Call to Audience

None

Adjourn

The meeting was adjourned at 9:01 PM.