January 25, 2021 | gladdenk
The Chairperson, Nancy Eggenberger, called the meeting to order at 7:30 PM.
Present: (participating remotely from Canton, MI) N. Eggenberger, M. Farell, J. Lee, A. Iqbal,
C. Spas
Absent: A. Watts
Also Present: E. Davis, K. Gladden
CALL TO AUDIENCE (K. Bounds, L. Golden, D. McHugh, M. Nicholson, C. Swanberg, K. Szymanski, A. Watkins) – Director Eva Davis introduced new Circulation Services Department Head, Kat Bounds.
APPROVAL OF AGENDA
The agenda was accepted by unanimous consent.
APPROVAL OF GENERAL MEETING MINUTES
The minutes were accepted by unanimous consent.
APPROVAL OF CLOSED SESSION MINUTES
The minutes were accepted by unanimous consent
COMMUNICATIONS — E. Davis shared a “thank you” card from former Library Board Trustee Jane Pandit, who had received a framed drawing of the library as a parting gift.
DIRECTOR’S REPORT
The 2021 Monthly Board Meeting Agenda Planning document was again included in the packet. Davis consults with the board Chair each month, prior to presenting the agenda to the rest of the trustees, so any additions or deletions may be made at that time.
In February, Davis will present a staffing plan that she and Business Services Department Head Marian Nicholson have been working on which explores transitioning part-time positions into full-time positions, over a 2-3 year period.
In March, Community Relations Department Head Laurie Golden will do a deep dive presentation on the results from the interdepartmental Pulse Senior population project, which will replace the usual Strategic Plan.
Also in March, in the 1st Quarter Budget Amendment the board will be asked to approve a contract for the purchase of a new website content management system (originally a project budgeted for 2020 that was pushed back due to the pandemic). An interdepartmental committee led by Web Resources Specialist Courtney Luketich tested various products and preferred one offered by BiblioCommons, which should work seamlessly to integrate our catalog with the digital products available on our website. Trustee J. Lee asked if all background information would be provided to the board. Davis stated that the committee is preparing a report which will provide context on how they arrived at their recommendation.
The township is still undecided on whether or not Liberty Fest will take place in 2021 but have tentatively scheduled it for the third weekend in June; if it does not occur, the board may wish to discuss moving the date of their June meeting back to the third Thursday. Davis will keep the board apprised.
She also informed the board that finalists for the Information Services Department Head position will be invited back to interview in the upcoming weeks; she hopes to announce a new department head soon.
Circulation Services Page Kaitlyn Minshall has accepted the position of Communication Specialist, working on digital marketing and social media projects for the Community Relations department.
Steven Bowers, the new director of The Library Network (TLN), has invited Davis to participate on the Strategic Planning Committee for the library cooperative. Davis will co-chair with Karen Knox, director of the Orion Township Public Library.
A planned upgrade to Sierra resulted in a little downtime Thursday morning.
The financials as of 12/31/2020 are not final until Plante Moran completes its audit, which will be done (mostly remotely) the week of Valentine’s Day. For now, the figures in the P&L are estimates.
Trustee Jasmine Lee questioned the increase in bank fees; Accountant Debbie McHugh explained that while the library usually earned enough credits to off-set bank fees, this had not happened in 2020 due to COVID causing a decrease in interest rates. She hopes to prevent that from happening in 2021.
TRUSTEE COMMENTS — Vice-Chair Michelle Farell reminded board members that they should keep their cameras and microphones on during the meeting.
Trustee J. Lee asked if the contract with ENGIE Services had been completed. Davis said that the Phase 1 project agreement with ENGIE had been completed in 2020; the administration and Building Manager Jim Laffey will be looking at Phase 2 projects per the plan and will bring a recommendation to the board for approval at a later date.
COMMITTEE REPORTS — None
UNFINISHED BUSINESS & GENERAL ORDERS
Update on Phased Reopening — The Plymouth-Canton schools are phasing in in-person learning; the library managers and department heads are looking at how we can manage time limits, physical distancing and other issues for students requesting study space in the library. At this time, Davis knows of no library offering study/meeting space for patrons.
Chair N. Eggenberger said that she does not want the library administration to take any additional steps toward full reopening that the staff is not comfortable with; the other board members echoed her sentiments.
NEW BUSINESS
Plante Moran Board Education: Municipal Finance and Audits — A PowerPoint introduction to municipal budgets and audit procedures was presented by Alisha Watkins, the library’s partner at Plante Moran, and Senior Manager Keith Szymanski. Chair Eggenberger spoke of the board’s trepidation about the pandemic’s likely effect on future budgets. Watkins shared that, while she thought a little shake up in commercial property values is likely, no economist expects another 2008. As construction is also ramping up, she is not planning for any huge drops in property tax income. Any such decrease would be obvious in time for the board to plan and make budgetary adjustments to accommodate such events.
Szymanski added that now is a good time to be cautious.
The board members all thanked the Plante Moran representatives for their helpful presentation.
CALL TO AUDIENCE – None
ADJOURN
The meeting was adjourned at 8:31 PM.