West Chicago Public Library Board met July 24.
Here is the minutes provided by the Board:
A. Call to Order: The meeting was called to order at 7:05 p.m. by President Nancy Conradt.
B. Roll Call:
Trustees Present: Nancy Conradt, President; Frank Fokta, Vice President; Richard Bloom, Treasurer; Pat Weninger, Secretary; and Rosario Herbst and David Reynolds, Members.
Staff Present: Ben Weseloh, Library Director; Joan Happel, Administrative Secretary; Amanda Ghobrial, Adult Services Manager; Dominique Mendez, Youth Services Manager; Gabe Cardenas, Circulation Services Manager; Michael Novy, Technical Services Manager.
C. Approval of the Minutes:
1. Board Meeting - June 26, 2017: Ms. Weninger moved to approve the Minutes of the Regular Board Meeting of June 24, 2017, as amended; seconded by Mr. Fokta.
- Page 1, Item B, Staff Present should include Mike Novy and Gabe Cardenas.
- Page 2, Item G-2, Financial Statements for May 2017, should read "year elapsed is at 91.67 percent."
Motion carried by unanimous voice vote.
D. Recognition of the Public: Kurt Jaros.
E. Public Comments: Mr. Jaros expressed appreciation for the Trustees' service on the board. Mr. Jaros then explained how when his wife was at the library, their 3-year-old child found a book on the shelf and brought it to his wife and asked about the book. The name of the book is "This Day in June"; and the book depicts LGBT issues and the Gay Pride Parade. Mr. and Mrs. Jaros believe this book does not represent their values and is not appropriate for this age audience. They would like to request it be removed from the shelves in the children's section; that it is not suitable for 3-year-olds to come across.
F. Agenda - Additions/Deletions: Discussion of the book referenced by Mr. Jaros was added to the agenda as New Business No. 4. The Library has a formal policy regarding reviewing materials.
G. Treasurer's Report:
1. Approval of the Bills for Final June and July 2017: Mr. Bloom moved to approve payment of expenses in the amount of $227,741.99; seconded by Ms. Herbst.
The sheet under Operating Systems checks shows $98,717.08; however, the accountant made a 10-cent error in the addition and the number should be $98,717.18. Therefore the total bills for approval is $227,741.99. Administration will get in touch with the accountant to make that adjustment and prepare a clean sheet to sign off on. Roll Call Vote - Yes: Richard Bloom, Rosario Herbst, Frank Fokta, David Reynolds, Pat Weninger, Nancy Conradt. Motion carried.
Roll Call Vote - Yes: Richard Bloom, Rosario Herbst, Frank Fokta, David Reynolds, Pat Weninger, Nancy Conradt. Motion carried.
2. Financial Statements for June 2017: The Library's new fiscal year began as of July 1, 2017. The FY'16-'17 completed as of June 30, 2017 as 100 percent elapsed. The financials are cash-based, and the Adjusting Journal Entries have not been made; they will be completed and certified as of the October audit, which is on a modified accrual basis.
The funds remaining from FY'16-'17, once the AJEs are made, can be disbursed to GASB 54, Special Reserves, or left in corporate carryover.
H. Communications:
1. Village of Carol Stream (Pending Annexation): Joe Breinig, Village Manager for the Village of Carol Stream, spoke with the Board regarding the Village annexing some commercial properties along the south side of North Avenue between County Farm Road and Morton Road. Information regarding this process, which began several years ago, was included in the Trustees' packets.
The properties recently became contiguous; therefore the Village is moving ahead with the annexation. The properties are currently within the boundaries of the West Chicago Library District, although no residential property is subject to this annexation. Mr. Breinig's understanding is that the property will disconnect from the West Chicago Library District and will then be within the Carol Stream Library's boundaries.
The Village will take actions at its August 7th Board Meeting to institute the annexation, and those properties will no longer be a part of the West Chicago Library District area.
Mr. Bloom stated that the tax the West Chicago Library District would receive from those properties based on 2016 taxes would be $3,936.00 in the corporate account and $219.00 under the IMRF account. A total revenue stream loss being forfeited from this point forward will be approximately $4,155.00.
2. Makerpalooza Program Compliment: Mr. Weseloh stated a letter was received from Whit Anderson, who is a West Chicago resident and cardholder, a frequent user of the library. Mr. Anderson was complimentary of the Makerpalooza program and the 3-D printer. He has had occasion to use the 3-D printer and is impressed with its capabilities.
3. New 19 Migration to SWAN: The initial data extract will take place on July 21 for Magic libraries and the July 28 for the LINC libraries.
I. Reports:
1. President: President Conradt spoke on the topic of the purchasing policy. She noted that since she was elected to the board in 2008, every year there are two crises issues at board meetings: One is approval of the insurance renewal recommendations; the second is lock-in of the utility rates. The subject is consistently brought up at particular board meetings that the purchase must be approved that evening or the proposed rate will be lost.
Ms. Conradt reviewed the purchasing policy, and it does not specifically address either insurance or utility rates. It does address expenditures of more than $5,000.00 but less than 20,000.00. The policy requires the Library to have at least three formal written quotations with contractors' signatures applied and performance bond, which would indicate that the requirement is only with regard to building projects.
President Conradt suggests the policy be revised to include language dealing with, one, insurance quotations, and two, utilities; which would avert the crisis situation each year at time of renewal. The policy revision might state that the director could accept a utility quotation with the approval of the president and the treasurer, or if either of those is not available, then either of the other two officers. The language with regard to the insurance quotations could be addressed at the next meeting of the Policy Committee.
2. Library Director:
a. Mr. Weseloh provided a copy of the Projects List, including a short synopsis of what the project contains, an estimated cost, and boxes in which to indicate each Trustee's impression of order of priority ranking.
Discussion was had regarding the importance of close parking for designated handicapped spaces, the paver replacement, possible shuttle service, and exterior signage. Mr. Weseloh described the order of priorities he sees in accomplishing the projects. The parking lot lights, which are safety related, should be very high on the list. Updating the lamps to LED lighting will provide better illumination. There may still be some grant funding for replacement and upgrading LEDs light fixtures.
The interior signage is part of the Per Capita Grant, which to date has not been received. The West Chicago Foundation will be contacted to ask if they would be interested in funding the exterior signage, which would help offset some of the cost. Remodeling of the bathrooms should be added to the Project List.
Mr. Weseloh viewed the model purchasing policy from the Illinois State website. The board members will return to the meeting next month and provide their rankings of the items.
Prior to AJEs being accounted for, the Library has approximately $100,000.00 in funds which may be available for corporate carryover. The Public Hearing for the Tentative Budget and Appropriation is scheduled for August 28, 2017, at 6:45 p.m. The tax distributions that the Library has received so far since June 1st are $1,096,657.38.
The new door counter was installed July 18. It creates a count as well as has video capture of people entering the library; counts can be made for a specific time frame, which can assist for program attendance reporting purposes.
b. ILA News: Illinois Library Association conference is on October 10-12, 2017, at the Tinley Park Convention Center. Trustee day is Thursday, October 12. If any of the trustees are interested in attending, let administrative staff know, and they will register the trustees.
3. Department Managers: Written reports were included in the Board Packets. Oral reports were provided for the Adult Services, Youth Services, Technical Services, and Circulation Services departments.
1,499 items were added. 893 of those items were e-books and e-audio books. 524 items were withdrawn. Criteria for withdrawing an item include: The condition of the book, how many times it has been checked out, when it was purchased, if it can be easily replaced, if the content is outdated, and shelf space consideration. 154 new patrons were added, and the library is now at 45.33 percent of the district population with library cards.
The West Chicago Public Library was selected as a recipient for 1,000 solar eclipse glasses from the Space and Science Institute.
Gabriel created a map of the district patron population to determine where the low and high concentrations of cardholders exist. The five apartment complexes in West Chicago have a lower concentration of district cardholders. Outreach is being worked on to go to those apartment complexes.
4. Policy Committee: The insurance broker was present at the policy meeting and provided a presentation. Discussion was had regarding adding some policy language to specifically address renewal of insurance and utilities agreements. These items will be placed on the agenda for the next Policy Committee meeting.
Changes were made to the Closed Session policy and the Gifts and Donations policy. There were no changes made to the Identity Protection policy.
J. Unfinished Business: None.
K. New Business:
1. Draft Budget and Appropriations Ordinance: Discussion was had that in a given year the Library may go over budget, but it cannot go over the appropriation.
2. Purchasing Policy (Insurance & Utility Rates): Discussion was had regarding the purchasing authority limits of the Library Director, when three competitive bids are needed, and whether competitive bids ought to be required starting at $10,000 or $15,000.
Discussion was had on the suggestion that the review and determination of an insurance carrier could be made by the Finance Committee, and that language should be added to the Purchasing Policy with regard to insurance bids. Mr. Bloom was invited to attend the next policy meeting.
3. Policies:
a. Closed Session: Mr. Fokta stated that the Policy Committee recommends approval of the Closed Session policy as amended. Motion carried by unanimous voice vote.
b. Gifts and Donations: Mr. Fokta stated that the Policy Committee recommends approval of the Gifts and Donations policy as amended. Motion carried by unanimous voice vote.
c. Identity Projection: Mr. Fokta stated that the Policy Committee recommends approval of the Identity Protection policy as is. Motion carried by unanimous voice vote.
4. Discussion on Request for Withdrawal of a Book: The Library has adopted the endorsement of the ALA Freedom to Read policy, which allows the Library to add or have the freedom to provide many materials -- some that could be controversial in nature -- to support the residents of the district. The Library's mission statement speaks to supporting all of the constituents in the community. The Library frequently receives input that people want access to books and materials that support their views, their lifestyle, things that they do.
Patrons have the freedom to choose whether or not to check out books and materials available at the Library. The Library provides the information to support the community, their reading interests, and their lifestyles. The criteria for adding a book to the collection includes whether the book is accurate and whether it is a well-reviewed book. This book has received a Star Review in Library Journal, an ALA-sponsored award.
Discussion was had with respect to the fact that marriage equality is the law in the United States, and children of these families should have access to a book like this. The age level of this book has been reviewed at age 3 to grade 2; and parents of young children are the people authorized to check the book out from the library.
The item will be added to the August agenda to be voted on. The discussion is tabled until the next meeting.
L. Closed Session: None held.
M. Return to Open Session: No closed session held.
N. Adjournment: The meeting was adjourned at 8:58 p.m.
http://www.westchicago.lib.il.us/media/1768817/2017-07-24%20board%20of%20library%20trustees%20minutes.pdf
Alerts Sign-up