June 2015 Minutes

MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE PLATTEKILL PUBLIC LIBRARY: June, 2015

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Present were: Lynne Ridgeway, President; Valerie Smith, Vice President; Karen Adamson, Assistant Treasurer; Will Farrell, Trustee; John Georghiou, Director; Barbara Jacobini, Bookkeeper; Donna Ebanks, Secretary

Patty Cutroneo introduced herself and expressed her devotion to the Plattekill Public Library and its value to herself, her children, and the community. Ms. Cutroneo noted that over the years she has borrowed many books from the Library covering a broad range of topics such as leadership, business, and psychology. Having these items readily available, and free of charge, changed Ms. Cutroneo’s perspective of libraries from being more than a place of learning and enjoyment for her children, to a welcoming resource offering her the ability to self-educate. In addition to being a patron of the Plattekill Public Library, Ms. Cutroneo is a former President of the Library’s Friends group. Currently, Ms. Cutroneo volunteers monthly at the Library as a couponing mentor in addition to volunteering to share her money saving skills during Money Smart Week at the Plattekill Public Library. Ms. Cutroneo has lived in the area for 15 years.

Luz Ledesma introduced herself and stated she has been a patron of the Plattekill Public Library for many years, beginning with when her now college-age son was a small boy. Ms. Ledesma is a graduate of Staten Island College with a degree in accounting. She is also a paralegal and has been practicing in that field for approximately 18 years. Prior to working as a paralegal she was an account manager. Ms. Ledesma shared with the Board her gratitude for having the services of the Plattekill Public Library available to her during the 11 months she was unemployed. Ms. Ledesma was able to secure meaningful employment close to home through access to public computers and Internet service at the Library. Ms. Ledesma is a strong believer in community outreach and volunteer service; she is also a Notary Public. Ms. Ledesma has lived in the area for 18 years.

→ Motion to enter into Executive Session at 7:20pm to discuss a personnel issue regarding a specific individual was made by Valerie Smith and seconded by Karen Adamson; all others in favor.

Only the Trustees were present for the Executive Session except for a brief time when the Director asked to be allowed to enter and speak.

→ Motion to appoint Luz Ledesma to the Board of Trustees to fill a vacancy until the next election was made by Valerie Smith and seconded by Will Farrell; all others in favor.

Lynne and the Board thanked Ms. Cutroneo and Ms. Ledesma for coming to the meeting and for their support of the Library. Lynne welcomed them to stay for the remainder of the meeting.

Barbara noted the posting of the Board resolution confirming the appointment of Donna Ebanks as Board Secretary is reaching its 30-day posting conclusion at which time it will be removed and sent to Albany for filing.

→ Motion to approve the corrected purchase order for Verizon was made by Karen Adamson and seconded by Will Farrell; all others were in favor.

→ Motion to authorize the Director to buy a photocopier following established policy was made by Valerie Smith and seconded by Will Farrell; all others were in favor.

→ Motion to approve payment of the bills pending audit was made by Will Farrell and seconded by Karen Adamson; all others were in favor.

→ Motion to approve the past month’s payroll was made by Karen Adamson and seconded by Will Farrell; all others in favor.

Lynne informed the Board she received a PPL Building Fund balance statement from the Community Foundation and stressed the importance of all Board members to make a contribution to the Community Foundation. Director John Georghiou suggested information about the Community Foundation be included in the next Library newsletter.

John shared with the Board the positive experience he had representing the Library in the Town’s Memorial Day Parade. He noted waves and shouts of support from the parade spectators and comments proclaiming it was wonderful to have the Library participate.

John informed the Board he was planning calendar dates for the upcoming focus groups; the first being July 30. Will stated that we should extend invitations to Congressman Larkin, Congressman Gibson, and Senator Amedore Jr. Lynne recalled that Library Assistant Mary Antzak had begun the plans for such an event and staff should follow-up with Mary.

The Library will draft a response to the 2014 Audit and send it to Lynne and Valerie for review.

The Planning and Operations Committee met in May and June; the Committee recommends the following policies for adoption:

→ Motion to accept the Debit Card Policy as amended was made by Valerie Smith and seconded by Karen Adamson; all others were in favor.

→ Motion to accept the following policies: Conflict of Interest Policy; Continuing Education Policy; Copier – Copyright Policy; Programming Policy; Petty Cash Policy; Wireless Internet Policy as distributed to the Board was made by Valerie Smith and seconded by Will Farrell; all others were in favor.

The Budget and Finance Committee met on May 18 and June 1; they are not making any recommendation for the 2016 budget, as they could not come to an agreement.

Karen noted that due to a prior commitment, she most likely will not be able to attend the next Board of Trustees meeting, and therefore will not be present for discussion of the budget. Will suggested they schedule a Special Meeting for a budget discussion in order to allow more time. Lynne will email all Board members for their availability.

Will reported he attended the Friends meeting on June 4. Will discussed with the Friends the upcoming Budget vote and engaged in a discussion about the best ways to promote the vote, and get the word out. Among the suggestions was to send one reminder postcard to Library patrons close to the date of the vote, and to also begin developing a telephone call list to be used the evening before the vote. Lynne suggested John and she meet with Friends President Cathy Padilla to discuss all possible avenues including emailing patrons about the vote and including the information in our newsletter.

Lynne is still working with Friends President Cathy Padilla on revisions to MOU between the Library and the Friends. Lynne is also reviewing the MOU with MHLS.

→ Motion to pay $300 to UCLA for the purchase of e-books was made by Will Farrell and seconded by Karen Adamson; all others were in favor.

→ Motion to adjourn was made at 8:28 pm by Valerie Smith and seconded by Karen Adamson; all others were in favor.