MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE PLATTEKILL PUBLIC LIBRARY: June, 2015
BACK TO MINUTES INDEX BACK TO LIBRARY MAIN PAGE
Board of Trustees
June 11, 2015
The meeting was called to order at 7:08 PM with the Pledge of
Allegiance.
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
Excused were: Joe Egan, Trustee; David Padilla, Trustee
Guests:
Patty Cutroneo and Luz Ledesma
Public Comment:
None
Introduction of Prospective Trustees:
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.
The Board returned from Executive session at 7:30pm
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.
Correspondence:
None
Secretary’s Report:
The acceptance of the May 2015 minutes was tabled to the July Board
meeting.
Financial Report:
Was read and discussed.
Barbara Jacobini reviewed the bookkeeper’s report.
The warrant of checks was reviewed and initialed by all Board members.
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.
Director’s Report:
Was read and discussed.
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.
Committee Reports:
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.
The Budget Vote Timeline will be presented at the July Board meeting.
Budget discussion was tabled.
Unfinished Business:
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.
New Business:
UCLA is requesting funds from member libraries to purchase e-books.
→
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.
The next UCLA meeting is on June 17, at 10:00am at the Saugerties
Library.
Register for the Trustees Essentials Workshop online at http://calendar.midhudson.org
Adjournment:
→
Motion to adjourn was made at 8:28 pm by Valerie Smith and seconded by
Karen Adamson; all others were in favor.
Respectfully
submitted,
Donna Ebanks
Secretary
Attachments
filed with original:
Agenda
Bookkeeper’s Report
Circulation Statistics
Director’s Report