Kankakee Times

The Kankakee Public Library board of trustees met Tuesday, Aug. 16.

Here are the meeting minutes as provided by the Kankakee Public Library board of trustees:

Kankakee Public Library

Aug 16, 2016

Board Meeting Minutes

The meeting of the Kankakee Public Library Board of Trustees met as scheduled at 5:30 p.m.

ROLL CALL

Present: Bruce Conway, Bob deOliveira, Dr. Steven Epstein, Mike Gall, Alia Lockett-Faulkner, Matt Olszewski

and Dr. Beth Patrick-Trippel

Absent: Sheila Donahue-Kramer and Liz Gernon-Lipofski.

Also present were: Stephen Bertrand, Library Director; and Teresa Cline, Library Business Manager.

Review of Minutes: The minutes July 2016 were reviewed. Dr. Epstein motioned to approve the minutes and

Mr. deOliveira seconded. The motion passed unanimously.

Public Comment: There was no public comment.

Communications: Mr. Bertrand included the quote from Dura-Tech Enterprises for the new Library server.

At $4,793, it was the lower of the two quotes he had received. The equipment has been delivered and Tech Pro Logic is currently in the process of installing it.

The statistics for July were reviewed. Merchant Street MusicFest hosted slightly more than 9,000 people, including volunteers and vendors. This attendance is about the same as last year’s event, despite some rain on both days. The beer sales were actually higher than last year, partly due to the rain on Saturday arriving in the early afternoon. The rainfall did not meet the criteria for the rain insurance to be collected, however, due to the costs of this year’s Fest being significantly lower than last year’s, the Fest was able to support itself without the additional money.

Bills and Invoices: The bills and invoices from July were reviewed. Mr. deOliveira inquired about the raise in the rent to Heritage Executive Center. Mr. Bertrand and Mr. Olszewski explained that the increase was voluntary on the part of the Library, to attempt to offset the rising Common Area Maintenance (CAM) bill that arrives at the end of our fiscal year when funds are usually very tight. Mr. Olszewski noted that the lease allowed for a raise in the rent by Heritage for just such a reason. There was a short discussion regarding the matter. Dr. Epstein motioned to approve the reports and Ms. Lockett-Faulkner seconded. The motion passed unanimously.

Financial Report: Mr. Bertrand pointed out that the Kankakee Events Partnership now had its own debit

card. This has made a positive impact on the bookkeeping, because KEP no longer has to use the Library’s card and

then transfer the money back into the Library’s main account. Mr. Bertrand will be color-coding debit transactions

in the bank statements to make it easier for Board members to track expenses paid in this manner.

Director’s Report:

Budget: The Library has now received 51% of our expected tax income. In addition, the State of Illinois recently sent 10 back payments for room rentals for the Illinois Workman’s Compensation Committee hearings that meet on the 4th floor each month. Only two more back payments, plus the rent for this month remain outstanding. These deposits were not in the Board Packet as they were received after it was completed. Finally, the employee wage lines will appear lower this month because the City, deep in their annual audit, has not sent the payroll bills yet.

Personnel: In Adult Services, both Mattie Guylash and Nate Haug have resigned, and Eric Adams has greatly reduced his hours. Therefore, three new AS clerks have been hired. They are Deonta Turner, Kyneca Washington and Carol Zoladz. In Youth Services, Char Haisma will shortly be reducing her hours to part-time, and June Robinson will be moving from Circulation to YS. Circulation will be hiring two new part-time clerks.

Building and Grounds: Aaron’s Security provided a lower quote for the 1st floor restroom locks and click-thrus.

They are currently waiting for a part to begin installation.

Policies: There are no new policy recommendations for this month. The policies passed at the July Board meeting have been posted and the staff informed.

Programs: As noted in the statistics portion of the meeting, MSMF was again a success this year. Mr. Bertrand said that he has had excellent feedback. Of note, several police officers expressed their appreciation for being able to mingle with the public in a positive manner.

The “25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” drew 186 attendees. The Library’s share of the ticket sales was $280. Mr. Bertrand believes that the cooperative effort more than paid off in bringing people into the Library who either had never been here or did not know we occupied the 4th floor. Tyler McMahon, of Limelight Theatre, would like to discuss another production next summer.

Other: Mr. Bertrand and Ms. Cline have met with our auditor, Dan Brough. All his questions were answered to his satisfaction. He was also curious about the raise in the monthly rent, which Mr. Bertrand explained.

Manish, with Tech Pro Logic, informed us that the server backup software would have to be replaced once the new server is installed. Mr. Bertrand is looking into the cost of this software. Mr. Gall recommended checking if the software had a cloud option and/or support with subscription service. Mr. Bertrand agreed.

Unfinished Business: There was no unfinished business.

New Business: There was no new business.

Executive Session: Executive session was not needed.

There being no additional business, Dr. Epstein moved to adjourn, and the meeting ended at 6:15 p.m.