Kankakee Times

Kankakee Public Library Board of Trustees met Tuesday, Dec. 20.

The board meets every third Tuesday of the month.

Here is the agenda as provided by Kankakee Public Library:

Kankakee Public Library

December 20, 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, Mike Gall, Liz Gernon-Lipofski, Alia Lockett-Faulkner, and Matt Olszewski,

Absent: Bob deOliveira, Sheila Donahue-Kramer, Dr. Steven Epstein, and Dr. Beth Patrick-Trippel

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

Review of Minutes: The November 2016 minutes were reviewed. Ms. Lockett-Faulkner motioned to approve the minutes and Ms. Gernon-Lipofski seconded. The motion passed unanimously.

Public Comment: There was no public comment.

Communications: Mr. Bertrand presented the November statistics and a fee waiver request from the Vernon Wellness Foundation. For the last two years, the Foundation has organized a winter wear give-away for people in need. They would like to continue this on January 28, 2017 in the Auditorium and Gallery. Mr. Bertrand said that  while the first year was a bit rough in terms of crowd management, last year went smoothly with the addition of a movie playing in the Auditorium for those waiting their turn. This would mean dedicating a staff member to run the film; however, the public who has attended has been most appreciative and the event does serve library patrons. It was also suggested that perhaps someone could man a table for the library to sign up patrons for library cards. Mr. Conway moved to approve the waiver, with the condition that the event be structures as it was last year to maintain crowd control. Ms. Lockett-Faulkner seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously.

Bills and Invoices: The bills and invoices from November were reviewed. Ms. Gernon-Lipofski motioned to

approve the bills and invoices and Ms. Lockett-Faulkner seconded. The motion passed unanimously.

Financial Report: The library’s accounts were reviewed.

Director’s Report:

Budget: Mr. Bertrand noted that the library had received the another tax payment in the amount of $105,701.18,  which means 98% of the tax revenues have been received. The library is now 62.45% of the way through the fiscal year and has spent 60% of the budget.

Building and Grounds: Mr. Bertrand presented a partial “Wish List” from the supervisors for the surplus money the Board has approved to spend. This was further discussed in Unfinished Business

Policies: Mr. Bertrand asked that an electric typewriter be declared surplus. This will be discussed in New Business.

Personnel: There have been no changes in personnel. The Staff Holiday party was held at the Depot on Dec. 9 and everyone who attended reported having a good time. Mr. Bertrand thanked the Board for their contributions to this event. In addition, the library will begin to recognize staff anniversaries in the Board packets, as well as among the staff. The 2016 anniversaries were as follows: Eric Adams, 5 years; Vicki Forquer, Autumn Hawkins and Charlene Klipp, 10 years; Melissa Landis, 15 years.

Programs: The Lion Wreathing was held Dec. 1 and was well attended despite the frigid temperatures. The Winter Market/Winter Wander, held Dec. 10, experienced nearly record attendance. On Jan. 13, the library will be closed for an all-day staff in-service. Topics will include active shooter training, CPR recertification and a PhotoShop class. There will be additional CPR and PhotoShop training for those who are not able to attend the inservice.

Other: Mr. Bertrand included information from Service to Our Public 3.0: Standards for Illinois Public Libraries that this year’s per capita grant requires the Board review. In addition, Mr. Bertrand reported that KanWiki has been down for several weeks. He has done all he can on his own to fix the problem and is now reaching out to outside sources.

Unfinished Business: Per the Board’s request, Mr. Bertrand presented a preliminary list, complied by the supervisors, of items/services on which to spend the surplus funds. It was noted that many of the items are requested to bring the library more up-to-date with other like-sized libraries. Several of the costs listed were the  result of looking at just one company, and could be lower by searching out competing companies in the ordering phase. Many higher priced items that were discussed earlier, including repainting and minor building repairs were not included on this list, as they would need to be bid out before they could be approved. The total cost of this list was $57,674. Mr. Conway motioned to approve spending up to $58,000 for the items on the list, and Ms. GernonLipofski seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously.

New Business: Mr. Bertrand ask that the electric typewriter from the Adult Services department be declared surplus. Ms. Gernon-Lipofski so moved and Mr. Gall seconded. The motion passed unanimously.

Executive Session: Executive session was not needed.

There being no additional business, Ms. Gernon-Lipofski moved to adjourn; Ms. Lockett-Faulkner seconded. The meeting ended at 6:15 p.m.

Minutes respectfully submitted by Teresa Cline.