Kankakee Times

Kankakee Public Library Board met April 18.

Here is the minutes provided by the Board:

Roll Call 

Present: Bruce Conway, Bob deOliveira, Mike Gall, Matt Olszewski, and Dr. Beth Patrick-Trippel.

Absent: Dr. Steven Epstein, Sheila Donahue-Kramer, Liz Gernon-Lipofski, and Alia Lockett-Faulkner.

Also present were: Stephen Bertrand, Library Director; Allison Beasley, Assistant Director; Teresa Cline, Business Manager; Camille Rose, Youth Services Supervisor; Roland Johnson, Evening Supervisor; and Dr. Patricia Starks Howard, E.A.G.L.E. Educational Services Inc.

Review of Minutes:

The March 2017 minutes were reviewed. Mr. deOliveira motioned to approve the minutes and Dr. Patrick-Trippel seconded. The motion passed unanimously.

Public Comments:

Dr. Starks Howard addressed the Board regarding a request for a fee waiver of rental fees for the fourth floor Auditorium, Gallery and meeting room. E.A.G.L.E. is planning to provide a summer academic enrichment program for students in grades 3-7. This program will operate as weekly modules that will allow students to sign up for the entire program, or select weeks. The current plan is for the program to run from 1-6 p.m., Monday-Friday, for eight weeks. Although the participants will be paying fees, there are several costs associated with the program, including hiring staff and paying for special programs to be presented. This will be the first year for this program, so Dr. Starks Howard is unsure of how many participants there will be. The Board was impressed with the design of Dr. Starks Howard’s program and agreed there is a need for summer academic enrichment. Some of the Board’s concerns included the feasibility of committing for nine weeks to a program that would use a large part of the fourth floor, whether there would be unattended children in the library before or after the program hours, insurance liability, and the precedent such a large waiver request would set for other organizations in the future. After much discussion, Mr. Conway moved to allow the program for no more than six weeks, with times to be worked out with library administrators so as not to displace already scheduled rentals. Mr. deOliveira seconded and the motion carried unanimously. Mr. Bertrand will be meeting with Ms. Starks Howard and Vicki Forquer to determine the details.

Communications:

Mr. Bertrand presented the February and March 2017 statistics in the newly revised format. He noted that many of March stats had gone up from the previous year and previous month. He said the supervisors were continuing to explore ways and services to increase circulation, and included a list from Tech Supervisor Melissa Landis that had several additional ideas.

Mr. Bertrand also included a list of Board members and when their terms were due for reinstatement. The terms for Dr. Epstein, Ms. Gernon-Lipofski and Dr. Patrick-Trippel expire May 2017. Dr. Epstein is retiring from the Board, so a new appointee will need to be discussed with the new mayor, as well as reappointing the other two members, should they wish to continue. They can continue after the month of May without reappointment until the mayor decides how she wishes to proceed.

Bills and Invoices:

The bills and invoices from March 2017 were reviewed. Mr. deOliveira motioned to approve Bills and Invoices; Ms. Patrick-Trippel seconded. The motion passed unanimously.

Financial Report:

The library’s accounts were reviewed. There were no questions regarding the General Fund, but Mr. Conway asked if the Partnership would be impacted by the election of the new mayor. Ms. Beasley and Mr. Olszewski both said that there were no indications of that at this time, and that MusicFest this year would continue as usual. They said they did not know what this would mean for the future, but they are not anticipating any problems, as the KEP events have been well-received by the community and administration.

Director’s Report:

Budget: See New Business

Building and Grounds: The Kankakee Kultivators will be handling the Reading Garden planters again this year. They are scheduled to come shortly after Mother’s Day. The problems with the music on the first floor are due to an amplifier that would cost $800 to replace. Mr. Bertrand is looking into alternate ways to provide music at a lower cost. Recent problems with the security cameras are due to a faulty switch. This is being replaced and the cameras should be working at 100% soon.

Policies: See New Business

Personnel: Autumn Hawkins and Helen Hines have both resigned from the Youth Services department. There are no plans to refill those positions at this time.

Programs: Mr. Bertrand referred back to the statistics report to note some increases in programming attendance. Some of this increase is because Mr. Bertrand realized that patrons served off-site of the library were not being counted and included in the statistics. In addition, the local political programs and debates have increased patron attendance.

Other: Heritage has notified the library that work will begin shortly on replacing the concrete in front of the building. This cost will be reflected in the CAM for next year. The Reading Garden will not be redone. In addition, Heritage is replacing the roof of the building, but this is considered a capital improvement and will not be in the CAM.

Unfinished Business:

Paint Quotes: Mr. Bertrand presented the quotes from Precise Painting and Kleist and Cyrier for painting the public areas of the library. As Precise Painting submitted the lower quote, the Board recommending using them. Painting will begin on the fourth floor and then will progress to other floors. The money will be transferred from the building fund, with any additional coming from the Supplemental Services and Items budget line.

Additional items for Supplemental budget line: There are a few additional items the supervisors have requested from the surplus money in the General Fund, including re-carpeting the reading pier on the second floor and replacing the staff computers. The Board said that as long as the expenditures did not go beyond the initial amount approved to be spent, it was fine to swap out items that were deemed a higher priority. It was also recommended that the computers come from the 403 budget line in the new fiscal year, rather than the additional funds.

New Business:

FY2017/18 Budget proposal: The budget for the upcoming fiscal year was presented. Mr. Bertrand noted that, due to some staff changes and other factors, he was able to budget for a 2% staff raise and increase money to materials by a small amount as well. There was some discussion regarding the usage of the surplus general fund money that is being used for library improvements, and how it should be noted in the budget. It was recommended that Mr. Bertrand include a line that notes the $50,000 approved to spend for these items. This line will be “900 – Supplemental Items and Services.” Mr. Conway moved to approve the budget, with Mr. Bertrand adding the recommended amendments. Mr. deOliveira seconded. In a roll call vote, the budget passed unanimously.

As-needed employees: Mr. Bertrand requested that a new employee status be added to the library policy manual. As-needed employees would not work set, scheduled hours, but could be called upon to fill-in for absences or for large library events, like Family Fun Day, when additional staffing is needed. If an as-needed employee does not clock any hours for a calendar year, he or she will be considered terminated and be removed from payroll.

Sick, flex and compensatory time: Mr. Bertrand and the administrative team proposed new wording to clarify how paid time off is used and how compensatory time is earned. The suggested wording, however, still seemed unclear, and Dr. Patrick-Trippel recommended some further changes. Mr. Bertrand will incorporate these changes and present them to the Board at the next meeting.

Fourth floor room rental pricing: As discussed in previous meetings, the library would like to increase the rentals for the fourth floor to include peak weekend times when the library is closed. The library is in discussions with Peggy Mayer, of Spotlight Meeting and Events, to manage these rentals. Ms. Mayer recommending changing the pricing structure to more closely match other rental properties she manages – the Depot and the Wright House. There would no longer be different non-profit and for-profit prices, but there would be a discount for using the facilities during non-peak hours. The Board agreed that new prices were reasonable, but the wording of the document was unclear in several spots. Mr. Bertrand and Ms. Beasley agreed to re-work the document with Ms. Mayer and present a newly worded one at the next meeting.

Executive Session:

Executive session was not needed.

There being no additional business, Mr. deOliveira moved to adjourn the meeting. Mr. Gall seconded. The meeting adjourned at 7:35 p.m.