Kankakee Times

Kankakee Public Library Board of Trustees met August 15.

Here is the minutes provided by the Board:

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

Roll Call:

Present: Matt Olszewski, Bruce Conway, Bob deOliveira, Alia Lockett-Faulkner, Sheila Donahue-Kramer, Mike Gall, and Patricia Santoyo-Marin.

Absent: Dr. Beth Patrick-Trippel and Ursula Wells

Also present were: Stephen Bertrand, Library Director; Allison Beasley, Assistant Director, Beth McCue of Purelight Yoga and Tocarra Eldridge-Robinson of Still I Rise.

Review of Minutes: Seeing that the July minutes were missing from the board packet, it was agreed that the July 2017 minutes would be approved at the September 2017 board meeting.

Public Comments: none

Communications:

Purelight Yoga Subletting: The board agreed to move the new business of subletting the fourth floor meeting room to Purelight Yoga to the start of the meeting. Director Stephen Bertrand described the proposal of subletting the fourth floor meeting room to Purelight Yoga. Beth McCue, owner of Purelight, was present to respond to questions. Mr. Bertrand informed the board that the library pays approximately $1 per square foot per month for that meeting room. Since the room measures 600 square feet, the market value for the space is $600. The closet adjoining the room is 120 square feet, so would have a value of $120. Mr. Bertrand proposed that Purelight pay the library $400 per month and make up the outstanding $200 per month by doing yoga-related programming for the public for free. Since the closet would be useless to the library without access to the room, it was added to the lease at no cost. The board discussed access to the building. Mr. Bertrand indicated that Ms. McCue could get a key from Heritage Development to gain access via the Executive Centre. The board was concerned about maintaining library security. With the agreement of the board, Mr. Olszewski directed Mr. Bertrand to get further information and developing a lease for consideration at the next board meeting.

Tocarra Eldridge-Robinson room waiver: Ms. Tocarra Eldridge-Robinson appeared to request an auditorium rental cost waiver to hold the Larry Williams: Healthy for the Holidays event. The board briefly questioned Ms Eldridge-Robinson about the purpose of the event. Satisfied that the event concurred with the library’s mission and seeing that the paperwork was all in order, the board approved the waiver unanimously on a motion from Mr. deOliveira and a second from Ms. Lockett-Faulkner.

Maurice Shelton room waiver: The board reviewed the third floor room cost waiver request submitted by Maurice Shelton of Choices Youth Outreach International. The event involves teaching relaxation techniques to young people. Satisfied that the event concurred with the library’s mission and seeing that the paperwork was all in order, the board approved the waiver unanimously on a motion from Ms. Santoyo-Marin and a second from Mr. Gall. Mr. Bertrand presented the July 2017 statistics. The board reviewed the statistics. Mr. Olszewski noted that circulation statistics have shown an increase.

Bills and Invoices: Ms. Santoyo-Marin asked Mr. Bertrand about how youth services supplies are managed in order to spend money most efficiently. Mr. Bertrand replied that the youth services supervisor is responsible for those supplies. That department ensures that all leftover supplies are used and all expenditures are controlled through the library’s budgeting process. Ms. Santoyo-Marin also noted that there was a check for Sones de México Ensemble. She asked if that event had already taken place. Ms. Beasley informed her that the event would take place Thursday, September 21st. The bills and invoices from July 2017 were reviewed. Mr. Conway motioned to approve Bills and Invoices; Ms. Lockett- Fualkner seconded. The motion passed unanimously.

Financial Report: The library’s accounts were reviewed.

Director’s Report:

Building and Grounds: Mr. Bertrand informed the board that the lions should be returning to their pedestals soon. Mr. Kennedy of K&S Welding quoted a price of approximately $3,600. Mr. Bertrand described the work being done, including: removing epoxy from old repairs, reshaping a broken foot, installing moisture sealers on the feet, filling and smoothing seams, and repainting each statue. The board agreed that the cost was appropriate for the amount of repairs being done.

Mr. Bertrand also informed the board that Nate and Fabi were working on translating the directional signs in the library. Other: Mr. Bertrand reported the Merchant Street MusicFest was a success again this year. It grossed a modest amount more than last year. Mr. Bertrand is not concerned about being able to pay the bills for the event. He estimated that about 3,000 people attended on Friday and 5,000 on Saturday, for a total of 8,000 overall. Mr. Olszewski thought that number seemed low. Ms. Beasley believes total attendance was likely closer to 9,000 since Mr. Bertrand’s estimate only counted paying attendees. It did not count the many volunteers and dignitaries who were admitted for free.

Unfinished Business:

There was no unfinished business.

New Business:

See communications

Executive Session: Executive session was not needed.

There being no additional business, Mr. Conway moved to adjourn the meeting and Mr. Gall seconded. The meeting adjourned at 6:25 p.m.

http://www.lions-online.org/minutes.pdf