Kankakee Times

West Chicago Public Library District Board met March 26.

Here is the minutes provided by the Board:

A. Call To Order: The meeting was called to order at 7:01 p.m. by President Conradt.

B. Roll Call:

Trustees Present: Nancy Conradt, President; Frank Fokta, Vice President; Richard Bloom, Treasurer; Pat Weninger, Secretary; Diane Kelsey, David Reynolds and Tom Tawney, Members.

Staff Present: Ben Weseloh, Library Director; Joan Happel, Administrative Secretary; Dominique Mendez, Youth Services Manager; Michael Novy, Technical Service Manager.

C. Approval Of The Minutes:

1. February 26, 2018, Regular Board Meeting: Mr. Reynolds moved to approve the minutes of the February 26, 2018 Regular Board Meeting; seconded by Mr. Tawney. Motion carried by unanimous voice vote.

D. Recognition Of The Public: None present.

E. Public Comments: None.

F. Agenda - Additions/Deletions: None.

G. Treasurer's Report:

1. Approval of the Bills for March 2018: Mr. Bloom moved that the Board approve for payment expenses in the amount of $163,164.13; seconded by Ms. Weninger.

Discussion was had regarding: Snow removal; FNBC Bank Trust Supplies-Food was for the staff in-service; Ingram is the primary supplier for books; Professional Services-Secretary is the recording secretary fee; and the Professional Development is trustee conference attendance.

Roll Call Vote - Yes: Richard Bloom, Pat Weninger, Frank Fokta, Diane Kelsey, David Reynolds, Tom Tawney, Nancy Conradt. Motion carried.

2. Financial Statements for February 2018: Mr. Weseloh discussed the Financial Statements under his Director's Report.

H. Communications:

1. Chronology for Annual Financial Ordinances for FY 2018-2019: Attorney Ritzman provided the Library a chronology for annual financial ordinances for FY 18-19; it outlines the ordinances and steps the Library needs to take for the District to legally levy for funds and develop a budget.

2. IMET Participant Update: Mr. Bloom and Mr. Weseloh attended the annual IMET meeting on March 20, 2018, which included information on liquidating the Trust settlement related to the criminal proceedings against Nikesh Patel and Timothy Fisher. LINC's reserves are around $900,000.00.

3. Notice of Official Annexation, City of West Chicago: The City provided information and maps regarding the annexation.

I. Reports:

1. President: No report given.

2. Library Director: A written report was provided the trustees in the board packets.

Mr. Weseloh stated the fiscal year elapsed is 66.6 percent, or two thirds of the way through the year. The Library has total revenues of about 97 percent, short $64,000.00 due in large part to the PPRT and the Per Capita Grant that have not yet been received. Income streams in addition to tax revenues include interest income, photocopying, microfilm, fax, and fines. Total expenditures are nearly 60 percent.

Upcoming repair and maintenance items include a leak in the sprinkler system, a master valve that needs to be replaced, and HVAC repairs. Purchases include security cameras and computers.

Midwest Mechanical was onsite to assess repairs: Installation of a valve that is not working in youth services, a water valve in the front vestibule above the drywall ceiling, and the women's washroom has a damper is not working properly.

Mr. Weseloh received a quote from Engineering Security and Sound. He is still awaiting a quote from a third company for the fire panel replacement and upgrade. Fitzgerald Electric provided quotes for the interior lighting, which came in between 6 and $7,000, and the exterior lighting came in at 4 to $18,000. The exterior lighting was one of the projects that the Foundation had talked about potentially trying to fund.

There is a possibility the Library could receive the CDEK grant for the lighting.

The new copiers can do faxing, which was considered to be a revenue-generating option; however, the system is not set up to track reimburse cost from fax use through the copier. Different options are being considered for patron fax services.

LINC met at the Bloomingdale Public Library on March 9. The LINC attorney provided the LINC Resolution for Dissolution. Mr. Weseloh will sign the resolution as a director on the Board of Directors for LINC.

Swan budget was approved, and the annual fee for West Chicago Library will be $29,858; roughly $30,000 less than the annual fee to LINC, which was $60,000 a year.

Mr. Weseloh met with Phillips Consulting regarding the security camera project. Dave Sampiller and Mr. Weseloh placed a stake in the ground for the placement of the Love Even More artwork. The City will be arranging the excavation for the artwork.

The City asked to use the Library parking lot from 5:00 to 9:00 a.m. for a staging area for the Bloomingfest vendors. Mr. Weseloh approved this for Saturday, May 19th.

3. Department Managers: Written reports were included in the Board Packets. Oral reports were provided by staff for Adult Services, Young Adult Services, Youth Services, Circulation Services, and Technical Services departments.

Dominique reported that Young Adult Services participated in a winter reading program; and staff visited the Main Park Apartments to provide on-site computer classes and educate District patrons on the Library's website and services the Library offers.

Michael reported 13,696 items were checked out, 76 new patrons were added; 15,048 items were added, 799 of which were e-materials; 11,071 items were withdrawn. (Staff left.)

4. Policy Committee: Mr. Fokta reported the Policy Committee met March 8, 2018, at 6:00 p.m. Present were Frank Fokta, Chair; Pat Weninger, Member; Nancy Conradt, Ex Officio; Ben Weseloh, Staff. The Purchasing Policy was discussed based on recommendations from the Library's attorney. This will be addressed later in the agenda.

5. Position Statement Questionnaire: Ms. Kelsey and Mr. Tawney researched the prospect of creating a Position Statement Questionnaire for future candidates to the Library Board of Trustees. After canvassing several local libraries, many have the benefit of dedicated local newspaper coverage; one library enlarged the section of the newspaper article that highlighted each candidate, and they posted it prominently in their entryway. The West Chicago Library District does not have a hometown newspaper in which coverage of candidates could be included.

Ms. Kelsey contacted West Chicago community groups that might hold a forum for a meet-the-library-candidates opportunity. The local League of Women Voters is planning a meet-the-candidates night in West Chicago prior to the election, which will include candidates for all offices throughout the City; however, often not all candidates are asked the same question to enable a comparison among the candidates seeking the same position.

The trustees were provided the list of proposed candidate questions and a preamble to let the candidates would know why they are being asked these questions.

The trustees were encouraged to view the Cook County Clerk's website, which this past election cycle listed candidate statements with pictures of the candidates who were running for an elected office within the county. The candidates were asked the same question, they responded to the same question, and then they made a personal statement; and viewers were directed to the candidates' personal websites; all very informative material.

When prospective candidates pick up a candidate packet from the library, the packet could include the Position Statement Questionnaire, the ALA Code of Ethics, and the Roles and Responsibilities of a Library Trustee.

The proposal was made that the Library's website could contain a web page to list the candidates' answers to the proposed questions as well as the candidates could submit information, in their own words, as to what they would like district patrons to know about them as a candidate for library trustee. This web page would be headed "Meet the Candidates," a candidate would submit whatever they wanted to submit, using the questionnaire as a guideline. Candidates who choose to submit a position statement would have it posted in the exact form in which it was submitted. This medium for the candidates to have their position statement posted on the library's Meet the Candidates page would be offered at no cost.

The very essence of a public library is access to information; and providing this medium for all trustee candidates to submit their position statement allows for equal access to information on the candidates which would be accessible to residents of the district.

This item appears under New Business as an action item.

J. Unfinished Business: None. 1. Report of the Committee for Semiannual Review of Closed Session Minutes and Executive Session Tapes of July through December 2016: Mr. Fokta reported the committee has created a written procedure for the Semiannual Review of Closed Session Minutes to comply with the requirements of 5 ILCS 120/2.06, Chapter 102, Paragraph 4206, Section (c).

All minutes in the Closed Session file have been approved prior to them being placed in the file. In this case the "verbatim" minutes are the digital recordings.

Mr. Fokta moved to destroy the verbatim record of 3/23/15; seconded by Mr. Reynolds. Motion carried by unanimous voice vote.

Mr. Fokta moved to destroy the verbatim record from 4/27/15; seconded by Mr. Bloom. Motion carried by unanimous voice vote.

Mr. Fokta moved to destroy the verbatim record from 5/26/15; seconded by Ms. Weninger. Motion carried by unanimous voice vote.

Mr. Fokta moved to destroy the verbatim record from 7/27/2015; seconded by Mr. Reynolds. Motion carried by unanimous voice vote.

Mr. Fokta moved to destroy the verbatim record of 9/28/2015; seconded by Ms. Weninger. Motion carried by unanimous voice vote.

K. New Business: 1. Mr. Fokta stated that the Policy Committee recommends the approval of the Purchasing Policy. The blue lined copies indicate the recommended changes; and the changes to Lines 144 to 146 provide some flexibility where the Director is having a difficult time procuring three proposals to satisfy the policy requirement because there are few companies that are able to perform the type of work sought. The Executive Director can opt out of the requirement but still has to explain the situation to the Board. Lines 89 to 111 were reordered based upon the recommendation of the Library's attorney.

Roll Call Vote - Yes: Frank Fokta, Richard Bloom, Diane Kelsey, David Reynolds, Tom Tawney, Pat Weninger, Nancy Conradt. Motion carried.

2. Position Statements on Library Web Site for Trustee Candidates for April 2019 Election: Mr. Tawney moved that the Library create a web page on the Library's website to be available for candidate position statements for all elections going forward. Seconded by Ms. Kelsey.

Roll Call Vote - Yes: Tom Tawney, Pat Weninger, Richard Bloom, Diane Kelsey, Nancy Conradt, Frank Fokta. No: David Reynolds. Motion carried.

3. Resolution of Dissolution of the Library Integrated Network Consortium (LINC): Mr. Bloom moved to approve Mr. Weseloh's voting at the LINC Board of Directors meeting to dissolve LINC. Seconded by Mr. Tawney. Motion carried by unanimous voice vote.

4. Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) for a Partial Property Tax Abatement with Discovery Drive Partners, LLC: Mr. Tawney moved to approve the Partial Property Tax Abatement with Discovery Drive Partners, LLC; seconded by Mr. Bloom.

Roll Call Vote - Yes: Tom Tawney, Richard Bloom, Frank Fokta, Diane Kelsey, Nancy Conradt, Pat Weninger. No: David Reynolds. Motion carried.

5. Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) for a Partial Property Tax Abatement with Norix Group Inc. and Norix Global Holdings, LLC: Mr. Tawney moved to approve the Partial Property Tax Abatement with Norix Group Inc. and Norix Global Holdings, LLC; seconded by Mr. Bloom.

Roll Call Vote - Yes: Tom Tawney, Richard Bloom, Frank Fokta, Diane Kelsey, Nancy Conradt, Pat Weninger. No: David Reynolds. Motion carried.

L. Closed Session: None held.

M. Return To Open Session: None held.

N. Adjournment: President Conradt adjourned the meeting at 8:32 p.m.

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