Kankakee Times

Kankakee Public Library Board met  Jan. 15.

Here is the minutes provided by the board:

The meeting of the Kankakee Public Library Board of Trustees began at 5:37 p.m.

ROLL CALL

Present: Bruce Conway, Geraldine Adams, Bob de Oliveira, Dr. Beth Patrick-Trippel, Sheila Donahue-Kramer,

Absent: Kent Wade, Mike Gall, Alia Lockett-Faulkner, Ursula Wells,

Also present were: Stephen Bertrand, Library Director; Allison Beasley, Assistant Director; Korie Haug, Business

Manager

Review of Minutes: The December 2018 minutes were reviewed. Ms. Donahue-Kramer motioned to approve and Mr. de Oliveira seconded. The minutes passed unanimously.

Public Comments: There was no public comment.

Communications: Mr. Bertrand announced circulation stats are up about 6% and programming attendance has continued to rise. He also brought to the board’s attention that blue host has been malfunctioning and preventing us from seeing website statistics. This has been an issue for about eight months, but they are working on it. Mr. Bertrand has started a new project-updating the website!

Bills and Invoices and Financial Report: The board reviewed the bills and invoices from December. Ms. Patrick-Trippel asked about a bill to a law firm, Mr. Bertrand informed her it was for the yearly audit. Ms. Adams motioned to approve, and Mr. de Oliveira seconded. The bills and invoices passed unanimously.

Director’s Report: Mr. Bertrand was happy to announce the library is still under budget, however the payroll bill had not arrived, so it is less than what the report shows. Stephanie Schriner has taken over the tech processing role and is doing a great job. Mr. Bertrand talked with the board about the need to add more full-time positions. The library has been losing great employees because of this reason, and it will be discussed more in the future.

Unfinished Business: There was no unfinished business.

New Business: Mr. Bertrand discussed with the board how other libraries are handling the Opioid crisis. Our library has done all but one suggestion, which is to have Narcan in the first aid kits. It would not be a requirement for staff to administer it, but a resource they can use if comfortable. The board approved the idea. The board was informed they receive the same price as staff for room rentals. The board was asked about the possibility of meeting at a later time in the future; the goal would be to make it easier for more members to be in attendance. A poll will be sent out via email to gather a consensus. The debit card agreement letter was edited by the board. Ms. Donahue-Kramer motioned to approve them and Ms. Adams seconded. There was further discussion on how the subject of personal purchases would be handled. Ms. Beasley and Mr. Bertrand informed there would be disciplinary action if it was a continued issue. The board approved the agreement letters. The board was also asked to approve the use of funds from Oberlin to purchase Dave Baron’s Upzoning art for meeting rooms. Mr. de Oliveira motioned to approve and Ms. Adams seconded. The motion passed.

Executive Session: Executive session was not needed.

The meeting ended at 6:54 p.m.

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