Kankakee Times

Bourbonnais Public Library District Board of Trustees met Oct. 17.

Here are the minutes provided by the board:

President David Stejkowski called to order the regular meeting of the Board of Trustees of the Bourbonnais Public Library District at 7:00 p.m.

Trustees present: Mary Kay Blankestyn, Deborah Hendrick, Laurie Hofman, Judith Smead, Ellen Stringer, and David Stejkowski. Trustee Amanda Wright was absent. Also present: Library Director Kelly McCully

President’s Report: Stejkowski noted there was a quorum present.

Secretary’s Report: The Board reviewed the minutes from the regular Board Meeting held September 19, 2022. Stringer made a motion to accept the minutes as presented. Smead seconded the motion and it passed with a vote of all ayes. Trustee Wright was absent.

Correspondence & Communications and Public Comment (action items only): None.

Financial Report: Stringer reviewed the transactions and asked for any questions. Stringer made a motion to pay the monthly bills as presented. Stejkowski seconded the motion. Blankestyn, Hendrick, Hofman, Smead, Stringer, and Stejkowski voted yes. Trustee Wright was absent. The balance sheet is tracking at 22.6% and will be submitted to the auditor.

Director’s Report: Deadlines: Nov. 7-Nov. 14, Dates to publish notice of Truth in Taxation Hearing (black border) if levy ordinance is estimated to be more than 105% of the amount extended upon the levy the preceding year. Dec. 6, Last day for Truth in Taxation Hearing. Dec. 12-Dec. 19, Dates to file certificates of nomination and nomination papers for the Library Board of Trustees.

Marketing: The Library has 2,810 Facebook followers, 1,007 Instagram followers, 1,097 followers on TikTok, and had 7,019 Website visits.

It’s Spooky Season: Visit the BPL website and social media channels for spooky reading and viewing recommendations. There are many great October programs including Incredible Bats & Other Friends, A Killer Among Us, and Escape “The Upside Down”.

New fall bookBonnais merchandise is available: New bookBonnais shirt colors are on display and available for purchase for $15. New bookBonnais totes are also available for purchase for $20.

The library’s rabbit is a local celebrity: Sir Edmund Winterbottom was featured in the cover story on Thursday, October 15, in the Kankakee Daily Journal. Thank you to Children’s Services Supervisor, Rory Parilac, who gave the interview to the Journal and to Marketing Assistant, Amanda Belcher, who captured some behind the scenes footage of Eddie’s photo shoot. McCully included a link for the full article at the Daily Journal.

Building & Grounds: Additional repairs to the library’s sprinkler system were performed by Pipco in September/October. Pressure leaks were discovered in the system resulting in two repair visits. The system was fully restored on October 3, 2022.

Commercial Glazing performed repairs on the exterior doors. A sensor had to be ordered and replaced in the front set of sliding doors.

Bill Johnson, Facilities Coordinator, repaired damage to the pergola that was caused by Liberty and Bourbonnais Upper Grade Center students. The schools helped identify the students that were involved in the incident. These students’ caregivers have been notified and the students involved will only be allowed in the Library with a caregiver present. Incident reports are on file.

Circulation & New Patrons: September was Library Card Sign Up Month. Library staff created 107 library cards. Patrons who signed up for a new library card were entered into a drawing; raffle winners received a bookBonnais mug and a children’s shirt.

The library’s card catalog will be moving to a new platform soon. The current platform, Encore, will transition to Discover Vega. This new platform will help patrons have a more customized, immersive searching experience. PrairieCat will deploy this new platform in the upcoming months.

Technology: Heritage Technology Solutions (HTS) will return on Tuesday, October 18, to install new equipment in the Cardinal Room. The new equipment will include a large screen television and a soundbar. HTS will also troubleshoot continued issues with the A/V connections in the White Oak Room.

Personnel: The Library welcomed two new staff members in September/October. We welcomed Circulation Assistant, Hannah Dixon, on September 27, 2022, and Reference Assistant, Kiara Miner, on October 3, 2022.

Book Sale: The Library had two successful book sales. Our large book sale was held September 22-24 in the White Oak Room and a cart sale was held October 3-8. This fiscal year, the Library has raised over $1,600 from book sales. The next large book sale will be in Spring 2023.

Outreach: McCully invited everyone to stop by the Perry Farm Park in October to visit the library’s Follow Us to BookStalk scarecrow. Scarecrows will be on display through the end of October.

ILA Conference: The ILA Conference will be held October 18-20 in Rosemont. A selection of supervisors and staff members will be in attendance. Marketing Assistant, Amanda Belcher, will be partnering with the Kankakee and Evergreen Park Public Libraries to lead a session on LibraryTok: Library Embracing TikTok as a Form of Engagement.

Trustee Training: This two-part webinar series will explore both the role of library board members as well as strategies for successful board meetings.

Session 1: Saturday, October 29, 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

To have successful board governance, each board member needs an understanding of the role of the board. This webinar will cover board basics, board governing documents, fiduciary duty, and board/staff relationship.

Session 2: Saturday, November 12, 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

To have successful board meetings, each board member needs to understand parliamentary procedure. This program will cover quorum, agenda, steps in processing a motion, the concept of precedence of a motion, script of a motion, the meaning of votes, and basic characteristics of a motion.

Register once to attend one or both sessions. Each session will be recorded and made available to anyone who registers. (McCully included a link to the sessions)

Committee Reports:

Personnel: None.

Finance: Meeting held on October 17, 2022, at 6:30 p.m.

Policy: None.

Building and Grounds: None.

Long Range Planning: None.

Unfinished Business:

Discuss Upcoming Trustee Election & Trustee Vacancy: McCully informed the Board that Trustee Wright has moved out of state and can no longer serve as a trustee. Blankestyn made a motion to declare a vacancy on the Board. Stringer seconded the motion. Blankestyn, Hendrick, Hofman, Smead, Stringer, and Stejkowski voted yes. The current Board will consist of 6 members with 4 members present constituting a quorum.

McCully consulted the library’s legal counsel, Dennis Walsh, about the requirements to fill a vacancy. She will report the vacancy to the Illinois State Library Director, Greg McCormick, with a request not to fill the vacancy until the April 4, 2023, election.

New Business:

Discuss Ordinance 22-05 Levy Ordinance FY2023-2024: McCully gave a summary of the discussion held at the Finance Committee meeting held October 17 at 6:30 p.m. She explained the levy increase and that it would involve a Truth in Taxation Hearing. She will reach out to Legal Counsel, Dennis Walsh, for his counsel and to draw up the ordinance and necessary legal notices.

Approve Finance Committee Recommendations: Blankestyn made a motion to approve Levy Ordinance FY2023-2024 as recommended by the Finance Committee. Stejkowski seconded the motion. Blankestyn, Hendrick, Hofman, Smead, Stringer, and Stejkowski voted yes.

Public Comment: None.

Adjournment: Stringer made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 7:36 p.m. Hofman seconded the motion and it passed with a vote of all ayes.

https://bourbonnaislibrary.org/wp-content/uploads/Minutes-10-17-2022.pdf