Kankakee Times

Bourbonnais Public Library District Board of Trustees met Feb. 27.

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 7:01 p.m. on February 27, 2023.

Trustees present: Mary Kay Blankestyn, Deborah Hendrick, Laurie Hofman, Ellen Stringer, and David Stejkowski. Trustee Judith Smead was absent.

Also present: Library Director Kelly McCully.

President’s Report: Stejkowski noted there was a quorum present. He also mentioned how well lit the Library is which makes for an atmosphere that is always bright, airy, and inviting.

Secretary’s Report: The Board reviewed the minutes from the regular Board Meeting held January 23, 2023, and the Building & Grounds Committee Meeting held February 23, 2023. Hofman made a motion to accept all the minutes as amended. Stringer seconded the motion and it passed with a vote of all ayes. Trustee Smead was absent.

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

Financial Report: Stringer reviewed the transactions and asked for any questions. Stejkowski made a motion to pay the monthly bills as presented. Stringer seconded the motion. Blankestyn, Hendrick, Hofman, Stringer, and Stejkowski voted yes. Trustee Smead was absent. The balance sheet is tracking at 54.8% and will be submitted to the auditor.

Director’s Report: Deadlines: April 4, Consolidated Election. April 30, Last day for filing Statement of Economic Interests with the County Clerk. May 15, First day for new trustees to begin their terms.

Marketing: The Library has 2,854 Facebook followers, 1,017 Instagram followers, and 1,385 followers on TikTok.

BPL’s TikTok Platform continues to see remarkable growth. In just one year the number of followers on this platform has doubled from 502 to 1,385. The platform is a collaboration of ideas shared by all departments, with content skillfully managed by Marketing Assistant, Amanda Belcher. The most popular video in January highlighted the library’s Kindle Display and received over 135,000 views! Often libraries reach out to BPL to get further information about programs and services after being inspired by a video that has been posted. TikTok is an excellent platform for experimentation and catching current trends in libraries.

The BPL Style Guide has been updated. The Style Guide was originally created through a partnership with the Inspired Strategies Agency at Olivet and serves as a handbook for marketing and promotions. BPL’s marketing team annually reviews the Guide and updates it as needed. McCully included a link for viewing the BPL Style Guide.

Building & Grounds: McCully met with Jacob from The Carlile Group on Thursday, January 9, and Friday, January 17, 2023, to discuss the Design Development and Construction Documents for the flooring project. These are the third and fourth phases of the flooring project where layout drawings, finishes, and construction documents are finalized before advertising the project for public bid. The Building & Grounds Committee met Thursday, January 24, to review the documents, plans, and samples from these meetings. An Advertisement to Bid will be published in the Daily Journal on Tuesday, February 28, 2023.

Selected areas of carpeting were cleaned by Bright Swipe on Sunday, February 19, 2023. The carpeting in the White Oak and Cardinal conference rooms was cleaned to keep up with regular winter traffic and use. The Storytime Room carpet, the site of the December plumbing leak, was also cleaned. These areas are not scheduled for replacement in the flooring project.

The Library experienced an additional incident with the sprinkler system in February. The system lost pressure due to a leak from a corroded pipe, so the system had to be put out of service again on February 16. Pipco will visit the Library on Thursday, March 2, to replace this section of pipe. Once all repairs have been completed by Pipco, the fire suppressions system will be put back in service.

Finance: The Library was awarded $10,670.40 in grant funding from the FEMA COVID 19 Public Assistance Program Grant. This is the second time McCully has applied for and been awarded this grant funding to help pay for commercial cleaning costs in response to COVID-19. McCully will continue to apply for this grant funding as long as it remains available. FEMA will pay up to 90% of commercial cleaning costs with this grant program.

The Library received $5,042.06 in revenue sharing from the Village of Bourbonnais, Bourbonnais Industrial Park Conservation Area TIF. An additional joint review board was held at the Village of Bourbonnais to discuss the Main Street/University Avenue TIF; however, revenue sharing is not part of this particular TIF.

Administration: The Assistant Director position was reposted on the RAILS (Reaching Across Illinois Library System) job board, LinkedIn, and Indeed. McCully has received dozens of applications through these different platforms. She conducted phone interviews from February 6-February 17. The Hiring Committee has started in-person interviews that will run from February 21-March 3. The Committee is hopeful that they will be able to make an offer and welcome a new Assistant Director before the flooring project begins.

Community Partnership: BPL and BESD53 partnered to launch the inaugural Battle of the Books program on February 17, 2023. Children’s Services Supervisor, Rory Parilac, and Liberty Intermediate School Librarian, Marissa Anderson, helped organize this epic literary trivia competition for fifth and sixth grade students from Liberty. Over 60 students on 13 teams participated in this competition. Team 7, The Page Turners, was declared the 2023 winning team! All participants received gift bags sponsored by BPL and enjoyed a pizza party sponsored by the Bourbonnais PTA. McCully conveyed the Library’s thank you to the administration and staff at Liberty Intermediate School for their support of this program. McCully also sent big high-fives to Rory and Marissa for all their hard work in planning, promoting, and organizing this literary event! McCully included photographs from the event.

Committee Reports:

Personnel: None.

Finance: None.

Policy: None.

Building and Grounds: None.

Long Range Planning: None.

Unfinished Business:

Discuss & Approve Construction Documents for Flooring Project: McCully reviewed the information discussed in the Building & Grounds Committee Meeting held February 23, 2023. Stringer made a motion to approve the construction designs for the flooring project. Hendrick seconded the motion. Blankestyn, Hendrick, Hofman, Stringer, and Stejkowski voted yes. Trustee Smead was absent.

New Business:

Discuss & Approve Auditing Services: McCully reviewed bid proposals from three firms for auditing services for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2023. The firms were Weber & Associates CPAs, LLC from Aurora, Illinois, with a bid of $9,000; Mack & Associates, P.C. from Morris, Illinois, with a bid of $5,500; and Brandt & Associates, P.C. from Morris, Illinois, with a bid of $3,900. After a brief discussion, Stejkowski made a motion to retain the firm of Brandt & Associates, P.C. Blankestyn seconded the motion. Blankestyn, Hendrick, Hofman, Stringer, and Stejkowski voted yes. Trustee Smead was absent.

Discuss & Approve Supplemental Insurance Coverage: McCully reviewed the supplemental commercial insurance coverage from Utica National. She summarized the type, description, and amount of coverage. Blankestyn made a motion to approve the supplemental commercial insurance coverage. Stringer seconded the motion. Blankestyn, Hendrick, Hofman, Stringer, and Stejkowski voted yes. Trustee Smead was absent.

Discuss Decennial Committees on Local Government Efficiency Act: McCully and Stejkowski led a discussion of the Decennial Committees on Local Government Efficiency Act created by Public Act 102-1088. The Act requires certain units of government to establish a committee to study local efficiencies and report recommendations to the local county board. Stejkowski summarized the committee’s composition, duties, and meeting schedule options. McCully reported that RAILS (Reaching Across Illinois Library System)has a boilerplate document for libraries to use. The Committee must be formed by June of 2023 and three meetings held within the first year. Thereafter, meetings are to be held at least once every ten years. Stejkowski will work on the formation of the committee.

Public Comment: None.

Adjournment: Stejkowski made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 7:51 p.m. Blankestyn seconded the motion and it passed with a vote of all ayes. Trustee Smead was absent.

https://bourbonnaislibrary.org/wp-content/uploads/Minutes-2-27-23.pdf