Kankakee Times

Bourbonnais Public Library District Board of Trustees met June 26.

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. on June 26, 2023.

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

Also present: Library Director Kelly McCully.

Appoint Trustee(s) (2 of 2 Vacancies): Blankestyn made a motion to appoint Kate Burgess and Jessica Prentkowski to fill the two trustee vacancies. Stringer seconded the motion. Blankestyn, Hendrick, Stringer, and Stejkowski voted yes. Trustee Hofman was absent. Burgess and Prentkowski will serve a two year term.

Administer Oath of Office for (2) Appointed Trustees: The Oath of Office was administered by Board President David Stejkowski to newly appointed trustees, Kate Burgess and Jessica Prentkowski.

President’s Report: Stejkowski noted there was a quorum present. He also expressed a special thank you to the entire BPL staff for how they kept the Library running efficiently during the flooring project and how wonderful the improvements are.

Secretary’s Report: The Board reviewed the minutes from the Special Board Meeting held May 15, 2023, the Building & Grounds Committee Meeting held May 15, 2023, the Decennial Committee Meeting held May 15, 2023, the regular Board Meeting held May 15, 2023, and the Personnel Committee Meeting held May 25, 2023. Stringer made a motion to accept all the minutes as presented. Blankestyn seconded the motion and it passed with a vote of all ayes. Trustee Hofman 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. Blankestyn seconded the motion. Blankestyn, Burgess, Hendrick, Prentkowski, Stringer, and Stejkowski voted yes.

Trustee Hofman was absent. The balance sheet is tracking at 85.7% and will be submitted to the auditor.

Director’s Report: Deadlines: June 30, Last day for first half-year review of the minutes of all closed sessions. July 1, New fiscal year begins. August 16, Last day for the Secretary of the Board to file a certificate with the County Clerk and Illinois State Librarian listing the names and addresses of the Trustees and officers and their respective terms in office.

Building Project: Hallett & Sons Expert Movers, Inc. was on site for their third and final move on Thursday, June 1, 2023. They returned all collections and furniture to the Phase 2 construction area. An additional time-lapse video of the final move can be watched on the library’s social media platforms.

Carpet Weavers completed the installation of the Phase 2 flooring on Wednesday, May 31, 2023. Between May 16-May 31 old flooring was removed and new carpet and tile were installed in the Adult Fiction, Lobby, Circulation Area, Work Room, Study Room, and Director’s office.

PSI Construction removed the final poly-wall construction divider and reinstalled restroom fixtures on Wednesday, May 31, 2023.

The Carlile Group performed a Punch List Inspection on Monday, June 5, 2023, and a final walkthrough inspection on Friday, June 16, 2023, officially closing out the flooring project.

During Phase 2, dust particles set off the detector in the main lobby, which dispatched the fire department to the Library. Once the alarm was silenced and reset, the contractor covered the sensor. McCully will work to ensure that emergency contact list forms for the Village of Bourbonnais for police and Protection Associates for the fire and burglar alarms are up to date.

Marketing: The Library has 2,994 Facebook followers, 1,059 Instagram followers, and 1,478 followers on TikTok.

Outreach: Youth Services took part in the I-Kan Mental Health Summit in May making buttons that were themed around mental health and showcased books available at the Library about mental health. Teens learned about Project Strengthening and Unifying our Network (Project SUN), a new initiative that focuses on promoting healthy social and emotional development and life transitions in Kankakee County.

Vega Discover: The Library added an introductory video to the new catalog, Vega Discover, under the Catalog section of the website. Patrons can see the recorded introduction that provides an overview of key features and functions such as navigation, my account, searching, and more.

Library Services: The Library reopened to the public on Monday, June 5, 2023, to kick off this year’s Summer Reading Challenge Build Your Story. The Summer Reading Challenge runs from Thursday, June 1 to Monday, July 31, and invites readers of ALL AGES to participate. Build Your Story offers tiers for kids, tweens & teens, and adults. Children’s Services Supervisor, Rory Parilac, and Circulation Services Supervisor, Eric Linnell, visited elementary schools in Bourbonnais and St. George to promote BPL’s annual Summer Reading Challenge.

The Summer Reading Challenge theme was inspired by the library’s recent construction project. More details can be found on the BPL website under the Events Tab.

Safety: The Supervisory Team completed CPR, AED, and first aid training on Thursday, June 15, 2023. All supervisors received their certification which is active for two years. The training was provided by Red Cross-certified instructor, Mileen Joines.

Records Retention: A meeting was held at BPL with our regional Record Archivist from the Illinois Secretary of State’s Office on May 16, 2023. An initial records disposal certificate was submitted and is awaiting approval from the Local Records Commission. Approximately 40 years’ worth of documents must be cleared out, so the process will take some time. Once approved, McCully will work with a local community partner(s) to set a shredding day.

IL HB 2789: On June 14, 2023, Gov. Pritzker signed Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias’ House Bill 2789 into law. This legislation was designed to protect the freedom of libraries to acquire materials in Illinois and will take effect on January 1, 2024.

The new law will require each Illinois library that receives State grants to establish an anti censorship policy. Specifically, it says that those libraries will only be eligible for State grants if they either “adopt the American Library Association’s Library Bill of Rights” or “develop a written statement prohibiting the practice of banning books or other materials within the library or library system”.

Illinois Library Association: McCully will be a presenter on a panel at the ILA Annual Conference this October. The session is entitled, Cultivate Belonging: How We Moved EDI Initiatives from Training to Action, where panelists will discuss how equity, diversity, and inclusion training has been prioritized at their libraries, including the challenges of taking the next step, from training to action.

McCully was chosen to be on the ILA Awards Committee for 2023-2024. The Awards Committee is a group of volunteers committed to celebrating and increasing awareness of the excellent work and outstanding achievements of Illinois’s library professionals. The committee’s main functions include publicizing ILA’s various awards to attract a diverse pool of eligible candidates, selecting winners for ILA awards and communicating with forums that select winners for their associated awards, and recognizing all award recipients at an Awards Ceremony held in conjunction with the ILA Annual Conference.

Committee Reports:

Finance: Meeting June 26, 2023, at 6:30 p.m.

Personnel: A meeting was held at 1:00 p.m. on Thursday, May 25, 2023. Policy: McCully will email Hendrick to schedule a meeting in July to review the entire Serving Our Public section and Legal Requirements 01-09 Organizational Chart. Building and Grounds: None.

Long Range Planning: None.

Unfinished Business:

Discuss Flooring Project & Electrical Projects: McCully reviewed the final invoice and Pay Application 1 from the Carlile Group. The final payment of $163,378 has been made to PSI. A bill for $24,000 from Hallett & Sons Expert Movers, Inc. has not been received.

New Business:

Assign Committee Appointments: Stejkowski reviewed the Committee Appointments. Newly appointed trustee, Kate Burgess volunteered to serve on the Personnel Committee and the Policy Committee. Newly appointed trustee, Jessica Prentkowski volunteered to serve on the Finance Committee and the Policy Committee. Committee Appointments are as follows: Personnel: Chairman Hofman. Trustees Blankestyn, Burgess, and Hendrick. Policy: Chairman Hendrick. Trustees Burgess, Blankestyn, and Prentkowski. Finance: Chairman Stringer. Trustees Hendrick, Hofman, and Prentkowski. Building & Grounds and Long Range Planning are Committees of the Whole. Trustee Stejkowski is Chairman of the Building & Grounds Committee. Trustee Blankestyn is Chairman of the Long Range Planning Committee.

Approve Finance Committee Recommendations: Stringer presented an overview of the Finance Committee meeting held June 26, 2023, and the Working Budget. Burgess made a motion to approve the recommendations of the Finance Committee on the FY2023-24 tentative budget. Stejkowski seconded the motion. Blankestyn, Burgess, Hendrick, Prentkowski, Stringer, and Stejkowski voted yes. Trustee Hofman was absent.

Approve Transfer from Special Reserve Fund: Blankestyn made a motion to transfer $21,415 from the Special Reserve Fund for moving expenses during the flooring project. Stringer seconded the motion. Blankestyn, Burgess, Hendrick, Prentkowski, Stringer, and Stejkowski voted yes. Trustee Hofman was absent.

Approve Personnel Committee Recommendations: This item will be discussed in Executive Session.

Approve FY2023-24 Wage Scale: Stejkowski made a motion to accept the recommendation from the Personnel Committee concerning the FY2023-24 Wage Scale. Hendrick seconded the motion. Blankestyn, Burgess, Hendrick, Prentkowski, Stringer, and Stejkowski voted yes. Trustee Hofman was absent.

Approve Non-participation in Non-resident Library Card Program: Stejkowski made a motion to approve non-participation in the non-resident program. Stringer seconded the motion and it passed with all ayes. Trustee Hofman was absent.

Review of Closed Session Minutes: There were no minutes to review.

Review and Approve Updated Letter of Engagement from Brandt & Associates: McCully reviewed the Letter of Engagement from Brandt & Associates, P.C. and shared that there were no differences in the document except for updated language. Stejkowski made a motion to approve the Letter of Engagement from Brandt & Associates. Blankestyn seconded the motion and it passed with all ayes. Trustee Hofman was absent.

Adopt Ordinance 23-01- Meeting Dates Ordinance FY23-24: Stringer made a motion to approve meeting dates for FY23-24, Ordinance 23-01, as presented. Prentkowski seconded the motion. Blankestyn, Burgess, Hendrick, Prentkowski, Stringer, and Stejkowski voted yes. Trustee Hofman was absent.

Adopt Ordinance 23-02- .02 Percent Tax Ordinance: Burgess made a motion to adopt the .02 percent tax ordinance. Blankestyn seconded the motion. Blankestyn, Burgess, Hendrick, Prentkowski, Stringer, and Stejkowki voted yes. Trustee Hofman was absent.

Executive Session:

Discuss Personnel 5 ILCS 120/2c1: Prentkowski made a motion to move into Executive Session to discuss Personnel 5 ILCS 120/2c1 at 7:54 p.m. Stringer seconded the motion. Blankestyn, Burgess, Hendrick, Prentkowski, Stringer, and Stejkowski voted yes. Trustee Hofman was absent.

Blankestyn moved that the Board return to regular session at 8:23 p.m. Stringer seconded the motion and it passed with all ayes. Trustee Hofman was absent.

The regular Board Meeting moved back into session at 8:23 p.m.

Stejkowski made a motion to approve the recommendations from the Personnel Committee concerning the director’s evaluation. Blankestyn seconded the motion. Blankestyn, Burgess, Hendrick, Prentkowski, Stringer, and Stejkowski voted yes. Trustee Hofman was absent.

Public Comment: None.

Adjournment: Stringer made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 8:30 p.m. Stejkowski seconded the motion and it passed with a vote of all ayes. Trustee Hofman was absent.

https://bourbonnaislibrary.org/wp-content/uploads/Minutes-6-26-2023.pdf