Kankakee Times

Bourbonnais Public Library District Board of Trustees met July 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 7:12 p.m. on July 17, 2023.

Trustees present: Mary Kay Blankestyn, Kate Burgess, Deborah Hendrick, Laurie Hofman, Jessica Prentkowski, Ellen Stringer, and David Stejkowski.

Also present: Library Director Kelly McCully.

President’s Report: None.

Secretary’s Report: The Board reviewed the minutes from the Finance Committee Meeting held June 26, 2023, the regular Board Meeting held June 26, 2023, and the Executive Session held June 26, 2023. Blankestyn made a motion to accept all the minutes as corrected. Stringer seconded the motion and it passed with a vote of all ayes.

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. Blankestyn seconded the motion. Blankestyn, Burgess, Hendrick, Hofman, Prentkowski, Stringer, and Stejkowski voted yes. The balance sheet is tracking at 109.6% and will be submitted to the auditor. Stringer also shared that the first tax disbursement has not been received from the County Treasurer’s Office.

Director’s Report: Deadlines: August 1, Fiscal year 2022-2023 audit will be performed by Brandt & Associates. P.C. 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 (Filed 7/7/23). August 28, Last day (30 days before the adoption of ordinance and hearing) to make the Tentative Budget & Appropriation available for public inspection and publish notice of public hearing. August 30, Last day for Library to authorize payment of obligation incurred in the prior fiscal year. September 1, Illinois Public Library Annual Report (IPLAR) due. September 1, Last day to file the Secretary’s audit of minutes from the prior fiscal year.

Marketing: The Library has 3,033 Facebook followers, 1,065 Instagram followers, and 1,504 followers on TikTok.

Personnel: This has been a very busy month for BPL promotion, recruitment, and hiring. Amanda Belcher was promoted to Marketing and Outreach Coordinator. In her part-time position, Amanda created the library’s TikTok platform, managed all social media platforms, and created much of the promotional content for the Library. BPL is thrilled to promote Amanda to a position on the Supervisory Team. The Library is also currently recruiting and hiring two additional Youth Services Assistants and a Marketing/Adult Services Assistant.

Finance: BPL began the new fiscal year on Saturday, July 1, 2023. The Library was informed by the Kankakee County Treasurer’s Office on Thursday, June 29, 2023, that BPL will not receive the first tax distribution until July 23-25, 2023. Fortunately, there were enough cash assets in the Midland Bank checking and money market accounts, so there was no need to temporarily transfer funds from the capital reserve account to cover payroll and other expenses for July.

The State of Illinois issued Per Capita Grant Funds via check on June 30, 2023. McCully expressed appreciation for the timely disbursement of these funds by the State Comptroller. A check for $39,363.33 was deposited on July 6, 2023.

Library Services: The Library added several new online resources in July. Museum Adventure Pass will give BPL cardholders access to admission and special discounts at participating zoos, museums, and cultural attractions. Home Improvement Reference Center is a source for a variety of do-it-yourself home improvement projects. Hobbies and Crafts Reference Center gives instructions and creative ideas for hobby and craft enthusiasts. Explora gives cardholders access to reliable information on a variety of topics. Consumer Health gives cardholders access to health and wellness information.

The Summer Reading Challenge (SRC) Build Your Story will run through July 31, 2023. Readers of ALL AGES are invited to participate. Build Your Story offers tiers for kids, tweens & teens, and adults. 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.

All readers have made excellent progress in the SRC to date. 490 challenge booklets have been distributed to children. Teens have read 104,956 minutes, and 15 teens have completed the challenge out of the 149 that are registered. Adults have read over 3,500 hours, and 31 have completed the challenge.

Building & Grounds: Holohan Heating & Sheetmetal, Inc. performed repairs to the main air-conditioning unit in June. A bent a/c line was replaced and additional R22 refrigerant was added to the system.

BPL is working with Vital Landscape to replace several dead bushes in the front landscaping area. McCully met with Dwayne Barnett on Friday, July 14, 2023, to discuss a long-term solution for the plants that are in the front landscaping. Several of the boxwood bushes have had to be replaced since the landscaping was installed in 2021; this could be due to soil and drainage issues or damage from the salt that is applied to the pavement area during the winter months. New and replacement plants will be planted sometime within the next month.

Outreach: Adult Services Supervisor, Becca Maree, and Circulation Supervisor, Eric Linnell, met with library staff at Olivet Nazarene University’s Benner Library to discuss library services for their students. During the academic year, BPL staff regularly work with Benner Library staff to offer library card sign-up opportunities and connect with ONU students at the Olivet campus.

Trustee Training: All new trustees must take the Open Meetings Act Training found on the Illinois Attorney General’s website. Registration instructions can be found at Illinois Attorney General FOIA/OMA. Please forward or print a copy of your completion certificate and submit it to Director McCully.

RAILS (Reaching Across Illinois Library System) is offering trustee training with Short Takes for Trustees. Short Takes for Trustees is a series of short videos (8-10 minutes) that include topics on the role of a library trustee, evaluating policy, how to evaluate the Library Director, board ethics, and parliamentary procedure. McCully included a link to the Short Takes site.

Committee Reports:

Finance: None.

Personnel: None.

Policy: Meeting scheduled for July 17, 2023, at 6 p.m.

Building and Grounds: None.

Long Range Planning: None.

Unfinished Business: None.

New Business:

Approve Policy Committee Recommendations: Burgess made a motion to approve the recommendations of the Policy Committee. Hofman seconded the motion and it passed with all ayes.

Appoint two board members to audit Secretary’s minutes for FY2022-23: Trustees Burgess and Prentkowski were appointed to do this.

Adopt Ordinance 23-03- Tentative Budget & Appropriation Ordinance: Blankestyn made a motion to adopt Ordinance 23-03- Tentative Budget & Appropriation Ordinance as presented. Stejkowski seconded the motion. Blankestyn, Burgess, Hendrick, Hofman, Prentkowski, Stringer, and Stejkowski voted yes.

Set date for Public Hearing: Stringer made a motion to set the date for the public hearing as August 21, 2023, at 7:00 p.m. before the regular scheduled meeting of the Library Board. Prentkowski seconded the motion. Blankestyn, Burgess, Hendrick, Hofman, Prentkowski, Stringer, and Stejkowski voted yes.

Discuss Book Club Guidelines: McCully reviewed the Book Club Guidelines and shared that BPL regularly reviews and makes assessments of all book clubs. The Guidelines are guided by the library’s Strategic Plan, the BPL Serving Our Public Policies, and the ALA Bill of Rights. A book club may be subject to discontinuation if it does not uphold the library’s mission and values.

Discuss & Approve Village of Bourbonnais TIF District #18 Letter of Support: Stejkowski recused himself because of a conflict of interest and asked Vice-President Mary Kay Blankestyn to conduct this agenda item. McCully reviewed a letter received from the Village of Bourbonnais and shared that she had been contacted by Village Administrator, Mike VanMill, and Finance Director, Tara Latz. The letter is requesting the library’s

support for the Village’s request for extension of its TIF (Tax Increment Financing) District #18, the “Bourbonnais Industrial Park Conservation Area”, from 23 to 35 years. The Board felt that more information was needed and decided to table a decision on this item until the August Board meeting.

Public Comment: None.

Adjournment: Hofman made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 7:49 p.m. Blankestyn seconded the motion and it passed with a vote of all ayes.

https://bourbonnaislibrary.org/wp-content/uploads/Minutes-7-17-2023.pdf