Kankakee Times

Bourbonnais Public Library District Board of Trustees met May 19.

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 p.m. on May 19, 2025.

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

Also present: Library Director Kelly McCully, Assistant Library Director Stacey Van Kley and newly elected Trustee Jen Corke-Kafer.

Introduction of Visitors and Public Comment: None.

Administer Oath of Office: Secretary Pro Tem Blankestyn swore in the two reelected Trustees, Ellen Stringer and Kate Burgess and newly elected Trustee Jen Corke-Kafer.

Discuss and Appoint Trustee: Stejkowski asked for nominations for the vacancy on the board. Trustee Burgess nominated Jessica Prentkowski and Hofman seconded the nomination. It passed with a vote of all ayes. Secretary Pro Tem Blankestyn swore in Prentkowski as the final member of the Board of Trustees. Stejkowski congratulated the newly sworn in Trustees.

Election of Board Officers: Stejkowski then requested that, if there were no objections, the board would proceed out of order to elect new officer. Blankestyn nominated Stejkowski for president with Stringer seconding the motion. Stejkowski nominated Blankestyn for vice president with Prentkowski seconding the motion. Stejkowski nominated Stringer for treasurer with Burgess seconding the motion. Stejkowski then asked for nominees for secretary. Trustee Burgess volunteered for that position. A voice vote unanimously accepted all four officers. The committee appointments will remain the same. Corke-Kafer will take Trustee Deborah Hendrick’s place on committees and Burgess will be chairman of the Policy Committee.

Review Agenda for Additions/Changes: None.

Consent Agenda- Action:

Approve April 21, 2025, minutes.

Approve Financial Report and payment of bills for April 2025.

Approve check registers.

Blankestyn made a motion to approve the Consent Agenda. Prentkowski seconded the motion. Blankestyn, Burgess, Corke-Kafer, Hofman, Prentkowski, Stringer, and Stejkowski voted yes.

Officer’s Reports: None.

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

Director’s Report: May 19, First day for new trustees to begin their terms. June 14, 2025, Last day for new board of Library Trustees to hold first organizational meeting, execute Oaths of Office and elect President and Secretary. June 30, 2025, Last day for first half year review of the minutes of all closed sessions under the Open Meetings Act.

Personnel: New hires Circulation Assistant Alexa Kieffer and Reference Assistant Sarah DeHaan were welcomed to the staff on May 15.

Marketing: Professional Development: Amanda Belcher attended the PrairieCat Resource Sharing Summit and the virtual edition of the ILA Marketing Forum Mini Conference in April. She will also participate in the in-person component of the Mini Conference in May. TikTok Stats: The Marketing Department and the enthusiastic staff have grown the Library TikTok account from 1,454 followers in 2023 to 5,922 in 2025, with the biggest increase between 2024 and 2025.

Building & Grounds: Digital Sign Maintenance: Friendly Signs made some repairs to the Library’s digital sign on May 8. The eight-year-old sign is being monitored to determine if the data hub needs to be replaced.

Sprinkler Repair: The week of April 28-May 2, Matco and PSI worked to replace a 20-foot section of sprinkler piping above the Youth Services Area. A leak was also discovered and repaired over the Adult Computer Area. The sprinkler system is back in service.

Landscaping Replacement: Many of the plants and shrubs in the library’s landscaping beds did not survive the salty winter conditions. The library is working with Vital Landscaping to get an estimate to replace the plants with more salt tolerant solutions.

HVAC Maintenance: Holohan Heating performed seasonal maintenance on the HVAC system on May 14. They will provide an estimate for replacing the exhaust fan in the men’s restroom which is no longer functioning.

Finance: Budget Season: McCully is working with Jaimie Rachlin from Meristem Advisors to put together a draft of the FY2025-26 budget. The next fiscal year will be an important time to develop and implement a sustainable funding plan to address the challengers of limited revenue resources and funding. The Finance Committee will meet to review a draft of the Working Budget before the regular meeting on Monday, June 16 at 6:30 p.m.

Summer Reading Challenge 2025: This year the Bourbonnais Public Library’s summer reading challenge is called Camp Bourbonnais. This free program runs from Sunday, June 1 to Thursday, July 31 and invited trailblazers of all ages to participate. Camp Bourbonnais offers tiers for kids, tweens and teens and adults.

Upcoming Programs: Upcoming programs include Camp Bourbonnais Kickoff from 6-8 p.m. Friday, June 6. The program is free and for all ages. Enjoy lawn games, giveaways, karaoke, snacks and a special singalong with Shelby Ryan. The Novels @ Night book club will discuss The Bandit Queens by Parini Shroff at 6 p.m. at the Barnes & Noble Café on Wednesday, May 21. The Trope Troupe Romance Book Club for adults 18+ will discuss A Novel Love Story by Ashley Poston on Tuesday, June 10 at 6 p.m. in the White Oak Room at the library. Weekly Children’s Programs through Aug. 15 include: Family Storytime, Mondays at 10 a.m.; Little Learners (Playgroup for kids up to 36 months), Thursdays at 10 a.m.; and Books with Baby (Storytime for kids up to 18 months), Fridays at 10 a.m. No registration required. Additionally Brainiacs A General Knowledge Quiz for all ages, will be held at 1:30 p.m. Register yourself or a team. Cones & Crafts for teens ages 12 and up will be held 1-3 p.m. Monday, June 16. No registration is required.

Statistics for April 2025 were included in the Director’s Report.

Committee Reports:

Finance: Meeting June 16 at 6:30 p.m. to discuss FY2025-26 Working Budget (Cost Control Worksheet.

Personnel: Met May 21. Recommendations will be discussed in New Business. Policy: None.

Building and Grounds: None.

Long Range Planning: None.

Old Business: None.

New Business: Concrete Project: The Board reviewed the Carlile Group Bid Recommendation for the Concrete Project. Stejkowski made a motion to approve the recommendation of the Carlile Group for Base Bid and Both Alternatives to Davis Concrete Construction Co. Corke-Kafer seconded the motion. Blankestyn, Burgess, Corke-Kafer, Hofman, Prentkowski, Stringer and Stejkowski voted yes.

Policy Committee Recommendations: The Board reviewed the Policy Committee Recommendations concerning Director McCully’s salary for the coming year. Burgess made a motion to approve the Policy Committee Recommendation to approve the recommendations from the Personnel Committee concerning the Director’s evaluation. Blankestyn, Burgess, Corke-Kafer, Hofman, Prentkowski, Stringer and Stejkowski voted yes.

Public Comment: None

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

Respectfully submitted,

Mary Kay Blankestyn

Board Vice President and Secretary Pro Tem

https://bourbonnaislibrary.org/wp-content/uploads/Minutes-5-19-2025.pdf