Baker Free Library
Board of Trustees Meeting
June 11, 2008
Approved Minutes
1. Call to Order: The meeting was called to order at 7:05 pm. Present at the meeting were Elizabeth Foy, Colleen Haggerty, Susan Hatem, John King, Lisa Richards, Tom Ives and Library Director Lori Fisher. Elizabeth introduced Lisa, newly elected trustee.
2. Approval of Minutes:
a. 5/28/08 – Susan proposed a change to the draft minutes under New Business, Section 10, to reflect that she announced she will be resigning after the June meeting and that the board voted to recommend to the selectmen that Tom Ives be appointed to fill out her term. John moved to approve the minutes as amended, Liz seconded the motion and it passed 4 – 0 with Lisa abstaining as she had not been at the 5/28 meeting.
3. Treasurer’s Reports:
a. Monthly budget as of 6/10/08: Tom reported that 94.98% of the budget has been spent. Lori and the board discussed the difficulty of pinpointing outstanding bills that need to be paid before the end of the fiscal year and whether there will be any surplus. Abe will be away beginning on June 25th so checks will have to be signed by the board treasurer. John made a motion to approve the budget report, Colleen seconded it and the motion passed 5 – 0.
b. Special expenditures reports: Tom presented both the April report. John made a motion to approve it, Colleen seconded and the motion passed 5 – 0. The Nov. – May 6-month CD produced $117.89 in interest which should be added in to the total on the report, making it $26,254.85. Colleen made a motion to approve the report, John seconded it and the motion passed 5 – 0.
4. Director’s Report:
a. Computer/software Issues: Lori reported on multiple issues summarized in a list entitled “Summary of BFL Computer/Software Issues 6/11/08.” The board discussed the timeline of various changes and the availability of funds from the capital reserve fund, special expenditures account, Gates grant and town “rainy day” fund. Lori will continue to evaluate needs and develop a comprehensive proposal. She plans to start with cleaning up the “patch room” and getting the website onto a separate server. She thinks the library might want another entity to host the website in the future. Lori also reported the Dac Easy payroll software will no longer be supported as of November 30th. She plans to upgrade by June 30th in order to take advantage of a $300 savings offer. The board discussed an increase in the cost of downloadable audio books and possibility of offering a program on how to use these once they are compatible with Ipods.
b. Building/grounds:
i. Roof: Melanson Roofers of Bow patched holes on the roof above the children’s section. Lori is seeking tiles to match those in the ceiling.
ii. Heating/cooling system: The air conditioning system continued to have problems in the last two weeks and yesterday AGS discovered the compressor for the newer part of the building has failed. The cost to replace is approximately $4,000. Lori is pursuing further information and expects to have a new compressor installed within a week or two. She will ask AGS whether it can bill for that after July 1, the start of the new fiscal year, and whether they will give credit for the new switches installed two weeks ago. She will also consult with Al Lapierre, former owner of Hanson Fox regarding how the system was set up. Until the a/c situation is resolved, Lori will let staff know that if the building temperature is too hot they may leave if needed.
iii. Telephones: Current system does not permit transfer of calls from the portable phones at the circulation desk to the office phones. Lori is working with ArComm Communications to integrate these. The cost will be $615 for two portables and installation and $380 for two stationary phones at additional work stations.
c. Credit card: With Tom’s assistance, Lori was able to obtain a corporate card for the library with a $19,000 limit.
d. Personnel Change: Lori reported that one of the librarian assistants will be leaving at the end of August. The board discussed the impact on administration of benefits and on other staff.
e. Safety Committee: The Joint Safety Committee will include Lori, Jennifer Ericsson, Bob Garland and trustee Lisa Richards.
f. Collections development: Trustee John King will assist with developing a more thorough collections policy to help staff identify resources to be used and collecting and weeding priorities.
5. Old Business:
a. Vacation Day Policy Review: The board discussed issues relating to the interpretation of the years of service/weeks of leave provision in the policy manual and the use of vacation days by March 31. Lori will come up with a proposal for the next trustees’ meeting.
6. New Business:
a. Budget: The board discussed the need to identify cuts to the budget due to the vote at town meeting. Lori attended a meeting of town department heads and plans to attend the Board of Selectmen meeting tomorrow night to hear their plans.
b. Trustee Change: The board thanked Susan for her years of service and welcomed newly elected trustee Lisa Richards and returning trustees John King and Tom Ives.
c. Election of Officers: John made a motion to approve the following slate of officers:
i. Chair: Elizabeth Foy
ii. Secretary: Lisa Richards
iii. Treasurer: Tom Ives
iv. Co-treasurer: Colleen Haggerty
Colleen seconded and the motion passed 4-0 with Susan abstaining.
7. Correspondence: Colleen will send thank you cards and Gibson’s gift certificates to Ginny and Christine to thank them for their work on the search committee.
8. Next Meeting: Wednesday, August 6 at 4:30 pm at the BFL.
9. Adjournment: The meeting was adjourned at 9:05 pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Susan Hatem