05-22-2018 LIB MIN City of
Elk
* Meeting of the Elk River Public Library Board
1110 River Held at Elk River Public Library
Tuesday, May 22, 2018
Members Present: Mary Eberley,Rita Dreissig,Willie Jackson, Mary Keifenheim,Mick
Stoffers Chair
Members Absent: None
Council Liaison: Council Member Nate Ovall
Staff Present: Brandi Canter, Patron Services Supervisor—GRRL
Robbie Schake, Library Services Coordinator- GRRL
Dawn Larson, Recording Secretary, City of Elk River
Guests: No guests present
I. Call Meeting to Order
Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, the meeting of the Elk River Public Library
IIIBoard was called to order at 5:30 pm by Chair Mick Stoffers.
2. Consider May 22, 2018 Agenda
Moved by Mary Keifenheim and seconded by Mary Eberley to accept the May 22,
2018 agenda as submitted. Motion carried 5-0.
3. Consent Agenda
• March 27, 2018 Meeting Minutes
• March-April 2018 Revenue and Expense Reports
Moved by Mary Keifenheim and seconded by Mary Eberley to accept the Consent
Agenda as amended per Rita's submission of corrections to Dawn. Motion carried 5-0.
Mick withdrew consent of the financials and suggested they be moved to old business.
4. Open Forum
No visitors present.
III5. General Business
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May 22,2018
5.1 New Business 1111
5.1.A The grounds tour was moved to after the meeting, time and weather
permitting.
The following items were found to be of concern during the grounds
tour:
• Metal Beam by the front entrance is rusting at the base and needs to be
repaired
• Power Spray
o Front Entrance Area—including garbage can
o Side of the building facing the street
o Lights on side of the building facing the street
• Spray for ants in the sidewalk on the right side of the entrance
• Place to put out cigarettes is cracked
• Pavers on the patio by the front entrance are crumbling and need to be
replaced •
• Clean out flower beds by the drive thru book drop
• Check the spruce trees on the back of the building and discuss
replacement options
• Re-Seal the back windows on the building
• Add fill over the top of the pipe running on the back of the building
• Check the roofing on the fireplace roof. Material that looks like roofing
on the ground
• Pull weeds and add new mulch around all the trees
• Where did the statue come from by the flag pole?
• Sidewalk is cracked in several places on the street adjacent to city hall
• Clean out butterfly garden by the windmill and add mulch
• Fill in cracks in the parking lot and it needs to be re-surfaced
•
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May 22,2018
• • Signs that have the grounds map and "Powered by Nature" need to be
put up.
■ Mick also made a list of these items as we walked the grounds and will
make sure everything is listed and sent to Dawn via e-mail. We will make
sure that Gary,Tim, and Steve are aware of the list for updates and get
them updated in the zone report.
5.1. B
Approve CIP items and recommend them to the Parks and Rec for submittal in
budget. It was approved to have a discussion on the order of importance of the
CIP items on the list for budget purposes. Mary E. wasn't comfortable
approving the CIP items without knowing the costs. Robbie stated she can bring
up the items at the financial meeting. Rita asked what the cities' fiscal year was.
Mick believed it was the calendar year and Robbie agreed that she believed that
as well. Mick asked if anyone had issues with Robbie asking for costs on items of
priority- CIP items 1, 2, 4, and 5. Mary K asked for verification that those were
the items of most importance. Rita asked about the furniture possibly being
cleaned vs. re-upholstered and Robbie and Mick both confirmed that they have
already been cleaned multiple times. Mary E. asked if the costs for these items
would come out of the reserves. Mick said that Robbie could discuss with the
. city when she meets with them. Mary K. said that the city may recognize that
these items are of value. Robbie supported making a motion to approve that
these items are of the most important to the board right now. Mary E. was again
concerned about where the money would come from. Robbie stated that some
of these items may fall within the current budget and others would be budgeted
for 2019. Nate stated that he has seen the budget and it is showing at $30,000
deficit and that amount is probably coming from the reserve. Nate stated that
things like the projector etc. could possibly be absorbed in other ways.
Technology is more necessary than other things. Discussion wrapped up with the
projector being the number one priority to get replaced. Willie also brought up
that maybe items 1 and 2 could be priority for 2018 and 4 and 5 next year.
CIP Discussion summary and motion
Items noted in the facility tour that followed the January meeting were
prioritized on the Library Zones report as follows:
1. Projector for Community Room
2. Armless computer chairs in Computer Area
4. Caterpillar upholstery and chairs replaced in Children's Area
5. Reupholster cushions in the window seat in Teen Area
Moved by Mary Eberley and seconded by Rita Dreissig to approve
• pursuing replacement/repair of the building items identified
above. Motion carried 5-0.
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May 22,2018
5.2 Old Business
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Mary K had a question about the condition of the wooden planter boxes. She
wondered if they could be raised up to make them even. Mary K. asked when the master
gardeners come. Robbie will contact the master gardeners about the boxes. The eagle scouts
came on the 19th. Robbie contacted Tim about the new patio furniture and the vendor was to be
contacted mid- May.Willie brought up the crumbling pavers and asked if anyone had contacted
Tim.
5.3 Library Grounds Report
• Patio furniture has yet to be delivered
• The windmill had a rusted bearing so the artist who built the windmill is
working on a replacement part. So far the artist has not charged for any
follow up parts. Because this was custom, there are not ready-made parts
to be found for the windmill, so hopefully this will be a long-term fix.
5.4 Building Maintenance Report
Gary reported that the cleaning contract was renewed with Perfection Plus and
the contract price increased. Rita had questions about this regarding why when
there had been reports before of bad service. Nate confirmed that numerous
contractors bid on the cleaning job and one that came in with a lower price still
didn't have a good review. Rita asked if they cleaned other city buildings and •
Nate said yes. Rita,Mick, and Mary K. noticed a$12,000 budget increase in the
cleaning contract. Nate commented on the questioning by the board of why city
workers aren't doing the cleaning. The question was brought up that is this
price normal inflation? It is a 3 year contract Mary E. brought up. Willie brought
up that the board has a right to ask what the price increase is for. The board
would like to ask Gary to ask the cleaning company exactly what the price
increase is for when he meets with them. The board would like to see the new
contract details vs. the old contract details. Also,how will the cleaning quality be
evaluated?The board would like Gary to be present at the next meeting to
address these questions in his report.
5.5 Library Zones Report
Willie noted the handicap parking sign in Zone 2 looked like it was backed into
by a car because the sign is bent. Robbie stated that they city is aware of this and
will repair/replace when possible per e-mail communication with Tim.
5.6 City Council Report
Councilman Ovall reported that there has been no specific action or discussion
on the library Board at this time. Council is happy to hear the positive public
response to the standardized hours at the library.
5.7 Patron Services Supervisors Report •
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• In addition to her report, Brandi noted:
• We were represented at the National Library Legislation. The leadership
team has been working with different groups in St. Cloud about
Electrolux closing. One of the things that company did was use local
resources so the closing will not only be affecting their workers but
others. They are exploring ways the library can help with job support.
• The new catalog enterprise is up. Soft launch is this week. There are
some bugs in the system. The new system will ask if the old lists wants
to be transferred to the new list unless a discontinued item is on the old
list. Mary E. asked if she needs to enter everything new. Brandi said that
the first time yes. Willie asked when the bug will be fixed-Brandi said IT
is working on it. Hopefully it will be fixed by the end of the week.
5.8 Library Services Coordinator Report
In addition to her report, Robbie noted:
• Ivan Sands High School canceled their scheduled visit. Robbie asked
Willie to discuss ideas/provide advice to help make this contact more
successful.
•
• Mark Moran was successful and so was painting. Funding was with legacy
money.
• Brain games for adults didn't have any attendees. Robbie is exploring
turning this into an outreach program. She is meeting with Guardian
Angels in June.
• She presented to the City Council on April 16th and they were happy with
Robbie's presentation. Nate agreed that Robbie did a great job. Mick
asked if Robbie could share similar statistics at future meetings.
• Brandi brought up republishing the summer hours. Nate asked if the
schools could notify people. There was a brief discussion on how to
notify people i.e. social media.
• Nate asked about the new library card design. It is for the whole region. 5
adult and teen finalists were chosen and the staff will vote on the winner.
The new library card design will come out in September. Prize winners
will be notified in June and July.
• Robbie brought up that there are 4 open positions at the Elk River
library right now. Nate questioned if we are able to hire 14 year olds. He
said he knew that Culvers had younger employees. The library said that
they looked more into this as an option and what the restrictions may be
regarding younger workers.
• June 11th the reading program "Reading Takes You Everywhere" starts at
Elk River Fest with bingo prizes. There is also a passport challenge for
Elk River patrons where they can complete 10 tasks and earn a prize,
• including 3 things to do out in the Elk River community.
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5.9 GRRL Trustee Report
■ Began working on budget.Annual budget 9.3 million.This is a small
decrease from last year. The library operates on a zero base budget
meaning whatever they are doing now with the budget they will continue
doing next year. It was brought up that donations are needed in the
amount of$5,800.A consultant has been hired to work with the board
and others on fundraising, financial and in kind.
• Mary E. attended the April workshop that focused on how to get more
money and improve communications. It had about 30-40 people in
attendance.
• The Locally Growing' fundraiser is considered to be a success. Every
library gets to keep its own money received. The average regional
donation went from$14.50 to $25.00. $491 was raised locally. Brandi
suggested that we learn from what other successful communities did. It
was discussed that smaller, close knit communities may have more
success due to everyone knowing each other and the obligation to donate
is higher. Questions were brought up about networking improvements
to make it known how important of a resource the library is.
• Mick asked about a budget item- she asked if the floor outlet covers
were really$479 and Robbie confirmed. Mick also asked about the
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geothermal expenses and Robbie did confirm that the library had been
having heat issues in late winter/spring. Mick questioned if this should be
a future concern for the budget. We will request Gary to address this
question in his next report to board.
6. Adjournment
There being no further business, Chair Stoffers adjourned the meeting of the Elk River
Public Library Board at 6:47pm. The meeting was recessed due to the grounds tour and
adjourned once the grounds tour was complete.
Minutes submitted by Dawn Larson.
L.---'' f
Tina Alla n`'--•'Clerk
Mi k Stoffers, Ch. ' III
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