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07-23-2024 LIBMINMembers Present: Members Absent: Council Liaison: Staff Present: Meeting of the Elk River Library Board Held at the Elk River Library Community Room Tuesday July 23, 2024 Chair Sara Soukup, Commissioners Michelle Hegarty, Carole Boelter, Kelly Voss, Isaac Blaske Mayor Dietz GRRL Patron Services Supervisor Jeannette Burkhardt, Library Services Coordinator Margot Barry, Parks and Recreation Manager Jeff Shelby, Mayor John Dietz, Recording Secretary Dawn Larson . Call Meeting to Order Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, the meeting of the Elk River Library Board was called to order at 5:31 p.m. by Chair Soukup. 2. Consider Agenda Moved by Commissioner Boelter and seconded by Commissioner Hegarty to approve the July 23, 2024, agenda. Motion carried 5-0. 3. Consent Agenda Moved by Commissioner Hegarty and seconded by Commissioner Boelter to approve the minutes with the removal of the word costumes on page 2 paragraph 7: 3.1 April 23, 2024, minutes 3.2 April, May, June 2024 Revenue and Expense Summaries Motion carried 5-0. 4. Open Forum No one appeared for Open Forum. S. General Business 5.1 Remove Financial Reports from Meeting packets It had been a discussion item in previous meetings, but the board had never voted to remove them. Commissioner Boelter said that she is comfortable removing the reports since Ms. Barry is on top of it and if there was anything that the board needed to know Ms. Barry could inform them. Commissioner Blaske shared that he does not feel that reviewing the reports aligns with the current purpose and responsibilities of the library board. Library Board Minutes July 23, 2024 Page 2 Moved by Commissioner Blaske and seconded by Commissioner Hegarty to remove the financial reports from all meeting packets moving forward. Motion carried 5-0. 5.2 Future of Library Board Commissioner Blaske shared that he feels that during the time that he has been on the board Ms. Barry has been doing an excellent job working with the City to manage the library on her own. He does not feel that the library board is doing much regarding its purpose any longer. During the year that he was in the Chair position he only attended Elk Riverfest and that was the only event in that year that he is aware that any board members attended a library event. He proposes that the library board disband. Commissioner Boelter said that she believes the board and library have a great relationship with the City right now, but she is hesitant about the future since that has not always been the case. She asked Mayor Dietz if there is any specific reason as to why there is a library board. Mayor Dietz said originally the boards job was to help make decisions regarding the building and the grounds. Programming was the responsibility of the Great River Regional Library. The Librarian's cannot wait three months for a recommendation from the board to make most decisions. Mayor Dietz also shared that he recently learned that there are not many libraries in the system that have a board. The Friends of the Library needs support so Mayor Dietz suggested that the board could all potentially join up with them. He does not think the City Council would have issues with the board disbanding. The decision is up to the library board members, and he does not want to waste anyone's time if there is not enough for the board to discuss or do. They could always serve on another board or commission with the City of Elk River as well. Ms. Boelter shared that until the board redid their bylaws a couple of years ago, they used to spend a lot of time talking about the flower gardens, weeding, chair colors, upholstery, and flooring etc. It was a lot of time spent talking about the physical aspects of the library. Then when they met with Mr. Portner, the City of Elk River City Administrator they reexamined their purpose and decided that their focus was more like the Friends of the Library. If the focus is now to support the library and that is the purpose of the Friends of the Library, then they do not necessarily need two groups doing the same thing. She said that if the library board does not exist, she would spend her time with the Friends of the Library. Commissioner Blaske asked what the librarians think. Ms. Burkhardt said she did not work with any boards as an LSC, but she currently supervises three libraries with boards including Elk River. The ones that she is aware of that exist were grandfathered in. From what she knew most library boards disbanded after they completed the purpose for which they were created. She said that the boards still in existence are questioning their purpose as far as whether they are they are a building inspection and advisory board, or more of an advocacy one. Ms. Barry said that whatever happens she just wants to be valuable to the board members. She said she provides the same information in her report to both the Friends of the Library and the board. She said there p 0 V E R I I IT NATURE Library Board Minutes Page 3 July 23, 2024 ----------------------------- -� , is a lot of potential in the Friends group for more members. She said that whichever way that the choose to go they can continue to advocate for the library. Commissioner Blaske said he is fine with this, but he wanted to see what the library board members feel about this decision and take the time to discuss it so they can present an idea to both the city and the library on what they would recommend. Commissioner Hegarty pointed out that there is a place for them to land and that they are not needed anymore to be a buffer between the library and the city. Commissioner Voss said she is here for the experience and has never been on a board before, she is fine disbanding, and she is comfortable going to the Friends of the Library. Ms. Barry said that the friends meet every other month but not in the summer, and the next one is in September. She can get the schedule to Secretary Larson to send out to the board members. Commissioner Hegarty said she would be more inclined to join the Friends of the Library since they are more active. Mayor Dietz asked if the Friends of the Library group was affiliated with the city. Ms. Barry said they are not; they are an independent nonprofit that exists to support the Elk River library. Commissioner Blaske asked what the process would be to get the board back if it was needed. Mayor Dietz said that it would not take much, just a council decision and then applicants and appointments by the Mayor. The library presents updates twice a year to the City Council so if there were reasons to create a board the council would know. Mr. Shelby was introduced by Mayor Dietz as the new Parks and Recreation Manager. Mayor Dietz said Mr. Shelby will be working with Ms. Barry to make sure the proper city staff will assist her. Commissioner Blaske said that he does want to make a note that the GRRL team is a great partner to the City of Elk River and that together they provide an excellent service to the community and with that said the board has served its purpose. Mayor Deitz will check on the process to disband with the City Administrator, but he believes it must be sent to the City Council for approval. Moved by Commissioner Blaske and seconded by Commissioner Boelter that the library board be disbanded at the end of July 2024, and that this partnership continue to work together. Motion carried 5-0. Mayor Dietz encouraged the board members to check into the other potential board positions and listed some options. Chair Soukup asked what to do with the next agenda items. Commissioner Blaske asked if the board should skip the walk through or move to a future meeting if the board wanted to continue. 5.3 Indoor Building Walk Through Secretary Larson said the walk through could be whatever the board would like it to be and does not necessarily have to be a checklist walkthrough like prior meetings. It could be more of a relaxed tour. The agenda title is vague enough for them to decide what to do with it. P 0 A E 0 E 0 0 1 �ATURE Library Board Minutes July 23, 2024 Page 4 Mayor Dietz asked for an update on the flooring and shelving. During winter and spring, the library shiftec a lot of the shelving and there became visible areas of the floor where discoloration occurred. Ms. Barry sai- that the flooring is planned on being replaced due to the floor pushing up and discoloration. They are planning to do the floors and shelves at the same time in the future, so they got estimates which resulted in broad numbers. Ms. Barry gave some of the updates from her report as well as some updates to the changes in media usage they are seeing within the library system. This may affect the shelving needs in the future so the shelving they purchase needs to be flexible as far as how it is used. They have found that shorter shelves can provide more light within the building. They also must be careful of too soft of flooring with the heavy sharp -edged flooring. It would be wise to replace the shelving first and flooring second. Moved by Commissioner Hegarty and seconded by Commissioner Boelter to move the indoor walk through to the end of the meeting and to modify it to a tour by Ms. Barry. Motion carried 5-0. During the library tour Ms. Barry just expanded on updates and changes within the layout of the library. 5.3 Patron Services Supervisor Report Mrs. Burkhardt presented her report. Mayor Deitz asked about the money that was gifted last year. Ms. Burkhardt said that the only money that has been spent so far was for the Read to Grow program. Ms. Barry must provide a proposal and have it approved to spend money from this fund. There is no specific amount of money to be spent per year, but it must be spent within Elk River. 5.4 Library Services Coordinator Report `� Ms. Barry presented her report after the walk-through discussion and before the PSSR. Commissioner Hegarty shared that she and Ms. Barry attended the Safety Camp event through Parks and Recreation, and she was amazed at what the kids did not know about the opportunities at the library. 5.5 Assistant City Administrator Joe Stremcha Report Mr. Stremcha was not in attendance, so Mr. Shelby introduced himself as the new Parks and Recreation Manager. He is transitioning from his old position at the Furniture and Things Community Event Center to the new position and will be splitting his time between the departments until September 1. 5.6 City Council Update Mayor John Dietz Mayor Dietz commended Ms. Barry for doing an excellent job and having a good working relationship with the City of Elk River. Mayor Dietz will carry the board disbanding to the Council and City Administrator Cal Portner and find out what needs to be done. He said that the City Council is incredibly pleased with the relationship between the library and the City staff. 6. Announcements IATURE Library Board Minutes July 23, 2024 Motion to Adjourn Page 5 Moved by Chair Soukup and seconded by Commissioner Blaske to adjourn the meeting of the Elk River Library Board. Motion carried 5-0. The meeting adjourned at 6:45p.m. Minutes prepared by Dawn Larson. Tina Allard, City Clerk II1EBEI N'Ir ATURE