Quincy Reporter

Townships of the Quincy Area Public Library District Board met August 16.

Here is the minutes provided by the board:

The Townships of the Quincy Area Public Library District Board of Trustees met at the Quincy Public Library on Thursday, August 16, 2018, with Charlie Jones presiding. The meeting was called to order at 5:31 p.m. Trustees Present: Malinda Vogel, Janice Riley, Ron Upper, Fred Witte, and Jennifer Harvey. Others Present: Ann Behrens, Kim Akers, Bobbi Mock, Katie Kraushaar, and Judy Crocker – QPL Liaison.

I.Approval Of Agenda

Janice Riley moved to approve the agenda as presented. Malinda Vogel seconded and the motion carried.

II. Approval Of Minutes

Ron Upper moved that the minutes from the regular meeting held on July 12, 2018, be approved as presented. Jennifer Harvey seconded and the motion carried.

III. Public Comments

There were no public in attendance.

IV. Recognition Of Correspondence And Guests

A note from Nancy Dolan was received thanking the TQ Board for their retirement gift. Judy Crocker from the QPL Board was welcomed to the meeting.

V. District Reports

A. Circulation & Event Statistics Report: Bobbi Mock reported that the majority of the numbers from July were down including the final numbers from summer reading participation. She stated that this downward trend is concerning, but staff are addressing the issue and exploring ways to increase usage and participation. She noted that the door count was up in July. She attributed this to the popularity of the special summer reading events, but noted that while program attendance was up, completion and return of the book logs was down. Use of the self- checkout stations was steady at nearly 35%. Ms. Mock stated that they are moving one of the stations into the children’s area to allow parents to check out materials in that area while still supervising their children. She hopes that this move will also increase overall use of the self- checkout stations. Use of the kiosk was down; County Market experienced a power outage which caused the kiosk to be offline for nearly a week. Use of the hold lockers continues to increase. Ms. Mock stated that the last set of hold lockers were installed at Iles Elementary School and are operational. She noted that staff are attending all of the open houses at Quincy Public Schools on Monday, August 20, to promote library card sign-up, use of the hold lockers, research databases, and other library services. Use of ADML increased in July with several people placing holds on the Big Read selection, “Station Eleven.” September is National Library Card Sign-Up Month, which the Library will celebrate to encourage the community to sign up for a library card. The Library currently has 11,912 active library cardholders.

B. Library Report: Bobbi Mock reported that Martin Meyer of Poepping, Stone, Bach, and Associates presented an overview of his report on the condition of the Library’s HVAC system. Mr. Meyer stated that the system is in good shape for its age, but noted that a compressor and a coil need to be replaced. The manufacturer has offered to replace the compressor at no charge, but the Library would need to pay for the other parts and labor. Ann Behrens stated that she has been in contact with Ryan Keck, who estimated the job would take no more than a day and cost a maximum of 16 man hours at $90/hour. At their August meeting, the QPL Board authorized the release of a payment from January of 2018 and authorized the repairs to the system. The Board also asked the Building and Grounds Committee to send out a request for bids for the maintenance agreement for the HVAC to Keck and Peters Heating. Ms. Mock reported that children enjoyed the special Friday programs during the summer, which included science experiments, animals, jugglers, and bugs. Teens had an opportunity to learn about Hawaiian culture at their luau in July, and attendance at both the teen and adult movies increased. Brittany Griffin has been hired as the new Adult Event Specialist and James Tedeschi has been hired at a part-time Custodian.

VI. TQ Committee Reports

A. Finance: Ron Upper reported that as of July 31, 2018, the checking account at Homebank had a balance of $327,677.06. He noted that TQ now has three CDs at area banks each opened with $60,000. Mr. Upper presented four checks for approval: #1243 to Nancy Dolan as a retirement gift in the amount of $250, #1244 the second contractual payment to Quincy Public Library in the amount of $27,139.40, #1245 to Quincy Public Library to transfer the Per Capita Grant in the amount of $13,901.25, and #1245 to Quincy Herald-Whig for the publication of the Annual Treasurer’s Report in the amount of $162.71. There being no further discussion, Janice Riley moved to approve the four checks totaling $41,453.36. Malinda Vogel seconded and the motion carried. Mr. Upper reported that the TQ Finance Committee met on July 18 to discuss revisions to the FY18/19 budget and prepare a draft FY19/20 budget, both of which were included in the Board packet. He noted that the only change to the FY18/19 budget was the reduction of the special projects fund to $45,000. Mr. Upper stated that the committee agreed to reduce this amount in both the FY18/19 budget and the FY19/20 budget in light of the increase in the collection development contribution to QPL. There being no further discussion, Fred Witte moved to approve the revision to the FY18/19 budget as presented. Malinda Vogel seconded and the motion carried. Mr. Upper then stated that the committee agreed on a tax rate of.00132 with an estimated EAV of $274,575,519 and an expected amount to be received through taxation of $362,439 for the FY19/20 draft budget. He asked if the Board would like to invest in a fourth CD at this time, or wait to see if the interest rates continue to rise. The Board agreed to wait and see. There being no further discussion, Ron Upper moved to approve the draft FY19/20 budget as presented. Fred Witte seconded and the motion carried. Kim Akers will send the budget to Bill McCleery for publication and notification of the public hearing in September.

B. Policy and Services: Policy and Services did not meet.

C. Public Relations/Advocacy: Jennifer Harvey reported that Public Relations/Advocacy did not meet.

D. Friends of the Library: Katie Kraushaar reported that the Friends met on August 13 where they approved funding the purchase of a power washer and three new book trucks for the Library.

VII. QPL Committee Reports

A. Finance: Ron Upper reported that the QPL Finance Committee did not meet.

B. Policy: Janice Riley reported that the QPL Policy Committee did not meet.

C. Personnel: Malinda Vogel reported that the QPL Personnel Committee did not meet.

D. Building & Grounds: Charlie Jones reported that the QPL Building and Grounds Committee did not meet.

VIII. Unfinished Business

A. Appointment of New Trustee. Kim Akers reported that Nancy Dolan contacted Christa Johnson and Phyllis Robertson about serving on the TQ Board. Both were very interested, as is Pam Clow. She stated that both Christa Johnson and Pam Clow are former Library employees, and Phyllis Robertson is a long-time Library patron. The Board discussed which townships the potential trustees represented and the timeline for appointment, but did not take any action.

IX. New Business

A. Illinois Public Library Annual Report (IPLAR). Kim Akers reported that Nancy Dolan completed and submitted the IPLAR for TQ well before the September 1, 2018, deadline. A copy of the report was included in the Board packet.

B. Kim Akers stated that the Big Read Kickoff will be held on Thursday, September 13, 2018, starting at 4:00 p.m. at the Library. The TQ Board meeting, scheduled at 5:30 p.m. on that date, has been moved to the small conference room. Katie Kraushaar distributed copies of the Fall Event Guide which showcases the many events both at the Library and around the community as part of this year’s Big Read. She encouraged Board Members to attend the kickoff both before and after their September meeting.

C. Judy Crocker updated the TQ Board on the search for an Executive Director. She reported that they have placed ads nationwide and locally. They have received ten applications, but there is still time for potential candidates to return applications. She stated that the Board is very happy to have Ann Behrens as Interim Director and hopes to have a permanent person in place by October. The QPL Personnel Committee is holding meetings every Monday at 3:00 p.m. at the Quincy Senior and Family Resource Center to review the applications received and select candidates for interviews. She stated that the Committee is also meeting with former School Superintendent George Meyer at 8:30 a.m. on Friday, August 17, 2018, to gain insight into the interview process. TQ Board Members were invited to attend these meetings.

There being no further discussion, Malinda Vogel moved to adjourn the meeting. Ron Upper seconded and the meeting adjourned at 6:05 p.m.

http://quincylibrary.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/August-2018-minutes.pdf