Present:

Joseph Nuzzo, President
Mary Chamberlain, Vice President
Steven Goldman, Treasurer
Kathryn Arabia, Secretary
Dr. Joan George, Trustee
Tara Flynn-Rozanski, Trustee
Linda Seiler, Trustee
Barbara Cannon, Mayor’s Alternate
Judy Katz, Superintendent of School’s Alternate
Margery Cyr, Director
Maria Nowak, Executive Assistant

Guest:

Tim Niland

The President called the meeting to order at 7:30 p.m. and announced the meeting had been advertised and would be conducted in accordance with the Sunshine Law. The Secretary called the roll.

Executive Session

Mr. Nuzzo called for an Executive Session to discuss personnel issues.

Motion: made by Mary Chamberlain, seconded by Kathryn Arabia, to adjourn into Executive Session at 7:35 p.m. Unanimously approved

Public Session

The Board returned to public session at 7:50 p.m. and announced matters of personnel were discussed.

Minutes

Motion: made by Kathryn Arabia, seconded by Linda Seiler, to approve the minutes from the September 14, 2005 meeting. Vote: Yes: Joseph Nuzzo, Steven Goldman, Kathryn Arabia, Dr. Joan George, Tara Flynn-Rozanski, Linda Seiler and Barbara Cannon. Mary Chamberlain and Judy Katz abstained.

Finance

Payment of Bills

Motion: made by Steven Goldman, seconded by Kathryn Arabia, to approve the bill listing as presented in the amount of $149,294.87. Unanimously approved

2004/2005 Audit

Mrs. Cyr informed the Board the annual audit will be performed shortly after November 5, 2005.

PERSONNEL

New Appointments

Motion: made by Mary Chamberlain, seconded by Dr. Joan George, to approve the hiring of Sherry Endick, LA1, substitute Passport Clerk, at an hourly rate of $12.55, effective July 25, 2005. Unanimously approved

Motion: made by Mary Chamberlain, seconded by Dr. Joan George, to approve the hiring of Andrea Carangelo, LA1, substitute Passport Clerk, at an hourly rate of $12.55, effective July 27, 2005. Unanimously approved

Motion: made by Mary Chamberlain, seconded by Dr. Joan George, to approve the hiring of Johnathan Lawrence, Library Page, at an hourly rate of $5.25, effective August 16, 2005. Unanimously approved

Motion: made by Mary Chamberlain, seconded by Dr. Joan George, to approve the hiring of Jill Eisner, substitute Librarian, at an hourly rate of $23.00, effective July 25, 2005. Unanimously approved

Motion: made by Mary Chamberlain, seconded by Dr. Joan George, to approve the hiring of Ellen O’Brien, substitute Librarian, at an hourly rate of $23.00, effective August 1, 2005. Unanimously approved

Motion: made by Mary Chamberlain, seconded by Dr. Joan George, to approve the appointment of Dennis Schaub, Librarian, to a permanent position from a temporary substitute position, at an hourly rate of $23.00, effective October 1, 2005. Unanimously approved

Resignations

Motion: made by Mary Chamberlain, seconded by Steven Goldman, to accept the resignation of part-time custodian/cleaner Rhona Rhodes, effective September 13, 2005. Unanimously approved

Motion: made by Mary Chamberlain, seconded by Steven Goldman, to accept the resignation of Library Page, Johnathan Lawrence, effective October 4, 2005. Unanimously approved

Re-Appointment

Motion: made by Linda Seiler, seconded by Dr. Joan George, to approve re-appointment of Susan Pastuszak, substitute LA1, at an hourly rate of $12.55 effective August 11, 2005. Unanimously approved

Background Checks for Potential New Employees/Personnel Committee

Mrs. Chamberlain reported to the Board the Personnel Committee met with Board Attorney Scott Smith to discuss the possibility and legality of performing background checks for all potential new library employees. The committee is recommending that the Board authorize background checks for all new employees prior to their appointment as a staff member. The committee reviewed the types of background checks and the options available for obtaining them.

There was discussion of the differences between the background checks performed by the Township of Old Bridge Police Department and the New Jersey State Police.

The background check will be done prior to offering a position to a candidate. Mrs. Cyr reported the background check forms have already been received from the State.

Mr. Goldman stated he feels background checks are the right thing to do and is delighted Old Bridge Library is on the forefront of this. The cost for this will be $18.00 per background check. This will not be a huge financial impact on the Library budget.

Motion: made by Linda Seiler, seconded by Mary Chamberlain, to require background checks prior to the hiring and appointment of all new employees of the Library. Unanimously approved

Upgrading Page Wages/Personnel Committee

Motion: made by Dr. Joan George, seconded by Steven Goldman, to adjust the hourly rate of pay for those pages that are currently at $7.00 to $7.50 per hour and to raise the cap of page wages to $7.50. Unanimously approved

Director’s Report

Mrs. Cyr reported that a patron fell in the Library and broke his leg. The patron tripped over a wire in the Periodicals Department. The incident has been reported to the Township and the patron’s wife has been informed of the paperwork she needs to fill out.

Mrs. Cyr informed the Board the LMxAC office building experienced an electrical fire and the automated circulation system and public Internet computer were down for several days.

Mrs. Cyr commended the staff for all their help and hard work during this time.

The Board reviewed and accepted the Director’s Report.

NEW BUSINESS

Closing of Library for Half-a-Day on Friday, November 18, 2005

Motion: made by Linda Seiler, seconded by Mary Chamberlain, to close the library on November 18, 2005 from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. for staff in-service training. Unanimously approved.

Old Business

Roof Repair

Mrs. Cyr reported the roof repair bid was awarded to Cardinal Roofing and Siding from Brick, New Jersey. The bid came in at $13,500.00.

New Business

Water Pipe Repair

Mrs. Cyr reported the main water pipe repair has been scheduled for Wednesday, October 26. The Library building will have to be closed during the repair, as the Township code requires a public building cannot be open without running water. The contractor Absolute was unable to give the library a time frame as to how long the repair will take.

Mrs. Cyr informed the Board the library will open as soon as the water pipe has been repaired.

Motion: made by Steven Goldman, seconded by Kathryn Arabia, to approve the closing of the Library on Wednesday, October 26 until the main water pipe repair is completed. Vote: Yes: Joseph Nuzzo, Steven Goldman, Kathryn Arabia, Dr. Joan George, Tara Flynn-Rozanski, Linda Seiler, Barbara Cannon and Judy Katz. Mary Chamberlain abstained.

Report from Trustees’ Training Workshop

Tara Flynn-Rozanski and Linda Seiler attended the Trustees Training sponsored by the New Jersey State Library. Both gave reports of the sessions they attended; and both agreed that it was a very worthwhile weekend.

Policy Committee

Mr. Nuzzo asked Kathryn Arabia to set up a meeting with the Policy Committee to review the Board of Trustees By-Laws and come back with a report at the November meeting as to whether the by-laws should be revised.

Adjournment

Motion: made by Mary Chamberlain, seconded by Kathryn Arabia, to adjourn the meeting at 9:36 p.m. Unanimously approved

Respectfully submitted,