MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES
OLD BRIDGE PUBLIC LIBRARY
May 19, 2004
Present: Steven Goldman, President
Mary Chamberlain, Vice President
Mary Gannon, Treasurer
Joseph Nuzzo, Secretary
Linda Seiler, Trustee
Kathryn Arabia, Trustee
Margery Cyr, Director
Maria Nowak, Executive Assistant
Absent: Barbara Cannon, Mayor’s Alternate
Michael Santa Maria, Superintendent of School’s Alternate
The President called the meeting to order at 7:30 p.m. and announced that the meeting had been advertised and would be conducted in accordance with the Sunshine Law. The Secretary called the roll.
Minutes
Motion: made by Mary Chamberlain, seconded by Joseph Nuzzo to approve the April 14, 2004 Board minutes. Vote: 5 yes; 1 abstention
Finance
Motion: made by Mary Gannon, seconded by Kathryn Arabia to approve the bill listing in the amount of $127,913.29 as presented. Unanimously approved
Budget FY 2004/2005
Mrs. Cyr informed the Board the Library’s Budget hearing for FY04/05 will be on Tuesday, May 25 at 2:00 p.m.
Statistics
The Board was again delighted with the increase in statistics for both April and May. Statistics were placed on file.
PERSONNEL
Resignations
Motion: made by Joseph Nuzzo, seconded by Mary Gannon, to accept the resignation of Circulation LAI, Catherine Colarusso, effective April 22, 2004. Unanimously approved.
Motion: made by Joseph Nuzzo, seconded by Mary Gannon, to accept the resignation of Circulation Page Gene Virgilio, effective May 10, 2004. Unanimously approved.
New Appointments
Motion: made by Mary Chamberlain, seconded by Mary Gannon to approve the hiring of Electronic Resources LAI, Dena Price, effective April 13, 2004 at an hourly rate of $11.72. Unanimously approved.
Motion: made by Mary Chamberlain, seconded by Mary Gannon to approve the hiring of Intern, Linda Murray, effective April 26, 2004 at an hourly rate of $12.00. Unanimously approved.
Motion: made by Mary Chamberlain, seconded by Mary Gannon to approve the hiring of Head of Small Branches and Support Services Librarian II, Ralph Oppenheim, effective June 1, 2004 at an annual salary of $46,114.48. Unanimously approved.
Motion: made by Mary Chamberlain, seconded by Mary Gannon to approve the hiring of Circulation LAI, Gene Virgilio, effective May 11, 2004 at an hourly rate of $11.72. Unanimously approved.
Union Negotiations
Mrs. Chamberlain reported Union negotiations are moving along and the next meeting with the Union will be held on Monday, May 24, 2004.
Director’s Report
The Board reviewed the Director’s Report and discussed various aspects of it. The Board is particularly pleased about the planning for the Summer Reading Program and anticipates an exciting summer for the Library and the citizens of Old Bridge. The Board congratulated Mrs. Cyr, Ms. Wordelmann and Mr. Niland on their activities with the New Jersey Library Association and expressed their appreciation for the value this brings to the Library.
New Jersey Library Association
Mrs. Cyr informed the Board the NJLA Conference this year was very informative and staff who attended also enjoyed it.
Mrs. Cyr reported she was voted Treasurer to the NJLA, Theresa Wordelmann was elected to a position in her section and Tim Niland will volunteer to service on a committee next year.
Summer Reading Program
Mrs. Cyr informed the Board the Summer Reading program will be thrilling this year. The Summer Reading Team has been hard at work for many months with the planning for the program. The Team members have made plans to purchase and hang three banners across Township roadways to advertise the Summer Reading Program and the Township Council has given their approval for this.
Mrs. Cyr reported Commerce Bank will support the Summer Reading Program again this summer. They are also willing to repeat the program they did last summer: each child that signs up on Summer Reading Day will be given a $10.00 savings account. The Bank will be here on the Kick-off day to give out goodies such as pencils and water bottles to all participants.
Meeting with New Township Business Administrator
Mrs. Cyr reported that the meeting with Township Business Administrator, Mike Jacobs, went very well. The meeting was held here at the Library at his request. Mr. Jacobs was given a tour of the Library. All roof leaks were pointed out to him and Mrs. Cyr informed him they needed to talk as soon as possible about the roof replacement. The next day she received a call setting up a meeting with Mr. Jacobs and Finance Director Shah to discuss finding for the roof replacement.
Complaint from Patron
Mrs. Cyr reported to the Board of a complaint from a patron in regard to the display placed in the Library from the Old Bridge High School students collecting school supplies for Iraqi children. The display falls within our policy on displays and exhibits. The Library collects all types of things for different organizations. Mrs. Cyr said the patron is very offended by the display. The patron has sent Mrs. Cyr several e-mails expressing her disapproval. Mrs. Cyr explained to the patron that the library could not take sides on political issues and serves as a collection point for many different organizations. Mrs.Cyr offered to put her in touch with the high school teacher, but she refused. The patron was invited to attend the Board meeting. The patron said she also complained to the Township.
The Board discussed the complaint and agreed that the collection was permitted according to our policies. The patron did not appear at the Board meeting.
Old Business
Lighting Project
Mrs. Cyr reported the lighting project will get started on June 21, 2004. The project has been registered and approved with the NJ Smart Start Building; it gives discounts on the cost on some of the fixtures and lighting. The project will be done in phases and the contractor feels each phase will take seven days. Both Township Project Manager Joseph Criscuolo and Mario Barone will be at the Library everyday from 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. overseeing the project until completion. The Board asked about weekend work. Mrs. Cyr said this would only be done as necessary.
Roof Inspection
Mrs. Cyr reported the roof inspection has been completed. There were three areas of concern. Mr. Vitale returned to perform water testing to determine where the leaking was coming from. Mike’s Roofing will be at the Library tomorrow to repair the leaks over the mystery section and the area near the conference room.
Mrs. Cyr said she is waiting to receive a list of possible contractors that can help with the leaks from the ground lower along the window walls.
Laurence Harbor Building
Mrs. Cyr reported the damage to the Laurence Harbor building has been completed. The cost of the repair was $1,470.00. Mrs. Cyr informed the Board that the contractor informed her other walls of the building should be inspected for water damage as they felt wet and spongy to him.
Trial Coffee Machine
Mrs. Chamberlain asked if the Library is making any money on the coffee machine.
Maria Nowak reported that for the month of April the Library did not make any money from the coffee machine after the purchase of coffee and supplies. Mr. Goldman said he will leave the coffee machine up to Mrs. Cyr, but, if the library is losing money we can not keep it.
Mrs. Chamberlain said the Library should raise the cost of a cup of coffee from $.75 cents to $1.00 as of June 1, 2004.
The Board asked for a report for next month as to how much the Library should be charging for a cup of coffee and/or if it is really worth keeping the machine at all.
NEW BUSINESS
Carpeting for the Laurence Harbor Branch
Mrs. Cyr reported she received three quotes - the lowest coming in at $11,334.96 from Shaw Carpet. The building will need to be closed for three days. The Laurence Harbor branch staff will work at the central Library on these days.
Motion: made by Mary Gannon, seconded by Mary Chamberlain to accept the proposal from Shaw Carpet in the amount of $11,334.96 for the carpeting project for the Laurence Harbor Branch. Unanimously approved.
Vertical Blinds for Electronic Resources, Reference and Support Services Offices
Mrs. Cyr reported the Library received three quotes - the lowest coming in at $4,965.00 from Coit.
Motion: made by Mary Gannon, seconded by Steven Goldman to accept the proposal from Coit in the amount of $4,965.00 for the verticals for the Electronic Resources, Reference and Support Services offices. Vote: 5 yes; 1 no
Annual Carpet and Upholstery/Leather Cleaning
Mrs. Cyr reported the Library received three quests - the lowest coming in at $8,610.00 from Coit. This year the cleaning will not be done until after the lighting project is complete.
Motion: made by Joseph Nuzzo, seconded by Mary Gannon to accept the proposal from Coit in the amount of $8,610.00 for the carpet and upholstery/leather cleaning to be done after the completion of the lighting project. Unanimously approved.
Staff Development Day - June 4, 2004
Motion: made by Mary Gannon, seconded by Linda Seiler to approve the closing of the Library for Staff Development Day, June 4, 2004. Unanimously approved.
Board Member Suggestions
Mrs. Seiler asked about the staff wearing name tags. This was discussed and Mrs. Cyr will ensure that all staff members are provided with name tags and wear them.
Mrs. Seiler expressed concern regarding how the newspapers are given out to patrons and how they are returned to the Periodicals Department. She has observed that occasionally there are missing pages in the newspapers and often the papers are not returned to the desk for a lengthy period. Mrs. Cyr will look into this and discuss with the staff solutions to these problems.
Mrs. Seiler asked if the Library applied for a grant from the Historical Society Commission. Mrs. Cyr said the Library had not done so because several other projects are the priority this year and the staff is committed to the completion of these projects before taking on other obligations.
Department Reports
The Board reviewed and accepted all department reports.
Adjournment
Motion: made by Mary Chamberlain, seconded by Kathryn Arabia to adjourn the meeting at 9:15 p.m. Unanimously approved
Respectfully submitted,
Joseph Nuzzo, Secretary
Library Board of Trustees
Date Approved: June 9, 2004 |