MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES
OLD BRIDGE PUBLIC LIBRARY
March 12 , 2003
Present: Steven Goldman, President
Mary Chamberlain, Vice President
Mary Gannon, Treasurer
Joseph Nuzzo, Secretary
Scott Glaser, Trustee
Barbara Cannon, Mayor
Arthur Freihon, Superintendent of School's Alternate
Louisa Colon, Mayor's Alternate
Margery Cyr, Director
Maria Nowak, Executive Assistant
Absent: Rita Peterson, Trustee
Roman Sohor, Trustee
The President called the meeting to order at 8:00 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 Arthur Freihon, to approve the minutes from the February 12, 2003 meeting. Vote: Seven yes; one abstained
Finance
Motion: made by Mary Gannon, seconded by Arthur Freihon, to approve the bill listing in the amount of $101,918.62 as presented. Unanimously approved.
Moving of Monies
Motion: made by Mary Chamberlain, seconded by Arthur Freihon, to approve moving monies from Commitments Payable: Books $34.99, On-line services $45.00, Audio-visual $1,272.72, Processing $21.35, Library Supplies $99.89 for a total of $1,473.95 to Commitments Payable: Furnishings and Equipment for the replacement of carpet in the Juvenile bathroom area and for the purchase of a desk. Unanimously approved.
Budget FY 2003/2004
Mrs. Cyr presented a first draft of the Library's proposed budget for FY 03/04 for discussion before submitting it to the Township's Finance Office on March 21.
Mr. Goldman feels it is the Library Board's responsibility to inform the Township Council of the NJ Public Library Statistical Report that shows Old Bridge Library per capita cost is very low compared to other libraries. The demand for services is growing and with the building problems we are experiencing now, there is a need for the library to receive more funding.
Mayor Cannon said the Library must come up with a plan that shows the Library is reducing cost and increasing income. Mayor Cannon said at the present time things are very tight. The township is still cutting staff. Staff retiring from full-time positions are being replaced with part-timers.
Mrs. Cyr reported the Friends of the Library group is now funding all programs for the Library.
Mr. Glaser asked if the Library could charge for the use of the large meeting room. Mrs. Cyr does not think it is a good idea to start charging fees for use of Library services. Mrs. Gannon agreed.
Mrs. Cyr informed the Board the increase in the budget 03/04 shows an increase of $168,868.00 which is a $3.14 per capita increase.
The Board reviewed and discussed the proposed FY 03/04 budget and decided to make one change. The Board requested that one of the four part-time para-professional positions proposed in the budget be turned into a part-time custodial position for additional building maintenance. Mrs. Cyr will make that change and submit the draft budget by its due date.
PERSONNEL
Temporary Appointment
Motion: made by Mary Gannon, seconded by Arthur Friehon, to approve Debbie Stoppello as Acting Head of Electronic Resources effective April 5, 2003. Unanimously approved.
Annual Staff Day
Motion: made by Mary Chamberlain, seconded by Joseph Nuzzo, to approve the closing of the Library on Friday, June 6, 2003 for Staff Development Day. Unanimously approved.
Statistics
The Board is pleased with statistics due to the fact the Library has been closed several times due to bad weather. Statistics were placed on file.
LIBRARY BUILDING
Lighting
Mrs. Cyr reported the pre-bid walk through was this morning with twelve companies attending. Mr. Heims and Mr. Barone both were in attendance. The lighting bid opening will be at the Township on March 19 at 10:00 a.m.
Mrs. Cyr reported the job will be done in nine different phases and may take six months to complete.
Mr. Barone has included an alternate requirement which is a proposal for painting the entire building. This is an issue that will need serious evaluation. The painting could cost quite a bit of money over and above what the Township Council has already approved.
Mrs. Cyr said once the electrical job is completed there will be repair painting needed. Mr. Barone felt if they were going to spot paint the majority of the building, the entire building could be just as easily painted. There will be a couple of different proposals for review.
Roof Repair
Mrs. Cyr reported Mike's Roofing was at the Library today painting the soffits and some other remaining work on the roof. Mrs. Cyr informed Mike's Roofing about two new leaks, but is unaware if he was able to fix them today or whether he was coming back to fix them.
Mrs. Cyr said she has not yet met with Alayne Shepler or Himanshu Shah in regard to the Capital Budget for roof replacement. Mr. Vitale has suggested the roof be replaced by 2005.
Mayor Cannon said the Township does the Capital Budget year by year and thinks the Library's roof should be incorporated in the five-year Capital Budget projection.
The Board suggested Mrs. Cyr start the progress with the Township on getting the Library's roof replacement on the Capital Budget.
Lobby Mat
Mrs. Cyr reported to the Board the mat was repaired last year and is functional, but the repair did not fix the crack down the middle which is a tripping danger. The estimate replacement cost is $15,000 to $20,000 to replace the mat. Mr. Nuzzo said he would speak with the maintenance department at ABC to see if they could help us.
The issue of the lobby mat was tabled until the April Board meeting.
Large Meeting Room Shades
Mrs. Cyr presented a proposal to the Board in the amount of $5,096.80 for repairing and replacement of shades in the large meeting room that are already broken.
Mr. Nuzzo and Mr. Glaser will contact possible vendors who could assist with this project. Mrs. Cyr will also speak with Mr. Barone about contacts he may have.
After a lengthy discussion on the proposal presented and other alternates such as making the shades on the bottom windows manual; it was decided to table the shade issue until the April Board meeting.
Furniture for the Young Adult Area
Furniture for the Young Adult area has been selected. It will complement the Library's existing furniture and be practical for use by young people for study and relaxing. It should take six weeks to arrive after ordering.
Library Closings
Mrs. Cyr informed the Board the Library closed early on Sunday, February 16 and was closed Monday, February 17 and Tuesday, February 18 due to the Presidents' Day weekend snow storm.
LIBRARY SERVICES
Café Cart
There was discussion about the status of the Café Cart. The Cart has done marginally well. The Library customers seem to enjoy it; however, there has been no attempt on the part of the cart to advertise its services. Additionally, the cart often does not have food available to meet the demand during programs and special events. And there have been reports that the food is stale. The information about these events has been made available to the cart and Mrs. Cyr and Mrs. Nowak have met repeatedly with the management of the cart to make suggestions about advertising and improving services. The cart does not follow through with these suggestions. The Board asked Mrs. Cyr to express their feelings on how unhappy they are with the cart and if things do not change they will be forced to look for another vendor.
Mrs. Cyr said she will meet with them again and let them know the Board's concerns.
Television Show
Mrs. Cyr reported the township cable station hopes the first show will be ready by April.
Mr. Nuzzo volunteers his help if needed.
Poet Laureate Committee
Mrs. Cyr reported the committee is doing quite well. A mission statement has been written for the Poet Laureate's position and a list of six tasks has been written up for the position. An application has been drafted.
Committee members: Margery Cyr, Judy Katz, Sharon Colucci and Lisa Cooney. Mrs. Cyr said after next week's committee meeting they should be ready to go to Council with their recommendations.
Passport Pictures
Mr. Goldman asked about the taking of passport pictures. Mrs. Cyr said at the present time there is no money for the purchasing of the additional equipment needed and there is also no place for the pictures to be taken.
Mr. Goldman asked Mrs. Cyr to look into this further.
LMxAC Automatic System Replacement
Mrs. Cyr reported that on March 10, 2003 the Middlesex County Freeholders approved the funding for LMxAC replacement of its automatic system. Mrs. Cyr said the consultant has said that five different vendors have the potential to meet the needs of the system.
Emergency Procedures
Mrs. Cyr reported the emergency procedures are still being worked on.
Department Reports
The Board reviewed and accepted all department reports.
Trustees Program
Mrs. Cyr informed the Board on April 1 at 7:00 p.m. there will be a trustee program at the NJLA Conference being held at the East Brunswick Hilton; the speaker will be Regina Thomas, New Jersey Secretary of State.
Adjournment
Motion: made by Joseph Nuzzo, seconded by Mary Chamberlain, to adjourn the meeting at 9:20 p.m. Unanimously approved.
Respectfully submitted,
Joseph Nuzzo, Secretary
Library Board of Trustees
Date Approved: May 14, 2003
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