Old Bridge Township, New Jersey

MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES

OLD BRIDGE PUBLIC LIBRARY

MARCH 20, 2002

Present: Steven Goldman President
Mary Chamberlain Vice President
Rita Peterson Secretary
Joseph Nuzzo Trustee
Louisa Colon Mayor's Alternate
Arthur Freihon Superintendent of School's Alternate
Margery Cyr Director
Maria Nowak Executive Assistant

Absent: Mary Gannon Treasurer
Dr. Robert Lipp Trustee
Roman Sohor Trustee
Barbara Cannon Mayor

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.

The Board discussed Attorney Scott Smith's reply to the question posed to him in regard to the format and contents of the Board minutes. Mr. Smith's letter quoted "Robert's Rules of Order" as it addresses the form and contents of minutes. The opinion concurs that a written summary of proceedings is sufficient. "Robert's Rules of Order" states as follows:

"Unless the minutes are to be published, they should contain mainly a record
of what was done at the meeting, not what was said by the members. The
minutes should never reflect the secretary's opinion, favorable or otherwise,
or anything said or done. The minutes should be kept in a substantial book
or binding ..."

After the discussion, the Board decided to follow Mr. Smith's legal opinion. All regular Board meetings are audio taped and kept on file. Both the January and February minutes were amended in keeping with this decision.

Motion: made by Arthur Freihon, seconded by Rita Peterson, to approve the January 9, 2002 Board minutes as amended. Unanimously approved.

Motion: made by Joseph Nuzzo, seconded by Louisa Colon, to approve the February 6, 2002 Board minutes as presented and amended. Unanimously approved.

Mr. Goldman asked that Dr. Lipp receive a copy of the approved January 9, 2002 Board minutes as approved and amended.

Mrs. Cyr informed the Board that Mary Gannon had approved payment of all bills.

Motion: made by Mary Chamberlain, seconded by Arthur Freihon, to approve the bill listing in the amount of $97,998.96 as presented. Unanimously approved.

Mrs. Cyr reported that there will be a suggested list of auditors for the April meeting.

Mrs. Cyr informed the Board the Library's proposed Operating Budget for FY 02/03 has been submitted to the Township. The proposed Budget requests a Municipal Allocation of $1,588,435.00; this is a $121,245.00 increase over the current year's allocation. The increase is less than the increase in the Payroll line item.

An increase in anticipated revenue from the Passport and Café services has offset the need for a larger increase in the Municipal Allocation. Increases have been made in the Book Line Item to fund growth in the nonfiction and fiction Young Adult collections; Advertising has been increased to fund the printing and distribution of a planned Annual Report to the community; Audit/Bond has been increased to fund the bond for the Library's Treasurer; and the Literacy Line Item has been increased to fund the per capita assessment for literacy services in Old Bridge. The Proposed Budget totals: $1,766,848.00.

Mr. Goldman asked Mrs. Cyr if the Library should continuing supporting Literacy Volunteers.

Mrs. Cyr stated that Old Bridge has a 17% illiteracy rate, which is almost one quarter of the population of the community. Such a high illiteracy rate can have serious negative repercussions for the community. Literacy Volunteers have tutored fourteen students in Old Bridge this past year, six are still active and eleven students waiting to be placed with a tutor. The work that is done by LVM is valuable and should be supported.

After Monday evening's discussion at Township Council Meeting, Mrs. Cyr reported that she is unsure if the Library will be receiving the $22,000 that was requested for new computers.

Mrs. Cyr said she will write a letter to Finance Director Himanshu Shah; asking him to clarify the status of the Library's request. This information is vital due to the pending nature of the Library's proposed Operating Budget.

Moving of Monies

Motion: made by Arthur Freihon, seconded by Joseph Nuzzo, to move $649.38 from Commitments Payable: uncommitted to Commitments Payable: TTD, for the Staff Development Day program on June 7, 2002. Unanimously approved.

Motion: made by Mary Chamberlain, seconded by Joseph Nuzzo, to move $3,059.76 from Commitments Payable: Automation to Commitments Payable: Furnishings and Equipment for the purchase of new cabinets for storing DVD's, CD's and CD-ROMs at the circulation department and paperback display racks. Unanimously approved.

Mrs. Peterson questioned why the "Discards" were so high, over 5,000. Mrs. Cyr clarified that this number reflected discarded periodicals, a variable previously not included in the report under "Discards". Statistics were placed on file.

The Board complimented Mrs. Cyr on her reply to the patron who complained about the subject matter of the artwork being displayed in the art gallery; and to the other patron who complained about the appropriateness of a Coffee Café in a public library.

In any effort to reduce photocopying and save paper, Mrs. Cyr suggested that Workshop Reports from staff be placed in a binder rather than included in the monthly Board packets. The binder will be brought to each Board meeting for any Board member wishing to review them. The binder will be also available for review in Mrs. Nowak's office at any time. The Board agreed with Mrs. Cyr's suggestion.

Mrs. Peterson commented that the quality and timeliness of the Workshop Reports has been steadily improving.

Mrs. Cyr distributed the registration form for a Trustee program being held by the New Jersey Library Association on Thursday evening April 11, 2002. Several Board members signed up for the program. Mrs. Cyr will also be in attendance at the program.

Motion: made by Louisa Colon, seconded by Joseph Nuzzo, to approve closing the Library on Friday June 7, 2002 for a Staff Development Day. Unanimously approved.

The Friends of the Library will set up for the Annual Book Sale on this day also. The Book Sale will be held on June 8, 2002.

Job Description for Head of Public Information and Support Services Position

After discussion, the Board asked that the job title to be changed to Head of Public Information and Support Services. The following motion was made:

Motion: made by Mary Chamberlain, seconded the Louisa Colon, to approve the job description for the position of Head of Public Information and Support Services with a salary of $33,000 annually. Unanimously approved.

The Board discussed the draft Notary Service Policy that Mrs. Cyr presented to them.

Motion: made by Arthur Freihon, seconded by Joseph Nuzzo, to approved the Notary Service
Policy effective March 20, 2002. Unanimously approved.

Mrs. Cyr reported the service contract renewal has been paid. The Knogo System will be evaluated for its functioning capabilities and usefulness during this year. Ms. Cyr said the Library staff will be keeping a log on how well the system is functioning. A recommendation about the future of the system will be made to the Board in the Fall.

Mrs. Cyr reported that she has called Mario Barone several times and has not heard from him nor has she received a report.

Mr. Nuzzo said at this point the Library is waiting to receive several light bulbs which have been ordered.

The Board asked Mrs. Cyr to call Mario Barone again and try to get a report from him for the April meeting.

Mrs. Nowak reported to the Board that the lift has been ordered and will be shipped out by the manufacturer on March 22.

Mrs. Cyr informed the Board that Mayor Cannon, Councilman Reginald Butler, Mary Chamberlain, Arthur Freihon and Roman Sohor were in attendance for the ribbon cutting ceremony.

Mrs. Cyr said the Café has now added soup to the menu. Business at the Café is improving.

Mr. Freihon thanked Mrs. Cyr for hosting a visit to the Library by the school librarians. Mrs. Cyr conducted a tour of the Library and many ideas were exchanged.

The Board went back into public session at 9:18 p.m. and announced that a matter of personnel was discussed.

Motion: made by Rita Peterson, seconded by Arthur Freihon, to approve a 4% increase for Executive Assistant Maria Nowak effective January 1, 2002. Unanimously approved.

Motion: made by Mary Chamberlain, seconded by Arthur Freihon, to adjourn the meeting at
9:25 p.m. Unanimously approved.

Rita Peterson, Secretary
Library Board of Trustees
Date Approved: April 10, 2002