James A. Tuttle Library
45 Main Street, Antrim, NH 03440
Board of Trustees Meeting
September 08, 2008
Present: Nancy Benda (Treasurer), Kathy Chisholm (Library Director), Janis King, Connie Kirwin (Secretary), Margaret Warner (Chair)
Minutes of the 8/11/2008 meeting were approved.
Treasurer’s Report:
· Jason and Jane Warner donated $500 to the building fund.
· Discussed town funding budget; expenses at 68 %
· Paved walkway invoice will be paid out of the TIFF fund as will the renovation of the portico.
· Landscaping needs to be finished: bring in loam to raise the level of the lawn up to the walkway; plant grass seed, and add mulch to the plants and edging the garden around the memorial stone. Estimate of $650 from L.A.B.
· After paying the remaining building invoices the balance will be about $100 therefore it was decided that the building fund should be closed out.
· Motion made to finish the landscaping and close building account—unanimously agreed.
· Discussion on security lighting, flood lights at rear parking, lighting going down the driveway, and lighting on the new front stairs. It is a safety and liability issue especially due to the imminent change of time where it will be dark earlier each night. Nancy will call John Kendall about the outside lights and will stress the urgency of the situation.
· We are still waiting for $1,980 from the Insurance Company from the flood. Nancy will also ask John about the insurance payment.
· Discussion on keys. There are 4 doors each with different keys and Nancy questioned whether all 4 door locks could be re-keyed so that they all use the same key. Kathy will call John about the locks.
· Nancy announced that she received notification that the 2009 CIP deadline is Sept 29. It was suggested that since Sandy has had experience with the committee, this project was delegated to Sandy. The item to be presented is the re-wiring of the original building. Last year the generator was presented to the CIP by Ron. We were not notified as to the results. Margie will contact Ron Haggett about the generator proposal and the resulting decision in 2008. Margie will check with Bill Prokop about the issue.
· Treasurer’s report accepted.
Director’s Report:
· See attached.
· Circulation numbers have increased in July partially due to people coming in to see the new building.
· Discussion on cleaning contract. Recommended that we ask for a proposal for 2009 from McGurty and from Rick Seavey. Since Rick is currently a town employee Margie will check the number of hours that he works to see if it would be feasible for him to do the cleaning. Budgets will be discussed in October and due in November.
· Inspection was done with Scott Taylor from Skywave and Fire Chief Mike Beauchamp and a crash bar is not needed on the front door.
· Waiting for Chief to get back about a procedure for the keys to the building procedure. It was suggest that Kathy contact the second in command at the Fire Dept. Margie will ask Bill Prokop about the Knox Box, a system where Fire and Police have a key to a box that contains the key to the building.
· Kathy reported that the glass fronted cabinet on the second floor belongs to the Historical Society. She will find a way to get it moved from the hallway into the alcove.
· Dick Loveland from the Antrim Bennington Lions Club is interested in sponsoring a speaker series to be held at the Library in coordination with the Recreation Dept, Historical Society, and the Dodge Library in Bennington.
· Discussion on having a volunteer work at the library about 12 hours per week thru the NH Community Back to Work Program. Since there is no expense on the part of the Library it was decided that this would be a good program to participate in as long as it is not labor intensive to the staff.
· Kathy will call Melanson Roofing for an estimate on the slate roof repairs for 2009; needed for the October meeting.
· Humidifier, which caused the flood, needs to be repaired before winter. The plumber also needs to train the staff on how to re-program the thermostat seasonally. We cannot hire the plumber to come in seasonally to change the thermostat. Kathy was directed to call John or the plumber to make an appointment for this.
Old Business:
· Library policy review was postponed to the October meeting.
· A Friends of the Library group was discussed. Janis noted that 5 people (non-library related) were needed to form a group so the quest is to find someone to spearhead a friends group.
· Area trustee meeting is scheduled for Wednesday September 17 at 7 pm. Margie, Nancy and Connie will host the meeting.
New Business:
· Computer replacement information from Allan Treadwell for the 2009 budget from Allan Treadwell will be discussed at the October meeting.
· Landscaping maintenance estimate from L.A.B. Spring, Summer, and Fall maintenance of $750 per season includes labor, equipment, and supplies for a total of $2,250. It was suggested that we pursue another estimate from someone locally.
· It was strongly suggested that wooden frames need to be built to protect the shrubbery from the damaging snow falling from the slate roof. In the past snow fall from the slate roof has broken a basement window and the windshield of a car that was parked too close to the building. It was suggested that perhaps the Boy Scouts or the Middle School woodworking class would be interested in building these as a community service. Kathy will check these possibilities.
· Discussion on snow removal from the walkways: Kathy will check with town hall.
· Nancy reported that skateboarding is not allowed on town property per a discussion with the Town Administrator. The town ordinance will be amended to reflect all town property and will be enforced. It was suggested that we post signs on the Library property.
· The Library website was discussed. The news on the website is old; as of the first week of September “New Books” was dated May-June 2008; the “Library News” was dated Feb 8; “Programs” listed was dated March thru May 2008. There was no news about the Summer Reading Program and the Kids Contest has had no activity and should be changed to identify a prize so that kids will respond. Donna Hansen at the Town Hall will make any changes we propose. It was suggested that New Books be added on a monthly basis or when they are received. It was also suggested that we collect e-mail addresses to send out notification of new books to patrons who are interested. The website issue was discussed last spring and it appears to be an ongoing problem. It was suggested
that follow up on the status of the website should be a standing item on the agenda at each meeting.
· Building use and procedures was tabled for the October meeting. We need to check with the Town policy on their use policy—Margie will check with Bill Prokop and Kathy will check with other library’s policies.
· Connie made a motion to meet on September 15 at 7:30 pm in executive session to administer Kathy’s evaluation; seconded by Janis King and agreed on unanimously.
Next meeting: October 13, 2008 at 7:30 pm at Tuttle Library.
Respectfully submitted,
Connie Kirwin, Secretary
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