BOARD OF LIBRARY TRUSTEES
EMERGENCY MEETING HELD
WEDNESDAY, MAY 5, 2010
MASHPEE LIBRARY CONFERENCE ROOM
Present: David Burton, John Kowalski, Jane Dolan, Nancy Soderberg, and Helene DeFoe, Library Director.
Absent: Patricia Gamache, Carlo D’Este, and Dianna Smith.
Once a quorum arrived, David Burton, Chairman, called the meeting to order at 4:50 p.m. and David thanked the Trustees for their leadership and commitment.
Old Business
Sculptures for the Library
Jane Dolan showed photos of sculptures that would sit atop the time capsule pedestal. The Board all agreed the piece titled Surprised by Joy would be perfect.
Jane then reported that Tedi Marsh and her son had been at the library and walked with Jane around the outside of the library building for a spot to place a sculpture that her son will be creating and they will be donating to the library.
Staffing Crisis
David stated that the purpose of this emergency meeting is due to the continuing staffing crisis and challenges the library faces and the urgency of the situation. Jane Dolan informed the Board that at Town Meeting last night Terrie Cook approached her and informed Jane that the Board of Selectmen was going to talk about this again at the Board of Selectmen meeting next Monday, May 10th. Jane said she did ask Terrie why at our meeting with her last Thursday she had not mentioned the Board of Selectmen had discussed the $75,000 gift at their previous meeting.
Jack Kowalski stated that at the Trustee meeting on April 29th we talked about essentially paying for contract labor and that the Trustees would take this on ourselves with $15,000 funding from the Friends. Jack said Mark Gildea at his law firm who is very experienced and astute in municipal law indicated to Jack that with this approach the mistake we would be making is not putting this at the door of the Selectmen and the Town Manager because they have to implement getting coverage for the Town on anybody we hire as contract labor. Jack also spoke with another attorney with municipal law expertise and Jack is convinced it is sound advice. To that end, Jack presented a draft of a Board of Library Trustees Position Statement for the Trustees to consider. Jack noted that this drafted
position statement points out the problems we’re encountering and also points out solutions. He said we will talk about a 60-day fix and also the $75,000 for the long term. This Position Statement approach is putting the Town on notice that we are going to do it. Jack said Mark offered gratuitously to represent us in anything that may come down the line. Nancy Soderberg commented that it is great to have good, solid help behind us.
Nancy Soderberg asked Helene: How would you manage training the contract labor? Helene responded that trained librarians are available so there basically would be no training needed since they are already trained in the CLAMS system.
Helene exited the meeting.
Staffing Crisis (continued)
The Trustees had a lengthy review and discussion on the drafted Position Statement and made edits to the draft. Following the changes made, the revised Statement was reviewed and the consensus of the Trustees was that Chairman David Burton should send a brief cover letter with the Position Statement attached to the Board of Selectmen and to the Town Manager. This cover letter with Statement should be hand-delivered and also forwarded via e-mail to the Selectmen and to the Town Manager. David Burton said he would do that tomorrow.
Motion: David Burton motioned that the Board of Library Trustees accept the agreed-upon Position Statement regarding hiring temporary staffing and it is to be submitted to the Board of Selectmen and to the Town Manager as discussed; John Kowalski seconded this motion; and it was unanimously passed.
New Business
Official Library Dedication Ceremony
David proposed that the official dedication ceremony scheduled for May 21st be rescheduled for a number of reasons but most particularly due to the staffing crisis we are facing. David said the official dedication should be a happy occasion; and these are definitely not happy times for the library staff.
Motion: David Burton motioned to reschedule the official library dedication ceremony; John Kowalski seconded this motion; and it was unanimously passed.
At a future date, the Trustees will set the new date for the ceremony.
Discussion
David Burton expressed concern and pointed out the need for the Trustees to set policies related to use of library public meeting rooms and implementation of basic guidelines on this topic. David said he will put together a draft and e-mail it to the Trustees for review at next Trustee meeting.
Next Meeting…6 p.m. on Thursday, May 13, 2010 in the Library Conference Room.
Adjournment
John Kowalski motioned to adjourn the meeting; Nancy Soderberg seconded the motion; and it was unanimously passed. The meeting adjourned at 7:10 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Jean Giliberti
Recording Secretary
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