A meeting of the Board of Trustees was held this date at 4:06 PM. at the Library with Trustees Buckley, Little, Merry, and Salerno present and Mayor Driscoll present and presiding. Ms. Jackson was present. Trustees Shea and Yale were absent. The Mayor and the Trustees warmly welcomed Dr. Salerno to the Board of Trustees and stated that they looked forward to working with him. The Board shared memories of former Trustee Donald Clarke who died in August.
Approval of Minutes of June 17, 2010 UNANIMOUS
Current Library Use and Financial reports were distributed. Ms. Jackson reported on the donation of Ms. Little of $5000.00 to the Bertram Kimball Little Grounds Beautification Fund. The Trustees thanked Ms. Little for her generous donation and they commented on how beautiful the grounds look this year.
Ms. Jackson reported on the FY11 budget. The City Council approved the budget with no cuts ($1,143,516). The budget will allow the Library to be certified by the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners and the Library will be eligible to receive State Aid.
Ms. Jackson reported on the library’s boiler. The project was completed with no problems. Ms. Jackson praised the company (IBMS – Industrial Boiler and Mechanical Services) for their excellent work. The cost of $30,000 was significantly lower than expected. The cost of the boiler will be shared by the Library and the City. The Library looks forward to a trouble-free heating season.
Ms. Jackson passed out a memo from City Solicitor Elizabeth Rennard concerning changes to the Open Meeting Law. Ms. Jackson suggested the Trustees read the memo and be aware of the changes in the law.
Ms. Jackson commented on the 2010 Community Survey of city residents. The survey was very positive about Salem government. Over 1,000 residents participated in the on-line survey. In the survey residents were asked to rate their satisfaction with fourteen city services. Only one service was rated “very satisfied” by the majority of people filling out the survey – public library services. The Mayor congratulated the Library on the results.
Ms. Jackson announced the retirement of Children’s Librarian, Cheryl Opolski. Cheryl has worked at the Library for twenty years. Tricia Allen, Assistant Children’s Librarian, will become the new Children’s Librarian. The Trustees discussed a problem concerning Cheryl’s vacation pay. The Human Resources Department declared that Cheryl was not entitled to be paid for her remaining vacation weeks. They wanted to pro-rate her vacation. Ms. Jackson pointed out that this had never been done before and any change in past practice should have been made clear (by memo) at the beginning of the year. Cheryl did not use her vacation in the summer as a consideration to the Library. The Trustees voted to reimburse Cheryl for the take home pay she would have
received had she taken her vacation earlier.
Ms. Jackson also informed the Trustees that her own retirement date (announced earlier in the year) would be the end of December. The Trustees discussed her replacement.
Meeting adjourned at 5:00PM.
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