MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES

FEBRUARY 26, 2009

CLARE H. SERGEANT AUDITORIUM, 244 W. MICHIGAN AVE., JACKSON, MI

President Deborah Herbert called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m.

ROLL CALL:
Board Members Present: James E. Best, Teressa T. Delph, Deborah A. Herbert, Theodore R. Kolman, Lawrence S. Sanders, George H. Sewell

Board Members Absent: Darrell J. Durham (excused)

Director: Ishwar Laxminarayan.

Administrators Present: Vicki Baldwin, Jim Delaney, Elaine Piper, Michael Way

Others Present: Jean Dailey, Administrative Secretary; Lorraine Butchart, Heather Guenther, Ron McCoy, Chris Sadler and Donna Smith. Public attendance sign in sheet attached to official minutes.

Consent Calendar: Moved by George Sewell, supported by James Best, that the consent calendar be approved as presented, inclusive of the minutes of the Regular Meeting of February 12, 2009, as well as the Gifts and Donations and Personnel Actions. Motion carried unanimously.

Public Forum: The meeting was opened for public comment. There were no comments at this time.

Current Bills: Moved by Teressa Delph, supported by Lawrence Sanders, to approve the current bills as presented. Discussion was held regarding the charges reflected on Internet Access Lines and Indirect State Aid line items. Motion carried unanimously.

Financial Reports: Moved by James Best, supported by Lawrence Sanders, to approve the current financial reports as presented. There was discussion regarding penal fines and utilities. Vicki Baldwin announced that checks had been received in the amount of $12,000 for Penal Fines and $2,334,474 for property taxes. These will appear in the February financial report at the next meeting. Deborah, Vicki and Ishwar will plan to meet with the district judges to discuss the Penal Fines situation. Motion carried unanimously.

Committee Reports:

Facilities Committee:  The Facilities Committee has not met.

Finance Committee: James Best reported that the Finance Committee has not met. The next meeting is scheduled for March 17, 2009 at 2:00 p.m.

Personnel Committee: Teressa Delph reported that the Personnel Committee had met prior to this meeting and that the minutes will be included in the March Board packet. The next meeting is scheduled tentatively for March 19, 2009.

Director’s Report and Activities: The report was included in the packet. Elaine Piper reported that the Open House at Parma to welcome Kate Burns was very nice with excellent attendance from the community. Ishwar also highlighted youth programs at the Carnegie branch and Youth Center and invited everyone to attend the Big Read Kick-Off event at noon on Saturday where Congressman Schauer will be speaking.

Statistics – Discussion was held regarding some of the circulation statistics. Ishwar is checking on the spreadsheet formulas used in the reporting of statistics and reviewing the methods used for reporting. It was clarified that the numbers for computer usage reflect time used in half hour increments, not patron count.

Hanover Branch Presentation – Chris Sadler reported on the Hanover Branch and shared a PowerPoint presentation featuring various programs, activities and patrons. There have been some very successful programs this past year. Due to space limitations, some of the programs have been held at the school and in October there was a “Halloween in the Park” program. Hanover Branch has a lot of support from young children; but, few teenagers. He announced that 2009 will be the “Year of the Teen” for the branch and will continue to focus on increasing youth programs and events. He also will be offering computer classes including basic operations and E-Bay. Chris stated that the goal for Hanover is to make the Library the epicenter of Information, Education and Entertainment. He also has a goal to increase number of patrons by 10%. He is enjoying being branch manager and feels like he is doing something really worthwhile in making a difference with kids through “informal mentoring”.

Old Business:

Economic Stimulus Package Update: Ishwar will be attending a special meeting tomorrow at noon in the County Building with Governor Granholm, Congressman Schauer and community agencies. The will be reviewing the economic stimulus package as it relates to Michigan and the Jackson community. He will report on this meeting at the March board meeting.

Legislative Update: Ishwar reported that he had attended the MLA Legislative Committee Meeting. The committee will be working with legislators focusing on the areas of the future of the Department of History, Arts and Libraries, state aid, and Library of Michigan. The MLA will also be addressing the issue of tax captures.

Big Read: Donna Smith reported that the Big Read Kick-Off event will be held Saturday, February 28, 2009 (John Steinbeck’s birthday) at Lincoln School. There will be eighteen tables featuring community service agencies, live music by Ron Chmielewski, a documentary DVD from Spring Arbor of four Jackson County residents who lived through the Depression era; and free food. Jackson Transportation Authority (JTA) is offering free rides to the Big Read.

Young Poets Contest: Jean Dailey reported that over 400 entries were received from students through Jackson County. There are forty-eight winners representing nineteen different schools and homeschooled students. The Awards Program will be held as part of the Big Read Closing Ceremony on Thursday, March 26, 2009 at 6:00 p.m. at Jackson High School Cafeteria.

New Business:

Woodlands Library Cooperative: Larry Sanders reported that the next meeting will be in March.

2009 Citizen of the Year Community Awards Dinner: Ishwar reported that an invitation to participate in this dinner was received and a copy was included in the board information packet. After discussion, George Sewell moved, supported by Lawrence Sanders, that the Library purchase tickets for two representatives to attend this event. Motion carried (5 to 1). Ishwar and Deb Herbert will attend to represent the Library.

March Meeting Date: Because of scheduling conflicts due to community events with the March meeting dates, it was moved by Ted Kolman, supported by Jim Best, that the JDL Board have one meeting in March to be held on Monday, March 16, 2009 at 6:00 p.m. Motion carried unanimously.

Communications: A copy of an article from the Michigan Library Association was in the Board Information packet as was a thank you letter for Computer Classes from Felicia McCranie. Teressa Delph stated that these classes are very good. The Board would like more information on these classes and Joyce Betz will be asked to speak on computer classes at the next meeting. Ishwar shared copies of recent newspaper articles featuring the new format that the Jackson Citizen Patriot is using for community events. The library has programs that are mentioned almost every day.

Public Forum: The meeting was opened for public comment. There were no comments at this time.

Moved by Lawrence Sanders, supported by George Sewell, that the meeting be adjourned at 7:05 p.m. Motion carried unanimously.

Respectfully submitted,

James E. Best Secretary/Treasurer