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Minutes

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Grafton Public Library Trustees Meeting Minutes

May 21, 2015

 

Attending:  Bob Donald, Andrea Dunmire, Lucia Corwin, Christopher Schemm, Deborah Toomey

Bob Donald brought the meeting to order at 6:35 p.m.

The minutes from the April meeting were read and approved.

Public Comment

There was no public comment.

Librarian’s Report

Michelle had sent her report and the Board reviewed it prior to the meeting. Due to an emergency, Michelle was unable to make the opening of the meeting.

The toilet was repaired, and the plumber experienced several issues with what at first thought was a simple repair. The water shut-off was rusted and snapped off. Additional issues were discovered, and all have been resolved and repaired.

The program on loss was attended by 17 people and additional meetings will be scheduled.

In automation, all juvenile and adult records have been completed. June should see the start of phase two, with the barcoding of the collection.

Building and Grounds

Lucia reported on the many issues with the building and grounds that she is handling.  The Board approved Ivor Stevens’ estimate of $1150 to fill the holes in the library lawn. Unfortunately, it will be unlikely to be completed prior to the Memorial Day ceremonies scheduled for Friday, May 29th. The holes will be roped off to prevent anyone falling prior to the ceremonies.

Many thanks to the Windham Foundation and Russell Record for trimming the maple tree. Lucia is waiting to hear from other tree specialists to see if additional work needs to be done on the maple and to discuss the condition of the white pine at the back of the library lawn to see what should be done.

On the painting of the front of the library, Lucia contacted Dean Silver, a lead abatement specialist. He recommended wrapping the entire library and removing the lead based paint. The library would have to be closed while this was done. He did offer an alternative which was to remove the siding, seal it, and replace and paint. Insulation could be added at this point. Bob and Deborah expressed concern regarding the costs: all old building in Grafton have lead based paint and covering it, as the Windham Foundation does, can be an acceptable alternative. The Board suggested that Lucia contact John Hallock to get the name of the painters who worked on the church for advice and alternatives to the lead abatement suggested.

In regard to the structural issues with the Library floor, Bob has been shown by Patrick Cooperman, the location of the blueprints. Bob has not yet carefully reviewed them. He did meet with Steve Tarbox, a structural engineer with SVE Associates who had good news: there is no sign of rot and the building is sound. He will be sending the Board a report that he found no obvious structural issues.

Kate Anderson has done a beautiful job with the library grounds, pruning and mulching.

Annual Volunteer Brunch

Assignments were made for tasks for the volunteer brunch which will be held on June 14th.   Lucia offered to contact Fritz Maassen to see if we might borrow cups, saucers, and plates from the Chapel.

Treasurer’s Report

The library is within budget so far. Funds have not yet been withdrawn from the Jerald L. Stevens Memorial Fund, but this will be done at the end of the fiscal year to pay for the librarian’s health care and the salary of the assistant librarian.

Strategic Plan

A strategic plan will not be started until automation is completed.  Lucia is ready to get started organizing the process. She suggested that getting community consensus for the building would be very helpful in fundraising for a possible Library renovation. Information on Strategic Planning is available on the VDOL website at: http://libraries.vermont.gov/services/public_libraries/strategic_planning.

Other Business

Bob Donald presented a new policy for “Miscellaneous, Unplanned Expenditure Policy” which was unanimously approved by the Board with only one grammatical change. This policy allows the library director to contact repair personnel for any repair that would likely cost less than $250. The new policy is attached to these minutes and filed in the Library Policies.

 

The next meeting of the Board will be held on Thursday, June 18th.

 

The meeting was adjourned at 7:30 p.m.

 

Respectfully submitted,

 

 

Deborah Toomey