Minutes: August 2020
MINUTES
CLERMONT COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY
BOARD OF TRUSTEES
AUGUST 17, 2020
MIAMI TOWNSHIP BRANCH
VIA FACEBOOK LIVE
Present: Tony Cardinal, Joe Braun, Adam Bird, Tricia Lyons, Mary Jo Waite, Jennifer Doss
Absent: Judith Kocica
Staff: Chris Wick, Maura Gray, Leslie Jacobs, Theresa Herron, Lynn Baird
Guests: None
Mr. Cardinal called the meeting to order at 6 p.m.
ROLL CALL:
Roll Call: Tony Cardinal, here; Joe Braun, here; Adam Bird, here; Judith Kocica, absent; Tricia Lyons, here; Mary Jo Waite, here; Jennifer Doss, here.
Mr. Cardinal asked everyone to stand and recite the Pledge of Allegiance.
JULY 20, 2020, MINUTES:
Motion by Mr. Braun, seconded by Ms. Lyons, to approve the July 2020 board meeting minutes as mailed. All present were in favor. Motion carried.
PUBLIC DISCUSSION:
Ms. Wick had two emails from the public: Karyn Whittaker sent questions related to internal matters that will not be addressed or discussed during a public meeting. One question asked by Whitaker was about the board meeting agenda. The agenda is posted on the Library’s website about a week before each meeting.
Ms. Wick read an email from Mr. Derrick Blassingame, who asked the Library to consider donating computers to be recycled to the Cincinnati Computer Cooperative, which is a non-profit agency. Ms. Wick reached out to the cooperative August 17 to get more information about their program.
FISCAL OFFICER’S REPORT:
Ms. Gray presented the monthly financial report and discussed the Public Library Fund, which was higher than expected for August. She also stated that the Ohio Department of Taxation estimates the PLF to be about $5 million for 2021, which is about $600,000 less than the original estimate for 2020.
Mr. Bird asked about the amount of money owed to the Library because of materials not returned over the last 20 years. Ms. Wick said this money is less than one percent of the annual budget.
Motion by Mr. Bird, second by Ms. Waite, to approve the August financial report. All present were in favor. Motion carried.
Motion by Mr. Braun, seconded by Ms. Waite, to approve the bills paid. All present were in favor, except Ms. Doss, who abstained. Motion carried.
DIRECTOR’ REPORT
Ms. Wick said the reopening of the Library is going well. There is an ongoing concern about patrons coming in without masks or not social distancing properly. Administrators have been working with managers on how to deal with these situations. Additional plexiglass will be added in branches purchased with money from the Ohio Cares Act through the State Library of Ohio. The quarantine of materials has been extended as part of the REALM study.
The online content is very robust. Youth programmers will be cognizant of programming that will help teachers and parents with curriculum support.
The Clermont County Ohio Governor’s Imagination Library is going well. About 1,600 children are enrolled. Funding is available for 2,400 children. Additional fundraising is underway.
Additional CARES Act money may be available.
New Board of Trustees meeting locations have been set and they will be at Miami Township.
The Library has been asked to consider purchasing some land near the Batavia Library. Ms. Wick said the land would not help increase parking at the Batavia Branch because the land is not contiguous. The Board agreed to not consider purchasing the land.
Ms. Doss asked about Take Home Storytimes at the Miami Township Branch and if all branches were creating book bundles for guests. Ms. Wick said other branches are looking at providing these types of bundles.
OLD BUSINESS
Motion by Ms. Waite, seconded by Ms. Doss, to approve Resolution R-2020-018: Acceptance of gifts to the Library: donations as listed. All present were in favor. Motion carried.
Motion by Mr. Bird, seconded by Ms. Lyons, to approve Resolution R-2020-019: Disposal of unneeded or obsolete library material. Roll call vote: Mr. Cardinal, aye; Mr. Braun, aye; Ms. Lyons, aye; Ms. Waite, aye; Ms. Doss, aye. All present were in favor, none opposed. The resolution was adopted.
Ms. Gray told the Board about a recommendation by the State Auditor to revise the HR Policy Manual. The recommendation was to add the Library’s existing Public Records Policy to the HR Policy Manual. The county prosecutor is aware of the addition to the manual.
Mr. Braun asked the Board to delay approving the addition to the HR Policy Manual until the next meeting so Board members can review possible revisions to the Public Records Policy.
Ms. Gray asked the Board to ratify the employee accrual rates as recommended by the State Auditor’s Office. This will avoid issues with next year’s audit. The ratification indicates that while employee hours were reduced during the pandemic, the vacation and sick accrual rates remained the same.
Motion to Mr. Bird, seconded by Ms. Waite, to ratify vacation and sick accruals in 2020. All present were in favor, none opposed. The resolution was adopted.
Mr. Bird mentioned the retirement of Mary Adkins who is retiring August 28.
Motion by Ms. Lyons, seconded by Ms. Waite, to adjourn the meeting. All present were in favor, none opposed. The meeting adjourned at 6:28 p.m.
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Board President Board Secretary
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