Library Board of Trustees

RECEIVED By Amanda at 8:06 am, 9/4/20 Amesbury Public Library Board of Trustees Online Meeting – Public Participation p Wednesday, June 17, 2020 7:00 PM Members present: Anne Campbell (AC), Bethany Sullivan (BS), Brenda Rich (BR), Delia Rinaldi (DR), Gail Browne (GB), Laurie Cameron (LC), Michelle Lamott (ML), Nicole Harry (NH), Sarah Downs (SD) Members Not in Attendance: None APL Director: Erin Matlin I. Call to order at 7:01 p.m. by Laurie II. Secretary’s Minutes: A. (May 13, 2020 meeting) – Brenda motions to accept the minutes as presented. Delia seconds. Unanimous. III. Budget Report: 1. Two invoices for library books, but not expecting anything big. Should be under budget. Expect to get final number after the end of the fiscal year. Contractors that did projects on library during closure are being paid out of state aide, but don’t expect any other expenses there. IV. Communications: Gail got an update on Mass Cultural Council grant. Unfortunately, we were not recommended for funding. Building is just shy of 125 years old, so didn’t quite meet the requirements. V. Director’s Report: A. Staff is officially in the building as of June 8. That includes circulation, administration, and tech. Reference isn’t in yet. Children’s team is coming in one at a time to get settled and update the space. Staff is caught up on check-ins and preparing for curbside pickup. The staff has also had training on Microsoft Teams and is getting comfortable in new space and set up. Some staff are anxious, but Erin is hoping that will settle. B. Summer reading program launches Monday. Will be advertising outside building, and on City Hall parking lot sign. Facebook Live event went well. Curbside pickup will start Tuesday. It will be Tuesday and Thursday to start, 1 pm to 4 pm. That allows time to prep in the morning. Providing materials for patrons on how pickup works. They can place holds online or over the phone, and staff will notify patrons when materials are ready for pickup. Information will be up on the  website and social media and city website before it kicks off. Delivery from other libraries has not started, but Erin expects it will start soon. VI. Committee Reports: None VII. Unfinished Business: A. Update: COVID-19 and the Library. It’s hard to get supplies. Got some from fire department and ordered some from Amazon. Got set up as tax exempt on Amazon and got reimbursed for taxes previously paid. Getting quotes on glass or plexiglass top for circulation desk. Glass top will take longer but is the smarter choice long-term. Erin hopes to be able to use state COVID money for that since it is related to cleaning. Mayor is directing departments to go to fire department when they need supplies (they’re procuring). VIII. New Business: A. FY21 Budget Cuts. Mayor has asked for 5% and 10% budget cuts from all departments from fiscal 20 budget. Erin has put this together (details in packet). Erin feels it’s our best option but isn’t sure if we’ll run into any union seniority issues. Erin will reach out Paul and make sure he understands that. Erin met with Laurie and Bethany to review. B. Department head meeting today. Ask might be a cut from proposed fiscal 21 budget. Erin is preparing both options just in case. If that’s true, cuts wouldn’t be as dramatic. Erin will explain risks if budget falls below $859,623 – what is needed to hit MAR. If budget doesn’t hit that number, Library will need to apply for waiver to stay in state aide. But, having a waiver would mean needing that $16,372.62 plus double that amount in the next year’s budget. If you come up with those funds in the fiscal year, the waiver would go away. But, it makes it more challenging to meet MAR as the years go on. Gail asks about staying in the consortium. As long as the Library is on waiver, nothing changes. Request has to be approved by MBLC to get the waiver and stay certified. If MBLC doesn’t approve the waiver, the Library would lose certification. Erin will be meeting with Mayor to review cuts and what it would mean for the Library. Trustees could write a letter to support. MBLC is expecting more waivers this year, so they could be forgiving, but there’s no guarantee. Library has never needed a waiver before, to Erin’s knowledge. A waiver would be needed on 5% or 10% cut. Laurie asks when Erin needs letter of support from Trustees. Erin expects meeting with Mayor to be in the next two weeks. Laurie will work on letter. IX. Other: Gail asked about putting out picnic tables outside for people using Wi-Fi. Erin will look into cost. Gail suggests asking community for donations. X. Adjourn: Michelle made a motion to adjourn at 7:31 p.m. Nicole seconded. Unanimous.