Library Board of Trustees

By City Clerk at 1:59 pm, Apr 08, 2024 Amesbury Public Library Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes – February 14, 2024 Amesbury Public Library Board of Trustees Location: Amesbury City Hall Auditorium Wednesday, February 14, 2024 7:00 PM Board of Trustees (BOT) members present: Jessica Ducrow, Anne Campbell, Laurie Cameron, Brenda Rich, Mary Chatigny APL staff present: Aimie Westphal – APL Director Meghan Fahey – APL Head of Archives 1. Call to order at 7:00 PM by Jessica as Chair 2. Secretary Minutes: Motion to approve January minutes with minor edits by Anne, seconded by Mary, unanimous by all who were present at the January meeting. 3. Communications:  Jessica checked trustee email. Responded to a couple of emails from interested candidates for the open trustee positions.  Jessica reviewed the screening process for interested candidates. The questions were created by the Chair, Vice Chair and APL Director and posed to the candidates. The interested candidates were made aware of the mission and values of the BOT and APL. 4. Friends of the Library Update – February's meeting was cancelled due to weather. Aimie will keep us updated whether they reschedule for February or meet again at their next scheduled meeting in March. Shannon Doherty is leaving the board. 5. Vacancies: City Council will join the BOT for the March 13th meeting for the appointment of three new board members. The BOT meeting will follow the joint City Council/Library Board of Trustees meeting. 6. Budget Report:  Aimie presents the FY2024 (month 7 of 12) APL budget. 7. Facilities Report:  Aimie presented her monthly Facilities Report to the Trustees for February 2024. This document is included in the addendum. (Addendum 1).  Staff door is fixed. Installation of the door activated the alarm, and it was uncovered it was not connected to dispatch. The alarm company told Aimie that the contract had been cancelled. Aimie is working through the responses from the alarm company to find out what happened. She has discovered they now have two accounts and two bills. She will continue to investigate.  Water infiltration and gutter issues not resolved. Water is still coming in. There is industrial machinery in the room to help dry the floor.  Climate control project for special collections is complete.  Potential conservator found for the front doors and the circulation desk.   FMP – Aimie announced eight firms applied. 8. Directors Report:  Aimie presented her monthly Director’s Report to the Trustees for February 2024. This document is included in the addendum. (Addendum 2). 9. Subcommittee Updates:  Finance subcommittee – Mary gave a brief overview of the meeting held on January 29th. Discussed the MAR budget and capital project plan. Anne made a motion to accept the minutes as presented. Jessica seconded. Unanimous by all who were present at the meeting. 10. New Business: • FY25 Budget vote – Aimie reviewed the budget she has presented to the Mayor. Both training/staff development lines have been cut. • Anne made a motion to approve the budget at the MAR with the addition of $1,500 to the Library Training line and $500 to Dues and Memberships line for a total budget of $904,856. Brenda seconded, unanimous. • The BOT finance subcommittee will meet again with the Mayor on March 12. • Q2 stats being made public. 11. Old Business  Secretary role – Laurie will continue to act as interim secretary. 12. Matters not reasonably anticipated in advance of the meeting: Aimie asked us to think about the possibility of adding a custodial position instead of renewing with the City cleaning company when the contract expires at year end. The current cleaning company is not performing to the necessary standards. 13. Adjourn: 8:24 PM. Motion to adjourn by Laurie, seconded by Anne, unanimous.