Library Board of Trustees

MEETING OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES MARY RILEY STYLES PUBLIC LIBRARY Held in the Mary Riley Styles Public Library 120 N. Virginia Avenue Falls Church, VA 22046 March 18, 2015 1. CALL TO ORDER Board Chair Brad Gemand called the special meeting to order at 7:00p.m. The following Board members attended the meeting: Brad Gemand Chet DeLong Ed Rose Stephanie Oppenheimer Jeff Peterson Don Camp Jacob Bruner Excused Absence: Terry Zawacki Also present were the City Manager, Wyatt Shields, Assistant City Manager Cindy Mester, Council member Karen Oliver, the Library Director Mary McMahon, and her assistant, Claudia Gutierrez. In addition Councilmember Nader Baroukh and Nick Benton came for a few minutes to express birthday wishes for a Board member. A surprise belated birthday party for Chet DeLong, Vice-Chair, was held. He was recognized for his years of service both on the Board and as a vital volunteer in Technical Services. The Chair asked Ms. Mester if she would like to speak about the Capital Improvement Projects (CIP) FY16library submission before the rest ofthe Agenda was undertaken. She said that on Monday, March 23, 2015 at the regular Council meeting the budget topic will be the CIP. The new Planning Commission Chair, Rob Meeks, will also be introduced. A 20 minute presentation is planned on the CIP; she will review funding sources, projects and timelines and focus on community engagement and survey feedback regarding the FY16 CIP. Many key projects will be considered: the library, the parking deck, the City Hall project, the use of the water sale money, etc. After the presentation there will be a session for questions and answers. Cindy invited the Board to participate in the meeting, after which she said that on April 6, 2015 Council will conduct a follow-up question period on the CIP and will do a preliminary budget mark up and set the tax rate for advertising it. The Planning Commission's CIP recommendations moved the parking deck project to FY17 and the Library construction to FY18 and FY19. They wanted to separate both projects and give priority to the public parking, stating that it should be in place before the library project begins. Cindy also stated that should the library project be approved, it would go to referendum in November 2016. The Chair then announced that Councilmember Snyder had called him to express his stance on the library moving to the Mason Row project. He said that he was dissatisfied with the numbers provided by the developers and how the library would fit into the overall Mason Row project. He wanted Brad and the Board to know that he would not support moving the library to the Mason Row project and asked Brad to express his opinions to the rest of the Board. 1  One Board member asked if they know anybody on Council who might be opposed to the library project, and it seems only Phil Duncan and possibly Dan Sze oppose it as it is presented. Another Board member asked if there are any other speculations about where to put the library, and Cindy responded no, not at this time. The Board commented that the library has the land and being located somewhere else would be more expensive. Cindy said there was a discussion with Council whether to contact the Styles' family, but the majority did not want to. The Library Director mentioned that the City Attorney said that it was a process that could take from 6 to 9 months and then must go to court to release the City from the covenant restrictions. Cindy also noted that if the expansion/renovation project is approved in the CIP, it will have to be coordinated with the parking deck construction and of course, before library construction, the two possible sites will be investigated and a determination made to use either the east or west option. The Director asked if this year's library CIP request is approved must it be resubmitted for the CIP budget next year with updated figures, Cindy said yes, it must be requested again, but that each year gets easier. 2. RECEIPT OF PETITIONS The Director said she had received a phone call from Ritu Cuttica of 119 N. Virginia Avenue, Falls Church to ask what plans the Board of Trustees has for getting information out to the public about the library expansion/renovation project. She said she has some ideas, and the Director suggested that she come speak to the Board during the public petitions portion of the meeting. 3. APPROVAL OF JANUARY 21, 2015 MEETING MINUTES, JANUARY 28, 2015 SPECIAL MEETING MINUTES AND FEBRUARY 5, 2015 SPECIAL MEETING MINUTES Upon a motion made and duly seconded, the Library Board unanimously approved the January 21, 2015 Meeting Minutes, the January 28, 2015 Special Meeting Minutes with one minor change, and the February 5, 2015 Special Meeting Minutes. 4. ARTS AND CULTURAL DISTRICT TASK FORCE (CATCH) REPORT No report. 5. LIBRARY FOUNDATION REPORT Last year the Library Foundation collected $35,000 during its annual campaign and put $17,000 in the endowment, $10,000 for library needs and the remaining funds for annual Foundation expenses. The endowment is invested in Vanguard Funds and is very close to the Foundation's goal of$100,000. Once that goal is achieved, the interest from the investment will go annually to the library. 6. PLAN THE NEXT STEPS IN THE LIBRARY BOARD'S PUBLIC INFORMATION CAMPAIGN ABOUT THE LIBRARY'S RENOVATION/EXPANSION PLAN IN THE FY16 CIP BUDGET AND DISCUSS THE LATEST DEVELOPMENTS REGARDING THE MASON ROW PROPOSAL AND CONTACTING THE STYLES FAMILY An extensive discussion around this topic occurred at the beginning of the meeting with the report from Assistant City Manager Cindy Mester. The Chair handed out a draft letter which would be sent to Council stating the Board's opposition to moving the library from its current location and again stating that the library services should not be split. The wording was discussed by the Board. Upon a motion made and duly seconded, the Library Board unanimously approved the 2 letter to be sent to City Council stating that they are opposed to moving the library, or any part of it, to the Mason Row development. The Director handed out a copy of a letter from the Village Preservation and Improvement Society (VPIS) written to the City Council in which they expressed their support for the renovation/expansion of the library and for keeping the library in its current location. A Board member mentioned that there was a lot of support for the library and its project at the VPIS Board meeting. The Director said that a member of the Falls Church League of Women Voters told her that the League will not take a position on the library's location or the project's west or east options. The Director mentioned that the library's renovation/expansion project compared to the last renovation the library had, will include more public use space rather than staff space. A general discussion ensued about how the Council might vote on the library's CIP request. The Board also expressed concern that if the library project continues to be delayed, that it will be difficult for it to proceed due to future CIP demands. The Director suggested that the Board start thinking about a strategy for appealing to people for donations. Brad said that he was approached by a member of the public, who suggested that the Library Board also consider other methods of raising additional funds for the project and volunteered to help with that. Another Board member stated that she would be glad to respond to that person. There was a discussion on how to handle possible donors to the library, and the Director stated that the Board will need to plan their fund raising strategies, community involvement in fund raising, and getting that information out to the public. Upon a motion made and duly seconded, the Library Board unanimously authorized the Chair of the Library Board of Trustees to determine if a response is necessary and what to say in regard to any negative or incorrect article or letter in local media concerning the library's CIP request. 7. LIBRARY REPORT AND ANNOUNCEMENTS • The Director informed the Board that all the vacancies at the library have been filled. • The Director asked the Board if the library could have a fine free week during the National Library Week--from April12 to April18, 2015. Upon a motion made and duly seconded, the Library Board unanimously authorized a fine free week during National Library Week for overdue items brought back during that week. • The Director described some IT issues. The library has one IT support person, whose time is split with the City: 60% library/40% City. The library is currently paying 60% of his salary and is supposed tohave 24 of his 40 hours a week devoted to library IT issues. However, the Director stated that when the IT department was being formed about 9 months ago, the City Manager asked her if she would agree to "loan" his time normally dedicated to library projects to the City for a period of 3 to 4 months with the understanding that urgent library IT issues would be addressed in a timely manner and that his dedicated library hours would return. The City Manager agreed. The Director then was told at the end of the 4 month period that his time was required a little longer since new IT staff had just been hired, and he was needed to train them. However, this arrangement has now gone on for 9 months, and the Director has requested a meeting with the City Manager, Assistant City Manager (who oversees the IT Department) and the IT Supervisor to talk about when the dedicated library 3  hours will return and also other IT issues which have occurred during this time. • She reminded the Board about the Council meeting on Monday, March 23, in Council of Chambers when they will consider FY16 CIP requests. • The Director is working on an animated video of the interior and exterior expansion/renovation library project using the architects' conceptual drawings for both east/west options. She is providing the narrative script, which will be edited by the City's cable television staffthat will set the script to the timing of the video and do the voice over description. Planning Department staff provided the actual video from the architects' drawings. There is no specific deadline for the video, but it will be useful for the public to understand the project. It will be on the library's and City's websites. • A young parent, who attended several meetings with the library consultants, approached the Director to tell her that she is a part of a young parent group in the City who is interested in various projects that have to do with young parents and children. They have a blog which about 100 parents subscribe to, and she said that she would be glad to run a story about the library's CIP request and follow it with regular updates from the library about it and the services the library provides for parents and children. 8. BUSINESS NOT IN AGENDA None. 9. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business, upon a motion duly made and seconded, the Board of Trustees unanimously adjourned the meeting at 8:45 p.m. Respectfully submitted, ~~11'L~ • I ~ '-"'"" MaryW. Library Director App; oved: ~ Bra~and, Chair Copies: Board ofTrustees, City Manager, Library Reference Desk, Staff Bulletin Board, City Clerk, Library Web Page The City of Falls Church is committed to the letter and spirit of the Americans with Disabilities Act. To request a reasonable accommodation for any type of disability, call 703-248-5032, TTY 711. 4