Library Board of Trustees

MEETING MINUTES 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 January 18, 2017 1. CALL TO ORDER Board Chairman Brad Gemand called the meeting to order at 7:00p.m. The following Board members attended the meeting: Brad Gemand Chet DeLong Ed Rose Stephanie Oppenheimer Terry Zawacki Don Camp Jeff Peterson Eema Ahmed (Youth representative) Councilwoman Ms. Karen Oliver, Library Director Ms. Mary McMahon, and her assistant, Ms. Claudia Gutierrez, were also present. 2. RECEIPT OF PETITIONS 3. APPROVAL OF THE DECEMBER 14, 2016 MEETING MINUTES Upon a motion duly made and seconded, the Library Board unanimously approved the December 14,2016 meeting minutes with minor changes. 4. ARTS AND CULTURAL DISTRICT TASK FORCE (CATCH) REPORT There was no report, although the Library Director informed the Board that she will attend the next meeting which will be held tomorrow. The Director said that she will mention the suggestion of the Board that a member from the Task Force come to the Library Board of Trustees meetings instead of one of the Trustees attending their meetings. Mr. Rose, the former appointee, added that sometimes the Task Force might have some items related to the library, but it is not discussed at every meeting. 5. LIBRARY FOUNDATION REPORT Mr. Rose informed the Board that the switch over from the Library Foundation Trust to the Library Foundation, Inc. has been completed. Mr. Camp told the Board that the fall solicitation has finished, and they raised $26,000, which is a little more than last year (once that year's one time bequest of$250,000 is deducted) they have 71 new contributors for a total of 530 on the annual contribution list. Currently, the bank account has $18,000, and the endowment has about $385,000 invested in the Wellington Fund. Mr. Camp said that there were more expenses than usual this past year because of their support of the referendum campaign and all the legal expenses it took to change to an incorporated foundation. At their recent meeting the Foundation members also discussed their 1 contribution policy for the library, i.e. how much they give the library every year and how much they put in the endowment. The policy states that the Foundation will give to the library 3% of the total of the value of the endowment every year. He also mentioned that donation checks are continuing to come in although somewhat slower now that the new year has begun. Mr. Camp wanted to thank the library for the Foundation page that is on the library's website. He said that many people used PayPal to make their contributions to the Foundation. 6. COUNCIL LIAISON REPORT Ms. Oliver informed the Board that the Council is moving into the budget season, and the CIP will go to the Planning Commission shortly. She also mentioned that there is a lot of pressure on the budget this year. 7. STUDENT LIAISON REPORT Ms. Eema Ahmed informed the Board that her classmates have been trying to find places to study, and she thinks that the library should announce that they have study spaces available for students. Mr. Rose suggested that Ms. Ahmed, as a student liaison, inform students about these study spaces and announce it in the school newspaper. She agreed to do it. Ms. Zawacki asked the Director if it was possible to designate study spaces in the library for students and to announce those spaces with signs. The Director said that signs could be made designating the downstairs reference area as a study space for students since it is the quietest space in the library. 8. DRAFT FY18 LIBRARY BUDGET The Library Director reviewed the proposed library budget with the Board. Budget instructions from the City stated that personnel costs should not be calculated, except for temporary employees, which must be included in the operating expenses of the library. She said the FY18 library budget target for operating expenses must be $616,320, and the proposed budget meets that target. She then went on to explain each of the line items within the budget. She informed the Board that temporary salaries include: 5 pages, a Library Assistant I in Reference, 2 Library Assistant Is in Circulation, and one in Youth Services. There is also a temporary Library Assistant II in the Local History Room. The Director noted that temporary salaries were figured on 50 weeks a year and included a 3% increase if regular staff receives an increase from the City. She also mentioned that temporary staff is also evaluated just like regular staff and must have a satisfactory evaluation in order to be eligible for an increase. FICA for the temporary staff is also part of the library's operating budget. The Board discussed whether it should send a letter to City Council stating that it does not agree with the policy of including the temporary personnel salaries in the operating portion of the library's budget-that, instead, it should be in the personnel portion of the budget. Councilwoman Oliver also explained to the Board that Human Resources staff calculates the regular personnel salaries city wide. She noted that it is the individual departments that control their operating budgets and how the money will be spent to best accomplish their missions. Temporary employees are considered "at will" and are the first positions to be let go should a need arise. Ms. Oliver also mentioned that there is a great deal of budget pressure this year due to WMATA expenses, insurance, and other items. After all this discussion, the Board decided it would not express its concerns in a letter at this time. The Director then explained the rest of the operating expenses. 2  • Professional Services: In the past, this line was used to pay for cabling computer and although nothing is allocated for that line item in FY18, it may be needed in the future for the library renovation/expansion, so the line item remains in the budget. • Repair and Maintenance: Most repairs and maintenance are taken care of by the Department of Public Works, but a small amount of money was allocated to cover such things as vacuum cleaner repair etc. • Maintenance/Service Contracts: Includes money for custodial coverage while the library's custodian takes vacation. The large service contracts for hardware and software have been moved to the IT Services line item in the budget. • Printing and Binding: Covers Summer Reading Program costs for posters and banners as well as such things as printed envelopes, business cards etc. • Interlibrary Loan Services: Covers the cost of OCLC access fees and is offset by some of the postage fees that are collected for ILL requests. • IT Services: Includes monies for all the software, IT supplies, service contracts, and equipment plus 60% of the salary and benefits of a dedicated IT professional. The salary and benefits are not part of the library's operating budget (i.e. part of the $616,320 total). • Utilities: Includes money for electric, water/sewer, and heating costs and has remained steady for the last couple of years due to warmer winters. • Postal Services: Includes money to mail items. Postage fees for ILL items are credited back to that line instead of in this line item. • Telecommunications: Includes money for the smartphone, landline and long distance charges as well as FIOS, the Internet connection. This line item has increased in recent years due to the long distance charges that are charged each City department. • Credit Card Fees: Includes money to pay for the use of each transaction that a patron uses a credit card to pay fines/fees. • Travel/Mileage/Conferences/Education/Training: These lines items remained about the same as previous years with the exception of the Training line, which increased so that staff can attend more online webinars that have a fee for registration. It is a cost effective training method. • Dues and Membership: Remains flat from year to year. • Special Activities: Includes money for special programs for youth and adults as well as some supplies to support those programs. This line item increased to accommodate more programs and also take into account that the cost of performers has increased. • Office, Repair and Maintenance and Operating Supplies: These line items increased due to the need for a printer to replace the administration copying machine, the increased amount of traffic in the building necessitating more cleaning, and the increase in supplies needed to run the library. • Library Books: Includes money for books for adults, reference, and youth. This line item was increased so that Youth Services could replace some ofthe aging non-fiction items in their collection. • Library Records/Tapes, Periodicals, and DVDs: Each of these line items increased slightly to accommodate increased costs. • Electronic Resources: Includes money for all the online databases and eMaterials for both youth and adults. This line item increased to accommodate more eMaterials being bought for youth and to cover cost increases for all the databases, plus add a new one-Consumer Reports. The Director then informed the Board that there is an Unmet Need for FY18, which is for the purchase of Sierra, which is the new ILS release and migration from Millennium, which soon will not be supported by Innovative Interfaces, Inc. (III). The quote for this migration is $59,000 and would be 3 a onetime cost with maintenance costs annually thereafter. The Director also informed the Board that the library and the City IT department have been in ongoing discussions with III about all the problems that the library has been struggling with for the last two years with Millennium. III has stated that a move to Sierra would remedy the problems, so the library and IT felt it is reasonable to ask them to provide the migration for free since we have been paying large maintenance fees for two years with little or no positive results. After several phone calls with III, the Director told them that we thought they should migrate the library from Millennium to Sierra for free along with a free first year's maintenance. III said that this was a reasonable request, and they will come back next week with an answer and the specifications for the move, if approved by their superiors. The Director and IT also told III that they do not want the library's data hosted in the Cloud. IT has virtual servers that can accommodate the library's data and that scenario also maintains local control of the data as well as reducing the cost since we would not have to pay for Cloud storage of the data. III agreed to that also. III also stated that if both parties were "happy" at the end of the first year on Sierra, that the City would agree to a four year maintenance contract with III. The Director, staff, and IT are also looking at other ILS vendors in case III does not agree with the City's proposal. If all this happens, the Sierra migration cost can be eliminated from the Unmet Needs for FY18, but at this time it is too early to know ifthat will occur, so it must remain in the budget as an Unmet Need. The Director also told the Board that Council has asked each department to list upcoming needs for FY19 for planning purposes. There are several items that must be prioritized: an upgrade to the library's Wi-Fi connection for $14,400 (an annual cost, however, if the MDM takes place for the City, this request would be eliminated); an upgrade to Sierra if it does not occur in FY18 or ifthe migration does not take place, or if another system is not chosen; and, the possible need for storage in FY19 for items in the library while construction takes place, $20,000. Upon a motion duly made and seconded, the Library Board unanimously approved the FY18 Library Budget as presented. The Director asked the Board to prioritize the Unmet Needs for FY18 and FY19, since there is no resolution about Sierra at this time. Upon a motion duly made and seconded, the Library Board unanimously prioritized Unmet Needs as Sierra first for FY18, and in FY19, Sierra (1), Library Storage, (2), and Commercial Grade Wi-Fi service, (3). Mr. Peterson asked what the process will be if the library does not get a resolution with Sierra. The Director explained that III will support the library with Millennium through FY18, and if it is not resolved satisfactorily for both parties, III will help the library get its data ready for migration to another ILS vendor's product. That would occur in FY19. Ms. Oliver said that Council does not approve the budget until April. The Director said that if she needs to make any changes in the budget because of Sierra, the Board has time to revise their request before it goes to Council for approval. Meanwhile she will explain the situation with III to the City Manager and Interim Finance Director. 9. FY18-22 CIP LIBRARY SUBMISSION FOR THE EXPANSION AND RENOVATION OF THE LIBRARY The Director informed the Board that this FY18-22 CIP is identical to what has been presented in the past, with the exception of two items: 1. Some of the fees that were in the allocated in the second year of the project have now been placed half in the first year and the remaining half in the second ~ year, making the FY18 total a little over $1M ($1,073,000, for permitting, fees and owner fees some of 4  which will need to be paid while designing the library and the remaining paid in FY19); 2. The second difference is that the bond issuance fees are included in the CIP spending plans. They were not ~ reflected in the prior years, bringing the CIP total to $8.7M. The Director informed the Board that she talked to Deputy Finance Director Melissa Ryman, and current interim CFO about the amount of bonds to be sold and when they would be sold. Ms. Ryman stated that the City usually goes to the bond market in the fall. She also said that they would probably sell about $1.5M of the bonds so they do not have to pay interest on the remaining debt before it is actually needed for construction. Ms. Ryman said that they will release the rest of the bonds closer to when the library construction starts. Mr. Peterson asked for an explanation of the additional operating costs cited in the library's CIP project. The Director explained that some of the costs are for additional equipment, which may or may not use bond money and also for additional operating costs such as utilities and operating supplies. She noted that the utility costs could be on the high side since it is difficult to project them and also it is an estimate for several years in the future when rates are not known. Those costs could be greatly reduced when the actual time comes. Mr. Peterson would like that section of the CIP request reworked so that it is clearer in the wording and also to restructure the impact ofthe operating costs, if possible, since this will be a silver LEED building. Upon a motion duly made and seconded, the Library Board unanimously approved the FY18-22 CIP Library submittal with some minor changes to restructure the wording of what is included in the operating costs and the costs themselves. 10. DISCUSSION ABOUT HOW THE BOARD WANTS TO PROCEED WITH ARCHITECTURAL FIRMS The Director informed the Board that she met with the Department of Public Works (DPW) personnel to discuss what needs to be done between now and July in regard to the library's renovation/expansion project. She also talked with John Boyle from Planning and Zoning about variances, and he sent over paperwork that would need to complete when applying for a variance and also the dates that the Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA) meets in 2017. He noted it is important to keep these dates in mind so that the materials are provided to the BZA in a timely fashion. She gave the Board handouts with the necessary information. When talking with DPW personnel, they mentioned that decisions will need to be made on many different items: project work flow, decision making and who makes the final decisions, committees that might need to be formed, lines of communication established, and who will be the library project manager. In addition, if the Board is interested in going with one of the vetted architectural firms that the City already has in place, a scope of work must be written and submitted to both firms for them to respond to. The Board needs to determine some of the major areas that they want to include in the scope. The architectural firms then will come back to give the Board a formal proposal based upon what the Board has said the project is going to entail. At the architectural presentations a committee composed of Board members and City and library staff will hear and judge the presentations with a decision finally made as to which firm should do the project. The Board also should not indicate that they have a favorite firm before this process takes place. If the Board decides they are not interested in either architectural firm, a request for proposal (RFP) which would include a scope of work must be done and then posted on the City's website as well as mailed to area architectural firms. Mr. Gemand said that he feels comfortable starting the process with a scope of work that is issued to the two vetted architectural firms first. The Director also explained to the Board that there is additional work that must be done besides the scope of work. DPW staff will act as the project manager according to Mr. Mike Whitfield, DPW 5 Director. DPW project manager Mr. James Mak is currently in charge of the City Hall project and may be able to do some of the initial project work for the library, but once the City Hall construction is underway, he will not have the necessary time to devote to the library project, so City Engineer Kim Callahan, who has a background in building projects, will take over the library project when that occurs. Upon a motion duly made and seconded, the Library Board unanimously moved that the Library Director write a scope of work that is then sent to the two City-vetted architectural firms for a response from them. 11. LIBRARY REPORT AND ANNOUNCEMENTS • The Director informed the Board that the Library Assistant II position in the Local History Room has been filled and will be starting this coming week. Also, the advertising for the Circulation Supervisor position has begun. • The Director reminded the Board that the library will be closed on Friday, January 20th for Inauguration Day and will reopen for its regular operating hours on Saturday. • There is around $1,500 collected for the Beverly Rausch Memorial which will be used to purchase a bench and a plaque in her memory. • On Monday night, the Director will do a presentation about the thermal cameras to Council along with Ms. Kate Walker, the City's Environmental Energy Coordinator, Tim Stevens, from the Village Improvement and Preservation Society (VPIS), and a student representative, Aziz Shaik. The library will begin circulating two thermal cameras: one Apple and one Android. The cameras are hooked into a smart phone, an app downloaded, and then the camera can be used to see where there is an energy loss (heat or air conditioning). VPIS provided the cameras and the supporting supplies. The cameras will be ready to circulate by Tuesday or Wednesday of next week. The cameras check out for a week at a time and have a fine of $1.00/day if returned late. If they are broken or damaged, the patron must pay the total replacement cost of the item. Aziz is also working on a "how to use" video that will have link to YouTube on the library's thermal camera webpage. • Brian Clukey, who worked for a number of years as a Page, passed away, and the Director sent a condolence card to his family from the Board and library staff. 13. BUSINESS NOT ON THE AGENDA Ms. Oppenheimer informed the Board that she has installed a little free library in her yard at 600 N. Oak Street. She had a ribbon cutting ceremony on December 14th, and it was very well attended by neighborhood children and adults. The little library contains books for children and adults, and the entire collection has circulated multiple times. The Director asked if she can upload a picture to the library's Facebook page, and Ms. Oppenheimer said yes. She also informed the Board that her little library is the sixth chartered one by the national organization in the 22046 zip code. Mr. Gemand mentioned that there is another little library on Poplar Street. 14. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business, upon a motion duly made and seconded, the Board of Trustees voted unanimously to adjourn the meeting at 8:40 p.m. 6  Respectfully submitted, ¥- ~~ ~.1?.11 Ms. M W. McMahon Library Director Approved: Copies: Board of Trustees, 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 ofthe Americans with Disabilities Act. To request a reasonable accommodation for any type of disability, call 703-248-5032, TTY ~ L7~1~1.~--------------------------------------------------------------~ 7