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 September 27,2017 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 ChetDeLong Ed Rose Stephanie Oppenheimer Terry Zawacki Jeff Peterson Youth Representative Tika Wallace Excused Absence: Don Camp Library Director Jenny Carroll, and her assistant, Ms. Claudia Gutierrez were also present 2. RECEIPT OF PETITIONS No petitions. 3. APPROVAL OF THE AUGUST 23, 2017 MEETING MINUTES Upon a motion duly made and seconded, the Library Board unanimously approved the August 23, 2017 meeting minutes with some changes. The Board suggested the minutes being more summarized. 4. LIBRARY FOUNDATION REPORT Mr. Rose informed the Board that currently the Foundation has about $400,000 in the endowment. He said that there will be a percentage that will be given to the library at the end of the year. 5. COUNCIL LIAISON REPORT No report 6. STUDENT LIAISON REPORT Ms. Wallace informed the Board that children have started reading real books! She said that the English teacher is asking students to read the Wall Street Journal for at least 30 minutes in every class. 7. DISCUSSION OF RENOVATION/EXPANSION PROJECT INCLUDING THE BOND ISSUANCE PROCESS The Director informed the Board about the status of the library project process. She has been working with Ms. Kim Callahan (library project manager). The Director stated that the $1.1M refunding resolution went to Council and has been approved and released. With these funds 1 Ms. Callahan's work time is being charged back to the CIP. When the bonds are sold, this money will be given back. Ms. Callahan is completing the scope of work including due diligence with the Department of Public Works and IT services. Ms. Callahan is working on the variances needed for the plan. She has also requested an updated cost estimate from McMillan Pazdan (the consultants who worked on the master plan). There were two architectural firms vetted by the city for the building projects- BKV and Studio 27. Studio 27 is currently engaged with the City Hall project. BKV will be the only firm presenting to the Board. The Director informed the Board that the library staff is currently working on building program needs and assessment with a due date of October 61h. Ms. Callahan will provide the information from DPW, ITS, and the staff along with the scope of work to the architect from BKV. The Director will be meeting with Ms. Callahan and the architect from BKV to give the architect a tour of the library highlighting important needs and priorities. BKV would use the information in their presentation of the proposal to the Board. Mr. Gemand asked the Director to attach to the September minutes an email from Mr. Peterson with comments about the pros and cons re: buying the next door building on Virginia Avenue. Mr. Peterson said that the adjacent building will give substantial space for the library and it might be affordable, he expressed his concern about not getting the 6,600 sq. ft. addition that was planned due to cost escalations. Mr. Peterson wanted to know what other options are if the project doesn't go through. Mr. Gemand commented that library staff pointed out that the building would need significant reconstruction on the front and back entrances due to the ADA compliance requirements. Mr. DeLong added that there is a parallel row of 5 parking spaces that are blocking each other. The Director talked to the City Manager Wyatt Shields and Assistant City Manager Cindy Mester and Ms. Callahan about the conversations the Board is having in regard the next door building. The Director said that if the Board wants to pursue the option to purchase the building next door all current work and spending needs to stop. The next door building option would be a totally different plan than the one presented in the CIP. The current plan is the one that the Board agreed to, and is the plan that has been presented and posted for the public to review and voted for. Mr. Gemand added that because of the way the CIP is worded, if they pursue the next door building option, they have to get another plan and present it to Council amending the current CIP. The money in the current CIP is allotted to design and development. If the plan changes, the CIP would need to be changed to land acquisition; this will be a procedural change with Council. Mr. DeLong stated that the next door building is not an option for many reasons among them: because the City will be reluctant to contact the owners, there is a process started already, and exploring this option will cost time and money. Mr. Rose added that if they could get the next door building, in the long run it might be a problem instead of a relief because the cost of renovations and ADA compliance. The Director said that the next door building option is not a good option. It will double operations and construction costs and delay the project, which will cost time and money. Also the administration office should be in the same building as the rest of the library. There is also a sewer line under the alley which would prohibit construction on top of it. The Director said that for the current plan there might be some modifications on the project if necessary due to elevation of costs and the library won't get the entire wish list needed. However, if public space is a priority then it will be covered in the renovation project. The Board decided not to make a firm decision tonight about the building next door, however they stated that for the near future discussion would cease regarding this topic. The Board is interested in having the cost estimate including an exact date of completion and a separation of renovation and addition construction costs. The Director will get that information to the Board as soon as Ms. Callahan 2 gets it from McMillan Pazdan. The Director asked the Board if they had another option besides the next door building. Ms. Zawacki is concerned that if the Board presents to Council another option they might consider moving the library to another location as they did before. Ms. Zawacki commented about the information she found in the Design Institute article that the Director sent to the Board about library design. She said that the article discussed parking as a problem for all libraries (not just Mary Riley Styles). The article also mentioned the new trend for libraries is to make the most of their space by having flexible staff/public spaces. Ms. Zawacki thinks that space flexibility will be very important for the library project. The Director commented that Ms. Callahan is considering the flexible spaces option as a main goal since the Board requested making library operations and services more efficient. The Board discussed the response memo from City Manager Wyatt Shields regarding the library project bond financing fees. The Board thinks that the memo wasn't very explicit on the breakdown of the bond fees. The Board would like a clarification about the bond financing. The Board also wants to know who decided that amount and why the project cannot get the financing funds that will not be used after the bond fees are paid. It seems that the library financing fund is a higher percentage than the one for GMHS proposed project. This money might alleviate the increase on the escalating cost estimates. The Board decided to invite Wyatt Shields to a Board meeting to clarify the financing fund once they have the information about the cost estimates and the proposal presentation from the Architectural firm BKV. The Board can also decide if they want to ask Council as an amendment request to increase the CIP to include the money not used on the bond financing. The Director proposed the BKV presentation to the Board happen at the November 15th meeting. She asked the Board if that same night they could make a decision to use BKV or if they wanted a Special Meeting to discuss the proposal. The board felt that they could make a decision at the November 15th meeting. The BKV presentation will be based on the scope of work that Ms. Callahan is working on which includes the outlined goal and priorities from the Board, the work that the former library Director Ms. McMahon was doing with the Board, and the current work with IT Services, Public Works, library staff and the current library Director Ms. Carroll. The Director also asked the Board ifthere was additional requests or information they wanted in a presentation from BKV. Mr. Gemand mentioned having a Williamsburg style to follow the deed of gift. Mr. Peterson wanted to know how they will handle the roof line design and materials. The Board wanted to have information about other library projects from BKV in this region. The Director explained that if the Board doesn't feel comfortable with the BKV presentation they need to have justifiable reasons and carefully consider a decision not to use BKV. If the Board decides not to use BKV, they can go to a RFP process to select another architectural firm. Using the RFP process will add 6 months or more to the project timeline and additional cost. 8. DISCUSSION OF THE RENOVATION/EXPANSION WORKING COMMITEE No discussion 9. LIBRARY REPORT AND ANNOUNCEMENTS • The outside book drop has been damaged again and repaired. Robert Goff who is the Superintendent of Public Works in the City told the Director that they cannot put a pillar to 3  protect it from getting hit but they he will look for a temporary solution. • The gutters have been cleaned for the fall season. • Jess Borchetta who used to be the Young Adult Librarian has been promoted to the Youth Services Supervisor. The Director will be advertising the Young Adult Librarian position soon. • There has been an assault in the library building on one of the reference librarians. She is safe and the person has been arrested and banned. This has initiated conversations about Safety and Security City wide. The Director has been informing staff about safety and what has been done to improve security in the library. She mentioned that currently the library has 4 security cameras and 8 more will be funded by the Police Department's seized asset monies. The library also has 3 panic buttons and had been tested and working. The Director has been scheduling a police officer to attend each departmental staff meeting to give staff information about safety and security. • Next week the Director will hold an after action review with the staff that was involved in the assault incident including what was done well and what needs improvement. A police officer will be present (Lt. Joe Carter). The Director will be working also on a procedure for major incidents. • The Director has been working on the banning policy together with the police and other City departments. • The Director asked the library staff to wear their ID badges at all times while working. There will be badges and a sign-in log for contractors and volunteers. • The library will be closed on October 9th for the Columbus Day holiday. • The Director attended the Library Director's meeting in Richmond. She said it was very interesting and she met new people. • The Director informed the Board that Library of Virginia had learning modules for Trustees and they are available online for them to access. • The Director will soon start working on Bibliostat. • The Director asked permission to the Board to close the library on December 23rd. The Library will close on Friday December 22nd at noon, Sunday December 24 and Monday December 25th due to the holiday closings of the City. Ms. Zawacki asked what holiday calendar does the City follows and the Director said the OPM Federal system. Upon a motion duly made and seconded, the Library Board unanimously approved the library closing on December 23rct. 4  10. BUSINESS NOT IN AGENDA Mr. Gemand mentioned that the bylaws and procedures will be revised. The Director found a marked up copy of2012 that might be the last one visited. Mr. Rose suggested that the Director send to the Board a copy of it and they can review it and decide if they want to do any changes or not. 11. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business, upon a motion duly made and seconded, the Board of Trustees voted unanimously to adjourn the meeting at 8:47p.m. Respectfully submitted, Approved: Bradley E. Gemand, Chairman 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. 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