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 June 20, 2018 1. CALL TO ORDER AND INTRODUCTIONS OF GUESTS Board Chairman Brad Gemand called the meeting to order at 7:00p.m. The following Board members attended the meeting: Brad Gemand Chet DeLong Terry Zawacki Kathleen Tysse Jeff Peterson Participated by teleconference: Mr. Don Camp and Ms. Stephanie Oppenheimer Absence unexcused: Youth Representative Tika Wallace Others present for the meeting included: Library Project Manager Kim Callahan, Library Director Jenny Carroll, and her assistant Claudia Gutierrez. Councilman Ross Litkenhous was also present. Mr. Gemand suggested moving item number 11: Business not on the Agenda up to the top of the agenda in order to discuss the resolution to adopt the policy for electronic participation by Board members. Mr. Don Camp and Ms. Stephanie Oppenheimer requested to be present electronically for the meeting. 2. -BUSINESS NOT ON THE AGENDA The Board discussed the Resolution Adopting Policy for Electronic Participation in Meetings. The Director indicated that the Board needed to pass the resolution for it to be in effect and did not think the second reading applied as the policy could not be modified by the Board. This policy regulates all the Boards and Commissions from the City. Upon a motion duly made and seconded, the Library Board unanimously moved to adopt the resolution for adopting the policy for electronic participation in meetings. Mr. DeLong felt uncomfortable by adopting a resolution that adopts a policy without a second reading. His argument was that according to the library bylaws, a policy should be adopted in two readings and in this case, it is not following the regular procedure. He said that he would be more comfortable having a second reading. The Board agreed. Upon a duly made and seconded, the Board approved the first reading to the policy for electronic participation in meetings. Upon a motion duly made and seconded, the Library Board unanimously moved to allow Ms. Stephanie Oppenheimer and Mr. Don Camp to participate at the today's Board meeting by 1 conference call under the resolution adopting the policy for electronic participation in meetings. The Director called by phone Ms. Stephanie Oppenheimer. The Director informed her that the Board approved the resolution to adopt electronic participation. Ms. Oppenheimer said her name and she said she could not attend the attend today' s meeting personally because she was at the beach in Delaware with her family. The Director called Mr. Camp and left a voicemail. He called back and the Director informed him about the approved resolution to adopt electronic participation. Mr. Camp said his name and said that he was located in New York City on assignment. 3. RECEIPT OF PETITIONS No petitions 4. APPROVAL OF THE MAY 16, 2018 MEETING MINUTES Upon a motion duly made and seconded, the Library Board unanimously approved the May 16, 2018 Meeting Minutes with minor changes. 5. LIBRARY FOUNDATION REPORT No report 6. COUNCIL LIASION REPORT Mr. Litkenhous informed the Board that he has been having conversations with Council members about voluntary concessions and considering the library a priority. Another item that will be discussed at July' s Council meeting is the option of the Local History Room (LHR) being included in the Park and Lee project as a visitor's center since it is close to the library. Mr. Litkenhous asked the Board if this option is helpful or not. Mr. Gernand pointed out that in a previous Board meeting they discussed that it will not be helpful to relocate the LHR because it will not save a lot of space. In addition, library staff mentioned that Local History is an organic part of the library and should remain in the building. The Director commented that the LHR is a unique resource for the library. The staff working in the LHR are professionals and they have an expertise with the material that is in the room; currently one of the staff is working on preservation of materials. The Director and the Reference Supervisor Mr. Marshall Webster have had conversations about changing the "by appointment only" mode to being open on a regular schedule. They have also discussed providing more programming related to the LHR and marketing the LHR to a wider audience. The Director added that moving the LHR to another location would cause staffing issues such as scheduling difficulties. Ms. Zawacki asked if there is any rent involved if the LHR relocates to the Park and Lee project. Mr. Litkenhous said that it may be free for a certain amount of time and then have rental costs. Mr. Litkenhous suggested the Board be prepared at the next Council session because there will be a question about it. The Board can give the arguments that the library is envisioning new programming for the LHR rather than have access only be by appointment. Mr. Gernand asked Mr. Litkenhous to bring up at the next Council meeting the unanswered question about the bond issuance fees. Mr. Litkenhous said he would support the request from the 2 Board to have the bond fees returned to the library project. The Director said that City Manager Wyatt Shields is aware that this is still an issue and an update of the accounting of the bond issuance fees will be given. Mr. Litkenhous offered the Board his support on any issues and invited them to contact him anytime. The Director asked the Board to include her in the Board requests to the Council Liaison. 7. STUDENT LIASION REPORT No report a) Assignment for Board mentor The Director mentioned some of the duties for this assignment. The mentor will be talking about their perspective as a Board member, also about the process in the meetings; the mentor needs to interface with the student liaison about business discussed in the meeting that the student does not understand; conveying project ideas and assignments. Ms. Tysse volunteered to be the mentor to the Student liaison. The Director will provide her with more information about the roles and responsibilities. 8. PLANNING COMMISSION LIAISON INTRODUCTION Mr. Rob Puentes did not attend the meeting. 9. FINES AND FEES FOR MATERIALS CHANGE The Director informed the Board about the proposal for changing the library's fines and fees. She said that currently for most items the charge is .25 cents except for DVDs which are $1.00. The effect of changing the fines to a flat .30 (for books, DVDs and similar items) was evaluated by staff and would have a null effect (i.e. raising the other fines cancels out the effect of lowering the DVD fines). This will also put the library in line with other library jurisdictions that have the same fee model. Upon a motion duly made and seconded, the Library Board unanimously approved the change in fmes and fees to a uniform .30 cents charge on its first reading. 10. RENOVATION AND EXPANSION PROJECT UPDATE a) Issues raised by Mr. Jeff Peterson b) Priority list Mr. Peterson asked Ms. Callahan to explain how her role relates to the CMAR (Construction Manager At Risk) process and when the CMAR is expected to be on board. Ms. Callahan explained to the Board that a selection committee reviews the CMAR applications. The committee is composed of herself, the library Director, Director of Public Works Mike Whitfield, City Planner Akida Rouzi, and BKV Architect Mark Mannetti. This committee narrowed down the options and selected a firm to move forward into the negotiation process. Ms. Callahan informed the Board that there are two parts to the CMAR process: First is the pre- construction services and then construction services. In the pre-construction services there is a negotiated fee that covers the review of the plans, the cost estimates etc. Once the pre-construction 3 phase in completed including the design process, then the GMP (Guaranteed Maximum Price) process begins. The CMAR puts their final bid together to come up with a GMP. The next step is entering into phase two of the CMAR process and the issuance of the construction contract. Ms. Callahan remarked that if the CMAR does not meet with the committee's GMP requirements and needs, they do not have to go forward with the selected applicant and can choose another. Currently the committee is negotiating the preconstruction scope of services. She added that the schedule starts with the CMAR selection, then once the negotiations are done they have to be presented to City Council work session on June 16. Then request approval at the City Council regular meeting on July 23rct. She said that after all this is concluded, the CMAR should be on board early August. Ms. Callahan will remain on the project for the entire library renovation process. Ms. Callahan presented a breakdown of the budget for soft and hard costs of the project. The soft costs include the engineering and architecture fees, permits and City staff time. Ms. Callahan explained the hard costs and discussed where there may be savings. The hard costs include the construction cost, the negotiations of GMP, the fixed construction costs, the preconstruction services, and the CMAR contingency. This contingency splits between the owner (80%) and the contractor (20%); this is as an incentive for not issuing so many change orders. There are other expenses such as owner contingency (not shared with CMAR), moving fees, storage, and utility fees from Dominion, Fairfax Water, and Verizon, which are called dry utility fees for companies, who do work in the building during construction. Mr. DeLong asked if there are plans for organizing the moving and storage of the library during construction. Ms. Callahan said that it is considered in the budget. She also mentioned the costs for (FF&E) furniture, fixtures and electronics (such as tables, chairs lamps and any items not attached to the building, which are not part of the contractor's costs). She said that there is allotted a considerable amount for FF&E in case the Board wants new shelving and new furniture. She said that the Board will have to prioritize if they want to leave that money allotted for FF &E or if they want to put it into the GMP cost and increase the amount to construction. Leftover contingency, proffers, and voluntary concessions could be used for furniture and can be addressed in the future. The Director said that the library proffer from Broad and Washington is together with Parks & Recreation. Councilman Litkenhous said that for Mason Row, proffers are about .62 cents a square foot for residential for 300,000 sq. ft., which is around $186,000. The Director said that she will include the Mason Row information in the packet for the next Board meeting that the City Planner sent to all Boards and Commissions for discussion. Ms. Callahan said that proffers will take place when the projects that are willing to offer them get their occupancies. Mr. Litkenhous explained to the Board that many times voluntary concessions are tied to a specific period of time when they have to be performed in order to qualify for special exceptions. He used as an example Broad and Washington, which has a 36-month limit on when they have to finish the project, although they can delay when they start and it cannot guarantee when you will get the proffer. He also added that there have been conversations related to Founders Row and the Park and Lee projects. There is a specific provision already in the voluntary concessions for Founders Row; and the Park and Lee project is still in the early stages and not approved yet. Councilman Litkenhous also said that the majority of all proffers go into the schools and that the Board should lobby for the library project and he is working on including concessions for the library. The Broad and Washington project voluntary concession has the Library and Parks/Recreation Department together sharing the amount of money despite the letter lhe Board sent to the Planning Commission requesting separation. For Mason Row the library has its own voluntary concession (that 4 former Director Mary McMahon worked on) however, the wording is specific to public library construction and not as broad as the Broad and Washington language. Ms. Callahan asked Councilman Litkenhous if it is possible for those projects to have a flexibility in changing the timing of their required payments. Maybe they can put the proffers before their first occupancy permit or before their demo permit or before they get their site plan approved. This way the library can get the money more quickly. Councilman Litkenhous said that he will ask for that although it can be challenging for the contractors. He will lobby on the Board's behalf. Ms. Callahan and the Director are looking for ways to reduce costs. Ms. Callahan informed the Board that in the budget there is a large amount for hazardous materials removal since the library building was originally built in the 50's and there could be asbestos and lead paint. They have started testing in the building to determine if remediation is necessary, if not this could be an area of cost savings. In the site work they included money for sanitary and water line improvements that may or may not be necessary. Another option for cost savings is to move the library during construction possibly to 400 N Washington in Falls Church. The first and second floor that City Hall is currently occupying will be available early next year and it is 4,500 sq. ft. According to the CMAR, this will cut 10 to 12 months of construction time and the new schedule could be 12 to 14 month instead of 24 months or over. Ms Callahan also added that if the library stays open during construction, the library will have reduced space, limited services, and materials will need to be stored as well. The Director said that there are several advantages to moving to 400 N Washington: it is already wired for City use (phones and computers), there are service counters installed, and it has 20 parking spaces. Ms. Callahan said that they could remove walls to make more open space for programming. They know it is not ideal but it will save time and money for the library project. The City will be out of the building in February 2019. The rent will need to be renegotiated, currently its $17 per square foot including parking and utilities. The first floor could be for services, library collection, and the second floor for staff. This option will save money because a temporary entrance in the library would not have to be built during construction, and it will relieve the expense of having to schedule construction work because it is occupied (phased occupied constructipn). Construction in an empty building will be easier and faster. Ms. Callahan estimated that if the library is relocated during construction they would save around $400,000 that could go into construction. The current schedule is to start the library project in August of2019. Ms. Zawacki asked if all of this discussion means that the librfy can afford a renovation because at the last meeting it was reported to be $2M over budget. Ms. Callahan said that they are working on it and part of that will be the Board setting new priorities. Mr. DeLong expressed wanting to leave FF &E costs to a later date. Ms. Callahan said that the cost could also be reduced in phasing by relocating the library, leaving the entrance option in Park Avenue instead the Virginia and Park comer, and by lowering costs for construction contingency as well. Ms. Callahan asked the Board to think about priorities so they can best figure out how to spend the money. She asked if the Board wants her to go forward and negotiate a lease with 400 N Washington building. The general feeling of the Board about moving jthe library during construction was positive, they agreed that it was a good idea, it is much cheaper and that it will save a lot of money. The Director acknowledged that 400 N. Washington is a small buildi?g but it is much better to have one year being in a reduced space than two years of dust, safety issues, and extra costs. The space for 5 story time will be reduced but it would also happen if the library stays in its location during renovation. Mr. DeLong suggested asking the Presbyterian Church about space for story time and that it could be at no cost to the library. The Director said that there are options in the community where they can put story time and will consider Mr. DeLong's suggestion. Upon a motion duly made and seconded, in order to assist in the reconstruction of the library, the Board approved unanimously to move the library operation temporarily to other quarters such as 400 N Washington in order to save funds and time. There was a discussion about priorities; Ms. Callahan summarized them as follows: New space, improving the existing infrastructure, making sure that the new space and the old space is integrated and balanced with the existing space, and relocating the library during construction. Ms. Callahan will be working on these priorities. Mr. Gemand asked Ms. Callahan if the Board has any role to play when presenting the CMAR contract to Council at the work session and the regular meeting. She said that their presence in the audience would be important. 11. LIBRARY REPORT AND ANNOUNCEMENTS • The Director informed the Board the changes in personnel: Cristina Pamther who was a temporary Library Assistant in the Youth Services Department was promoted to the permanent part-time Library Assistant I in the Circulation Department. Michelle Langham, a temporary Library Page was promoted to a Substitute Library Assistant I position. Substitutes are needed to have flexibility when staff are sick or on vacation. Now there are vacancies for Library Pages and the Substitute pool which will be advertised. • The Memorial Day Parade was successful with the Rolling Readers Book Truck Drill Team and was a lovely day. • Library staff received training on safety and security from the City of Falls Church including: "Active Shooter, "Stop the Bleeding' and "AED". This training will be delivered to other City departments, community agencies, and churches. 12. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business, upon a motion duly made and seconded, the Board of Trustees voted unanimously to adjourn the meeting at 9:00 p.m. Respectfully submitted, 6  Approved: ~ ~ Bradley E. Gernand, Chairman 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. 7  Resolution Adopting Policy for Electronic Participation Whereas, the members of the Library Board of the City of Falls Church, Virginia serve in that capacity on a volunteer basis at the same time they hold other jobs and have other obligations; and Whereas, Virginia Code section 2.2-3708.1 permits members of public bodies to participate in the meetings of those bodies from remote locations, that are not open to the public, through electronic means on a limited basis; and Whereas the Li~rary Board finds that it is important for all members ofLibrary B~ard to participate~ in· Library Board meetings to the maximum extent possible, to represent the citizens of the City. Now, therefore, the Library Board of the City of Falls Church, Virginia adopts the attached policy on participation in meetings through electronic means.  FALLS CHURCH LIBRARY BOARD POLICY ON PARTICIPATION IN MEETINGS THROUGH ELECTRONIC MEANS It is the policy of the Falls Church Library Board to permit participation in its meetings by all Library Board Members through electronic means, to the extent permitted by the Virginia Code, section 2.2-3 708.1. Therefore, the following rules apply to members' participation in meetings through electronic means: I. A member of the Library Board may participate electronically from a remote location in a Library Board meeting if he or she is unable to attend that meeting due to an emergency or personal matter, provided that: A. A quorum of the Library Board is physically assembled at the primary or central meeting location; and B. The Library Board votes to approve such participation as meeting the standards of this policy; and C. Arrangements have been made for the voice of the remote participant to be heard by all persons at the primary or central meeting location; and D. No member participates by electronic means from a remote location more than two (2) times in any calendar year, or 25% of the Library Board's meetings, whichever is fewer; and E. On or before the day of the meeting, the member of Library Board has notified the Chair that he or she is unable to attend the meeting due to an emergency or personal matter and identifies, with specificity, the nature of the emergency or personal matter (If it is the Chair who wishes to participate by electronic means, he or she shall notify the Vice-Chair); and F. The minutes of the meeting record the specific nature of the emergency or personal matter and the remote location from which the member participates. II. A member of the Library Board may participate in a Library Board meeting or work session through electronic means if he or she is unable to attend that meeting due to a temporary or permanent disability or other medical condition that prevents the member's physical attendance, provided that: A. A quorum of the Library Board is physically assembled at the primary or central meeting location; and B. In each case the Library Board votes to approve such participation as meeting the standards of this policy; and Page 1 of2  C. Arrangements have been made for the voice of the remote participant to be heard by all persons at the primary or central meeting location; and D. The minutes of the meeting reflect the fact that the member of the Library Board is unable to attend due to a temporary or permanent disability or other medical condition that prevents the member's physical presence, and also reflect the remote location from which the member participates. This policy shall be strictly and uniformly applied, without exception, to the entire membership and without regard to the identity of the member requesting remote participation, or to the matters that will be considered or voted on at the meeting. In the event the Library Board disapproves a member's electronic participation, the reasons therefore shall be recorded in the minutes of the meeting. Page 2 of2  Resolution Adopting Policy for Electronic Participation Whereas, the members of the Library Board of the City of Falls Church, Virginia serve in that capacity on a volunteer basis at the same time they hold other jobs and have other obligations; and Whereas, Virginia Code section 2.2-3708.1 permits members of public bodies to participate in the meetings of those bodies from remote locations, that are not open to the public, through electronic means on a limited basis; and Whereas the Library Board finds that it is important for all members of Library Board to participate in Library Board meetings to the maximum extent possible, to represent the citizens ofthe City. Now, therefore, the Library Board of the City of Falls Church, Virginia adopts the attached policy on participation in meetings through electronic means.  MARY RILEY STYLES PUBLIC LIBRARY BOARD OF TRUSTEES SPECIAL MEETING June, 20 2018 SIGN-IN SHEET NAME ADDRESS EMAIL li,m (lolf~~~ltJ/1 11 ~ctl/s L.~n}\ I!&!~C?itt?;Jdil rt Page 1