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 July 17, 2019 1. CALL TO ORDER AND INTRODUCTION OF GUESTS Acting Chairperson Chet DeLong called the meeting to order at 7:00p.m. The following Board members attended the meeting: Chet DeLong Molly Novotny Chrystie Swiney Stephanie Oppenheimer Kathleen Tysse Don Camp Absences excused- Jeff Peterson Planning Commission Liaison, Rob Puentes and Council Liaison Ross Litkenhous, were not in attendance. Others present for the meeting included: Director of Public Works Mike Whitfield, City Planning Consultant Shelly Mastran, Library Director Jenny Carroll and her assistant Claudia Gutierrez. The Director introduced to the Board City's Planning Consultant Shelly Mastran. She will be presenting an update on the Comprehensive Plan - Demographics and Housing Chapters. 2. RECEIPT OF PETITIONS The Director stated that in preparation for the library move in the fall, Reference Supervisor Marshall Webster, requests the Board's permission to close the Local History Room to the public in mid-August. Upon a motion duly made and seconded, the Library Board unanimously approved to close the Local History Room to the public by August 15 and intends to re-open with the new building. The Director requested implementing auto-renewal to start before moving to the temporary location. Apollo (ILS) has the capability to separate auto-renewals from initial checkouts and patron initiated renewals for statistical purposes. This feature is in addition to Gabbie (renewal by text) and email reminders. Upon a motion duly made and seconded, the Library Board unanimously approved implementing the auto-renewal feature, starting immediately. 3. APPROVAL OF THE JUNE 19, 2019 MEETING MINUTES Upon a motion duly made and seconded, the Library Board unanimously approved the June 19, 2019 meeting minutes with minor changes. 4. LIBRARY REPORT AND ANNOUNCEMENTS • Student liaison Tika Wallace graduated from high school; she will not be attending the Board meetings anymore. The Director asked the Board if they wanted to continue having a student liaison in the fall. The Board agreed stating that they feel student liaisons need to provide contributions that are more concrete. Ms. Oppenheimer will write a draft letter about Board's concerns and comments; the Board will review the letter and then send it to the CBC. • The Director stated that Region 5 Library Directors meetings have started and the plan is to meet on a regular basis at least three times a year. Region 5 includes Prince Williams, Alexandria, Fairfax, Fauquier County, Loudoun, Arlington, Caroline County, and Central Rappahannock. The next meeting will be in November. The directors discussed fines and fees, auto-renewals and book sales. Fine collection is a nationwide topic and some Virginia libraries have ceased fine collection. The Director will bring that discussion to the Board soon. She stated that fine revenue has been decreasing over the years at MRSPL. • The Director completed State Aid paperwork, which was sent to the Library of Virginia along with the Five Year Plan and additional updates. • Amery Stapleton who has been a Library Page started her new position as a Library Assistant I Substitute. The library is in a process of hiring three more Library Assistant I Substitutes. • Two temporary Page positions are open and will be posted soon. • In September, the Director will be attending the Chamber of Commerce networking lunch to give updates about the library. • The Director will be on leave for vacation starting Thursday, July 18 returning Monday, July 29. 5. LIBRARY FOUNDATION REPORT Mr. Camp informed the Board that the Foundation is in good financial shape; the stock market has lifted the endowment to $504,000 as of June 30 and their bank account has $34,000. The amount in the bank account is and will be larger than normal as the Foundation determines how best to administer the money moving towards the renovation/expansion. The Foundation is a private entity and they do not have to spend a certain amount of money from their profits, however as a policy, the Foundation provides a certain amount annually to the library. The Foundation will meet in September to discuss the upcoming fall solicitation and how the money will be used. Ms. Tysse added that the Foundation fundraising committee is working on the Foundation's website and logo. They are also planning a closing celebration event for the library. 6. COUNCIL LIAISON REPORT No report 2 7. STUDENT LIAISON REPORT No report 8. ARTS AND HUMANITIES COUNCIL REPORT (CATCH) Ms. Oppenheimer informed the Board that there were no topics related to the library. 9. COMPREHENSIVE PLAN UPDATES- DEMOGRAPHICS AND HOUSING Ms. Mastran discussed key trends in the demographics and housing comprehensive plan chapters. The assumption in the key trends for demographics is that what has been happening will continue to occur. In the City, single person households are on the rise- the statistics show that one out of three households in Falls Church have one person living in it- a lot of them are millennials and seniors. The number of households with children had declined, although the number of school-age children has increased in single-family households i.e. families are larger. The City population is aging -one out of four citizens of Falls Church is 55 years or older. For the past 5 years, households who are earning between $50,000 and $100,000 have surged, which reflects the single person household trend. The City has more multifamily units than single units reflecting the increase in the number of apartments built. Many City residents have a high income and work outside the City; most jobs in the City are lower paying and filled by those living outside of the city. There is a concern about affordable housing in the City available to the workforce in the City. Ms. Mastran posed the question to the Board about what the impact of these demographic trends on the library. By 2045 the population will rise to 20,000 people and there will be an increase in demand for services in public facilities including the library. The Director remarked that the population increase projections were part of the decision 10 years ago to consider increasing the size of the library. She also commented that the increase in single person households possibly accounts for the increase in attendance and interest in adult programming. The plan is to continue providing and increasing programs for adults including the Local History Room. The City is the least heterogeneous jurisdiction in Northern Virginia, being predominantly white. The housing chapter is focused on having affordable housing since there is a lack of it in the City. Currently, there are some dedicated affordable housing units either for rent or to own, some of them are due to expire in 2026. Unless the City allocates money to ensure that they are not market rate. There are discussions in Council about creating a dedicated fund to create affordable housing in the City. Ms. Mastran encouraged the Board to make comments about these chapters and send them to Council, as either citizens or Board members to be on the record. Mr. Camp and Ms. Tysse will draft a letter and when it is ready, the Director will pass it on to Council. 10. LIBRARY PROJECT UPDATE- CORNER CONCEPT • Alvaro Astorga (Al), Department of Public Works, will be the point person who will be working with the library moving process. • The temporary trailers were turned over to the City on July 15. The permits to start the upgrades are in process. Centennial will be working on the site since they already have a contract with the City. 3  • The library project site plan has been submitted to the City's Planning staff and will be presented to the Planning Commission for approval on August 5. Board members can attend the presentation for support. July 1st the library project was brought before a PC work session. There were concerns from the PC about the light pole currently located in the corner of the library building. The PC also viewed a corner concept that was developed after comments from planning staff. Once the site plan is approved it will go to permitting and GMP (Guarantee Maximum Price). BKV will have 95% construction documents completed at the end of July and Centennial, who is the CMAR (Construction Manager At Risk), will have 4 weeks to complete the cost estimate which will be close to the GMP (Guaranteed Maximum Price). Once the GMP is submitted, there will be negotiations. The Board may need to have a special meeting early September to hear about the GMP. City Council will receive an update on August 12th; there is the expectation that the GMP will be brought to Council in September. • The Director presented the corner design for the library. There are two options and the major difference is that option #1 has a planter in front of a sitting wall. There were concerns about the ramp not having a handrail. The current memorial bench will be included. There was also a concern about scooters starting to be a trend through the City. The designs showed two handicap spaces with a wide curb cut on Park Avenue. As for Virginia A venue, the intention is to have at least one short term parking space (15-20 minutes) for dropping off books or people. The Board expressed the desire to have more greenery, bushes, flowers, and maybe a tree, which would add more color to the building. Also the reflection from the inside lights will give a warm look to the building. 11. BOARD BUSINESS MEETING a) Chair and Vice Chair election The Director reminded the Board that according to the Library Bylaws, every year after the regular appointment of a Board member they have to hold an election for Chair and Vice Chair, this takes place in July or August. Board members nominated for Chair - Ms. Stephanie Oppenheimer and Mr. Jeff Peterson. After a secret ballot vote Ms. Oppenheimer was declared the winner for the Chair position. There was another vote for Vice Chair and the nominees were Jeff Peterson and Kathleen Tysse. There was a tie and the Board decided to re-vote at the next Board meeting on August 21. b) Bylaws approval There was a discussion on Section II about the length of the terms ofthe Chair and Vice Chair. The discussion did not conclude within the time limit of the Board meeting so, the discussion will continue at the August Board meeting. 12. BUSINESS NOT ON THE AGENDA None 13. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business, upon a motion duly made and seconded, the Board of 4  Trustees voted unanimously to adjourn the meeting at 9:00 p.m. Respectfully submitted, App oved: 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 ofthe Americans with Disabilities Act. To request a reasonable accommodation for any type of disability, call 703-248-5032, TTY 711. 5  MARY RILEY STYLES PUBLIC LIBRARY BOARD OF TRUSTEES MEETING July, 17 2019 SIGN-IN SHEET NAME ADDRESS EMAIL c:J.o Jfh f1()_ S-/'{"-'- If Lf5'f (/o ((ov 'Tr~ CJ- ~sf,-_ StvL~s+v-~1J(sd :_,t. h\kc- tu l1 ;-fJ7~ Ic) 3()0 P.,r/c:. Ave FC V'f?wk,fWe/J &f;;//?ch 1/VG Page 1