Russell Library Board of Trustees

Governance Committee of the Russell Library Board of Trustees Regular Meeting, May 5, 2021, 5:00 PM (Online meeting via Webex) DRAFT Minutes Present: Brandie Doyle (Assistant Director for Administrative Services), Jennifer Hadley (recorder), Gregory Harris, Bryan Skowera (chair), Alison Williams Absent: Thomas Russell IV 1. Call to Order: Chair Bryan Skowera called the meeting to order at 5:05 pm. 2. Approval of Minutes from April 7, 2021 Governance Committee Meeting Greg moved and Jennifer seconded the motion to approve the minutes. The motion was approved unanimously. 3. Public Comment No public present. 4. Old Business a. Personal Policy i. Exit interviews - Brandie has reviewed the materials provided by the city HR department. RL will separate the interview portion from the end of employment checklist. Greg mentioned that a board consultant Chuck Loring had recommended a question for Board exit interviews: “In what way would you like to continue to contribute to the organization’s mission even after you’ve left?” This could be used for staff exit interviews too. Bryan suggested we could invite them to join the company or recommend them to be a city trustee. Helps them to become advocates for the library. Could also be something like writing thank you letters to donors. b. Potential Engagement for Anti-Racist Policy Review - The RL Equity and Inclusion team has started the process of drafting the anti-racism statement, trying to frame it as being more positive and inclusive, but then returned back to focusing on anti-racism rathert than broad equity and inclusion. Brandie is trying to engage more members in word-smithing, but they are back to square one, and she would like more guidance as to the intended outcome. Greg shared his thoughts on some problematic aspects of the wording and critical race theory. Bryan reminded us that this undertaking is a response to community members who have expressed that they felt unwelcome at Russell due to their race. It should be made clear, beginning in the title, that this statement is focused on race and is not a general equity and inclusion statement. It is hard to get representation on staff that matches the community so it would be a good strategy for organizations to mentor their staff in entry level positions to build a pathway for career growth. Might want to separate public facing statement from specific work strategies. The sample anti-racism policies Brandie found were mostly from universities in response to George Floyd’s murder, so at this point the wording is not timely for Russell, and runs the danger of being performative and glossing over how the institution has contributed to the problem. Brandie does want to create a working accountability document to help hold staff accountable, not necessarily in a disciplinary way, but to instruct them to be more aware of how to treat people. Some staff have been resistant to the anti-racism training so start looking more towards hiring and retention. Not easy to call out staff about microaggressions in a performance/management setting because some staff get defensive. Trying to make hiring opportunities available to staff at higher level than entry, but no room for promotion in current city system. Could not increase pay. Staff need a little bit of a breather now. Bryan recalled that the initial call for this policy grew out a discussion from the Strategic Planning Committee and a thought of having an audit. Policy could be high level, so can start without action items. Greg suggested training in excellent customer service could help address the issue of making people feel welcome. Alison commented that anti-racism must be intersectional and look at other identities as well. Will continue discussion next month. c. Meeting Guidelines i. Standardized Agendas - Bryan reiterated that in looking at meeting structure, the current bylaws Section 6 Meeting Procedures indicate that meetings should adhere to parliamentary procedures as detailed in the current Robert’s Rules of Order with such modifications as are agreed to by the Board as needed for efficacy (until the Governance Committee recommends otherwise). There is a 12th edition published last September and a new edition of the in brief version. It looks like some of the interactions have changed. Bryan will read the brief version to see if there are any changes about discussion versus passing motions. We discussed whether to suggest Alison’s discussion guidelines be read at the beginning of each meeting. Alison suggested that one could use a general statement on inclusive conversation to open the meeting and gain consensus from everyone in the room that the statement is ok rather than using her guidelines verbatim. Inclusive statement and ground rules could be part of the mission moment at every meeting. How can we make sure that everyone feels empowered to ask questions and/or share thoughts. Bryan shared a sample agenda We have been considering whether to place committee reports after staff reports and whether to request that minutes be circulated to the board before the meeting. There was also a question about allowing members of the public to speak at the end of the meeting as well. We discussed placing the first public comments after the mission moment and inclusivity statement to enhance civility. Mission moments, even during committee meetings are a chance to center on why we’re gathered and what we’re going to discuss. If committee minutes are available in the board packet, chairs can give highlights during the reports. Bryan will type this up as a motion for next month. 5. New Business Expiration of Governor’s Executive Order 7B which allows hybrid meetings without the public being present will expire and it is unclear what other guidance will go into effect. It may be that starting May 21, meetings, including the June Governance meeting, must be physically available to the public even if board members attend remotely. A new screen is going to be installed in the Hubbard Room, but using that room or any of the smaller meeting rooms would mean that an RFID tagging station will have to be moved. Brandie says it is possible to make it work. There would have to be a computer there so the member of the public could address us. This isn’t a policy -- it’s state law. Staff should be ready. 6. Discussion of Items to be Placed on Next Agenda Brandie askekd that we review the Progressive and corrective discipline policy in June. It mentions a form that isn’t being used any more. 7. Additional Public Comment - no public in attendance. 8. Meeting Adjournment -- Greg moved and Jennifer seconded the motion to adjourn the meeting. The motion passed unanimously. The meeting was adjourned at 6:16. Respectfully submitted, Jennifer Hadley