City Council Committee Agendas

Mount Vernon City Council Committee of the Whole Joint Meeting with Library Foundation Board Minutes November 16, 2015 Present: City of Mount Vernon: Mayor Boudreau, Councilmembers Hulst, Lindquist, and Molenaar Library Foundation: Gloria Hulst, Marija Anderson, Kelly Reep, Chuck Smith, Peter Goldfarb, Sara Patton, Cheri Relyea Staff Present: Library Director Brian Soneda, Library Staff Kelly Dodd and Anita Thornton, Community Development Director Hyde Others: Councilmember-elect Mary Hudson, and four community members. 1. Meeting was opened by Councilmember Hulst at 6:00pm. 2. Guest Speaker, Wendy Hatch, spoke to the group regarding fund-raising steps in a capital campaign. She spoke about the difference between private and public funding, and the need to know about the degree to which the community supports the project. Ms. Hatch noted that were she to be hired, she would recommend a list of at least forty people her business would contact and interview. Also, she recommended an image of the Library (new vs. old), which would be helpful in developing our financial capacity. We would need to know what other fundraising was being done in the community, and staffing at the Library should be in place for at least a two to three year period. She recommended an advisory group who could identify the people we want to reach. And lastly, we need to provide a timeline for the building we want. 3. In answer to a question regarding funding, Ms. Hatch said the usual fee to design and set up a fundraising campaign like this averages $40,000. The firm will recommend a goal and budget, and would expand the community members involved in the campaign beyond our Foundation Board. The Foundation Board would work on the community we want to reach, and Ms. Hatch said it was a great way to reach out. We need to ask ourselves why philanthropy is needed when we have access to municipal bonds. 4. How do we prepare to do a study? Ms. Hatch said it starts with good leadership. We already have some donors who just need to be identified. We also need support from staff and the systems in which we work. Grants could be available in Skagit County. “Remember your need is not your goal; present the grandest vision, and not the compromise.” 5. Discussion followed regarding the building we want to build, the size, the cost, and the location. Mr. Soneda’s report based on feedback from five comparable libraries, staff, Committee of the Whole November 16, 2015 Page 2 library trustees recommended a 30,000 square foot building. Several Councilmembers as well as Foundation board members supported the 30,000 square foot recommendation, as long as the design lent itself to expanding the building in an efficient and functional way should future demand show a need for more space. 6. The next step is to meet with the Mount Vernon School District Board. A purpose for this meeting would be to find out if the School Board officially supports going forward with a joint effort on a new joint use library/school district building on the site of the current school district administration building. Mr. Hulst and others noted that a final decision on this issue was critical for moving forward. A tentative date for such a meeting could be December 16, 2015. Mayor Boudreau will discuss this possibility with Superintendent Carl Bruner. The meeting concluded at 7:30 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Cheri Relyea