Board of Public Library Trustees

Draft of Minutes of Board of Trustees Meeting of January 21, 2021 Salem, Massachusetts January 21, 2021 A meeting of the Board of Trustees was held via Zoom on this date at 4:05pm with Trustees April, Austin, Marte, Morin, Rourke, and Trustee Buckley present and presiding. Mayor Driscoll was absent. Miss Mansfield was present. Approval of draft minutes from November 19, 2020 UNANIMOUS Current Library Use and Financial reports were distributed. Miss Mansfield reported that curbside pickup hours were reduced by one hour from 12/28/2020 to 1/23/2021 to allow the library to operate on a skeleton crew to help slow the spread of COVID-19 after the holidays. Salem was fifth highest in NOBLE for circulation of physical items in November and sixth highest in December. Overdrive circulation was fourth highest in NOBLE during November and third highest in December. Miss Mansfield noted that the Overdrive Public Library Connection to the Salem Public Schools was showing good usage. Financial reports were distributed. Miss Mansfield reported that fines continue to be waived during the pandemic due to the long quarantine period. Trustee Buckley gave an overview of the Trustees’ private funds and how they are used to support the library’s mission. Miss Mansfield reported that the library’s fire alarm system was malfunctioning. The problem had escalated from internal trouble alarms to full fire alarms that summon the Fire Department. Several electricians had been consulted and it was agreed that the older smoke detectors should be replaced since no definitive cause could be found. However, after the most recent alarm, All Pro Electric felt the fire panel was likely causing the alarm and submitted a proposal for replacing the panel and the entire system. Miss Mansfield pulled a short term emergency capital request for the replacement of the smoke detectors that was set to go before City Council. Michael Lutrzykowski was consulted and spoke with the Fire Department and the electricians and it was decided that replacing the smoke detectors was still the first step in troubleshooting the ongoing issues. Miss Mansfield resubmitted the short term emergency capital request to City Council. Miss Mansfield noted the library is no longer allowed to use Talbot Electric and has been relying on City on call contractors who are less familiar with the building and have much longer response times. Once the fire alarm is set off, the loud internal alarms continue on the main floor until an electrician has responded, inspected the building, and manually turned them off. Trustee Austin noted that the building remains unprotected until the electrician notifies the Fire Department to return to the building to reset the fire alarm communication box. Miss Mansfield reported the HVAC upgrade was scheduled to begin on Monday, January 25th. This project was funded by CARES Act money and will allow the air to be continuously cleaned and will allow the air intake to be increased to recommended levels. Once this step has been completed, appointment based visits would be coordinated while continuing curbside pickup. Miss Mansfield wooden door and entryway restoration project would be delayed. The doors were scheduled to be removed and worked on in Wayne Towle’s shop, but the person who performs the work had broken his ankle. The project would be postponed until he was back on his feet. Miss Mansfield reported that the Trustees received a donation of $50,000 for the restoration of the Poseidon Fountain, which brought the fundraising total up to $181,744. Miss Mansfield noted that Greg Curci’s estimate was $160,000, and an updated estimate would be needed to pursue CPA funding. Miss Mansfield reported that Mayor Driscoll had asked about the possibility of offering fountain library cards as a fundraiser. Trustee Morin reported that he had reached out to all of the engineering firms recommended by Jenna Ide, and that two were interested. VHB (Vanasse Hangen Brustlin, Inc.) submitted a proposal for creating an RFP for the fountain restoration. The cost of the work would be $8,900. Trustee Morin was waiting to hear back from Weston & Sampson. The logistics of getting a new quote before the CPA deadline of March 26th was discussed. Trustee Buckley volunteered to look over the VHB contract and the Trustees agreed that a special meeting should be called to coordinate moving forward quickly. Miss Mansfield reported that the library’s waiver was scheduled to go before the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners on February 4th. The library’s FY21 budget did not meet the municipal appropriation requirement (MAR) and a waiver or supplemental municipal funding would be required for the library to maintain its certification and to receive State Aid grant money. Miss Mansfield reported that many patrons were asking about visiting the library in person. The staff was scheduled to return to their pre-pandemic shifts on February 22, 2021, which will further allow the expansion of services. Miss Mansfield reported that a ground level book drop was a priority for accessibility. This was not identified as a concern when the library was evaluated for ADA compliance. Jenna Ide had been consulted to see if capital funds set aside for ADA upgrades could be used for this purpose. Meeting adjourned at 5:14pm.