Library Board of Trustees

TENAFLY PUBLIC LIBRARY MINUTES OF THE BOARD MEETING June 13, 2022 The Board of Trustees of the Tenafly Public Library met on June 13, 2022 at 7:00 p.m. at the Library for its regular Board meeting. Board Members Present: President Kathleen Cook, Vice President Soon Juhng, Secretary/Treasurer Martin Gilbert, Teresa Austin, Nicole Motz and Elizabeth Warms. Absent: David DiGregorio and Patrick Rouse. Guests: Julie Lev and Jolie Lau. Staff Present: Library Director Julie Marallo and Administrative Assistant Ann Marie Connolly. The meeting was called to order at 7:03 p.m. Julie Marallo reported that notices of the meeting had been posted and sent to the media. Minutes Board members approved the Minutes of the regular Board meeting of May 9, 2022. Moved by: Elizabeth Warms. Seconded by: Soon Juhng. Unanimously approved. Treasurer’s Report On June 1, 2022 the computer system, encompassing the Board of Education offices, all the schools and departments in the Borough, and the computer of the library’s administrative assistant, was hacked. As of this date, the Edmunds software is not available for use. The financial reports are limited to the Check Distribution List for May 2022. Martin Gilbert reviewed with the Board the Library’s Check Distribution List for May, 2022. He noted that he had examined and approved the list and reported it was current and accurate. A motion was made to approve the Check Distribution List. Moved by: Kathleen Cook. Seconded by: Elizabeth Warms. Unanimously approved. Correspondence Meena Krishnamsetty regretfully submitted her resignation (effective immediately) from the Library Board of Trustees. The library was delighted to receive a letter and check in the amount of $256.35 from Karl W. Gunther from Hampton, Virginia. Mr. Gunther is the treasurer of the 1965 THS reunion committee. He explained that there would be no reunions scheduled in the near future, and it was decided to close out the account and donate the funds to the library. His request was that we “buy a few books for the citizens of our fine little town to enjoy.” Director’s Report Ms. Marallo thanked Elizabeth Warms and the many volunteer Friends members for facilitating the booking of the highly successful Richard Baratta Jazz Trio performance at the library on Sunday, May 22. Marilynn Friedman stopped counting at 75 attendees. Entire families came in and parents danced to jazz in the 80 degree heat with their children. Many thanks to Assistant Library Director Marcia Literati for the amazing flyer she created to promote the event. On Monday, May 16, there was water flowing from a ceiling tile in the gallery. The air conditioner duct work in the ceiling has been fixed, and the tiles have since been replaced. The air conditioning provided by the Borough system is not functioning properly throughout the library. There have also been non-stop plumbing issues in many of the staff and public rest rooms. On May 31, after the Memorial Day weekend, Maintenance was called in to replace two wet ceiling tiles that had crashed to the floor in the DVD room during a storm. This is part of the area where extensive repair work was just completed, with the exception of roof repair. The Board continues to ask the Borough Council to fix/replace the roof, but they are reluctant to spend any money on maintenance. They are now at the preliminary stage of investigating the feasibility of building a new building. Since this would take several years to accomplish, it is guaranteed that the conditions will worsen, the new repairs just finished will be severely compromised and the threat of harm to the public and library staff will be great. The library commissioned architects Arcaro + Iovino to create a Five-Year Capital Improvement Plan to prioritize safety. The Board decided to put what was discussed into a letter to the Mayor and Council. President’s Report Kathleen Cook encouraged Board members to participate in the many children and adult library events planned for the summer. The Summer Reading Program will kick off on Saturday, June 18 with registration, craft projects and a “bring your own picnic lunch” to the library and be treated to a dessert. Old Business None New Business None Report from Mayor’s Alternate Ms. Motz reported that she had met with Mayor Zinna and addressed the many concerns of the Library Board. Report from the Superintendent’s Alternate None Citizen’s Portion of the Meeting None Adjournment The meeting adjourned at 8:17 p.m. Moved by: Elizabeth Warms. Seconded by: Soon Juhng. Unanimously accepted. Respectfully submitted, Martin Gilbert Secretary/ Treasurer The next regular meeting of the Library Board of trustees will be on Monday, September 12, 2022 at 7:00 p.m. Approved: September 12, 2022