Library Board of Trustees

WESTWOOD FREE PUBLIC LIBRARY BOARD OF TRUSTEES MEETING MINUTES MEETING DATE: Monday, March 27, 2023 CALLED TO ORDER: at 7:02 p.m. by Dennis Farrell. PRESENT: Martha Urbiel (MU), Dennis Farrell (DF), Suzanne Gorham (SG), Mike Violano (MV) Noeline Grefrath (NG), Claudia Gonzales-Doell (CGD), Linda Phayre (LP), Nickeisha Williams (NW), and Christopher Montana (CM). SUNSHINE LAW: Read by DF. PUBLIC FORUM: No members of the public were present. MINUTES: NG made a motion to accept the minutes of the February 27 meeting; CGD seconded; MV abstained. The motion carried. TREASURER'S REPORT: CGD presented the treasurer's report and cash management fund. The total of the checking account, cash management fund, and capital account is $217,957.40. A motion to accept the treasurer’s report was made by MV; seconded by NW. The motion carried. The current bills list (7277-7293) was reviewed. SG questioned the bill for the tables. MU explained that she ordered more mobile tables for the upstairs area. A motion to accept the bills list was made by NG; seconded by SG. The motion carried. MV questioned the Profit & Loss report. MU explained that the report reflects February numbers. CGD confirmed that the BCCLS bill increased minimally from last year. MV suggested that the Library request a quarterly accounting report from the Borough in order to stay better informed. COMMITTEE REPORTS: Budget Committee. MU shared that the Committee met to discuss how to spend excess funds from last year resulting from an employee that left. MU provided a resolution for the Board to review “Establishing Capital Expense Plan and Reserving Funds” that will hold the $66,000 in excess funds for capital improvement projects identified in the Capital Expense Plan. MV pointed out that holding excess funds in the capital account will allow the Library to take advantage of grants requiring matching funds. DF requested a vote; the motion passed unanimously. DIRECTOR'S REPORT: MU shared that there have been some issues with the WiFi and is exploring options to ensure that there are no future interruptions. Westwood Library Board Minutes March 27, 2023 Page 1 A temporary replacement page has been hired. Several children’s, young adult, and adult programs ran. The NJ Maker’s Day was the most popular event. The Junior Library Council met with attendees from Westwood, Township of Washington, River Vale, and Closter. Several new groups have been established that have brought new people into the Library. The Friends held a book sale. The State report was submitted. PRESIDENT'S REPORT: None. OLD BUSINESS: MV shared that tickets are selling quickly for the Friends fundraiser on April 19. The Borough shared credit monitoring service subscription information with the employees affected by the recent baking information breach. NEW BUSINESS: MU will set up meetings with the Borough to review capital requests. CM will contact Elizabeth to set-up a time to meet in April. MU questioned the process for capital improvement projects. MV asked CM for clarification on the process regarding how project requests are executed. CM will reach out to Durene to set-up a meeting to clarify the budget and capital improvement projects with MU. MEETING ADJOURNED: SG made a motion to adjourn; NW seconded. The motion carried. The meeting was adjourned at 8:18 p.m. by DF. Westwood Library Board Minutes March 27, 2023 Page 2