MINUTES Waukesha Public Library Board Meeting ...

MINUTES Waukesha Public Library Board Meeting Thursday May 10, 2007 4:45 p.m. Library Board Meeting Room Members Present:

Trustees D. Bissett, C. Deatrick, P. Kasprowicz, D. Kau, J. Kerwin, E. Spelius, S. Trewyn, and Director J. Ameel

Members Absent:

Trustees J. Fowle, S. Schultz, L. Rodriguez and R. Tortomasi

Others Present:

Alderman J. Francoeur, Waukesha County Federated Library System Director T. Hennen and Assistant Director C. Backus, Associate Director Support Services H. Pringle, Associate Director Public Services D. Brostrom, and Administrative Assistant J. Quinlan

Board President P. Kasprowicz opened the meeting at 4:51 p.m.

1. Welcome to newly appointed Board member Alderman Rick Tortomasi Alderman R. Tortomasi was unable to attend the meeting.

2. Presentation of certificate of appreciation to departing Board member Alderman

J. Francoeur Board President P. Kasprowicz thanked Alderman J. Francoeur on behalf of the Board, staff, and library users for her service to the library. He presented her with a ‘bridgebuilder’ certificate and pin. (J. Kerwin arrived at 4:55 p.m.) Alderman J. Francoeur thanked everyone. She acknowledged that she has learned something valuable from each Board member during her many tenures on the Board, first as a citizen and then as an alderman. Board President P. Kasprowicz emphasized that because any alderman or citizen may attend meetings of the Board, he hoped that Alderman J. Francoeur would continue to attend Board and committee meetings that are of interest to her. Alderman J. Francoeur said that she would like to continue to contribute in the areas of public art, fund development, and building security. (J. Francoeur left at 5:01 p.m.)

3. Approval of consent agenda

The consent agenda included the minutes. Trustee J. Kerwin moved to approve the consent agenda as presented. Trustee D. Bissett seconded, motion carried unanimously.

4. Minutes

The minutes were approved as part of the consent agenda.

5. Correspondence

There was no correspondence.

6. Bills and Financial Reports The monthly revenue and expense reports were reviewed. Director J. Ameel pointed out some bills of particular interest, including those for Envisonware (the PC Reservation vendor); Langer Roofing (a leak was discovered with the last rainfall); and AFX Signz (some of the acrylic panels on the front of the building needed to be adjusted.) This maybe a seasonal cost, as the change in the weather can affect the alignment of the panels. The only CAFÉ invoice was for the consulting contract with the Waukesha County Federated Library System. One other significant bill was to Waukesha County Federated Library System for Waukesha’s portion of the shared database cost. Director J. Ameel reported that

expenses are on track, but revenue is slightly down. Trustee D. Kau moved to approve the regular May bills in the amount of $56,650.11 and the May CAFÉ bills in the amount of $5,625.00. Trustee D. Bissett seconded, motion carried with a unanimous roll call vote.

7. Old Business a. Continuation of Strategic Planning

Waukesha County Federated Library System (WCFLS) Director Tom Hennen introduced WCFLS Assistant Director Claudia Backus. C. Backus reviewed the results of the three staff focus groups as well as the Board’s session. She said that the Waukesha Public Library is doing well, but in order to continue to achieve the level of excellence that the Library strives for, it needs to continue to improve. Accomplishments cited by all groups pertained to the completion of the building project and successful programming. Some priorities that ranked high on all lists were variances on security and safety, technology, and increased space. Trustee C. Deatrick asked why the staff would categorize heating and air conditioning as an issue. Associate Director H. Pringle responded that because of budget constraints, the building does not have as many zone controls as it should, making it difficult to maintain a constant temperature throughout the building. Associate Director H. Pringle said that the City recently completed a city-wide energy conservation audit and as a result, the Library will be getting two new high efficiency boilers. System Director T. Hennen commented that some negative responses are normal. All of this information has been gathered to use as background for the strategic plan. Director J. Ameel noted that in regards to the security issues that a public library serves the entire community, which includes individuals who raise issues of safety and security. Board President P. Kasprowicz said that security and safety could possibly become a component of the Building Committee, which has been on hiatus.

WCFLS Assistant Director C. Backus outlined the suggestions for the public input process. She handed out suggestions for questions for the public interviews. The interview will be kept brief and where possible will be translated into Spanish. This is an opportunity to further good public relations for the library. The Board may also want to consider asking a question to gauge support for an expanded children’s area. She said that it was also previously suggested that in order to get non-library users’ input, an offsite location (such as a grocery store) be used for a portion of the survey. Trustee C. Deatrick suggested that the downtown grocery store would be a good place or possibly the Walgreens. System Director T. Hennen said that he needs a time commitment from the Board members. He will have a sign up sheet at the next meeting. Director J. Ameel said that having Board members and management team conduct the survey might elicit more involvement from members of the public. Trustee C. Deatrick thought that possibly doing neighborhood surveys might work. System Director T. Hennen said that it would depend on how much time Board members are willing to commit. Another avenue that had been discussed is the possibility of doing focus groups with incentives such as gift cards to garner more interest. System Director T. Hennen emphasized that it is difficult to get people to attend these types of forums. He cited the recent government options study discussions. Online surveys could be another option, but this type of survey would catch only those who use the Library’s web site. Board President P. Kasprowicz asked what the cost would be to the Library. Associate Director H. Pringle said that he knows of one free survey program that limits the number of responses. The annual subscription for the professional membership is $200. The company maintains the sites and tabulates the answers. He believed that the Library

could also use it for other surveys. The key is to structure the questions to get meaningful results. Director J. Ameel suggested a final ‘bottom line’ question that she has read some businesses are using: “Would you recommend Waukesha Public Library to a friend?” The Board decided to skip the focus groups, instead putting their energy into the onsite and offsite surveys as well as the online survey. Another possibility in the future might be to attend community meetings, such as the Golden Kiwanis or PTOs. System Director T. Hennen discussed recent legislation concerning libraries at the State level. State aid to public libraries has been approved for the next two years; this will result in a four percent increase for WCFLS. However, due to the success of CAFÉ, delivery service is going to cost more. The County is once again going to be discussing the capital cost issue. Board members need to be vocal advocates for this reform. Director J. Ameel said that she and System Director T. Hennen have a meeting with the Mayor regarding capital costs scheduled for Monday. (T. Hennen and C. Backus left at 5:55 p.m.)

8. New Business a. Discussion/action regarding Request for Proposal for Public Art

Trustee J. Kerwin reported that the Public Art Committee met on Tuesday, May 8. A few slight modifications were made to the request for proposal for public art. The proposal will be released after the Board has approved the document. No dollar figure is included in the proposal. Trustee J. Kerwin moved to approve the request for proposal as presented. Trustee C. Deatrick seconded, motion carried unanimously. On a different subject, Trustee C. Deatrick asked if the Board members were aware of a recent article in the ‘Trustees Essential’ newsletter regarding the Board’s responsibility over trust funds. Director J. Ameel replied that the Library reports all of the funds annually in the State report. The City Finance Department invests and monitors all of these accounts. An update will be made available to the Board members at the next meeting.

b. Discussion/action regarding procedures for Director’s annual evaluation

Board President P. Kasprowicz explained that he had requested that the procedure for the Library Director’s annual evaluation be put in writing. This will enable any future Board President to follow the guidelines outlined. Over the next few months, the Human Resources Committee will also be evaluating a grade level increase for the Director’s position.

c. Discussion/action regarding formation of Board security committee Director J. Ameel explained that it had been suggested that a security committee be added to the list of Board committees. It was proposed that a security component be added to the responsibilities of the Building Committee. Building Committee Chairman D. Kau agreed that this would be a logical extension of the Building Committee’s duties. Anyone could attend as a non-voting member. Board President P. Kasprowicz pointed out that safety and security is an important concern for both staff and management. It was the consensus of the Board to add security to the description of the Building Committee’s oversight. (D. Brostrom left at 6:12 p.m.)

9. Reports a. Library Board Committees: Executive, Finance, Human Resources, Planning and Policy There were no additional reports.

b. CAFÉ: Associate Director Howard Pringle will provide a status update on CAFÉ projects and answer any questions Associate Director H. Pringle reported that everything was status quo.

c. Director’s Report: Library Director Jane Ameel will provide a status update on Library activities and answer any questions There was no additional report from the Director.

d. Waukesha County Federated Library System: Trustee Elaine Spelius will

report on the most recent WCFLS Board meeting Trustee E. Spelius reported that in addition to Tom’s report on the legislative issues, the WCFLS Board discussed whether to proceed with plans for future library sites.

e. Friends of the Library: Trustee Joanie Kerwin will report on any meeting that has occurred since the date of the last Library Board meeting. Trustee J. Kerwin reported that the Friends will meet on May 14. Dave Schultz from the Waukesha County Community Foundation will be present to explain the Community Foundation and to answer questions.

f.

Discussion/action regarding communications to Common Council There were no items to report to the Council.

Trustee E. Spelius moved to adjourn the meeting. Trustee C. Deatrick seconded, motion carried unanimously. The meeting adjourned at 6:14 p.m. Prepared by: Joan Quinlan Approved: 6/14/07 Sent to City Hall: 06/15/07