NORTHVILLE DISTRICT LIBRARY BOARD OF TRUSTEES
Regular Meeting Minutes
Thursday, February 22, 2007 – 7:30 p.m.
Northville District Library Carlo Meeting Room
1. Chairperson Alan Somershoe called the
Regular Meeting to order at 7:30 p.m.
1.1 Roll Call - Present:
Trustees Alan Somershoe, Jean Hansen, Robert Sochacki, Judy Sherman,
Deborah Stanifer, Joe Corriveau and Peggy Koppy. Also
present: Anne Mannisto, Assistant Director and Judith Williams,
Administrative Assistant.
Absent: Julie Herrin, Director.
1.2 Approval of the Agenda:
MOTION: Jean Hansen made a motion to accept the agenda as
presented. Robert Sochacki seconded the motion.
Motion passed.
1.3 Approval of the Regular Board Meeting
minutes of January 25, 2007. MOTION: Jean Hansen
made a motion to accept the minutes of the January 25th meeting as
presented. Peggy Koppy seconded the motion. Motion
passed.
1.4 Correspondence: Anne
Mannisto passed a note from the Historical Society, thanking Michael
for the link to their web site through our Home Page and for updating
their information each year.
2. Citizens’ Comments: None
3. Auditors Presentation of 2006
Audit: Mr. Chris Jones and Ms. Andrea Krasna, auditors with
Plante & Moran presented the 2006 Financial Audit of the
Library for the Board’s review and questions. Mr.
Jones reported that the Library had received an “unqualified
opinion” audit and remarked that the Library was doing a good
job of pre-funding the Retiree Health Care through MERS.
However, the Library will still fall considerably short of the actual
liability for Retiree Health Care. This liability was
estimated several years ago as more than $2.5 million. He
stressed the need to continue funding Retiree Health Care to attempt to
meet the GASB requirements which will take effect in 2009.
MOTION: Robert Sochacki made a motion to accept the 2006
Audit as presented by Plante & Moran. Judy Sherman
seconded the motion. Audit accepted.
4. Director’s Report:
In Julie Herrin’s absence, Anne Mannisto presented the
Directors Report.
Statistics: Anne reported that January circulation was up
slightly from January 2006, and wireless use was more than double the
number from last January, with 305 wireless users this month compared
to 148 a year ago. Database accesses from remote locations
and within the Library are almost even. Online renewal of
Library items is very high.
Youth Programming: The Drop-in Evening Storytime had 23
participants this month, the highest turnout ever. Last
month’s Evening Storytime was featured in the Detroit Free
Press with a photo. The Little Me Storytime had 39 in
attendance and the Valentine Craft hosted 71. The Youth
Department is currently holding 8 storytimes per week with 20 to 26
children participating in each one. In February, the total
for youth programs was 35 with over 700 attendees..
Adult Programming: The Adult Services program on the Oscars
had 17 attendees. The movie had an audience of 10.
The Adult Department held two Internet Classes, with attendance of 9
and 12. The Adult Book Discussion hosted 15 this
month. Jeannine Davidson’s outreach visits served a
total of 73 senior citizens at three locations. The
Northville Genealogical Society continues to offer volunteer assistance
to family history researchers, helping 5 people in January.
Teen Services: The Teen Services Librarian has 45 teams
registered for the Battle of the Books. Participation far
exceeded expectations and additional books were purchased to meet the
demand. This program will hold a final team competition on
Tuesday, April 24 at 7:00. at the Northville High School Cafeteria.
Public relations: The Spring Newsletter, covering events from
March through May, will be mailed out at the end of next
week. Today’s Northville Record features an article
on the Community Online Events Calendar and includes a photo of Michael
and Jeannine working together to get ten core organizations to use the
calendar to coordinate events. The Northville Record and
Detroit Free Press have recently featured photos of the Youth
Storytimes.
Facility: New shelving was installed on the lower level this
week adding two rows of shclving to the Adult Non-Fiction
area. The sound system in the meeting room now has a wireless
lapel microphone and a new hand held microphone with an on/off
switch. The Matisse lithograph, donated to the Library by Dr.
Blondy, has been hung on a Main Level wall, near the first row of the
Adult Fiction collection.
Technology: SAM (Smart Access Manager) is scheduled for an upgrade next
week, which will require the Public Computers to be out of service for
a day. A Computer Virus caused problems that required Michael
to reinstall software on all of the public computers. The
public computers were unavailable for use all day today for the fix.
Staff: There were 60 volunteer hours this month.
Our new Substitute Librarian Kelly Wetschka will now be assisting the
Youth Department with class visits and possibly Evening
Storytimes. Substitute Librarian Martha Reed is teaching the
Basic Internet classes. Using the substitute librarians in
this way will help lighten the work load of permanent staff.
Endowment: Anne Mannisto distributed a handout Barbara Glover
prepared, which reviews the year’s end Endowment Fund
activity: Total gifts in 2006 amounted to $15,980, from 48
contributors, with a year end value of $226,277.
Contract Status: Anne noted that contract negotiations were
officially at impasse. This follows a meeting held on
February 13, when the Employee Association members rejected the final
offer presented to them by the Library. The terms of this
final offer are being implemented, effective February 18.
Deductions for the employees’ 10% medical premium
contributions will begin with the first pay in March, for medical
coverage which will begin April 1, 2007. (Insurance premiums
are paid a month in advance). The terms of the final offer
also allow a 3% increase for staff members effective December 1,
2007. There is no time period or specified duration to this
situation, as Julie had informed the Board on February 15,
2007. It will continue until one party or the other has a
substantial change to offer for negotiation.
5. Friends Report: In the
absence of Jim Morché, Anne Mannisto reported on the Friends
Board Meeting. The Friend’s next Board Meeting will
be held on March 14, with their Annual Meeting on March 15.
Invitations to the Annual Meeting are being sent to all members of the
Friends. The Annual Meeting will feature presentations by
Library staff members on various services within the Library.
The Library Wish List was presented to the Finance Committee of the
Friends for consideration at their next meeting. The list
includes startup funding for a Coffee Cart, including the first year of
coffee supplies for the patrons to purchase within the
Library. The Book and Author Luncheon will be on Tuesday, May
1 at Fox Hills and will feature Steve Lehto, author of
“Death’s Door,” a non-fiction account of
a fatal fire in upper Michigan in the early 1900’s.
6. Budget and Finance Review:
Deborah Stanifer
6.1 MOTION: Deborah Stanifer
made a motion for approval of payment of the Northville District
Library Bills List over $1,000 for February 2007 as presented to the
Board. Robert Sochacki seconded the motion. Motion
passed.
6.2 Deborah reviewed the Draft Financial
Reports for January and reported that 16% of the new fiscal year is
completed with over 50% of revenue having been received.
MOTION: Deborah made a motion to transfer $16,659, unspent
funds from the Building Maintenance line in the 2006 Operating Budget
to the Reserve Fund for Facilities Preservation. Jean Hansen
seconded the motion. Motion passed.
MOTION: Deborah then made a motion to transfer the $30,902
unspent funds from the Technology line in the 2006 Operating
Budget to the Reserve Fund for Technology/RFID. Robert
Sochacki seconded the motion. Motion passed. The
2006 Audit reflects these transfers as already having been completed.
6.3 The next Finance Committee is
scheduled for Tuesday, March 20, at 5:30 p.m.
7. Committee Reports:
7.1 Personnel Committee: Robert
Sochacki reported that the meeting to determine the compensation for
the Library’s Administrative Staff was held on February
6th. The Personnel Committee reviewed the compensation amounts for Directors of other Class V Libraries and
recommended to the Board that the Director’s compensation be
raised 3% to $79,586 to keep her within the average range.
MOTION: Robert made a motion for this action. Jean
Hansen seconded the motion. Motion passed. The
Director’s salary increase will be effective March 1,
2007. MOTION: Robert made a motion to increase the
Assistant Director’s compensation 3% to $66,307, and to award
her 2 additional vacation days per year to keep her within the average
range of other Class V Libraries Assistant Directors. Peggy
Koppy seconded the motion. Motion passed. The Board
also acknowledged and expressed their gratitude for the efforts of the
Assistant Director. MOTION: Robert made a motion to increase
the Administrative Assistant’s compensation by 3% to $44,026
effective March 1, 2007. The Personnel Committee also
stipulated that the Administration Staff will receive the same medical
benefits with the same percentage contribution of premiums that the
staff is receiving through implementation.
8. Announcements and Comments:
The next scheduled Board of Trustees Regular Meeting is Thursday, March
22, 2007 at 7:30 p.m. in the Carlo Meeting Room of Northville District
Library.
A Special Board Meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, February 28 at 7:00
p.m. in the Youth Activity Room. This meeting will be for the
purpose of reviewing the Strategic Plan prioritized action steps and is
rescheduled from the February 13th date due to bad weather.
9. Alan Somershoe asked for a motion to
adjourn the meeting. MOTION: Robert Sochacki made a
motion to adjourn. Deborah Stanifer seconded the
motion. The meeting was adjourned at 9:17 p.m..
Respectfully Submitted,
Judy Sherman
jw: 2/26/07