November 15, 2005 Minutes
Board of Trustees
Fargo Public Library
Minutes of November 18, 2005
Present: Betty Kerns, Prakash Mathew, Herb Snyder, Richard Zeck, Suzanne Morrison
Friends of the Fargo Public Library Liaison: Bob Mason
Staff: Maxine Hilburn
Director: Charles Pace
Others: City Commissioner Linda Coates, David Baker of Hodge Cramer and Associates
Absent: Helen Levitt, Leo Wilking
Order of Agenda
Herb Snyder moved to approve the order of the agenda. Richard Zeck seconded the motion; the motion carried.
Minutes
Suzanne Morrison moved to approve the minutes of October 18, 2005. Herb Snyder seconded the motion; the motion carried.
Staff Report
Maxine Hilburn presented a written staff report with no additions.
Directors Report
Charles Pace stated the Attorney Generals opinion regarding the use of the sales tax for a new library was sent back to the City Commission for discussion at the November 21 Commission meeting. Staff reports from Mountain Plains Library Association conference and Ghost Ranch Leadership conference were included in the board packet.
Statistical Reports
Expenditures to date are under budget for the year. Electricity is over, but the natural gas line item is under budget to compensate the energy expenditures.
Friends of the Fargo Public Library Report
Bob Mason reported there was no business meeting since the last board meeting, but they have been sorting for the book sale November 18, 19, and 20. A fundraiser will be held at Barnes and Noble November 26. When a coupon is presented, a percentage of the purchase will be given to the Friends. The coupons can be found at the circulation desks in the library.
Continuing Business
A. Presentation by Hodge Cramer and Associates
David Baker of Hodge Cramer and Associates distributed a feasibility prep pack to the board. Included in the pack was a case statement draft authored by library staff which included the new main library and two branches. After finalizing the case statement, the next step is developing who will take part in the study. Several survey groups include the Board members and Friends, major donors, and community leaders. As this is being coordinated, the questionnaire will also be edited to a core group of questions. At this point any follow up questions to the survey sent previously regarding programming for active seniors may be included if necessary.
Pam Strait will be the scheduling contact coordinating interviews with participants. Interviews will take place the week of December 12. First a letter of introduction will be sent. Then, Pam Strait will call for an interview. Follow up correspondence by the board should thank those who participate.
Interviews may take place at the library, a place of business, or a home. This is strictly an information gathering study and confidential, not a solicitation process. The interviews will be completed before the holidays and a full report should be available for the January board meeting. The report will include findings, quotes, and recommendations as well as the philanthropic capacity of the community to cultivate relationships. The test case will benchmark $3 million to account for unknown contingencies.
Some studies come back that a campaign is not feasible. Others come back that it can not be done until certain things change first. Still others come back that yes it can be done, but it needs to be done immediately. The shelf life for a feasibility study has been reduced to six to twelve months due to events of the recent past including natural disasters and terrorism.
The consultants bring cadence to the process, setting the pace and leading the effort while training volunteers and equipping leadership. The extent of the contract is for a feasibility study. The campaign would be a separate process.
A campaign would start with community education. The capital campaign committee training would start with the board and campaign committee themselves; then move to leadership and major gift quest. This phase covers 60-80% of the goal. At the end of the 12-18 month process the public campaign would kick off.
Public Comment
There was no public comment at this time.
Next Board Meeting
The next board meeting is scheduled for December 20. This may be changed to December 13. An announcement will be posted when a decision has been made.
The meeting was adjourned at 4:55 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Monique Andresen