February 21, 2006 Minutes
Board of Trustees
Fargo Public Library
Minutes of February 21, 2006
Present: Betty Kerns, Herb Snyder, Richard Zeck, Helen Levitt, Prakash Mathew, Leo Wilking
Staff: Maxine Hilburn
Director: Charles Pace
Others Present: Russ Hodge of Hodge Cramer and Associates, Karla Aaland of Fargo Moorhead Area Foundation, South Agassiz Resource Council representatives
Absent: Suzanne Morrison
Order of Agenda
Richard Zeck moved to approve the order of the agenda. Herb Snyder seconded the motion; the motion carried.
Minutes
Prakash Mathew moved to approve the minutes of January 17 and February 3. Helen Levitt seconded the motion; the motion carried.
Staff Report
Maxine Hilburn reported 205 participants attended the Dino Days programs February 16 and 17. 125 participated in the Hearts and Hugs program. 22 adults were at the Monday Spotlight program highlighting Thomas Jefferson as a musician presented by Tom Wellin sponsored by the North Dakota Humanities Council. Edie Discher, Eve Haaland, Karen Kohoutek, Cheryl Lackman, and Erin Smith attend the Library Futures Forum in Moorhead. Linnae Grabner-Hegg and Lindsey Schmidt have given notice. The Library Associate I positions are now advertised.
South Agassiz Resource Council Green Philanthropy
South Agassiz Resource Council representatives proposed the use of green design for additional funding sources. Green philanthropy would expand the opportunity for fundraising. The up front investment in green elements will save money in the long term.
Directors Report
The North Dakota State Library is hosting spring workshops in Fargo March 30-31. The deadline to register is March 10.
Northport design is complete at this time. Construction bids are due March 8 with a recommendation to go to the City Commission March 13. The Southpointe schematic design will be presented at the March 3 Building Committee meeting. It is a public meeting and all board members may attend.
American Library Association Midwinter conference was held in January. North Dakota Library Association paid for Charles Pace to attend as the ALA council representative for North Dakota.
Charles Pace and Scott Stenvold discussed options for janitorial services for the new north and south branch libraries. Northport will be contract services as we currently handle Southpointe. The larger south branch may require an additional Building and Grounds employee.
January 2005 showed a net increase in circulation of 2% from last year. Total number of registered borrowers is approaching 51,000. Usage will fluctuate with the opening and closing of facilities this year.
The IT department needs to connect the machine to start the process of tagging the Northport collection for RFID. Staff will start the process of the Northport collection and later when the main collection is converted the library may use volunteers for the project.
Statistical Reports
The 2005 financials are not yet closed, but to date the library spent 96.7% of the budget. The planning grant was not spent due to the sales tax passing for the facilities projects, which was not part of the original budgeting process.
Friends of the Fargo Public Library Report
The Friends of the Fargo Public Library met February 14. Currently there are 150 household memberships with $4,300 in dues collected. The estimated balance is $15,000.
Discussion took place regarding a vinyl sign for future book sales. Michael Sebille will talk with Charles Pace about adding a book sale sign inside the library. There will be an extra book sale in April. April 7 is Friends only from 3:30pm to 5:30pm and April 8 is a bag sale from 10:30am to 5:30pm. Michael Sebille has resigned as president of the Friends of the Fargo Public Library effective in June. They continue to work on updating the bylaws and constitution.
The Moorhead library sent $4,600 to the New Orleans Public Library system to be used in Hurricane Katrina relief for the library.
Leo Wilking resolved to support the Friends of the Fargo Public Library to send finances in the amount at their discretion to the New Orleans Public Library. Leo Wilking amended the resolution to be used for gulf coast hurricane relief efforts for libraries. Prakash Mathew seconded the resolution as amended. All present voted in favor of the resolution.
Continuing Business
A. Capital Campaign
Helen Levitt moved to proceed with the capital campaign. Leo Wilking seconded the motion; the motion carried.
B. Campaign Consultants
Prakash Mathew moved to approve Hodge Cramer and Associates as the campaign consultant with a maximum fee that would not exceed $195,000. Helen Levitt seconded the motion; the motion carried.
C. Library Endowment Fund to pay campaign start up costs
Karla Aaland stated the endowment fund has a balance of $114,117.14. The fund started in 1993 with funds that dated back to the 1950s as a way to separate funds from the operating general fund. Russ Hodge stated planned giving is at the core of a capital campaign and not the initial one to two million dollar goal.
Helen Levitt moved to borrow funds from the endowment fund for campaign start up costs with the stipulation it be repaid. Prakash Mathew seconded the motion; the motion carried.
D. Library Building Projects
A working budget will be presented at the next Building Committee meeting. The sales tax revenue report reflects healthy sales tax collections.
Prakash Mathew resolved to move forward with the design process for the main library. Herb Snyder seconded the resolution. All present voted in favor of the resolution.
New Business
There was no new business at this time.
Public Comment
Correspondence was received from Waterford thanking the library for senior services provided through the outreach department.
Next Board Meeting
The next board meeting is scheduled for March 21 at 4:00 in the City Commission room.
The meeting was adjourned at 5:00 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Monique Andresen