TRUSTEE BOARD MEETING

Minutes

March 16, 2004

The meeting was called to order at 5:08 pm by Chairman Brent Eames. Board members present were Brent Eames, Roger Jackson, Blaine Robertson, Gordon Timothy, Tricia Galer, and Judy Dewey, secretary. The minutes of the last meeting were approved. The bills were approved, and the checks paying the bills were signed.

The first order of business was consideration of the bids received for the purchase of five new computers from ML Technologies, Blue Dragon Computers, and online quotes from Dell Computers. Blaine noted the quote included Windows 2000 instead of Windows XP. Judy was instructed to see if the bids would be the same with Windows XP. Assuming they would be, the board approved the purchase of five computers from ML Technologies. ML Technologies was the low bidder, and their bid was for Dell Computers, a brand that has served the library very well.

The next order of business was the new carpeting. After several companies having shown interest in bidding on the project, Showcase Interiors was the only one to submit a bid. After a lengthy discussion, given the commitment of funds required, Showcase’s bid of $47,133.92 plus floor preparation at $20 per hour plus materials was accepted. Roger made the motion to proceed with the carpeting, and Gordon seconded the motion.

Much of the discussion on the carpeting centered on the possibility of our needing another budget hearing since the expense is more than had been budgeted. Issues such as the notice requirements and whether it could be held in conjunction with the next fiscal year’s budget hearing were discussed. It was the consensus of the board that any hearing be delayed until nearer the end of the fiscal year in order to determine if the budget needs to be increased. Historically, the library has had a small surplus at the end of the fiscal year.

In new business, the staff had asked Judy to bring before the board the question of closing the library when the computers are down. The board declined to close the library, but Tricia did make the suggestion that when the circulation computers are down, slips of paper could be passed out to the patrons on which the patrons could write the information needed. These slips could then be checked by the staff against the materials being checked out and the slips retained by the library to be entered into the computers later. Blaine suggested we could put a lower limit of the number of items being checked out.

The board also discussed the matter of children left unattended in the library. An age limit would be necessary; some thought age 12 would be an appropriate age at which children could visit the library without a parent. Tricia suggested we put together a short survey on what parents think about this issue. It could be published in the newspaper and handed out to the patrons. Along these same lines, the board members thought we should post a formal sign stating the library cannot be responsible for unattended children.

Assuming the library is able to purchase the small house next door (now used by the LDS Church), Judy asked the board to be thinking about the possibility of utilizing the building until we add onto the existing building or build a new library.

The meeting was adjourned at 6:00 pm upon Roger’s motion.