TRUSTEE BOARD MEETING

Minutes

Wednesday, February 17, 2009

The meeting was called to order at 5:00 pm by Blaine Robertson, chairman. Board members present were Blaine Robertson, Henry Benavidez, Pam Beard, Gordon Timothy, Jeniel Facer, and Judy Dewey, secretary.

The minutes of the last meeting were approved upon Gordon’s motion and Henry’s second; all voted in favor. Jeniel moved to approve the bills, Pam seconded the motion, and all voted in favor. The checks paying the bills were signed.

PSR Situation

Approximately 75 people attended the meeting in response to a letter sent out to various agencies in the community regarding the problem of PSR (psycho-social rehabilitation) workers and their clients in the library. A copy of the letter accompanies these minutes.

Blaine welcomed the visitors to the meeting and introduced the board members. Due to the number attending, the meeting was held in the story time section of the children’s department. Blaine set out the rules for the public comment, limiting each person who had signed up to speak to about three minutes.

Twenty three people formally addressed the board. Most comments were from parents of and those who work with the disabled, rather than from the psycho-social rehabilitation community. Following are some of the comments:

1.       A father spoke about his son who is autistic.

2.       A woman who works with the disabled suggested the letter should have been more clear as to the targeted audience.

3.       Another said the letter was sent only to agencies that worked with the disabled. The board responded this was not true, that it was sent to the agencies that have PSR workers.

4.       Another questioned whether the board could set policy as to who can use the library, given it is a “public library.” Blaine responded that the Idaho code requires the board to set policy for the library.

5.       A mother asked whether her daughter, who comes in with a worker, can’t come in any more. Blaine responded that if the daughter is brought in to use the library for library purposes, then that is okay, but that the library should not be used for business purposes.

6.       Two brothers wanted to know where the special needs people are to go, that the agencies send the special needs people out so they can get used to being in the community and the public can get used to them. Judy responded that the letter was not addressed to the special needs people, and that they are always welcome at the library.

7.       A young man spoke to the safety of other patrons, especially when the police must be summoned. Blaine responded that a PSR client attacked his PSR worker and the police were called.

8.       A speaker acknowledged that the letter was not addressed to the disabled using the library.

9.       A PSR worker said the clients enjoy the safety of the library.

10.     Several speakers said the problems should be addressed on a case-by-case basis.

11.     An owner of one of the agencies that works with the disabled questioned whether the board understood what a PSR worker does. He said they are giving skills training in real life situations.

12.     A parent was upset that her child was told the child couldn’t come to the library and that this would affect the child for the rest of the child’s life.

13.     A parent accused a board member of being offensive during a phone conversation and was told she couldn’t talk to the director.

14.     And finally, a library patron summed up the issue the library has faced with the PSR workers and their clients: that private matters should not be discussed in a public place, that children with behavioral problems should not be receiving counseling in a public setting.

At that point, everyone who had signed up to speak had been given the opportunity to do so. The chairman called an end to this part of the meeting. Scott Birkinbine then summed up his thoughts on the disabled folks and said his agency would comply with the terms of the letter. A patron said he would like the letter retracted. A request was made to notify the five agencies if the board has follow-up. Blaine said the board will re-visit the issue.

Given the visitors at the meeting, Gordon welcomed those who would work on a committee to do a needs assessment for a library program for the disabled.

Scott Birkinbine requested that he be put on the agenda for the March meeting and said he will explain what his agency does. The board noted perhaps a PSR worker or someone from one of those agencies would come, also.

To summarize what the board learned at the meeting and what further the board needs to do: 1) These agencies are required to teach life skills in public settings; how can this be done in the library? 2) Did the board discriminate by sending the letter to just these businesses, and if so, how does the board resolve this? 3) Are the activities taking place in the library HIPPA or FERPA violations, and if so, what are the library’s obligations? 4) What activities constitute appropriate uses of the library? 5) What constitutes a business activity and what business activities are allowable and dis-allowable in the library? 6) When there are concerns about safety of patrons, what is the best course of action? 7) When correspondence is sent representing the board of trustees, what review process should be followed?

Sortation System

Following the public comment part of the meeting, the board discussed sortation systems. Judy and Pam had a successful trip to St Paul to look at the 3M system. They also had the opportunity to look at another system of the older type in an actual library working situation. Pam described what we saw and our impressions of the two systems. The 3M system differs dramatically from the older technology. Judy was asked to learn the time frame for delivery from 3M, to ask for a cut on the maintenance fees, to see if we can be a demonstration site, and to send the answers received from 3M out by email to the board.

New Library

The board has been asked to extend the general contractor’s time frame by one month, given the delays at the beginning of construction caused by having to demolish the Beehive facility, moving the power and natural gas lines, and the weather conditions. The cost is approximately $10,000. Pam moved to do this, Henry seconded the motion, and all voted in favor.

The security company and the general contractor have both recommended having a keyless entry system which can be monitored more closely and would provide greater security, especially for the public’s after-hours use of the community room. Jeniel made the motion to do this, Pam seconded the motion, and all voted in favor.

Regarding the audio-visual system for the community room, the board declined to spend $8,000 for the architects to design the system. Judy was asked to contact a local audio business and see if they could do the system for us.

The board agreed to meet at 4:30 before the March meeting to walk through the addition and see the progress.

Treasurer

Judy was asked to contact Dana Izatt about being the treasurer for the board.

The meeting was adjourned at 7:20 pm upon a motion by Henry.