Madison Library District

TRUSTEE BOARD MEETING

Minutes

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

 

Blaine Robertson called the meeting to order at 5:10 pm. Present at the meeting were all the board members. Valerie Vail, assistant director, was also present. The minutes of the December meeting were reviewed, and Jeniel moved and Pam seconded the motion to approve them. The bills were approved upon Gordon’s motion and Pam’s second, and the checks paying the bills were signed.

Community Room Use Policy

The first order of business was the community room use policy. The first reading of the drafted policy was done by Blaine, with comments and questions by all the board members. There were a couple of clarifications made and a typo corrected. This constituted the first reading of this policy.

Change to Personnel Policy

One paragraph is being added to the personnel policy to clarify that the director and/or assistant director can use discretion in closing the library due to emergencies. That paragraph was read and discussed. This constituted the first reading of the change to this policy

Online Bill Payment

Pam Johnson from Zions Bank came to the meeting to discuss with the board the advantages of online bill payment rather than sending checks. She explained why it is more secure than our sending checks. The checks we write can be “scrubbed.” For example, the payee’s name and address could be removed and another payee substituted. This actually happened to a company in Idaho Falls. The “scrubbed” check was sold and reused several times. Checks issued by the bank to pay bills that are set up online don’t contain any customer account information. The other advantages are the savings we can realize in time and money. The first 25 online bill payment transactions cost $4.95 and every payment thereafter is 50 cents. Checks that we write cost of 44 cents postage, plus 15 cents for the envelopes. It takes at least an hour after each board meeting to send off the checks, including separating the stubs, stapling them to the invoices, and stuffing the envelopes.

After Pam Johnson left, the board discussed the matter and decided it would save the library time and money to initiate online bill payment for the regular checking account at Zions Bank. Board member Pam made the motion to do so and Henry seconded the motion.

New Library Current Issues

Judy updated the board on the current issues with the building. The base tile in the bathrooms in the addition is going to be replaced because it continues to break. This is evidently due to the grout at the bottom where the wall tile meets the floor tile. In the remodel, caulk was used for this joint and the tile is not breaking. It remains to be seen who is going to pay for this, the architects or the contractor. If the original plans called for caulk, the contractor will bear the cost; if not, the architects will.

The fireplace mantle has been replaced by the millwork company. The new one is made from solid wood, rather than veneer. It will be observed to see what effect the heat from the fireplace has on this new mantle.

CRSA has offered to reimburse the library $6,058.70 for errors and omissions. Without spending a great deal of time, the library has no way of knowing whether this amount covers all the problems; however, the board felt it was not worth our time to go back and check all the figures. Gordon made the motion to accept their offer and Jeniel seconded the motion. All voted in favor, with the stipulation that the agreement not be signed until the bathroom tile situation has been resolved.

Annual Audit

The auditors evidently were not through with the audit, so no report was presented.

Trustee Election

Judy explained about the new six year terms for library trustees and that elections will only take place in odd years for non-partisan elections. Henry’s term is up but he has decided to run again. Judy will email him the calendar of deadlines.

Book Drop Closure

Judy explained the problem we had over the New Years holiday weekend with the drop getting so full, despite a staff member coming in periodically to empty it, that items were taken out of the drop. Nearly all of those items have been returned now, but the board approved our closing the book drop over the New Years holiday. We already close it over the Christmas holiday. Ample warning will be given to patrons and it will be posted on the library’s website.

Bank of Commerce Certificate of Deposit

Interest rates on certificates of deposit are very low. The Bank of Commerce CD for ~$42,000 will bring only 0.7% renewing it for a term of eleven months. If we purchase a 33-month CD the interest rate is 1.31%. Judy will look into maximizing the return on that month. There is a 10-day grace period starting January 25th during which time the money can be withdrawn with no penalty.

Director’s Annual Review

The board requested that Judy do a self-assessment of her activities as director and present it to them at the next meeting. The board will review that and then do the annual review of the director. Judy was also requested to have the agenda to the board members at least a week in advance and to bring to the board meetings a list of all financial transactions during the preceding month.

Change of Meeting Day

The board all agreed that the fourth rather than the third Wednesday of the month become the regularly scheduled meeting day.

Gordon moved to adjourn the meeting at 6:40 pm.

 

 

 

___________________________________             _________________________________

Blaine Robertson, Chairman                                     Judith M. Dewey, Secretary