The Chairperson, Nancy Eggenberger, called the meeting to order at 7:31 PM. (Due to technical difficulties, portions of the meeting were not recorded.)
Present: (participating remotely from Chicago, IL) N. Eggenberger; (participating remotely
from Canton, MI) M. Farell, A. Iqbal, J. Lee, A. Watts; C. Spas
Absent: None
Also Present: E. Davis, K. Gladden
CALL TO AUDIENCE (K. Bounds, L. Fawcett, J. Ford, L. Golden, M. Hathaway, S. Kennedy, E. Komarnicki, C. Luketich, D. McHugh, K. Minshall, M. Nicholson, R. Noble, T. Scott, C. Swanberg) – None
APPROVAL OF AGENDA
The agenda was approved as amended.
ROLL CALL VOTE
Yes: N. Eggenberger, M. Farell, A. Iqbal, J. Lee, C. Spas, A. Watts
No: None
Abstain: None
The motion passed 21/3-18-1 (6-0-0)
APPROVAL OF GENERAL MEETING MINUTES
The minutes were accepted by unanimous consent.
COMMUNICATIONS — None
DIRECTOR’S REPORT
At the end of February, the library was 17% of the way through the new fiscal year. On the revenue side, the majority of property tax income has been received and is trending high, but will fall into line as the year progresses. Penal fines will not be received until August/September and the first of two State Aid to Libraries payments should be received in April/May. Miscellaneous & Contributions is trending high due to a number of generous donations. Vending commissions and Meeting Room Rentals are at zero, due to COVID.
On the expenditure side, some areas are trending higher than 17% but will fall in line over the course of the year: Fringe Benefits (due to the bulk annual payment made to MERS to fund the pension plan); Professional & Contractual (due mainly to annual IT-related licenses and contracts that are due for payment early in the year); and Insurance, which must be paid at the beginning of the year. Although Property Tax Refunds are trending higher than 17%, they are still in line with what was budgeted.
Business Services Department Head Marian Nicholson and HR Specialist Shipra Sharma are getting details on the newly passed American Rescue Act and its impact on the FFCRA and EFMLA. They anticipate guidance on implementation from the Department of Labor by April 1st.
Library Giving Day is Wednesday, April 7 and the Friends of the Library have agreed to a public match challenge up to $5,000.
Personal Identification Numbers (PINs) for all library accounts will be required effective April 29. PINs may be from 7-13 digits, and the library will initially pre-populate all accounts with the account holder’s birthdate (mm/dd/yyyy). A publicity push via the newsletter, the CPL website and social media accounts will be forthcoming.
The heavy equipment in the front west parking lot is for budgeted Concrete curb and sidewalk repairs. Since the cost will exceed $5,000 it is now considered a capital replacement rather than a building improvement. A request to move the money within the budget will appear in the 1st Quarter Budget Amendment in April.
Outdoor Storytime will resume in mid-April for a five week session, weather permitting.
This Saturday (March 20) is the International Day of Happiness; we will celebrate it with serendipitous programs and giveaways.
Director Eva Davis thanked Community Relations Department Head Laurie Golden, Program Librarian Nichole Welz and the Community Relations department staff; and Information Services Manager Jack Visnaw and the Youth librarian staff for their work in offering virtual programming to 1st Grade students and teachers in Canton’s public, private and charter schools for March is Reading Month. She also recognized the Friends of the Library for their generosity in donating 1000 coupons for free books from Secondhand Prose Used Bookstore for the first graders.
E. Davis and L. Golden have been contacted by WDET Radio to collaborate with them and other community partners to provide material for a ”Canton during COVID” series.
Since Davis is a co-Chair of the Canton Coalition for Inclusive Communities, she has been asked to serve as the Chair of its proposed new Citizens’ Oversight and Transparency subcommittee. The coalition has applied for a grant for the new subcommittee and their proposal will be presented to the Canton Township Board of Trustees on Tuesday, March 23rd.
The library administration is looking seriously at increasing patron capacity to 75 (from 50), after several consecutive Sundays when the 50-person limit was reached and patrons were forced to wait outside until other patrons left the building.
Plymouth District Library Director Carol Souchock is retiring at the end of April and one of their library board trustees reached out to Davis to discuss the situation with her. Davis, in her role as a neighbor and a current Plymouth resident, offered her assistance in drafting a job description, vetting candidates, etc. Davis broached with the Canton Public Library Board of Trustees a possible district library venture, involving Plymouth Township, the City of Plymouth and Canton Township, as this would be the time to have Board Chair Nancy Eggenberger discuss this with her Plymouth District Library counterpart. The Canton Public Library Board Trustees were uninterested in pursuing the matter.
TRUSTEE COMMENTS — Board Chair Nancy Eggenberger recommended that the new trustees reach out to Director Davis if they had any questions regarding any aspect of the financial statements or the budget.
COMMITTEE REPORTS — None
NEW BUSINESS
PULSE Project Presentation: Senior Residents — Several members of the interdepartmental committee in turn presented the results of an almost yearlong project to discover and meet the short term needs of the fastest growing segment of the Canton Township population: residents aged 65 years+. Using design thinking, the committee’s goal was to research; explore and define; imagine; and evolve services, programs, accessibility and collections for the senior population. The resultant research will have value and application beyond the pandemic, and the library will be sharing what has been learned with our partners in the community.
The board members were unanimous in their praise for the committee’s work and presentation. Davis thanked the presenters (L. Golden; Program Librarian Laura Fawcett; Librarian Tara Scott; and Communication Specialist Kaitlyn Minshall) and other members of the committee (Librarians Kori Kasara and Amy Lee and Research Strategist Susan Kennedy of Look See) for their hard work.
UNFINISHED BUSINESS & GENERAL ORDERS
Update on Phased Reopening — We are still operating at a slow and steady pace. Curbside service is now available all hours that the library is open, and while an increase in patron capacity is under consideration, it is still manageable on all days other than Sunday.
Fines Elimination — After reflecting on the report submitted by Circulation Services Department Head Kat Bounds at the February meeting and the possibility of eliminating fines for certain collections (like juvenile books), the board indicated their wish to retain the current policy at this time.
Approval of Phase II Facilities Project — Rooftop Units and Roof Replacement in 2021, not to exceed $1,075,000 — Trustee Jasmine Lee questioned the roles of Sustainable Energy Engineering (SEE) and Intertek. Davis explained that SEE would be engineering/project managing the Phase II Facilities project, and Intertek was the firm that had performed an independent analysis of the scope of work required for the roof replacement portion of the project.
A. Watts moved and J. Lee supported a motion to approve the Phase II Facilities Project — Rooftop Units and Roof Replacement in 2021, not to exceed $1,075,000.
ROLL CALL VOTE
Yes: N. Eggenberger, M. Farell, A. Iqbal, J. Lee, C. Spas, A. Watts
No: None
Abstain: None
The motion passed unanimously 21/3-18-1 (6-0-0)
NEW BUSINESS
Approval of BiblioCommons Recommendation for Content Management System expenditure in 2021: Website, Catalog and Events — Information Technology Department Head Rudie Noble briefly touched on points detailed in the Discovery Layer Recommendation document provided to the board, including the reasons why now is the time to leave the end-of-life Drupal platform for BiblioCommons. He thanked the multi-department committee (K. Bounds; Collection Specialist Lisa Craig; Circulation Supervisor Gale Forster; L. Golden; Adult Librarian Manager Megan Hathaway; Web Resources Specialist Courtney Luketich; Technician Tim Sills; Systems Administrator Carl Swanberg; and Youth Librarian Manager Jack Visnaw) for all of their efforts.
Trustee Lee questioned BiblioCommons representative Eric Komarnicki on contractual language regarding fees. Davis said that the library’s attorney had vetted the contract and made several suggested changes, which BiblioCommons had incorporated into the contract being presented.
The board expressed their appreciation for the depth of information provided regarding the proposal.
A. Watts moved and J. Lee supported a motion to approve the recommendation of BiblioCommons for the Content Management System expenditure in 2021 for the website, catalog and events.
ROLL CALL VOTE
Yes: N. Eggenberger, M. Farell, A. Iqbal, J. Lee, C. Spas, A. Watts
No: None
Abstain: None
The motion passed unanimously 21/3-18-2 (6-0-0)
2022 Budget Discussion — Expenditures
Healthcare plan coverage discussion — discuss expanding coverage to fully comply with Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) — M. Nicholson revisited the basics of the PPACA. After a brief discussion, the board opted to retain the current policy regarding healthcare plan coverage for employees.
CALL TO AUDIENCE – None
ADJOURN
The meeting was adjourned at 9:37 PM.
