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Minutes
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Grafton Public Library Trustees Meeting
Minutes
May 21, 2015
Attending:
Bob Donald, Andrea Dunmire, Lucia Corwin, Christopher Schemm, Deborah
Toomey
Bob Donald brought the meeting to order at
6:35 p.m.
The minutes from the April meeting were read
and approved.
Public
Comment
There was no public comment.
Librarian’s
Report
Michelle had sent her report and the Board
reviewed it prior to the meeting. Due to an emergency, Michelle was unable to
make the opening of the meeting.
The toilet was repaired, and the plumber
experienced several issues with what at first thought was a simple repair. The
water shut-off was rusted and snapped off. Additional issues were discovered,
and all have been resolved and repaired.
The program on loss was attended by 17 people
and additional meetings will be scheduled.
In automation, all juvenile and adult records
have been completed. June should see the start of phase two, with the barcoding
of the collection.
Building
and Grounds
Lucia reported on the many issues with the building
and grounds that she is handling. The
Board approved Ivor Stevens’ estimate of $1150 to fill the holes in the library
lawn. Unfortunately, it will be unlikely to be completed prior to the Memorial
Day ceremonies scheduled for Friday, May 29th. The holes will be
roped off to prevent anyone falling prior to the ceremonies.
Many thanks to the Windham Foundation and
Russell Record for trimming the maple tree. Lucia is waiting to hear from other
tree specialists to see if additional work needs to be done on the maple and to
discuss the condition of the white pine at the back of the library lawn to see
what should be done.
On the painting of the front of the library,
Lucia contacted Dean Silver, a lead abatement specialist. He recommended
wrapping the entire library and removing the lead based paint. The library
would have to be closed while this was done. He did offer an alternative which
was to remove the siding, seal it, and replace and paint. Insulation could be
added at this point. Bob and Deborah expressed concern regarding the costs: all
old building in Grafton have lead based paint and covering it, as the Windham
Foundation does, can be an acceptable alternative. The Board suggested that
Lucia contact John Hallock to get the name of the painters who worked on the
church for advice and alternatives to the lead abatement suggested.
In regard to the structural issues with the
Library floor, Bob has been shown by Patrick Cooperman, the location of the
blueprints. Bob has not yet carefully reviewed them. He did meet with Steve
Tarbox, a structural engineer with SVE Associates who had good news: there is
no sign of rot and the building is sound. He will be sending the Board a report
that he found no obvious structural issues.
Kate Anderson has done a beautiful job with
the library grounds, pruning and mulching.
Annual
Volunteer Brunch
Assignments were made for tasks for the
volunteer brunch which will be held on June 14th. Lucia offered to contact Fritz Maassen to see
if we might borrow cups, saucers, and plates from the Chapel.
Treasurer’s
Report
The library is within budget so far. Funds have
not yet been withdrawn from the Jerald L. Stevens Memorial Fund, but this will
be done at the end of the fiscal year to pay for the librarian’s health care
and the salary of the assistant librarian.
Strategic
Plan
A strategic plan will not be started until
automation is completed. Lucia is ready
to get started organizing the process. She suggested that getting community
consensus for the building would be very helpful in fundraising for a possible
Library renovation. Information on Strategic Planning is available on the VDOL
website at: http://libraries.vermont.gov/services/public_libraries/strategic_planning.
Other
Business
Bob Donald presented a new policy for “Miscellaneous, Unplanned
Expenditure Policy” which was unanimously approved by the Board with only one
grammatical change. This policy allows the library director to contact repair
personnel for any repair that would likely cost less than $250. The new policy
is attached to these minutes and filed in the Library Policies.
The next meeting of the Board will be held on Thursday, June 18th.
The meeting was adjourned at 7:30 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Deborah Toomey