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Bozeman Public Library Board of Trustees Meeting
Library Director’s Office
Bozeman Public Library
August 20, 2003
4:00 P.M.
ATTENDANCE
Trustees: Brenda Davis, Chair; Jerry Bancroft; Holly Brown; Bob Gutzman; Charlie Hamp, Foundation Board; Marcia Youngman, City Commission; Lois Dissly and Terri Dood, Staff; and Alice Meister, Director. Guests: Scott Carpenter, Overland Partners; James Goehrung, City Superintendent of Facilities and Public Lands; Mark Johnson, Resource Technologies Inc., and Tony Martel, Martel Construction Inc.
CALL TO ORDER
The meeting was called to order by Chair Davis at 4:02 p.m.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
The minutes of the July 24th meeting were approved as submitted.
CORRESPONDENCE
Meister read a thank you sent to Sue Howe for her help with a reference question and an invitation for Trustees to attend the Montana State Library’s Fall Workshop September 26-27 in Lewistown, where there will be discussion of forming a Trustee’s Interest Group. She also read a notice from the Chamber of Commerce about seeking new Board members, as the Library is a member. The Librarian of Congress wrote to promote the 2003 National Book Festival hosted by First Lady Laura Bush and sponsored by the Library of Congress on Saturday, October 4th. Public comments included: a request for more computers for teens; a request for an extensive selection of adult foreign film and independent film winners; a request for a sanitary item receptacle in the women’s restroom; a request to
move or turn off or down the beep at the Express Checkout station as it is bothersome and intrusive; a request for more Apple/MacIntosh word processing/Internet stations; separate bins for children’s free magazines at the free magazine area; a suggestion to allow people to write down the number of paperbacks they are taking rather than having to wait for a staff member to write them down; and a request to raise the two bars on the NASA exhibit downstairs as this individual hit his head on them. A letter was received from Parks Manager Ron Dingman proposing a fence be installed along the south side of the new Library property in order to keep traffic out and prevent weed growth.
FRIENDS OF THE LIBRARY REPORT
Meister reported that the Friends book sale on July 25 and 26 was quite successful, raising approximately $4,300. They also sponsored two story telling workshops after the Sweet Pea Festival featuring Jay O’Callahan on August 4-5 and co-sponsored, with the Foundation, the display of the Library model in front of the Overland offices during the Sweet Pea Festival. Their meeting tonight was canceled.
FOUNDATION REPORT
Hamp had no report as the Foundation Board had not met since May (its next meeting is September 9th at 8:30 a.m.). There is a meeting of the Capital Campaign Steering Committee on August 28th at 4:30 p.m., and a fund raising brochure and newspaper advertisements are in the works. The Foundation did sponsor four creative workshops for kids in August: a Young Scientists’ Workshop; a Young Teen Writers’ Workshop; and two Watercolor Workshops, which a total of 113 kids attended. The Foundation also will host an all-staff breakfast on September 5th to announce and discuss the chosen authors and their books to be sold at the annual Foundation fund raising event on December 5th. Davis had suggested to Development Director Wendy Lewis that the
pledge period be shortened, so that there are not many pledges after 2005. She indicated that Administrative Services Director Miral Gamradt would be receptive to hearing a plan for a loan to the Library for the new building. She will also contact Montana’s congressional delegation about further appropriations. Meister said she had received tentative approval from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development of project funding of $178,830 pending the environmental review that Resource Technologies will be submitting.
DIRECTOR’S REPORT
Meister noted that the July circulation was down by 1.34%, possibly due to lack of air conditioning that month. Reference questions asked were up nearly 5%, while InfoTrac Database usage was down nearly 62%. Web site visits were up 31.42%, probably due to the Question of the Week contest designed to promote interest. The Web Site Committee is considering a similar promotion to increase InfoTrac usage. Financial figures for July were not yet available from the Administrative Services Department. The bond proceeds report showed $2,804,622.51 spent, leaving $1,179,171.49 remaining in the account. The NASA @your library exhibit arrived August 5th and was set up for the August 6th reception, at which Dr. William Hiscock of the Montana Space Grant Consortium
discussed NASA research in Montana. Four other programs are planned in conjunction with the exhibit, which was developed by NASA and the American Library Association, with major funding provided by NASA and Apple. The exhibit will be here until September 2nd and has received good press and attendance. Terri Dood was accepted into the Chamber of Commerce Leadership Bozeman program, the fifth member of our staff to participate. The Express Checkout was installed July 21st and has been popular with users. Over 600 kids from preschool through 5th grade picked up summer reading packets this summer beginning June 14th with the start of “Laugh It Up @ Your Library.” As of this week, 65 kids have turned in their reading logs and 83 school-age children completed a bingo game. The Comedy Club met every Friday, attracting between 40 and 55 kids. This year there were a few Picnics on the Lawn
on Tuesday afternoons with between 55 and 75 kids in attendance. Nine winners were chosen from 74 reading logs submitted by 35 individuals in the Adult Summer Reading Program. Winter Wheat was chosen as the first title for “One Book Montana,” and there will be several September events centered on this 1944 classic by Mildred Walker. Mary Jo Stanislao and Terri Dood rearranged the Montana Room recently in order to accommodate more materials; historian Phyllis Smith has been donating her time to shelf-read the collection. Three Forks Community Library plans to begin using BridgerNet for the public on September 9th; Lois Dissly will be coordinating efforts to assist them with their training and preparation. The Library Book Cart Drill Team once again performed in the Sweet Pea Parade on August 2nd. Camille Jackson attended the Gates Workshops in Billings August 12-13; Jane Basile and Beth Boyson
attended the Pacific Northwest Library Association Conference August 13-15 in Boise. There will soon be a money box at the circulation desk for patrons to leave payment for copies they make. Also there will be some changes in the way library materials are ordered from the vendor in order to eliminate paperwork. An incident occurred where a car had been left running in the parking lot. Police were called but it turned out the owner didn’t realize he had left the car running. He accidentally backed into the police car as he was leaving the lot.
BOARD MEMBERS’ AND CITY COMMISSIONER’S REPORTS
Chair Davis changed the agenda to allow Scott Carpenter of Overland Partners and Tony Martel of Martel Construction Inc. to do a presentation as requested by Building Committee Chair Jerry Bancroft. Carpenter indicated that Overland will retain the fencing and fabric on the existing fence which is currently being used by Envirocon. The construction documents need to be completed by January in order to be compliant with the NorthWestern Energy grant requirements. Carpenter asked about the technical review or oversight for the project in addition to what is received from the Development Review Board. He referred to it as a quality control check but will put his request into a memorandum to the Trustees. Since the concept of a Project Manager was on the agenda, Carpenter’s request led to a
discussion for a need for more project oversight. Goehrung said he wants to review the drawings for facilities maintenance concerns; Overland will make sure he has the appropriate drawings and is notified of pertinent meetings. He should be attending meetings on building systems with Headley and Martel; Meister should be attending the programmatic meetings. Martel commented that his experience has indicated that a person on staff is better suited to project oversight than an outside contractor, as it adds another layer of bureaucracy. Goehrung has acted as a project manager on smaller projects and would be willing to do so on this project, but the decision is not up to him. Action After discussion, Brown
moved that the Trustees request the City Commission at its August 25th meeting to have Goehrung appointed as the Library Project Manager; Gutzman seconded, and the motion passed. Carpenter distributed a Project Budget, which showed an overage. Davis and Bancroft had met with Martel and Headley about the costs, and design and bid alternatives will be identified. Carpenter referred to a memo from Mark Headley stating that locating the building within the 100-year flood plain is not a critical issue according to the Planning Director and City Engineer. This interpretation has been confirmed by state interpretation. A Flood Plain Development Permit is needed, which should be granted without any controversy, if we comply with all requirements governing the building design. These requirements would prohibit any inhabitable space below the first or ground floor, thus eliminating the possibility of the Law Library or any storage in this area. Electrical connections and ductwork are
also not allowed below the first level, which will dictate a redesign of the current mechanical scheme. The mechanical room/storage room have been added to the second floor just south of the staff lounge. Overland believes this change will not significantly add any cost and may even be less expensive than the basement scheme. It also will acoustically isolate the noise generators from the main Library space. Brown said there was a question about the flood plain map, and Allied Engineering had recommended a $25,000 modeling project. She recommended there be a meeting with Overland, Rick Hixson, Bob Murray, and Goehrung (and possibly the State Flood Plain expert) to resolve this issue. Carpenter will set up the meeting. At this point Carpenter and Martel left the meeting. Goehrung brought up a $1,300 bill from Overland, which he recommended not be paid. The Trustees agreed with his opinion.
ITEMS FOR DISCUSSION: FY2004 CALENDAR; FY2004 BUDGET; FY2004 LIBRARY ACTIVITIES; ART POLICY; CALA FUNDING; SALARIES; SALE OF THE LIBRARY; PROJECT MANAGER CONCEPT; COUNTY LANDFILL CONTRIBUTION
Brown reported on the Controlled Allocation of Liability Act (CALA) action saying that she, Staff Attorney Tim Cooper, and Aimee Reynolds and Dave Bowers of Montana Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) met on August 12th, at which time they discussed CALA. Cooper will be putting together a memorandum for the Commission meeting on August 25th, where Brown will be doing an update to the Commissioners. Johnson mentioned that he is still trying to get a total anticipated MDEQ cost for the remediation. Brown wants to know the level of participation from Empire Building Materials in the cleanup and needs a definitive answer from them by the Commission meeting. Johnson said there had been a new development as MDEQ found asbestos on Story Distributing property, so cleanup
needs to be done there along with Empire and Lake Glass. There is the possibility of contamination in the Wallace Avenue right-of-way. . There is probably a thousand tons of contamination on these properties that need cleaning up, and time is limited as Envirocon will be finished in October. All of this cleanup would increase the percentage of the orphan share amount available through CALA; Cooper needs to be notified of these updates. Brown suggested that the Trustees give these property owners two weeks to decide whether to remediate their properties. Action She then moved that the Trustees table the CALA recommendation to the City Commission from August 25th until September 8th, Gutzman seconded, and the motion passed. Johnson did say that Envirocon might be wanting additional monies for the delay in the project. So far the air quality monitoring has indicated no exposure hazards to the public nor to the workers. The Depot should be dismantled by Labor Day. The subject
of the Logan Landfill was discussed, as Brown had acted on City Manager Clark Johnson’s suggestion to ask the County for space in its landfill as a contribution to the project. The City would then be able to use that space free of charge though residents would still be paying landfill fees. It was hoped that some of those fees might come to the Foundation. Action After discussion, Brown moved that the Trustees and the Foundation Board request a donation of space in Logan Landfill from the County Waste Management District, Bancroft seconded, and the motion passed. Brown will be mentioning the sale of the current library building at the August 25th Commission meeting, saying there have been inquiries from
interested buyers and wondering how to proceed. Meister will check the Library history which shows private funds, along with a bond, were used to build the current building, and the Library had to pay for the land on which the current building sits. Also no proceeds from the sale of the Carnegie Library were returned to the Library. Action Bancroft moved that the Trustees approve the FY2004 Calendar, Budget, and Library Activities, Brown seconded, and the motion passed. After discussion of the proposed Art Policy, the Trustees expressed a desire to see and approve any policies that come out of the Art Subcommittee and any permanent public art that goes into the new Library. Salaries for non-MPEA
staff were discussed, but it was decided to have Gutzman meet with the Library management staff about a recommendation to the Board at the next meeting.
PUBLIC COMMENT
There was none.
ADJOURNMENT
The meeting was adjourned at 7:12 p.m. There will be a special meeting on Friday, September 5th at 4:00 p.m. in the Library Director’s Office to discuss CALA and salaries.
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