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Bozeman Public Library Board of Trustees Meeting
Library Director’s Office
Bozeman Public Library
December 16, 2003
4:00 P.M.
ATTENDANCE
Trustees: Brenda Davis, Chair; Jerry Bancroft; Holly Brown; Bob Gutzman; Wendy Lewis, Foundation Board; Lois Dissly and Terri Dood, Staff; and Alice Meister, Director. Guest: James Goehrung, City Superintendent of Facilities and Public Lands.
CALL TO ORDER
The meeting was called to order by Chair Davis at 4:04 p.m.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
The minutes of the November 20, 2003 meeting were approved as submitted with the correction that “MDEQ . . . stipulated that the City [instead of the Library] clean up the Wallace Avenue right-of-way, which was not in the plan.”
CORRESPONDENCE
Meister read a letter from a potential buyer of the Library who felt unable to pay the appraisal value ($2,060,000) for the building. She read a letter from Associate Planner Jami Morris, who was responding to Jeffrey and Katherine Ball’s letter which expressed concern about improvements to Wallace Avenue. Morris noted that the paving and curbing should end before their property line and that the sidewalk is only for the east side of the street. The cul-de-sac will be somewhat lopsided with the primary turnaround on city property instead of being within the right of way. She said she would notify them of any future meetings in order to ensure that all interested parties have the opportunity to comment. There was a note from a satisfied patron pleased with the information she had
received from the Library. There was also a note from a dissatisfied patron in North Carolina who felt that she had been treated rudely on the telephone when she requested some information. No one could recollect the incident. Comments from the public included a request for a book drop on the west side of town, a comment that the new book stacks cause “interpersonal spacial problems,” and someone commenting that s/he had “never been in such a noisy library.”
FRIENDS OF THE LIBRARY REPORT
Meister reported that the Friends sent out post cards acknowledging new or renewed memberships, and the Board is still seeking a new member who hopefully would become the Treasurer. The Friends and the Montana Center for International Visitors will be co-sponsoring a program on December 17 entitled “An Asian Musical Adventure.” The Library Book Club, which the Friends sponsor, will discuss John Fowles’ novel Ebony Tower on December 18. The Foundation recently received $1,500 from Target, which will be partially designated for books for newborns as part of a pilot project the Friends has started to give Library packets at the Hospital. At their next meeting in January, they will be deciding which projects to fund in 2004.
DIRECTOR’S REPORT
Meister noted that the budget report showed that after five and half months or 45% of the fiscal year completed, 53% remained in the budget. The statistical report showed that circulation increased slightly, while web site visits were up nearly 29%. The number of adult programs increased 62.5% and attendance increased nearly 31%. The amount remaining in the bond account is $13,048.63; Meister will check with Gamradt about transferring money into the City’s account once the Board has requested funds from the Foundation. The Library received 39 applications for the Library Aide I job with interviews currently underway. Chuck Knighton was chosen as the essay contest winner out of sixteen entries on how the Library affected one’s life. He will be traveling to Washington, D.C.
with Chair Davis and Meister to receive the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) National Award for Library Service on January 22. Two new book stacks were added in the “New Materials” area with the old ones being moved to the Young Adult area. Books and magazines have now been shifted accordingly. Three Forks Community Library has been added to the courier service, so patrons are now able to borrow materials from there. Katie Biehl attended an InfoTrac update on the magazine database. The InfoTrac contract was recently renewed and InfoTrac has added some new products such as newspaper and legal databases. Dood and Dissly attended a workshop in Helena on virtual reference on December 8. Families are invited to learn about Hanukkah on December 19 and Kwanza on December 26. Christmas Stroll activities on December 5 were well-received with many in attendance at the various programs. There will be a celebration
of Beethoven’s birthday this evening at 7:00 p.m. A new Winter Book Bingo starts January 5. The Library hosted a Volunteer Party for its many volunteers on December 15 to thank them for all they do for the Library. Meister will be attending the American Library Association (ALA) Mid-Winter Conference in San Diego January 8-14 in her role as ALA Councilor.
ITEMS FOR DISCUSSION: ART POLICIES; PROJECT COSTS; REMEDIATION; CALA
Since there was no urgency on approving the proposed Art Policies as previously submitted by the Art Subcommittee, the Board decided to table that discussion until January in order to allow more time to reconsider them. Brown had met with Montana Department of Environmental Policy (MDEQ) representatives and attorneys representing adjacent property owners at the new Library site about the need to remediate their properties before the Library can receive Controlled Allocation of Liability Act (CALA) monies. It was decided to request an extension from MDEQ until the end of February to decide whether to pursue CALA funding, as MDEQ will be making some decisions regarding the clean-up of the adjacent properties and what methods will be allowed. Brown said the Library might need to do more testing on the south
end of the property in order to have MDEQ closure on the remediation. Goehrung said the outside property on the exit to Wallace Avenue might affect construction if clean-up on the southern end is mandated. Meister will contact Resource Technologies Inc. (RTI) to see what methods they used to determine that there was no asbestos on the southern end of the property. There was a 1991-92 asbestos test done by CMC, which caused the current area to be fenced. RTI needs to submit the required paperwork to MDEQ, who will have 60 days to review it and make comments; RTI will then have 30 days to respond to comments, at which time MDEQ would have 60 more days to respond and decide whether to issue closure or not. However, construction could commence at the Library’s own risk during any of that time. Davis reported that she and Meister had met with the other county librarians regarding the County’s loan offer of $1,000,000. It was resolved
that the split of this loan will be 67% to the Bozeman Library, 15% to the Belgrade Library, and 6% each to Manhattan, Three Forks, and West Yellowstone Libraries. The BridgerNet upgrade expenses will be split the same percentages (except for Manhattan who is not a participant so that Bozeman’s share would be 73%). The resolution will go to the County Commission, who will set a public meeting where comments would be heard and a vote taken on whether to proceed or not. The amount of $610,000 currently used as revenue from this loan should still be fine. Davis will contact County Fiscal Officer Ed Blackman for more details. Bancroft and Goehrung had just come from a meeting with the mechanical contractors, where they realized a savings of $30,000. The cost estimate recently done by Martel Construction showed an overage of $1,384,741 in hard costs. Overland Partners has a list of 26 potential items under consideration for cost reduction;
there will be a meeting tomorrow at Overland’s office to see what each one cost and which ones to cut. Bancroft said some options are: continue to cut the project; keep the project in the same size range but do it with less quality; or postpone the project for a year. Bancroft also suggested the possibility of another bond referendum, which would be a political issue. The consensus was to make as many cuts as possible and then put out the 52 bid packages early in 2004 to take advantage of the bidding climate and the fact that there are not many major projects occurring, and then make additional cuts if necessary. However, there would be architectural fees involved. Some of the items could be bid out as alternates, and there is the possibility that the plaza might not be finished. Bancroft suggested a meeting next week to discuss this Thursday’s meeting and its outcomes.
BOARD MEMBERS’ REPORTS
Gutzman announced that he will be retiring June 30, 2004 and moving to Idaho; thus he will need to resign from the Board then. Brown said she has decided to apply for the currently vacant Judge position and might need to resign from the Board if she is selected and then elected to the position. Chair Davis’ term ends next June, so she will be leaving the Board then.
PUBLIC COMMENT
There was none.
ADJOURNMENT
The meeting was adjourned at 5:42 p.m. The next regular meeting will be Wednesday, January 21 at 4:00 p.m. in the Library Director’s Office. There will be a special Board meeting on Tuesday, December 23rd at 8:30 a.m. in the Library Director’s Office.
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