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Bozeman Public Library Board of Trustees Meeting
Library Director’s Office
Bozeman Public Library
October 27, 2004
4:00 P.M.
ATTENDANCE
Trustees: Ron Farmer, Chair; Jerry Bancroft; Al Kesselheim; Marilyn King; Marcia Youngman, City Commissioner; Wendy Lewis, Foundation Development Director; 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 at 4:10 p.m. by Chair Farmer.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
The minutes of the October 7, 2004 meeting were approved as submitted.
CORRESPONDENCE
Meister read a note from the Raptor Fest Committee thanking the Library for its participation in the 2004 Bridger Raptor Festival. She also mentioned a registration form for a Trustees workshop in Billings November 5-6. Comments from the public included one about missing functions in the new Sirsi catalog; a thank you for displaying Bioneers materials; a request for a new magazine; and three comments about the need for more open hours at the Library. Another comment requested that trees be planted now at the new site, and Goehrung responded that they need to be planted after the construction phase occurs and the landscaping budget is negligible.
FRIENDS OF THE LIBRARY REPORT
Meister reported that the Friends are planning their annual meeting on November 10 to honor Bozeman author Mary Murphy, who won this year’s Montana Book Award. At their October 18 meeting, the Friends sent post cards thanking members for their renewals and inviting them to the Annual Meeting. The next book sale, in conjunction with AAUW, is scheduled for November 6-8. The Farsighted series on China held October 19 attracted 25 people; the next one entitled “What Muslims Need Americans to Know About Them” will be presented on November 17 by Dr. Khalid Bekkaoui, a visiting lecturer from Fez, Morocco.
FOUNDATION REPORT
Lewis said that she expected 150 people at the “Hoot & Howl @ Your Library” annual fundraising event on October 29, where 12 authors will be autographing their books. The ticket price was reduced to $50 this year, and Border’s will be selling the books. Laura Fedro and her staff are helping with the decorating, and GranTree Inn is once again donating staff and food for the evening. Lewis has met with Tim Swanson and several Board members regarding the capital campaign, and they continue to ask committed donors for accelerated pledges, which many have done. There is a strong correlation that the longer an individual has lived in the community, the more committed s/he is projects important to the future of the City such as the Library. Bancroft asked about a public phase,
as the Foundation has already raised $3.4 million toward its $4,000,000 goal. Lewis replied that there will be a public campaign; if it exceeds the goal, there will always be a need for furnishings and equipment. Meister shared an article about Lewis which appeared in the October 12 Balance magazine about women.
DIRECTOR’S REPORT
Meister reported that the monthly financial report shows 73% of the budget left with two-thirds of the year left to complete. The total Project Report for the new Library showed $4,514,566.36 spent to date. In her Director’s Report, Meister noted that staff has worked extremely hard at migrating to the new Sirsi circulation/cataloging system, which makes the Library a member of the Montana Shared Catalog (MSC). The Library went “live” on October 25, though it will take some time to transition to the new system. In preparation for the migration, the Technical Services Department visited the Missoula Public Library, and several staff members from Missoula were here to help staff with any Sirsi concerns on October 25-26. The USS Constitution events, which took place on
October 9-10, attracted 586 people to the gun drill re-enactments with a total of 862 people in attendance. Jean Dunbar has been hired as the new shelver in circulation services. All staff will be required to attend City Sexual Harassment Prevention Training October 28 or 29. Ginny Cowan held a Teen Advisory Group (TAG) meeting, which 5 teens attended on October 24 during Teen Read Week. The next one is scheduled for November 14. The Gallatin County Libraries Long-Range Planning Committee will meet on November 8 at the Belgrade Community Library. The Library’s annual report is completed and will be presented to the County Commissioners, who approved the INTERCAP loan application at its October 26 meeting by a 2-1 vote. Children’s Book Week will be November 15-21 with the theme of “Let’s Book!” Special programs, including a Doctor Dolittle Party on November 16, sled dogs, and a puppet show will be featured. The Library is cooperating with SCORE (Senior Corps of Retired
Executives) on presenting programs at the Library; the first one on October 25 brought in 10 people. The Great Decisions program October 14 attracted 15 people; the next one will be November 18 on Middle East Political Reform. Meister expressed concern about a new City organizational chart, which showed the Library as an independent entity without any chain of command or line of communication to the City. Bancroft suggested that the Trustees discuss this again in two to three months after seeing how it works.
ITEMS FOR DISCUSSION: ARCHITECT’S CONTRACT; BUILDING PROJECT
Discussion ensued about the architectural contract. There was concern that if the budget for the building increased that the percentage fee would increase also, so perhaps it should be based on a lump sum, which was initially proposed by Mark Headley of StudioFORMA Architects. Goehrung reinforced the need for a firm and clear package regarding Trustees’ expectations. Overland Partners wants out of the contract, so the Library needs to do that and also clarify its relationship with the architect contractually. There was discussion about signing the contract but doing it on a fee-based interim basis, since the basic level needs to happen quickly but the Trustees need flexibility. It was decided to accept the proposal as is ($312,000 plus $40,000 in reimbursables), but if building
costs increase, then the same percentage fee in the proposal would be applied. The contract would specify a time line and how the other consultants would interact with the architect. Meister will set up a meeting with Headley, Goehrung, Bancroft, Farmer, and Acting City Attorney Tim Cooper. Bancroft reported that he, Headley, and Art Thompson of the Foundation Board had met with Tony Martel of Martel Construction regarding the cost of the project. Two libraries in California (San Mateo and Alameda) recently had bids come in up at 16% and 29% higher than what was budgeted, and they are looking to a combination of re-design, value engineering/contractor negotiation, and additional funding to offset the construction budget overruns. Their present square foot cost is $247. Martel was asked to create a matrix regarding the kind of building conceivable for differing amounts of money. Farmer emphasized that he will need the best figures possible
for the November 15 City Commission meeting in order to convince the Commissioners to loan the Library the money for bridge financing needs. He still needs to get prices for the park land that is part of the Library property for possible reimbursement from the City as well as the value of the triangles of property on the south side. The Tax Increment Fund amount of $250,000 for Library construction was recently approved by the Commission. Farmer mentioned that Thompson did research on title history, going back to the original plat, and the possibility exists that the Trustees could pursue rights-of-way but Farmer felt the City probably wouldn’t be receptive. The Trustees agreed that this would probably be the case. Walt Williams from the Chronicle wants to do an update on the project; Lewis will prepare a fact sheet, and she, Farmer, Kesselheim, and Meister will meet with him about the article. Meister will also set up meetings with the
Commissioners in advance of the November 15 meeting to answer questions they might have as well as ask members of the public to attend the meeting to add their support.
BOARD MEMBERS’ AND CITY COMMISSIONER’S REPORT
There was none.
PUBLIC COMMENT
There was none.
ADJOURNMENT
The meeting was adjourned at 6:15 p.m. The next regular meeting will be Tuesday, November 9 at 4:00 p.m. in the Library Director’s office.
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