Meeting Minutes
BOARD OF TRUSTEES
SCARBOROUGH PUBLIC LIBRARY
September 17, 2020
4:30 PM – Video Conference
Attendance: Bill Donovan, Emily Ward, Susan Powell, Audra Sinclair, Peter Hatem, Lenore Rapkin, Judy Johnson, Jim Kupel, Bill Onorato, Joyce Clark, Staff: Catherine Morrison, Nancy Crowell
Meeting called to order at 4:30 PM by Bill Donovan
Adoption of Minutes, August 13, August 27 (Retreat), 2020
Motion made by Emily Ward and Seconded by Susan Powell. The motion passed unanimously.
Treasurer's Report
- No questions on the report submitted
- Filed for audit
Library Director's Report
- Two library family members passed away, and they are naming the library as a memorial gift
- Gary Kimball – Green Needle neighbor
- Millie Stevens – An uber volunteer
Town Councilor's Remarks
- Tax Revenues are up
- The town is moving forward with before and aftercare for children. They will be using the former House of Lights business in Scarborough as a location
- The intent was to help the 40 families who had registered for before/aftercare, but it has evolved since then
- Scarborough Downs has come forward and agreed to cover any shortfall the town realized due to changes to this program-based changes to COVID and state regulations
President's Remarks
- Summarized the director's performance review
- Reiterated how impressed he was about Nancy's commitment, professionalism, and hard work
Consent Calendar:
- Building Expansion Committee Minutes, 9/10/2020
- Community Relations/Development Committee Minutes, 9/14/2020
- FOSL Board Minutes, 9/2/2020
- Finance/Investment Committee annual report
Motion made by Peter Hatem. Seconded by Jim Kupel. Motion passed unanimously
Unfinished Business:
Presentation of Committee Goals by Committee Chairs
- Building Expansion – Susan Powell
- Community Relations and Development – Audra Sinclair
- Finance & Investment – Bill Onorato
- Personnel, Nominating & Governance – Peter Hatem
Motion to approval Committee Goals. Made by Susan Powell. Seconded by Lenore Rapkin. Motion passed unanimously
Review of Strategic Plan Summary
- Strategic plan details were sent in this month's board packet
- Board will have time to review it, and it will be raised in October for motion and approval
Fundraising Feasibility Study – Status of Ad Hoc Oversight Committee
Additional Interviews have been conducted, and to date, we have four people committed.
- Larry Rubinstein
- Patrick O'Reilly
- Kevin Freeman
- John Thurlow
New Business:
MOTION: Request from Library Director to change the position of Coordinator of Programming and Communications from 32 hours part-time to 40 hours full-time.
- A request to increase the current role from 32 to 40 hours to expand the work to include development
- While there will be an increase in payroll and benefits, the most considerable cost incurred by this is for the retirement plan
- The full fiscal year cost for this increase is $18,000. This cost will begin on November 1 so the price for this fiscal year is a little under $13,000
- The Town Council does not need to approve a new full-time position if we agree to self-fund this through fundraising or existing funds
Motion made by Lenore Rapkin Seconded by Susan Powell. Vote passed with one in opposition. Opposed: Peter Hayes
Funding needs for expansion design and other associated project costs.
- Finance and Investment Committee will prepare scenarios for funding expansion design and other associated project costs, to report back to the full Board in October
- This work will draw up options for how the additional work that needs can be funded
MOTION: Amend the above motion to include the words “preferred option” when discussing potential ways of funding the expansion design and program costs.
- Motion made by Jim Kupel, seconded by Emily Ward. Motion passed unanimously
MOTION: Direct Finance and Investment Committee to prepare scenarios for funding expansion design and other associated project costs, to report back on the preferred option to the full Board in October
- Motion made by Susan Powell Seconded by Judy Johnson. Motional passed unanimously
Impact of the new state Earned Paid Leave bill including immediate implication – Library Director
- A new law to start in January requires us to provide paid time off to all employees based on tax filing
- This will require a rewrite all leave policies
- Liabilities will be increased because accrued leave is a liability in our finances
- This will need to come back to the board approval of a policy change that will be drafted by the staff
- No motion required for this at this time
- Emily Ward asked to participate in the staff meeting
Discussion on formation of Citizen Campaign Committee and PAC (Political Action Committee)
- There is a former board member who is interested in running a PAC
- This is on the list as an awareness for future work
Items for the next agenda:
- Vote on the strategic plan
- Impact on new state Earned Paid Leave
Trustee Comments
- Emily Ward: Bill and Emily recommended that because we did not have a staff party where we typically distribute gift cards.
- Bill agreed that this would be a good time to do it, so that will move forward.
- Nancy Crowell – Penny Gagnon, library employee, has fallen and broken an arm and will be out for a while.
Adjournment
Motion to adjourn by Peter Hatem. Seconded by Susan Powell. Meeting adjourned at 5:56 PM.
Recorded by,
Audra Sinclair