Minutes of the Joint Meeting
of the Columbus Public Library Board and the Bookmobile Advisory Board
September 10, 2009

The regularly scheduled meeting of the Columbus Public Library Board and the Bookmobile Advisory Board was called to order at 4:40 PM on Friday, September 10, 2009 by Library Board President Jim Schaefer. He read aloud and signed the “Certification of Compliance,” regarding the “Open Meeting” law.

Other officials present included other Library Board members Carol Keller, Sharon Raimondo, and Joie Taylor. Carol Rosendahl and Sandy Wegener of the Bookmobile Advisory Board were also in attendance, as were Joe Mangiamelli, City Administrator, Anne Kinnison, City Finance Director, Karen Hake, Bookmobile Librarian, and Jill Owens, Library Director. Library Board member Craig Neid and Bookmobile Advisory member Liz Young were excused. Mayor Mike Moser was present for the bookmobile and County Library Services part of the discussion.

Notice of this meeting was given in advance with a copy of the agenda posted at City Hall, the Platte County Courthouse and in the Public Library. A notice also appeared in the Columbus Telegram. All proceedings hereafter shown were taken while the convened meeting was open to the public.

A motion was made by Carol Keller to accept the minutes of the August meeting, and was seconded by Joie Taylor. The minutes were accepted with a unanimous vote. A motion was made by Carol Keller to accept the minutes of the September 4th special meeting and seconded by Sharon Raimondo. The motion passed unanimously with no discussion.

Joie Taylor moved to bring the bookmobile and County Library Services item forward in the agenda. Carol Keller seconded. The motion passed unanimously with no discussion. Discussion began about what kind of proposal for county library services should be taken to the County. Discussion followed about procedural matters. A great deal of discussion followed about the bookmobile’s total stop time, and whether and how that would reduce the costs, how it would affect the patrons (quality of service), and how it would affect the schedule for staff. A person can change the bookmobile hours but how does one reduce the walk-in service? Various options for recouping those costs were discussed.

Carol Keller moved to offer to provide a minimum of 70 hours of bookmobile services per month with walk-in services for an initial cost of $100,000. Joie Taylor seconded. There was more discussion about same topics. Generally the discussion was between finding the balance of serving the County patrons, especially the children and the elderly, and being fair to the taxpayers of Columbus.

The voice vote on the motion was a tie: Wegener, no; Rosendahl, yes; Keller, yes; Raimondo, no; Taylor, yes; Schaefer, no. Attempts were made to contact Craig Neid by phone, but he could not be reached.

After some discussion about why people voted the way they did, a new vote was taken:
Wegener, no; Rosendahl, yes; Keller, yes; Raimondo, no; Taylor, yes; Schaefer, yes -- Motion carried 4-2. Jim Schaefer commended everyone for their efforts to protect both the children and the taxpayers. After the vote, Carol Rosendahl, Sandy Wegener, and Karen Hake excused themselves.

The financial reports were unanimously accepted with a motion from Sharon Raimondo and a second by Carol Keller.

During the director’s report, Jill noted that the library check-outs increased by 2,331 when compared to last August.

Jill was directed to ask the city attorney about the library’s and city’s liability if a personal car is used to drop off materials to patrons, and in other situations.

The board then discussed what guidelines the schools and patrons could follow to help things be more efficient if the reduced bookmobile schedule were adopted.

Committees Reports: Carol reported on the HDR “visioning” meeting that she, Craig, and Jill attended.

Correspondence: Jill received a copy of the letter reappointing Carol to another term on the library board. Congratulations were offered by everyone. Jill also received the signed agreement from the Women’s Club for the Festival of Trees event, and some grant money that was listed in the director’s report.

Carol gave Jill some Continuing Education information to pass along to the Library Commission.

The next agenda item was the By-Laws amendment. Jill reported that she could find nothing in the statutes governing the section in question but did run across information saying that the secretary should be elected from among the board members. The board decided that Jill would be the secretary. Carol moved to table the original item until the next meeting and Joie seconded. There was no discussion and the motion passed unanimously.

The board gave Jill permission to put the piano on the city auction. Joie so moved and Carol seconded. There was no discussion and the motion passed unanimously.

After short discussion about keeping space for outdoor banners, Carol moved, and Sharon seconded to allow the landscaping modifications to take place. There was no other discussion and the motion passed unanimously.

A date and time was discussed in case a special meeting was needed next week. If a special meeting is needed it will be the 16th at 5 PM. Carol moved to adjourn. Jim Schaefer adjourned the meeting.