Minutes of the
                                                                        Columbus Library Board
                                                                                 April 13, 2006

The regularly scheduled meeting of the Columbus Library Board was called to order by the President, Craig Neid, at 4:40 PM on Thursday, April 13, 2006. Other members of the Library Board present were Jerry Jirka and Carol Keller. Also in attendance were Joe Mangiamelli, City Administrator, and Robert Trautwein, Library Director.

Prior to beginning this meeting, the Board members toured the cataloging department and visited with Ro Jean Lambrecht about the cataloging and processing of library materials.

Notice of this meeting was given in advance with a copy of the agenda posted at City Hall, the County Court House and in the Public Library. All proceedings hereafter shown were taken while the convened meeting was open to the public.

A motion was made by Jerry Jirka and seconded by Carol Keller to excuse the absence of Lynne Rambour and Jim Schaefer. This motion passed by voice vote.

The minutes to the March 9th board meeting were reviewed and allowed to stand as presented with a motion from Jerry Jirka and a second by Carol Keller. This motion passed by voice vote.

The financial reports for the City Library, the Platte County Library, and the Library Foundation for April 2006 were distributed. It was noted that April is the seventh month of the fiscal year. Trautwein said that there had been over $1,600 in repairs to the bookmobile in March and April. He said that he had discovered that during the budget planning for the current year, the “repair and maintenance” line item had been left blank. Because there are no funds budgeted for repairs, the budget for county library service will be over its budgeted figure. For the city library budget, Trautwein noted the $393 elevator repair. He also pointed out that the “salary” figure was a bit higher as there had been a “pay out” to compensate Veronica Kiuntke for her unused sick leave time when she retired at the beginning of the budget year. Following a review of the reports, a motion was made by Carol Keller and seconded by Jerry Jirka to accept the reports. This motion passed by roll call vote: Neid-aye, Keller-aye, and Jirka-aye.

Regarding the Director’s Report, Trautwein said that the Library was closed one evening in March because of a blizzard.

There were no committee reports.

There were no items of correspondence other than two letters from persons regarding the Library’s outreach efforts. Mrs. Keller asked if the Library’s outreach had been curtailed during the month because of a notice the Director had submitted. Trautwein said that he wasn’t aware that any visits had been eliminated.

Regarding Old Business, Trautwein said that the Matthew’s Specialty Vehicle had sent the interior drawings of the new bookmobile. These drawings have been reviewed by Karen Hake, the bookmobile librarian, and returned to the manufacture with suggestions for changes.

On the topic of remodeling of the Children’s Room, Trautwein said that Dan Keiter of RVW had been to the Library several times to look at the ceiling in the Children’s Room and the roof above that area. In his letter of 4/7/06, Mr. Larry Mares, the chief architect at RVW, Inc., outlined the possible options to study and what RVW would deliver (including a narrative, sketches, and opinions of the probable construction costs.) The fee for this would be $8,500.

Trautwein said that for the current budget year, he had requested an amount for ceiling remodeling and new light fixtures. This request was pulled from the budget proposal. For the coming year, he has requests $100,000 in sales tax funds for this project. He said that he included such a large amount as he did not know the extent of remodeling that the Library Board would like to see done. It was decided to defer any action on the request to invest $8,500 in architectural fees until the board of the Library Foundation meets in the near future.

Under New Business, Trautwein said that he had received a phone message from John McClure, the president of the Library Foundation. Mr. McClure regretted that he could not attend today’s meeting with the Library Board. He proposed that the Library Director schedule a meeting of the Library Foundation in the next two weeks to a month. At that meeting the agenda is to include: 1. the filling of the vacancy on the board, 2. a review of the bylaws, particularly the section dealing with the “Endowment Fund, Oversight Investment Committee”, and, 3. a discussion regarding the frequency of meetings of the Library Foundation. (also to be included would be the RVW proposal of $8,500.)

The Director handed out a draft of his proposed budget for 2006-07. He noted that the first few pages relate to the budget for the Platte County Library Service. This budget will be reduced by approximately $25,000 for the coming year as per the 4-year contract. This is the second year of the contract and for this year, a new one-person vehicle will replace the old two-person vehicle.

Trautwein noted that neither the county nor the city budget reflect a personnel “cost-of-living” increase. He said that for several years, the increase has been the same as the annual “Consumer Price Index” figure as measured in March. The federal government has not yet released the March figure.

Trautwein reviewed the “S.W.O.T” he has prepared for the city council’s annual “strategic planning” session which was held a day earlier. He noted that he had included a $100,000 remodeling figure for the Children’s Room.

On the topic of the appointment of a “finance committee” Trautwein said that the by-laws call for the appointment of a “finance committee” to work with the Library Director. He said that previous boards have not seen a need in such a committee, but he would like to see the Library Board more involved in budget planning and more willing to advocate for the Library. A “finance committee” could assist the Library Director in defending the Library’s budget before the City Council. In reviewing the Library Board’s by-laws, it was noted that the President of the Board, the Vice-President, and the Library Director would be on the committee. Carol Keller volunteered to be on this committee if Jim Schaefer could not attend the meetings.

Trautwein reviewed the announcements listed on the agenda.

There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned.