Trustees Meeting
April 15, 2019
Present: Rebecca Mueller, Laurie Dana, Jana Brown, Martha Nye, Jenna Bisset, and Ellen Crary.
Election of Officers
The 2019-2020 Board of Trustees Officers were elected by unanimous vote:
President- Laurie Dana
Treasurer- Ellen Crary
Secretary- Jana Brown
Minutes Approved
Minutes from the March meeting were unanimously approved.
Librarians Report
- The second Vermont Reads event was much better attended with 17 people attending.
- Mud season playgroup was very successful.
- Rusty DeWees performed two nights. It was a very light attendance compared to most of his events (25 people instead of the 100+ who usually attend).
- Free Press subscription has resumed. The library has not yet been reimbursed for the second payment.
- Rick Norcross from Rick and the Ramblers will be playing April 19th. Rebecca is hoping this will be well attended.
- VT Humanities is sponsoring Rebecca Rupp for the program, “Soup to Nuts.”
- The steps that lead from the sidewalk to the parking lot have crumbled and because of this, the railing has come off. This presents a danger to the public who could be accessing the library or town offices. In addition to this, the handicap ramp accessing the library has gouges in it making hazards for patrons in walkers as the walkers get stuck. Rebecca will contact the company that repaired the front steps for separate quotes on both projects – the ramp to be paid for by the Library and the steps by the Town.
- The siding near the entry has a massive hole and insulation has been pulled out—this needs tobe deltt with soon.
- The Town has established a Building Committee and invited Laurie to be on this committee. They are seeking 4 community members to serve as well as Christie Winters & Katie Mahoney from the Selectboard. The trustees hope the town will be able to take care of problems related to the building. It needs to be clarified, that as the library is a Municipal Department, what is the relationship between the town and the building the library is housed in. There are some major issues that are coming up on a regular basis that need immediate attention along with the list Rebecca mentioned above. The trustees are most concerned about issues related to the physical safety of members in our community.
Town Pay Grade
Richmond has reinstituted a step pay grade system to recognize years of service. As part of this process Rebecca has submitted detailed job descriptions of library employees. As a result of the new ranking, several employees are either above or below their pay grades. Rebecca is far under the new pay grade. The town will be recommending a 3.5% total pay increase for town employees. Because FY 2020 has been already approved, there will be a budget discrepancy in the 2020 budget. Should Rebecca and the Trustees choose to approve a 3.5% across the board increase, we will need to cover that increase within the approved 2020 budget. This will also increase the Social Security, Medicare and Retirement line items.
Heating Systems and Weatherization Audit
A weatherization audit was performed last week. The report was not yet available to the trustees. Rebecca stated that the windows and doors showed significant heat loss. Marshal Paulson met with Rebecca and provided his assement of possible fixes for the existing first floor heating issues, he does not want to bid on the project.
Review Capital Plan Submitted to Selectboard
The trustees and Rebecca discussed more building issues in addition to the ones listed above. The steeple was discussed as another building repair issue that presents a safety hazard to the public. The library building issues are becoming larger and, in some cases, dangerous. The trustees will continue to work with the select board to encourage these to be fixed in a timely manner.
Status of Circulation Desk Renovation/ Redesign Project
Patty Rossi gave Rebecca a sketch for the circulation desk. Moov is coming in the near future to give design ideas. Brian Carpenter is the only builder who has submitted a bid for the work.
Drinking Fountain Update
As stated in the Breadloaf plan submitted to the selectboard, the library needs a commercial drinking fountain. Laurie has found a fountain to meet ADA that can be installed at the library. The fountain will cost $1700 and provide cold, but unfiltered water. Rebeca will call Falcon Plumbing. She will also call two other plumbers to get the three bids required per project.
Summer Pavilion Project
Regretfully, the trustees have agreed to put the outdoor pavillion community project on hold so that more focus can be made on building related issues that need immediate attention.
Future Meeting Times
Monday, May 20, 6:30 p.m.
In June, meetings will return to the first Thursday of the month — June 6th.
No meeting in July
Thursday, August 1, 6:30 p.m.
Respectfully Submitted,
Ellen Crary
Secretary
