David Emmerling called the monthly meeting of the Van Buren county library board to order on March 13, 2024 at 5:07PM. Board members David Emmerling, Joye Hawk, David Jeffries, and Kelly Tester were present, as well as Administrative Assistant Kim Tyler, Director Deb Meyer, and Regional Director John McGraw.
Minutes of the February 14 meeting were reviewed. David Jeffries noted that the Petit Jean bill referenced is $2000, not $200. Kelly moved to approve the minutes as amended. Joye seconded the motion. The minutes were approved. Library Financials were reviewed. The First Service account saw a net increase of $641 with a final balance of $64,159. First Security had $1,604 in deposits and expenditures of $2,055 for an ending balance of $5,200. David Jeffries remarked on the disparity of interest between the two accounts. David Jeffries moved to approve the expenditures. Joye seconded the motion, which passed.
Old Business
DVR quotes are still pending.
Johnson Lawn submitted a quote for powerwashing. This is greater than the bid submitted last month and Deb will be pursuing that one.
A bid from Precision Floor Cleaning priced a carpet cleaning at $1461. The carpets have not been professionally cleaned since at least the year before last, possibly longer. Kelly moved to accept Precision’s bid. David Jeffries seconded the motion, which passed.
New Business
The certificate of deposit will be renewed for another six month period running from March to September.
Irregularities with gas bills prompted an inspection of the equipment and the replacement of the gas meter.
Petit Jean audit has produced a verbal report, with a final report to follow.
Deb shared some items she wished to purchase, including four book carts, two kick stools to help reach high shelves, two ipads, 2 laptops, and a display case for the circulation area. The book carts would be distributed for patrons to leave books they have browsed. There was discussion about what could be done with devices that need to retired when their replacements are purchased. The suggestion was made to prioritize the purchases and get some of the items each quarter. David Jeffries moved to authorize up to $2,000 for the book carts and kick stools in this first quarter of the year. Kelly seconded the motion, which passed. The tablets and laptops are slated for the second quarter.
John noted that February attendance was more than 1,200 people above previous February's, an increase of roughly 60%.
David Jeffries moved to adjourn. Kelly seconded the motion and the meeting ended at 6:15PM.
The next county board meeting is April 10.
The next Regional board meeting is April 28.
Minutes for April 10, 2024
David Emmerling called the monthly meeting of the Van Buren County Library Board to order on April 10, 2024 at 5:03PM. Board members David Emmerling, Joye Hawk, David Jeffries, and Kelly Tester were present, as well as Friends Of The Library President Jeff Meredith, Administrative Assistant Kim Tyler, Director Deb Meyer, and Regional Director John McGraw.
Minutes of the March 13 meeting were reviewed. Kelly moved to approve the minutes as amended. Joye seconded the motion. The minutes were approved.
Library Financials were reviewed. The First Security account saw a net decrease of $300.21 with a final balance of $4900.10. First Service had $2657 in deposits and no expenditures, for an ending balance of $66,816. The deposits were especially high this month due to the quarterly Regional Reimbursement arriving. As discussed in March, First Service offers money market accounts with higher interest rates and can use Dynamic Transfer in order to continue using the current checks on the new account. David Jeffries moved to transfer the First Service funds into an account earning more interest. Joye seconded the motion, which passed unanimously.
Book trucks to be purchased from Brodart have a 90 day fabrication period.
The $13,732.16 expenditure to AAC is insurance on the buildings and their contents for the entire year. $2070 expenditure to Trane is on top of the $2700 already paid to Trane this year.
Kelly moved to approve the expenditures. David Jeffries seconded the motion, which passed.
Old Business
Building issues: The gas meter has been replaced.
The Petit Jean audit was circulated in March. It did not have clear explanations as to the dramatic increase of utilities, aside from tape on ducts needs patching.
New Business
Building Issues: Exterior outlets failed during the eclipse. Power was run from interior outlets outside.
There is a very noisy ballast in the library.
Power washing is happening this week.
Carpet and chairs will be cleaned after Summer Reading
Personnel issues: Gloria has resigned. The clerk is refusing to pay her replacement $12/hour wage Deb has set for the position.
Joye moved to adjourn. Kelly seconded the motion and the meeting ended at 5:41PM.
The next Regional board meeting is April 28.
The next county board meeting is May 8.