Van-Buren County Library Board Meetings are held on the second Wednesday of each month at 5:00 PM. Board Meetings are open to the public for attendance and commentary.
Minutes for January 11, 2023
Kelly Tester called the monthly meeting of the Van Buren county library board to order on January 11, 2023, at 5:05PM. Board members Tracy Hastings, Joye Hawk, David Jeffries, and Kelly Tester were present, as well as Kim Tyler, Mark Whitson, Director Deborah Meyer and Regional Director John McGraw.
Minutes of the December 7th meeting were reviewed. David moved to approve the minutes as presented. Tracy seconded the motion. The minutes were approved. Library Financials were reviewed. Replacement and installation of the new smart board is reflected in the First Service account. UPS service provided slightly more income than cost in December, with one deposit outstanding. Millage collection in December was down from the previous December. There have been issues getting invoices out of the sanitation company, which must be resolved before the county closes the books on 2022 spending.
Tracy moved to approve the financial transactions as presented. Joye seconded the motion, which passed.
Old Business
The Budget Detail Report for January does not reflect the budget lines the quorum court committed to, with the primary problem being approximately $20,000 less in payroll for 2023, which paused plans to move two staff into full-time employment. There was discussion about where the discrepancy arose, and whether the solution is with the quorum court or the clerk’s office. Deb said she would contact the judge’s office to get more information.
Teri is beginning to do storytimes. Calendars of events have been produced and programs are being promoted on the radio and in the newsletter.
New Business
There was discussion about when board members’ terms expire. David Jeffries is amenable to reappointment.
There was discussion about areas that need funding. This ranged from equipment to staffing to lawn maintenance.
John raised a point of order, that the first meeting of the year should have addressed who would chair the board for 2023. There was a discussion of various candidates. David nominated David Emmerling for a second year. Joye seconded the motion, which passed.
John requested three volunteers to serve as the county representatives to the Regional board. The Regional board meets quarterly, can meet via Zoom, and has usually had extremely short meetings. The state library is pursuing a considerable increase in funding, which could lead to discussions and trials of new products to fill unmet needs this summer. Kelly, Joye, and David volunteered to serve. The next Regional meeting is January 25th at 5:30PM. John promised to
send the Minutes, and Budget from the last Regional meeting, as well as the Zoom link, to all members of the county board.
The library will be closed on Monday the 16th for Martin Luther King Day.
The next county board meeting is February 8th at 5:00PM.
Joye moved to adjourn. David seconded the motion and the meeting was adjourned at 5:56PM.
Minutes for February 8, 2023
David Emmerling called the monthly meeting of the Van Buren county library board to order on February 8, 2023, at 5:04PM. Board members Joye Hawk and Kelly Tester joined via Zoom. Joining David were Faulkner County Network Administer Chris Bown, Director Deborah Meyer and Regional Director John McGraw.
Minutes of the January 11th meeting were reviewed. David thanked the board for voting to retain him as chair for another year and thanked the Regional board representatives for being willing to serve. Kelly moved to approve the minutes as presented. Joye seconded the motion. The minutes were approved. Library Financials were reviewed. The change in salary budget lines has still not been resolved and Deb is in communication with the Judge James about that. The charge to the Law Library is a 2022 bill and needs to be removed from the 2023 budget report.
Kelly moved to approve the financial transactions as presented. Joye seconded the motion, which passed.
Old Business
The revised signing sheet at First Security still needs some signatures, Deb reported.
New Business
Teri is putting together the Summer Youth Program. Deb is pursuing grants with Methodist Women’s group and Dollar General. Friends of the Library fundraisers may also be important.
Chris set up a Zoom with Communico’s Marcie Schneider. Faulkner County uses Communico for Events and Meeting Room reservations and Deb expressed interest in getting the Regional board to purchase it for both counties should Regional funds be expanded.
The library will be closed on Monday the 20th for Presidents Day.
The next county board meeting is March 8th at 5PM.
Kelly moved to adjourn. Joye seconded the motion and the meeting was adjourned at 5:47PM
Minutes for March 8, 2023
David Emmerling called the monthly meeting of the Van Buren county library board to order on March 8, 2023, at 5:05PM. Board members David Emmerling, Joye Hawk, David Jeffries, and Kelly Tester were present, as well as Assistant Director Kim Tyler and Regional Director John McGraw. Director Deb Meyer joined via Zoom.
Minutes of the February 8 meeting were reviewed. Kelly moved to approve the minutes as presented. Joye seconded the motion. The minutes were approved. Library Financials were reviewed. The cost of the Arkansas Democrat Gazette was questioned. That covers two subscriptions for a digital paper available to read on an ipad. The board recommended dropping Damascus. It was observed that the insurance had been paid as a lump sum this year. John noted that the gas budget is 44% spent after two months, and Plumbing/Electrical supplies is 87% spent. The latter is due to replacing light bulbs.
Joye moved to approve the financial transactions as presented. David Jeffries seconded the motion, which passed.
Old Business
The budget is on the agenda for the Thursday Quorum Court meeting.
New Business
There was a discussion of Van Buren county programs on the website. John explained that the searchable Events page is populated by Communico, which Faulkner County purchased and which Deb has expressed interest in moving to the Regional budget if the Regional board sees added funding this year. The pages for each location in Van Buren county have the month’s events up, and the Facebook page has been updating regularly.
There was a discussion about hosting a pop-up Farmer’s Market at the library.
The library will be closed on Friday the 7th for Good Friday.
The next county board meeting is April 12th at 5PM.
David Jeffries moved to adjourn. Kelly seconded the motion and the meeting was adjourned at 5:40PM
