McLean County Times

City of Pontiac Public Library Board of Trustees met March 14.

Here are the minutes provided by the board:

President Connie Snyder called the Pontiac Public Library Board of Trustees meeting to order at 5:35PM.

The roll call was answered by Bruce Koerner, Connie Snyder, Lisa Martin, Eric Hoover, Bill Bertram, and Kathy McLean. Also in attendance was Library Director, Kristin Holzhauer.

Consent Agenda:

Trustees reviewed the January minutes and paid bills from January and February. There was no meeting in February due to Trustee availability. Bruce Koerner moved to accept the minutes and bills as presented. Kathy McLean seconded. All present voted in favor; motion carried.

Correspondence:

A thank you letter was received from Sue Strauch following her retirement from the library. A FOIA request was received from Smart Local 265 and responded to. A response from city administrator, Bob Karls, regarding questions that Kristin had on the proposed TIF Extension was received and reviewed. Additional discussion regarding the proposed TIF Extension and impact on the library’s tax revenue will take place in April.

Director’s Report:

After forty years of service, Sue Strauch, retired as Head of Circulation on January 28th. A plaque will be placed on the wall near the Circulation Desk in her honor. Evan Matic was promoted to Head of Circulation following Sue’s retirement and the transition is going smoothly.

Wayne Francisco was hired as the new full-time Acquisitions Assistant on January 17th.

The library received a $200 donation from the Helping Hands Resale Shoppe as part of their community support program. The library was selected as one of the organizations to receive a portion of the proceeds from their sales from a week in January.

During a review of some legal matter with City Attorney Alan Schrock, it was discovered that the library does not have an approved rolling disposition certificate on file with the State Records Retention Office. Kristin is working with the State to complete the application and approval process, which must be completed within 120 days.

The library was closed February 2nd through the 4th and February 17th due to inclement weather. All items checked out during the closure were back dated to ensure patrons did not incur overdue fines and notifications.

Heavy icing formed in the southeast and southwest corners of the building, and the city assisted with knocking down the large icicles. The heat tape will need to be replaced in those downspouts.

The library did a “Blind Date w/a Book” event for adults and “Cupids Corner” event for children throughout the month of February in celebration of Valentine's Day. Free make-it/take-it craft kits to make suncatchers and beaded heart bookmarks were provided during the week of Valentine's Day.

The library is seeking 2 weekly volunteers to work on the historical archives for the local history room.

Lincoln school was the winner of our “Check-it-Out” Challenge reading incentive for our intergovernmental agreement. Students at Lincoln checked out the most items across the district during the second 9-week period.

School classes will be invited to the Library during National Library Week April 4th- 8th. Kristin and Jen are planning for those visits along with other National Library Week activities for the community.

Kristin has been asked by the Illinois State Library to present at their Reaching Forward conference in May on Intellectual Freedom. She will also be presenting at RSA Day in April on the same topic.

Illinois Storm Chasers will be at the library for a special program to celebrate World Meteorological Day on March 24th.

This year’s Summer Reading Program will be titled “Read Beyond the Beaten Path” and take on a wilderness/camping theme. There will be a lot of time outdoors and taking day trips around the community. The finale will be a night at a Cornbelter’s baseball game in Bloomington. The program will run from June 4th to July 2nd. The finale game night is on July 28th.

Committee Updates:

Management – Nothing to report.

Building and Grounds – The exterior wall panel that was broken when the parking lot was repaired will be fixed. The new panel will be switched with a panel at the back of the building since there will be a slight color variation.

Finance – The library was unable to renew a CD at First Financial because the rate offered to municipalities was less than one quarter the rate the library was earning in money market account at State Bank of Graymont. Funds were moved to State Bank of Graymont for the interim.

Old Business:

Heartland Community College Request/Security Cameras – The agreement with Heartland Community College has been amended to address the responsibilities for state records retention. Bill Bertram made a motion to approve the request for security camera installation. Lisa Martin seconded. All present voted in favor; motion carried.

New Business:

Library Trustee Resignation – Cathy Robinson turned in her resignation from the board. Kristin has a few potential candidates for her replacement. She will contact them and will provide an update at the April meeting.

Rachel Blakeman Memorial – The Library would like to dedicate a gold book on the Living Bookshelf mural in memory of Rachel Blakeman for her years of service and dedication as a Library Trustee. Lisa Martin motioned to make this dedication to the mural. Bill Bertram seconded. All present voted in favor; motion carried.

’22-’23 FY Budget – The proposed fiscal year 2022-23 budget was reviewed. Total revenues are projected to be approximately $343,000. Total expenses are projected to be approximately $404,000. The net deficit needing to be covered from reserves is approximately $61,000, which is a slight decrease from the prior fiscal year, $78,000. Bruce Koerner motioned to approve the ‘22-‘23 FY Budget as presented. Bill Bertram seconded. All present voted in favor; motion carried.

Economic Interest Forms – Kristin passed out the Economic Interest Forms for 2022, and briefly went over the instructions for completing the form, which was slightly different than prior years.

Valuable Book Sale Items – The library has received book donations from patrons that contain items that have significantly more value than most items that go into the book sale. These items segregated from the normal book sale, and Kristin is looking for an appropriate means for selling these items.

Trustee Closing Comments:

None

Kathy McLean moved to adjourn the meeting. Bruce Bill Bertam seconded. All present voted in favor; motion carried.

https://www.pontiac.org/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Minutes/_03142022-884