The Riverside Regional Library
Board of Trustees Meeting
Minutes for October 23, 2008

The Riverside Regional Library Board of Trustees conducted a meeting on Thursday, October 23, 2008 at the Perryville Branch, 800 City Park Drive, Suite A, Perryville, Missouri.

Call to Order

            The meeting was called to order by President James Marks at 7:00 p.m.

Roll Call

            Members present were:  Bill Phillips, Kathy Carron, Steve Burk, June Ernst, Randal Friend, Tom Gross, JoAnn Hahs, Emil Lohmann, James Marks, Kathy Panagos, Janet Randolph, Linda Sebaugh and Myrna Cheek. Members absent were:  Kathy Lynn and Debbie Nelson.  Also present were Director Nancy Howland and Recording Secretary Stephanie Grant.

Open Forum for Visitors

            Visitors present were Barbara Arnzen, Julie Sauer, Sally Modde and Jan Sibley.

A.  Action Items

Linda Sebaugh made a motion to approve the September minutes as read. The motion was seconded by Kathy Panagos and it carried unanimously.

The Allowance for Bills and The Financial Report were presented. There was some discussion concerning the Creative Data bills. The director explained that the library is paying Creative Data $300.00 monthly to monitor the servers and all branches. James Marks stated that the numbers look good and it looks like we’ll be under budget. Bill Phillips made a motion to approve the allowance for bills and the financial report. Emil Lohman seconded and the motion carried unanimously.

B.  Information Items

1.  Correspondence:

            Nancy Howland had spoken with the Missouri Ethics Commission concerning the Financial Disclosures and was told we do not have to fill them out since the Board members are appointed, not elected.

            A letter was received from the Scott County Commission announcing the appointment of Debbie Nelson to serve on the Scott County Library Board. Her term will expire on 6/30/2010.  Debbie replaces Deborah Gunter who resigned from the board effective 10/1/08.

2.  Librarian’s Report

            The Librarian’s Report was presented as read.  The director added that the Friends of the Library had a very successful book sale, with sales totaling $1042 and 12 new members.

            Nancy Howland reported on the Vehicle Replacement Account. She stated that it is in a money market account earning .78% interest and gave two other options for higher interest; a 3 month CD or a 5 month CD.  The question was raised about replacing the van.  Steve Burk commented about the wear and tear on the van. There was some discussion concerning what motion should be made. It was decided that no motion would be made. Nancy Howland is to get prices on a new van and bring a proposal to the next board meeting.

3.  Committee Reports

            Myrna Cheek reported that the Scott County Board has a lease from Mr. Dittlinger that has been looked over by Ron McCormick and others.   The lease contains an Option to Purchase in paragraph #19.  There was some discussion about paragraphs #6 and #7.  James Marks was concerned that the two paragraphs contradict each other.  The wording in #7 needs to be more specific so there is no question about who is responsible for costs.  Steve Burk suggested taking out the word “Repairs” in #7 to make it correct.  The language in paragraph #4 needs to be more clear concerning the Purchase Option Agreement.  It indicates there is a separate agreement but there isn’t.  Kathy Carron made a motion to authorize the lease pending the changes discussed. Steve Burk made the second and the motion carried by a unanimous vote.  Randal Friend thanked the board for the opportunity for a new building.

            James Marks had lunch with Kathy Walters to have her explain to him how the USDA program is going to work for the Benton building. He learned that the USDA can guarantee a loan up to 80%.  He felt that could be a real possibility for Cape County to purchase a piece of real estate for a new building.  James said he just wanted to pass this information to the board as another option because of the low interest rates.  Interest rates may be a lot higher when we are interested in a purchase.

            Myrna Cheek reported that the cost of the appraisal for the Benton building was $1800.  The state has changed regulations on appraisals.  The appraiser must be licensed, so of course it’s probably going to cost more.  The appraisal can be updated.  Randal Friend said the cost for the appraisal could be absorbed into the loan. James Marks stated that if we have the money, we should go ahead and pay it.  Steve Burk made the motion to pay for the appraisal out of the Scott County Depository Funds.  June Ernst seconded.  Motion carried unanimously.

            Nancy Howland presented a new drawing of building plans for the proposed new location of the central branch at 1997 E. Jackson Blvd.  Jim Maevers will be doing considerable remodeling at his own expense before we move in.  Nancy then gave a list of positives for Central if we make this move. The question was raised about purchasing property for a new building, possibly using the USDA program rather than renting.  Steve Burk suggested we wait a couple years and see how everything goes for Scott County, such as hidden costs, before Cape County looks at purchasing through the USDA program.  Kathy Panagos made a motion to accept the offer from Jim Maevers and sign the lease so Jackson can move.  Tom Gross seconded the motion.  Kathy Carron brought up the long-term plan to eventually own all the library buildings and that this 5-year lease will put us behind.  June Ernst mentioned the fact that we’re not having to pay for the remodeling.  Tom Gross said he is excited about Riverside becoming more “public” because of the geography.  Randal Friend agreed and commented about the amount of traffic and the visibility we will have. The question of how long the move will take was raised. Nancy replied that we can’t be exactly sure because we have so much to move. In looking over the lease, James Marks stated that there needs to be a scope of work attached. Kathy Panagos amended her original motion to be contingent on the “scope of work” page being attached.  Motion carried with a unanimous vote.

            Budget Committee – Randal Friend reported that the budget had been discussed and that the full report will be presented at the November meeting.

New Business

            Because of the Thanksgiving Holiday, the November meeting will be held Monday, November 24, 2008 at 7:00 p.m. at Jackson.

            The board was reminded about the count for the Christmas party. Those present gave Nancy their responses.  The Christmas Party is scheduled for Saturday, Dec. 6, 5:30 p.m. at the Cape Regional Airport restaurant.  Janet Randolph will bring some party game ideas.  Anyone wanting to participate in the “Dirty Santa” game should bring a real or gag gift costing no more than $10.

            Julie Sauer requested that the carpet at the Perryville branch be looked at. Several board members looked at the problem areas with Julie.  It was decided that they need to go before the Perryville City Council before the city does their budget.

C.  Executive Session

            Kathy Carron made the motion to go into Executive Session.  June Ernst seconded the motion and it carried by a unanimous roll call vote.  All but the Board members were dismissed so that they could discuss the Director’s Performance Evaluation.  The board left the executive session at 8:50 p.m. by unanimous roll call vote.

E.  Adjournment

            Emil Lohman made the motion to adjourn.  The motion was seconded by Kathy Panagos at 8:55 p.m.  Motion carried. 

Respectfully Submitted, 

Stephanie Grant, Recording Secretary