Meeting Minutes
Board Members Present: Mary Burchill, Ron Hurst, Terry Leibold, John Nalbandian, Craig Penzler
Board Members Not Present: Jill Fincher, Jeff Shmalberg
Staff Present: Bruce Flanders, Sherri Turner, Carole Dibben, Joyce Steiner, Tricia Karlin, Kyle King
Guests Present: Mary Michener (League of Women Voters), Janet Mody (Friends of the Library Board of Directors)
Terry brought the meeting to order at 4:40 p.m.
There were no public comments.
Mary moved to approve the consent agenda. Terry seconded the motion, which carried by voice vote.
New Executive Assistant: Bruce introduced Kyle King, the new Executive Assistant at the library who will be assisting with minute taking, data compilation, Library correspondence, and other tasks as needed.
Adult Fiction Use Statistics: Bruce noted that check-out rates are highly seasonal; most occur in the summer. The circulation for 2005 is consistently higher than in 2004, though it is still too early to measure the impact of the collection’s August 2005 move upstairs.
Kan-ed Grant: The Library recently applied for a $9,000 grant from Kan-ed, a division of the Kansas Board of Regents supporting high-speed broadband Internet access for public institutions such as libraries, schools and hospitals. If awarded, these funds will go toward increasing the security of the Library’s network through a new firewall and new network hardware, including a new router.
-- We are currently in the 15th percentile (based on collections, services
and programs); the expansion project will place us in the 75th
-- We are currently 30,000 square feet behind where we should be.
-- The projected total size is 128,000 – 137,000 square feet, plus 30,000 for future expansion
Given this, he noted that potential public / private partnerships need more information. Therefore, he assigned the following homework to the Library Board: to develop “Guiding Principles” approved by the staff, the consultants, the Board, the New Directions Task Force and the City Commission that can be submitted to developers. Ideally, developers would begin delivering presentations in January 2006.
The Guiding Principles must establish the physical parameters of the structure (square foot volume, Foot Print) as well as the “landmark” or stand-alone character of the building. Some guiding principles were suggested by consultant Steve Clark in an e-mail, which will be reformatted and submitted to the Board later in the week. Craig would like to have these Guiding Principles ready to share at the next public meeting (Dec. 6).
At this point, Craig and John brought up concerns voiced by the City Manager, first at the cost of the project, second at the implication that a developer had already been selected, and third at the size of the proposed building. In a task with this many people involved, John noted that coordination between all groups will be essential to keep everyone on the same page.
Craig’s concern questioned the necessity of the additional 30,000 square feet reserved for development in 2025. He suggested we drop this figure, and consider the downtown library fully sized with this project, expanding into satellites when necessary. Bruce mentioned that the 137,000 square feet did not take into account space for Friends of the Library activities, and that more discussion was needed with the Friends to ensure that they were included in development plans. Craig suggested also addressing this issue in the Guiding Principles.
John’s first concern dealt with the selection of a developer, and he noted that we need to make sure the City Commission is in agreement with us on whether to make this project strictly public in nature.
His second concern addressed size; namely, would the Commission be able to go before the public and support a new library that would be larger than a school? More research is needed to determine whether that would actually be the case; however, before the City Commission signs on, they will need to know that they can back the project with a minimal amount of political backlash. He suggested, if necessary, the project could be cut back to create a ten-year structure instead of a twenty-year, providing the City Commission was aware of the consequences of cutting back.
Craig reiterated that, when this goes before voters, it will be the biggest bond issue in the city’s history. If it does not win, it would be difficult to reconfigure the project and go the community again; therefore, we must do all we can to ensure the project is economically and politically feasible, as well as defendable to the public. Through developing Guiding Principles, we will communicate the facts behind the statistics and bring the City Commission on board. Our goals are not unrealistic and are supported by the community; the task at hand is to educate the City Commission (some of whom have not attended the consultants’ presentations).
Bruce thanked the Library Board for their ongoing attention to this project and the issues they brought up, and noted that the Library staff would continue to think big and to advocate for support of this project.
Mary noted the pivotal remark of the Guiding Principles: that this will be the last library built downtown. Craig agreed, and reiterated his suggestion to drop the extra 30,000 square feet and plan for the next expansion to be outward into satellites. However, focus should be on the project downtown; satellites are an issue for the long-range future.
Internet Access Policy: After ensuring that the revision of the policy was not due to user complaints but to the advisability of incorporating language from model policies based on compliance with the Children’s Internet Protection Act, and including a new section on wireless Internet access, John moved to accept the revised policy. Mary seconded, and it was carried by voice vote.
Patron Fine Appeal: An international patron unable to pay fines on eight DVDs stolen from his car appealed his fine to the Board. Given the accommodations already made by the Library as detailed by Carole, John suggested conditionally denying the appeal: only if it prevented the patron leaving the U.S. should the fine be dropped. Craig approved the purchase of exact replacement copies as a substitute for the fine, if the patron agreed. Bruce agreed that this was adequate direction on how to handle the issue.
The meeting adjourned at 6:10 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Kyle E. King
Approved
Date
Secretary
Jill Fincher
Chair
Craig Penzler
Director
Bruce Flanders