Minutes from September 2, 2015
The Board Meeting for the Trustees of Brown Memorial Library was called to order at 6:05 p.m.
Attendance: Patty Furness, Connie Scheffy, Mary- Chris Duncan, Nola Jordan, Garry Kalajian, Meg Fearnley
1. The secretary’s report was presented from the July 1, 2015 meeting. It was noted that the minutes were amended in line item eight. A motion was made and passed to accept the July minutes as amended. The trustees did not meet in August.
2. The treasurer’s report was presented for July and August. Nola noted that the high number for the cost of utilities in July was due to the pre-buy of heating oil. It was also noted that the General Fund has a balance of $3,200.00. Nola will request the additional $20,000 appropriation from the town. Donations for June were included in the July report as follows. Total donations reported were $1,403.98, including $1,138.23 from the July 4 book and plant sale, $185.75 from the on-going book sale, and $80.00 in general donations. Donations for the month of August totaled $185.00, including $26.00 for a damaged book, $139.00 from the on-going book sale, and $20.00 in general donations. A motion was made and passed to accept the treasurer’s report.
3. Meg noted that the successful summer reading program accounted for the substantial increase in July program attendance numbers, as well as the increased number of patrons. Kudos to Laurie for her talent, enthusiasm, and dedication to the children’s program.
4. Under new business, trustees discussed the disposition of outdated files and determined that files appropriate to discard would be shredded.
5. A new staff member has been hired to fill an open position. On an opposite note, the trustees reluctantly accepted the resignations of Erica Gross as trustee and Robert Toppi as an alternate trustee. We thank them both for their many contributions to benefit the library. The board is actively searching for a replacement trustee to fill the position until the March election.
6. There will be a book sale on Saturday September 5 from 9:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. All shifts are covered for this event.
7. The board discussed the need for new signage for book sales. Potential options will be investigated with further discussion at the October meeting.
8. A Local Author’s Night program will be presented on Thursday September 17 at 7:00 p.m. at the library. Author’s who will be participating include Maralyn Doyle, Nate Herrick, Thom Smith and Martha Von Redlich.
9.The procedure for accepting donations was discussed and it was determined that the current process is acceptable and will remain in place at this time.
10. Under old business, with regard to LED pathway lights, Patty reported that the installation can be done at no cost to the library due to the generosity of a volunteer. She will continue to look for the best price for the lights themselves and report back at the October meeting. An estimate for replacing overhead LED lighting in the library will be discussed in October.
The next meeting will be held on Wednesday, October 7 at 6:00 p.m.
There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 7:15 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Connie Scheffy, Secretary