Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes - January 20, 2025

The Medina County District Library Board of Trustees met in regular session on Monday, January 20, 2025, at Medina Library. With a quorum present, President William Koran called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m.

Oath of Office: Medina County Commissioner Aaron Harrison administered the oath of office to new trustee Christopher Jakab.

I, Christopher Jakab, do solemnly affirm that I will support the Constitution of the United States, and the Constitution of the State of Ohio; and that I will faithfully and impartially discharge my duties as a member of the Board of Trustees of Medina County District Library in Medina County, Ohio, to the best of my abilities, and in accordance with the laws now in effect, and hereinafter to be enacted, during my term in office.

Christopher Jakab

Roll call: The following members were present: Ann Marie Flannery, Christopher Jakab, William Koran, Caleb Parker, Mark Krosse, and Sarah Vachon.

Library staff members in attendance: Julianne Bedel, Executive Director; Allison Gaebelein, Fiscal Officer; Tina Sabol, Community Engagement Director; and Jennifer O’Neill, Deputy Fiscal Officer acting as recording secretary.

Pledge of Allegiance: President Koran asked for the Pledge of Allegiance to be added to the agenda at the beginning of the current and future Board meetings.

Approval of the Agenda: Mr. Parker motioned, and Ms. Vachon seconded the motion to approve the agenda. Motion carried.

Recognition of Guests and Comments from the Public: President Koran welcomed all in attendance.

Disposition of Meeting Minutes: Mr. Krosse motioned, and Ms. Flannery seconded the motion to approve the December 16, 2024, regular meeting minutes. Motion carried.

Approval of Financial Report: Ms. Vachon motioned, and Ms. Flannery seconded the motion to approve the December 2024 financial report. Motion carried.

Fiscal Officer Allison Gaebelein highlighted that December 2024 receipts totaled $526,586.63, while expenses totaled $957,993.64. This does not include the $800,000 interfund transfers that were approved last month. There was an unexpended cash balance of $17,125,408.99 minus outstanding encumbrances of $1,882,736.62 leaving an ending unencumbered balance of $15,242,672.37.

General Fund revenues are down 0.9% over prior year-to-date and have reached 108% of the annual budget. The General Fund expenses are up 1.8% compared to the same year-to-date period and have reached 95% of the budget.

December 2024 PLF came in at $422,474.50. This is $31,864.22 higher than December 2023, but

$50,590.50 lower than budgeted. The year-to-date total for PLF is down 5.25% over last year; however, the annual PLF distribution for 2024 is only 0.69% under budget. We did receive the sales tax holiday distribution for $20,254 that is included in December’s PLF monthly total.

December 2024 investments earned $57,655.99. The year-to-date interest totals for 2024 are

$781,540.03 at an average weighted interest rate of 4.254%. Interest rates have fallen slightly during the last quarter due to the federal rate cuts.

Executive Director’s Report: Executive Director Julianne Bedel highlighted that circulation for December 2024 was up 4% over 2023, including e-media circulation which is up 11%. The door count and overall computer usage were essentially the same as last year. Wi-Fi use was down 2% over last year. The number of new cards issued was up 37%, including e-cards up by 5%. The number of passports being processed was down 6%. The number of programs offered was down 32%, and the number of patrons attending those programs was down 13%. The change in programming was due primarily to the shift in juvenile storytime scheduling and the holiday closings which occurred during the week.

Kelly Halleen, Brunswick Children’s Department Supervisor, has been named the Assistant Coordinator of Ohio Library Council (OLC) Children’s Services Division. The OLC Board of Directors has made committee assignments and Ms. Bedel will again serve on the Board’s Personnel Committee and remain the board liaison to the membership’s Intellectual Freedom Committee and Children’s Services Division. This year will mark OLC’s 130^th anniversary of service! Legislative Day is scheduled for Tuesday, April 8, and will be held in the atrium of the State House in Columbus. The Northeast Library Trustees Dinner is tentatively scheduled for Thursday, May 8 and details are still being finalized.

House Bill 257 was recently signed into law. It allows certain public boards, including public library boards, to hold and attend meetings by video conference. It will be in effect 90 days after the governor’s signature. OLC is currently preparing information for libraries on what specific actions need to be taken to comply with the new legislation.

Before leaving office, President Biden signed the Social Security Fairness Act which repeals a pair of provisions that limit benefits for recipients who pay into and receive benefits from other public

pension systems, including OPERS. The new law rescinds the Windfall Elimination Provision. OLC is following this and will provide additional information to libraries.

Mr. Krosse asked about the technology training for Deep Freeze Ultimate and NinjaOne. Ms. Bedel responded that this software provides security. Deep Freeze Ultimate keeps personal information safe by wiping information off public computers between uses. NinjaOne provides network security.

Communication: Trustees received a letter from Margo Gibson-Costello commending the staff in the FHLC, specifically naming Lauren Kuntzman, Miranda Fein, Rachel Gamin, Lisa Rienerth, and Madison Thomas as outstanding. They are a wonderful example of the high standard of service and expertise that we strive to provide to the community with every interaction.

Personnel Report: Mr. Parker motioned, and Ms. Vachon seconded the motion to approve the December Personnel Report. Motion carried.

Human Resources highlights from December 2024 include welcoming one new staff member and one left employment. There was one lateral transfer. There were two leaves of absence compared to three last month. There were no milestone anniversaries.

The annual performance review process was completed, with a system-wide overall average rating of

3.7 on a 5.0 scale. Appointments have been made to the bargaining unit job description review committee, which will make recommendations to the Labor/Management Committee for consideration. Fraud prevention training was completed as required by the Auditor of State.

Board Committee Reports:

Buildings Committee: No Meeting

Policy and By-laws Committee: No Meeting

Finance Committee: No Meeting

Personnel Committee: No Meeting. Next scheduled meeting is February 4, 2025, at 5:00 p.m.

Unfinished Business: None

New Business:

2025 Board Committee Appointments:

Finance: Mr. Parker (chair), Mr. Harr, Mr. Jakab

Personnel: Ms. Vachon (chair), Mr. Harr, Ms. Flannery

Policy and By-laws: Mr. Krosse (chair), Mr. Parker, Ms. Vachon

Buildings: Ms. Flannery (chair), Mr. Jakab, Mr. Krosse

Resolution 25-1: Mr. Krosse motioned, and Ms. Flannery seconded the motion to approve Wine and Canvas events March 28, 2025, and April 25, 2025, at Medina Library and April 11, 2025, at

Brunswick Library. Motion carried.

Donations: Ms. Vachon motioned, and Mr. Parker seconded the motion to approve the following donations for December. Motion carried.

1. Kim Wuescher: Two additional copies of Bitter Medicine by Mae McGraw, a local author

2. Debbie Muniak: Cork leather for the Makerspace or craft swap program

3. Sherri Baldwin: Two copies (English and Ukrainian) of Snail’s Journey by Volodymyr Zhuvak, a local author

4. Victoria Harden: $200.00

5. Brian and Carole Kowell: $500.00

6. Jan Pugh: Four copies of Purpee’s Dream for local author collection

7. John David Hall: A donation of Family History Binders

8. Rob Patnaik: $25.00

9. Main Street Bank/Paul Bayus: $250.00 for Lodi Winter Wonderland horse drawn wagon

10. Mike Gemmer: 2 VCRs for use in the FHLC Digital Lab.

11. Anonymous: $50.00

12. Linda Halter: $100.00

13. David Mervs: $100.00

14. Shelia Stout: Where Did the Teacher’s Voice Go? By Ohio author Samantha Steffy

15. Bill Leinweber: Two copies of Bill’s 5 Rules for Success by Bill Leinweber The donations were accepted with gratitude.

Trustees Comments:

Ms. Flannery welcomed Mr. Jakab to the Board and looks forward to working with him. She thanked Ms. Kuntzman and Ms. Sabol for their help with the Leadership Ohio JoinIn program that she attended. It included a community discussion on social engagement and civic life. She expressed that it was exciting to be a part of the community event.

Mr. Jakab thanked everyone for the warm welcome and is honored to serve on the Board.

Mr. Krosse welcomed Mr. Jakab to the Board. He thanked Ms. Sabol for her work on the new website. He was pleased to see how engaged the Library is with OLC. He was happy to see the Seville Library partnering with the Seville Downtown Business Association.

Mr. Parker welcomed Mr. Jakab to the Board and looks forward to working with him. He is looking forward to the upcoming 2025 events.

Ms. Vachon welcomed Mr. Jakab to the Board. She thanked Mr. Koran for working on the Board’s committee assignments. She congratulated Ms. Sabol and everyone else that worked on the new refreshed website.

Mr. Koran welcomed Mr. Jakab to the Board and thanked Commissioner Harrison for administering the oath of office. He thanked everyone for their service in 2024 and is looking forward to a great year in 2025. He reminded the trustees to consider attending the OLC Trustee Dinner.