The Medina County District Library Board of Trustees met in regular session on Monday, May 15, 2023, at Brunswick Library. With a quorum present, President Griffiths called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m.
Roll call: The following trustees were present: Dr. Maria Griffiths, William Koran, Caleb Parker, Ryan Carlson, Brian Harr, and Jill McGarr.
Library staff members in attendance: Julianne Bedel, Director; Allison Gaebelein, Interim Fiscal Officer; Suzie Muniak, Assistant Director; Jenna Elswick, Human Resources Manager; Chris Weaver-Pieh, Collection Resources Manager; Connie Sureck, Brunswick Library Manager; Aleen Olee, SEIU President; Wendy Campbell, Lisa Rienerth, Linda Sutliff, and Cheryl Philipps, Library Associates; Jennifer Lee, Customer Service Clerk; Scott Sukel, Delivery Driver; and Tammy Nandrasy, Administrative Assistant acting as recording secretary.
Approval of the Agenda: Mr. Harr moved, and Mr. Carlson seconded the motion to approve the agenda. Motion carried.
Recognition of Guests and Comments from the Public: Dr. Griffiths welcomed all in attendance.
Contract Negotiations Update: Mr. Koran made a motion to enter executive session to consider collective bargaining matters. Ms. McGarr seconded the motion and a roll call vote was taken with the following results: Mr. Koran-aye, Mr. Parker-aye, Mr. Carlson-aye, Mr. Harr-aye, Ms. McGarr-aye, Dr. Griffiths-aye. Ms. Bedel and administration members of the bargaining committee were asked to remain. Executive session began at 6:01 p.m.
Regular session resumed at 6:18 p.m. with no action taken.
Disposition of Minutes:
Mr. Koran moved to approve the April 17, 2023, regular meeting minutes with correction and Ms. McGarr seconded the motion. Motion carried.
Approval of Financial Report: Mr. Carlson moved, and Mr. Parker seconded the motion to approve the April 2023 financial report. Interim Fiscal Officer Allison Gaebelein reported April 2023 receipts totaled $815,005. Expenses totaled $814,463. There was an unexpended cash balance of $18,260,456 less outstanding encumbrances of $2,558,828 which left an ending unencumbered balance in all funds of $15,701,627.
General Fund revenues are up 4% over prior year-to-date and General Fund expenses are up 4.7% compared to the same year-to-date period.
April 2023 PLF came in at $306,651 which is $2,178 higher than prior year and $1,844 higher than budgeted. The Homestead Rollback was received from the State for $433,301.
April 2023 investments earned $46,064 as opposed to last April which earned $4,031. The library has a principal balance of $18,475,245 in bank accounts and investments at an average weighted interest rate of 3.073%. Interest rates continue to trend upward. Star Ohio is now over 5%. I spoke with S&T Bank at the end of April and they agreed to adjust the interest rate of our current investment from 1.65% to 3.75%. I purchased 2 short-term CD’s in May over 5%, and reinvested a longer-term 3 year CD at 4.65%.
Director’s Report: Julianne Bedel reported that circulation for April ‘23 was up 8.9% over April ‘22. E-media circulation is up 13.13%. When compared to 2019, overall circulation is down 5.59% and e-media is up 111.04%. Door count was up 21.57% compared to last year, and down 27.52% from 2019. Computer use is up 21.57% compared to last year and is down 26.75% compared to April 2019.
Again, this year we hosted part of Leadership Medina County’s Quality of Life Day. The class visited the Medina Reference Department staff for a presentation and demonstration of resources, the VWM FHLC for the grand tour and overview, and Ann Plazek brought the bookmobile for them to visit and hear an overview of outreach services.
Summer Reading promos will come out at the end of this week and are scheduled to all be up by May 22. School visits are in full swing, ads and articles are out, billboards are up. We’re encouraging families to get into the libraries to play the kids game (ages birth to entering 5th grade) and the teen game (for those entering 6th grade to seniors in high school). There are several kick-off events coming up at all locations. Full details are at mcdl.info/Summer Reading and in the new Library Live.
On April 26, Trustee Krosse attended OLC’s Legislative Day with Tina Sabol and me. In addition to the program, which featured both majority and minority leadership as well as Governor and Mrs. DeWine, we had a chance to visit with Rep. Melanie Miller and upon Mark’s invitation, she said she’d be happy to stop by Brunswick Library to read a story. On May 4, Trustees Parker and Koran attended OLC’s annual trustee dinner with Interim Fiscal Officer Gaebelein and me.
Congratulations to our two staff members who graduated from Leadership Medina County programs last week. Dan Holahan completed the LEAD Institute program and Jenna Elswick completed the Signature program. Congratulations to them both and a sincere thank you to the Board of Trustees for their ongoing support for employee leadership development and continuing education.
Communications:None
Personnel Report: Mr. Carlson moved, and Mr. Harr seconded the motion to approve the Personnel Report. Highlights include that three staff members left employment, two changed status, and we welcomed one new colleague. There were five leaves of absence (six last month). Cleveland Clinic Medina Life Support Team conducted three AED/CPR certifications for staff. Finally, we congratulated 13 employees for work anniversaries this month. Fifteen-year milestones were celebrated by Brunswick Librarian Samantha Ania and Medina Customer Services Clerk Rochelle McAfee. Congratulations and many thanks to them both! Motion carried
Board Committee Reports:
- Finance Committee: No Meeting
- Personnel Committee: Mr. Harr reported the Committee had met immediately prior to the Board meeting to discuss the search for a new Fiscal Officer. He was pleased to say that 18 applications had been received and from those, the committee had selected five to be interviewed. He explained that those five applicants were to be contacted to schedule interviews with the Committee on May 17 and May 18, after which the field was to be reduced to two or three. The final interviews for the remaining candidates would then take place on May 31 with the full Board. Mr. Harr expressed gratitude for the Educational Services Center’s guidance and assistance in the process.
- Policy and By-Laws Committee: No Meeting
- Buildings Committee: No Meeting
Unfinished Business:None
New Business:
Brunswick Library Presentation: Connie Sureck provided a presentation highlighting the unique and endearing qualities of her staff that make them an invaluable resource to the community. She included some videos of them in action and pictures of delighted patrons interacting with staff. At the conclusion, Connie shared comments left by the public on social media complimenting the staff and remarking on how they enrich the lives of people and make the library experience exceptional.
Disposal of Obsolete/Surplus Equipment: Ms. Gaebelein submitted for approval a list of items to be removed from inventory to be disposed of or sold.
Resolution 23-15: Upon a motion by Mr. Carlson and seconded by Mr. Parker, the Medina County District Library Board of Trustees hereby declares the items on the attached “2023 Surplus Equipment Inventory” as surplus and authorizes the Interim Fiscal Officer to hold a public sale of these items and to dispose of any unsold items. The Interim Fiscal Officer will receipt proceeds into the General Fund. Motion carried.
Donations: Mr. Carlson moved, and Mr. Koran seconded the motion to accept the following donations with gratitude:
- Guilford Township: $13.63 in Memory of Cinda Meyer
- Honeybee Quilters: $50 in Memory of Barbara Flowers
- Jennifer Underwood: $25 Motion carried.
Trustees Comments:
Caleb Parker thanked administration for inviting him to the OLC Trustee Dinner. He also congratulated Dan Holahan and Jenna Elswick on their graduation from Leadership Medina County programs. He thanked Connie Sureck for her presentation.
Brian Harr thanked Connie for her presentation and conceded victory to the Dewey Decimators in Project LEARN’s Match Wits trivia contest. He noted that the Huntington Bank ice cream truck will be at Lodi’s Summerfest.
Ryan Carlson thanked Connie and complimented the Brunswick Library as it is his local branch used by him and his family.
Jill McGarr thanked Connie and said it was fun to see the joy in the faces of the Brunswick staff. She congratulated those celebrating milestone anniversaries.
Will Koran noted that Brunswick Library is also his local branch and complimented the great staff. He congratulated the LMC graduates and thanked the negotiation team for their hard work.
Dr. Griffiths thanked Connie for her unique presentation saying that she is also a Brunswick Library user. She said the library had provided respite when electrical power was disrupted at her home. She thanked those responsible for hosting Leadership Medina County’s Leadership Day and congratulated the graduates. She said she was anxious to see the Bookmobile participate in Lodi’s Memorial Day parade.
Adjournment:There being no further business, Mr. Harr moved, and bMr. Parker seconded the motion to adjourn the meeting at 6:48 p.m. Motion carried.
Maria Griffiths, President
Caleb Parker, Secretary
NEXT MEETING
Monday, June 19,2023
6:00 p.m.
Medina Library