Library Board - Regular Meeting

All right, well we will call this meeting of the Manchester Committee of the Coffey County Library to order. It is 436. An addendum to the agenda. We need to approve the minutes from our last meeting in June. Are there any comments or additions or anything to the minutes? Perfect.

Motion to second? Second.

I would like to amend the agenda and shell the mural of date.

Okay. Discussion. All right.

Shell to the lake of date.

Okay.

I like the phone tone.

I don't think my son has any public comments. All right, new business. Miss Polly, the back garden plans. Oh, yeah.

I don't know if y'all have seen back there. It's a mess. I'm trying to get some Boy Scouts, or Jamie said one of her groups might be able to come back there and clean it all up, weed it down, pull out the dead plants. And... It's just an eyesore back there. And the fence is old and wore out, so I would just like permission to explore either trying to get in touch with the UT Extension people, maybe a small landscaping company. And then once we get that all cleared up, I'd like just concrete at all. And then, of course, I don't want to take down that tree. What kind of tree is that? It's got the pink leaves on it. Oh, it's not a green one. Myrtle, crape myrtle.

Crape myrtle.

I don't want to get rid of it because it is very pretty and it's well established. So I was thinking if they pour concrete, they can just put a ring around it. And then we could put fresh flowers in there every year. Hi. Hi. And then have it concreted and just have big planters out there where it's contained and we don't have to have somebody come in there and weed eat and pull weeds and whatnot. And then maybe just repainting that fence on both sides. The maroon color. So I would just like permission to explore that.

Does the lawn crew that keeps up the lawn part of the library, would they be able to weed eat and take care of that?

Well, I'll have to discuss that with Jonathan because I don't know if they're contracted just to do the yard.

But if that's the case, then maybe they would charge just a little bit more and we need that because it's a pretty small space, isn't it? So that might be the best to get it weed-eated to take care of it until the fall.

Okay, I'll do that.

If you were, I know obviously without bids or anything you don't know exact numbers, but do you have an idea in your head how much you would be wanting to?

I'd say $150 for cleaning it up and then the concrete company would come in and do their own thing. So I have no idea.

So why don't we do a motion to explore cleaning up and possibly concreting the garden in the back. And then at our next meeting, what would that be, October? Then we can discuss it further. Would that work?

Yeah.

I make a motion to explore updating, renovating, redoing the back garden of the library.

Okay. Second. Do I have a second? Second. Oh, thank you. All right. We need to discuss adjusting our meeting times.

Okay. This is so confusing. Did y'all get the email from Cindy Reagan? I thought I forwarded it.

I think so. Was that the one where you were asking for this one? Mm-hmm.

Okay. So she says that because there's no county commission meeting in August, we were able to get this right.

Mm-hmm.

And they said the second Tuesdays of the month aren't good days for recurring committee meetings because they have grand jury in here. all day. And Cindy has to come in and calibrate and do her tech thing. So that's not a very good day. So Courtney has said that her committee would like to meet on the second Wednesday at 4 o'clock in conference room two, because they only have four on their committee. And Cindy is wondering if we would commit to meeting on Wednesdays in this big conference room, conference room one, at 4 or 4.30.

On what day?

Wednesdays.

Wednesday.

The same time. Second Wednesday. Yeah, the exact same time.

Just in this room. And...

So that would be October 13th, is that what you're, I'm sorry, October 14th?

Yeah, that's what I'm looking at. So if we do, if we agree to this change in the date, then we would just be automatically scheduled by Cindy to be here. I wouldn't have to call and reserve it every month or every other month. So... I mean, if that's amenable to people.

I mean, if they're, Flannan's scheduled for Wednesdays at four, and we're scheduled for Wednesdays at four, then when we do full committees, that makes sense to me that we would also just keep that second Wednesdays at four.

But just four.

But I know four is tough for you, and with church, I don't know that I could do 430 on a Wednesday.

Four would be better, and that way we wouldn't run into the door being locked, as it was today.

Yes, that's right.

Okay. But I know Jamie, too, with church, I don't know what your Wednesday looks like.

I can make it. As long as, you know, we're not going to seven.

Yeah. Yeah. So we would meet every other month as committees. Mm-hmm.

Is that what we talked about last time? Was it the second Wednesday?

I don't remember what we said as a full board. Because we were still tossing around different ideas.

Mm-hmm.

And then it was so scattered because we were going to do something different for the one. But if they're already meeting Wednesdays at 4, if that also works for us, I don't see why we wouldn't just have our full board meetings also second Wednesdays at 4.

Yeah.

And just do it here in our room.

Right. That's what I'm saying.

I'm sorry to throw a wrench in it, but I already have a meeting in Smyrna on October 14th. So that one would not work for me. The second Wednesday of the month.

Well, we could do it on the third.

Yeah.

Or the 7th or the 21st.

The 21st works fine for me.

Okay. Is it available that third Wednesday?

I'll have to talk to her after. I'm waiting on what we decide.

So would we want to just set it as a general rule for the second Wednesday, but just for October have it because we haven't got it scheduled? Or do we just want to set it on the third Wednesday regardless?

I personally think the second Wednesday. That way it's just the one date every single month. Because I'm not going to lie, every second Tuesday, but then the second Thursday, that has always tripped me.

But remember, we're going to have to change our bylaws. Because it states in there that we meet on the second Tuesday every other month, correct? So we'll have to change those.

But I mean, that's not a huge process. Is it just a quick motion?

Yeah, and that can be done at the next full board meeting.

Okay.

Can it?

But we remember we were going to try the upcoming schedule through the end of the year. And then if it works, amend it in the January meeting.

Oh, okay. All right.

Sounds good. So for October, because he can't be here, do we want to change it to the third? Uh-huh. So for October, we'll have it on the 21st.

Yes.

But after that, we'll have it on the second. On the second Wednesdays. Does that work for you?

That'll be fine.

Okay.

Because that way we can let Cindy know that one way or another we're going to need this room every month Wednesday at four. Are we going to change our time to four or are we going to?

I think that would be better and that way we can get in.

Okay. So I guess, do I have a motion to regularly schedule us for the second Wednesday at four, excepting October where we will meet at the third Wednesday? I'll make a move. Do I have a second?

I second. Okay.

Okay. Next up is the trustee workshop. I just wanted to touch base and see if anybody was planning on going. Jamie, I know you and I had talked about it. Are you still planning?

Which one are you going to?

Yes.

I plan to go to the one in Nashville in September. I forgot the date.

I think, is that the one we're talking about? Mm-hmm. Yeah. So is that? I don't know. It is September the, oh, I have September the 9th.

Oh, that's correct. That's what? That misses a part.

What day is it?

September 9th.

But is that when we're meeting the full board? That's not the date we're meeting the full board.

I don't know. I don't remember.

I don't either. Doing a great job.

I think they did do something. They changed it because of that. Yeah, because of the trustee workshop.

Because of that, yeah.

So what did we change it to? The 16th?

Probably so.

I can't do the second because I've got to go have that procedure. I'm not going to be any good to anybody that day.

Does anybody have that date?

What did I say?

Because we don't have the minutes from the last meeting yet either.

I could have sworn I put it in my calendar, too.

But if we changed it, then it shouldn't matter because we changed it because of that? I think so. I mean, that feels like a thing we did. Okay. So September the 9th, Gary, you're planning on going to that one as well? Okay. And then Jamie and I are also planning on going. Okay.

Are y'all all going to the Nashville? Mm-hmm.

All right.

You want to go? I guess I'll have to go.

Oh.

Okay.

Was that okay? Yeah, that's fine.

I'm just saying I don't have to go, but it gives me six hours credit.

Well, and to get the grant, isn't that what Kate was saying, was you have to go with one of us?

I can only go if we go. But it only takes one trustee to go to fulfill our grant obligations. But if we can get... Three or four, that'd be even better. This is September the 9th? Yes. And we're all going to Nashville?

Correct.

Yes. Okay. All right, and that doesn't need a motion. and then I added to at our next full board meeting we are supposed to review the collection development policy I didn't know if that was anything we needed to talk about as a committee or if there's anything you want to talk about my only addition to it would be some kind of AI rule you know did we you know avoid

ordering AI-generated material. I personally don't want that in there because there's no... It's like Courtney and I were discussing. There's no Amazon reviews and no Kirkus reviews. There's no professional...

There's no guarantee that anything that you're putting in there is... How do you take an AI nonfiction book and put it on a nonfiction shelf and not know?

Yeah. So maybe that's what... At the full board, we can discuss with them. Because I think our collection development policy is pretty good. But I just think that we might need to address the AI before it really becomes, you know, why are you not ordering that? Well, it doesn't meet our standards, you know. It's only in our collection development policy, blah, blah, blah. So that's really the only thing I think any other thoughts before all right uh miss polly all right i got a lot to report today all right i am so proud to report the library reopening has been a great success once we return to our regular hours our numbers have been comparable to pre-closure. Foot traffic has been very high, and story times have been full capacity or better. I mean, in the 20s. The patrons have been so happy we have reopened, and they tell us on a daily basis how much they missed us. And we always tell them thank you and that we're grateful for their support. And we are happy to be back, so happy. We did run a small summer reading program for four weeks. And we had a total of 50 children turn in their reading logs in the age group of 0 to 5, 14 reading logs, ages 6 to 11, 17. and 19 in the age group of 12 to 17. That's pretty good. During a normal summer reading program, we might not get that. And prizes were awarded the first week of August. I'm so proud of Leslie Warren. She has been a very much needed addition to the library. The community has welcomed her with open arms and our storytime attendance is through the roof. They appreciate the back to basics approach we have implemented for storytime. This approach includes crafting, doing age appropriate dances and songs, reading books out loud to our little patrons, I have instructed Leslie to rely less on technology and programs that engage rather than depending on technology to run the programs. And it's been very well received. We have many, many parents saying they are loving the new structure.

Wonderful.

The new part-time crews coming along nicely and seem to be learning quickly I'm very proud of them for working so well hard to help us get up and running All in all we are happy to be back to our routines and providing our community with our best Thank you

Are there any trustees comments? Okay. Well, we will meet.

Let me go over the financials. Oh, yeah, let's do that.

Is that important?

Well, it's just because I have something to report. I haven't had anything for four months. This is the beginning of the fiscal year. We pretty much got everything we asked for. from the county. We didn't get our 5% and we didn't get the $15 for part-time. But we did get 3% across the board. And we, this year, we kind of, we didn't do the 3% across the board. We took the amount of employees we had and try to distribute it more evenly. So I received less, which I'm fine with. But the other full-time staff and the part-time were able to get pretty much the 3%. So we're happy about that. Some long-term people might not be happy about it, but they, in my opinion, they make enough money. We need to trickle it down to the people who are doing the hard work and the important work. Well, everybody's work's important. But we just wanted to reward them more than with a simple 3% because they actually ended up getting like 3.2%, 3.5%. So we brought up the part-time people to 14.02%. And I feel like that's a fair increase for them if we couldn't get the 15. But our committed funds, we haven't really spent a whole lot because we haven't been there to spend. But we're still over $150,000 in that account.

I'm sorry I was late. No. Forgive me. But did you, are you still having any personnel issues? Oh, that's settled with. I saw an email about the mural that we had discussed.

Yeah, we're going to shelve, we shelved that.

Okay, I didn't know if there was still any. I was late, I'm not gonna ask that. I was just curious in case anything else comes up.

I will have some follow up before our next meeting. But for today, we were just gonna shelve it.

Okay.

Sorry, thanks. Now any trustees comments? Anybody think of anything? Okay, well in that case, Do we have a motion to adjourn?

I motion.

Do I have a second? Second. Okay. We will meet October the 21st at 4 p.m. for our next committee meeting. Thank you very much.