Blount Library Inc.

Blount Library Board Meeting Minutes
Friday February 19, 2021 at 3:30 p.m.

Roll call of members:

Present: MaryAnna Buchanan, Jessie Jordan, Kim Palmatier, Diane Soulvie, Linda Tanner, Melissa Willey, Karen Zale, Janice Snyder guest and Jessie Frank (Director).

Absent: Pate Schwartz and Nancy Weigel.

Meeting was called to order at 3:34 p.m. on February 19, 2021 by President Diane Soulvie.

Secretary report-Disposition of the minutes of previous regular meeting: Linda Tanner moved to accept the minutes for our December 18, 2020 meeting. Seconded by Jessie Jordan. Motion carried.

Treasurers Report: Janice Snyder reported the electric bill was larger than in the past. Reports for December and January are attached.

MaryAnna Buchanan moved to accept the report and Karen Zale seconded. Motion carried.

Director’s report: Business has been slow in January- 66 Patrons and 4 visits in the building. (Some people are in the hospital or have traveled out of the area.) This is about half the numbers from last January. Digital book loans are up three fold since last January. Jessie has done inventory. We will recycle or repurpose 2 iPads that no longer work. Faxing revenue has increased as well. No one has asked to use the computers. Unfortunately the basement has water in it again. Jessie will look for someone to have it repaired. The water heater was broken and Brett Grossman came and repaired it. There is a lot of buildup which is causing issues with it. We may look into a water softener in the future. The next grant may be used to insulate the new building. New carpet was installed and looks great. The remaining carpets may get cleaned this summer. Janice Snyder has completed and balanced the budget. Jessie will have her portion finished soon.

Committee reports: None to report

Communications: None to report

Old Business: None to report

New Business: Jessie Jordan was nominated for Vice President by Diane Soulvie. Linda Tanner seconded. Motion carried. Nancy Weigel has resigned from the board for personal reasons. Melissa Willey nominated Kirstin Brown. Linda Tanner moved and Karen Zale seconded. Motion carried.

The sick leave/safe leave policy was reviewed. Full time employees receive four paid and twelve unpaid sick leave days annually. This will be reviewed again next meeting and was approved today so we are compliant with the law. Karen Zale moved and Kim Palmatier seconded. Motion carried. “Conflict of interest” policy was adopted and signed by all board members. NYS mandate states the board minutes and board member names and titles must be posted on our website.

Diane Soulvie has purchased thumb drives with all the documentation and research she has done since becoming President to hand out to any members who would like to have it. A confidential discussion of the library director’s evaluation and pay raise produced an increase of a 2% retroactive raise. Linda Tanner moved and Karen seconded. Motion carried. The evaluation will be discussed at March’s meeting in more depth.

Discussion: MaryAnna Buchanan remarked that Blount library is the only library in the area that has not opened fully to the public. The March meeting will have this on the agenda to discuss how the pandemic is going and look into reopening fully again.

Jessie Jordan moved and Karen Zale seconded that the meeting be adjourned at 4:29. The motion carried.

Blount budget 2021

Next meeting Friday March 19, 2021 3:30 p.m.

Blount Library Board Meeting Minutes

Friday December 18, 2020 at 3:30 p.m.

Roll call of members:

Present via Zoom: MaryAnna Buchanan, Jessie Jordan, Kim Palmatier, Paul Rose, Diane Soulvie, Linda Tanner, Nancy Weigel, Kim Whitling, Melissa Willey, Karen Zale, and Jessie Frank (Director).

Absent: Pat Schwartz

Meeting was called to order at 3:32 p.m. on December 18 by President Diane Soulvie. We welcomed Kim Palmatier and Karen Zale as our newest members.

Secretary Report-Disposition of the minutes of previous regular meeting: MaryAnna Buchanan moved to accept the minutes for our November 19, 2020 meeting. Seconded by Kim Whitling. Motion carried.

Treasurers Report: Janice Snyder called the school and the tax revenue was received. Kim Whitling moved to accept and Nancy Weigel seconded. Motion carried

Director’s Report: Circulation is down 5800 due to COVID.

At this time inventory is about 19000, 12000 adult and 7000 child. Jessie will check the numbers for the exact count in February.

Library will be closed during the schools winter break.

New carpet install was moved to December 28^th and will take 3 days.

Two weeks ago Jessie met with an insurance inspector from Utica Insurance. We had an automobile policy which has since been removed since it is not necessary.

Jessie will be working on the plaque for Donald Watkins soon and we will present it later next year with a pizza party and cake.

Community Bank has changed plowing services and they are unable to remove the snow from the parking lot because they do not have the correct equipment. We will be discussing this with the Bank and at the next meeting.

Committee report: None to report

Communications: None to report

Old Business: Telephone vote to roll-over the 2020 interest accumulated in the Cattaraugus County Community Action account approval. Paul Rose moved to accept and Linda Turner seconded. Motion carried.

Budget changes for utilities were $6000 instead of $7000 due to being closed, we moved the money to fund the internet. 2021 Budget was approved. Kim Whitling moved to accept and Paul Rose seconded. Motion carried.

Janice Dekoff was incredibly pleased and sent her “thank you to all the Board” for the increased support for ebooks from the $750 annual amount to the amount of $1,000 annually. She was told about our two new members and said she would be happy to come visit us to discuss opportunities for professional development anytime.

New Business: New sick leave law doesn’t apply to us as it is unpaid instead of paid. There is a pandemic policy for us. New sick leave policy was approved by Nancy Weigel and seconded by Jessie Jordan. Motion carried.

Kim Whitling moved to adjourn the meeting at 4:01. Linda Turner seconded. Motion carried.

Next meeting: Friday, January 15^th 3:30 p.m.

See the attached budget below.

Blount November 2020 Budget..