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HomeMy WebLinkAbout07-18-2022-BLT-APPROVED MINUTESCITY OF NEWPORT BEACH Board of Library Trustees Newport Beach Central Library 1000 Avocado Avenue, Newport Beach, CA 92660 Meeting Minutes Monday, July 18, 2022 – 5:00 p.m. I. CALL MEETING TO ORDER – 5:00 P.M. Chair Watkins introduced new Trustee Ash Kumra, stated he was interested in the Media Lab, and announced he would be the new Library Live Liaison. II. ROLL CALL – Roll Call by Francine Jacome, Administrative Support Specialist Trustees Present: Chair Paul Watkins, Trustee Douglas Coulter, Trustee Ash Kumra, Trustee Janet Ray Trustees Absent: Secretary Barbara Glabman (excused) Staff Present: Melissa Hartson, Library Services Director Francine Jacome, Administrative Support Specialist Rebecca Lightfoot, Adult Services Coordinator/Acting Library Services Manager Staff Absent: III. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE – Led by Trustee Ray IV. ELECTION OF OFFICERS The Board of Library Trustees (BLT) shall nominate and elect Board Members to serve as Chair, Vice Chair, and Secretary for Fiscal Year (FY) 2022-23. The BLT nominated officers for FY 2022-23 as follows: Nominations for Chair Nomination made by Trustee Ray, seconded by Trustee Kumra, and carried (4-0-0-1) to select Paul Watkins as Chair for FY 2022-23. AYES: Watkins, Coulter, Kumra, Ray NOES: ABSTENTIONS: ABSENCES: Glabman Nominations for Vice Chair Nomination made by Trustee Watkins, seconded by Trustee Coulter, and carried (4-0-0-1) to select Janet Ray as Vice Chair for FY 2022-23. Board of Library Trustees Meeting Minutes July 18, 2022 Page 2 AYES: Watkins, Coulter, Kumra, Ray NOES: ABSTENTIONS: ABSENCES: Glabman Nominations for Secretary Nomination made by Trustee Watkins, seconded by Trustee Kumra, and carried (4-0-0-1) to select Douglas Coulter as Secretary for FY 2022-23. AYES: Watkins, Coulter, Kumra, Ray NOES: ABSTENTIONS: ABSENCES: Glabman Chair Watkins requested that Meeting Minutes be sent to him ahead of time for review. With respect to liaison assignments Trustee Kumra would work with Library Live. Vice Chair Ray would help with the Foundation. Trustee Glabman would be assigned to Project Adult Literacy. Secretary Coulter would be assigned to the Friends of the Library and Chair Watkins would work with the Witte Lecture Series. V. NOTICE TO THE PUBLIC – Waived VI. CONSENT CALENDAR – Administrative Support Specialist Francine Jacome A. Consent Calendar Items 1. Minutes of the June 20, 2022, Board of Library Trustees Meeting Chair Watkins introduced the Consent Calendar and confirmed that the other Trustees did not wish to discuss and/or did not wish to remove items from the Consent Calendar. Vice Chair Ray asked how they would approve the minutes without Trustee Kost and Trustee Glabman since both herself and Chair Watkins were absent from the June 20 meeting. Chair Watkins indicated that Library Services Director Hartson had checked with the City Clerk and then advised him that if the Chair and Secretary Coulter read and approved the minutes they could be approved as part of the vote on the Consent Calendar. 2. Patron Comments Monthly review of evaluations of library services through suggestions and requests received from patrons. Chair Watkins directed the BLT to Handwritten Pages 14 and 16 and commented that there was a spectacular program called the Storyteller’s Writing Workshop. There is another Storyteller’s Writing Workshop scheduled for August which was sold out and had a waiting list of at least 50 people. Vice Chair Ray asked when the next workshop would be held. Board of Library Trustees Meeting Minutes July 18, 2022 Page 3 Library Services Director Melissa Hartson explained it was set for August but was full. They were in discussions to host more sessions in the fall. Vice Chair Ray asked how many people participated in the last workshop. Library Services Director Hartson explained she was not aware of the number. Chair Watkins confirmed that the program was held in three two-hour seminar sessions. He then indicated that he would like to sign up for the next workshop. 3. Library Activities Monthly update of library events, services, and statistics. 4. Expenditure Status Report Monthly expenditure status of the library's operating expenses, services, salaries, and benefits by department. Chair Watkins reported that they were 7.5% under budget for the year. Some of that will be used for good faith expenditures on behalf of the Library. Library Services Director Hartson explained that was correct and that the BLT would receive a final expenditure status report in August for the FY since they were still receiving invoices from June and earlier. Chair Watkins confirmed that report would be available for the August 15 meeting. 5. Board of Library Trustees Monitoring List List of agenda items and dates for monthly review of projects by the Board of Library Trustees. Chair Watkins confirmed no members of the public wished to discuss the Consent Calendar. He then called for a Motion. Motion made by Secretary Coulter, seconded by Vice Chair Ray, and carried (4-0-0-1) to approve the Consent Calendar with no edits to the minutes. AYES: Watkins, Kost, Coulter, Kumra, Ray NOES: ABSTENTIONS: ABSENCES: Glabman VII. CURRENT BUSINESS A. Items for Review 6. Library Service Policy (Council Policy I-1) Staff recommends that the BLT review Council Policy I-1, Library Service Policy, and suggests no revisions be brought forth to City Council. Board of Library Trustees Meeting Minutes July 18, 2022 Page 4 Library Services Director Hartson stated that Council Policy I-1 was a short policy and that all policies proposed to be adopted by the BLT had to first be submitted to the City Council for review. She did not recommend any revisions to the policy. She recommended that they memorialize the BLT’s review of the policy and therefore added Attachment B. If approved it would document when the policy was brought to the BLT and what happened at the meeting. The document would be maintained separate from the policy but would follow the policy in the BLT manual. Vice Chair Ray asked if the policy should read “reviewed” rather than “amended.” Library Services Director Hartson explained it was a Council Policy, so it was beyond the BLT. She did not recommend changing the policy but did recommend having documentation following the Council Policy. Chair Watkins explained that there was a separate set of Library Policies listed in the handbook. The Council Policy involved the Library, so it came to the BLT for biannual review. If necessary the BLT could recommend a change to the Council, but in this case it was not needed. Attachment B was simply to keep track of when the BLT last reviewed the Council Policy. Starting in August the Library Policies would be reviewed by the BLT. He called for the public comment but heard none. He called for BLT questions or comment but heard none. Motion made by Trustee Kumra, seconded by Secretary Coulter, and carried (4-0-0-1) to approve Council Policy I-1, Library Service Policy, without revisions and list the review in Attachment B. AYES: Watkins, Coulter, Kumra, Ray NOES: ABSTENTIONS: ABSENCES: Glabman Vice Chair Ray noted that Page 28 had a monitoring list. Trustee Kumra indicated that he had reviewed it. Chair Watkins announced that on August 15 the BLT would review NBPL 2. 7. Proposed Library Schedule for Winter Holidays 2022 Staff recommends a proposed Library holiday schedule for BLT approval. Library Services Director Hartson explained that the holidays fell over the weekend in 2022. City Hall was closed beginning Saturday, December 24 through Monday, January 2, 2023. The Library wanted to remain open during the week between Christmas and New Year’s. Therefore, staff recommended the following schedule: • All locations open 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, December 24. • All locations closed on Sunday, December 25 and Monday, December 26. • All locations close at 6 p.m. Tuesday, December 27 through Thursday, December 29. Board of Library Trustees Meeting Minutes July 18, 2022 Page 5 • All locations open 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, December 31. • All locations closed on Sunday, January 1 and Monday, January 2. • Normal schedule resumes on Tuesday, January 3. Secretary Coulter supported the schedule and indicated he was ready to make a Motion. Chair Watkins thought the return to 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. was generous to the patrons as some of the peer libraries were closed on those days. Additionally, they were being more generous to the staff as the previous year was open until 6:00 p.m. on those dates. He called for the public comment but there was none. Motion made by Secretary Coulter, seconded by Vice Chair Ray, and carried (4-0-0-1) to approve the Library holiday schedule as proposed. AYES: Watkins, Coulter, Kumra, Ray NOES: ABSTENTIONS: ABSENCES: Glabman 8. Friends of the Library Wish List Staff recommends that the BLT approve the annual wish list request and accept the annual donation from the Friends of the Newport Beach Library. Chair Watkins directed the BLT to Page 35 and called for the staff report. Library Services Director Hartson explained that there was an annual ask of the support organizations and the Friends of the Library donated $200,000 to support general materials and programming. Library hosted programming is funded by the Friends of the Library. The current ask was $200,000 and the Friends provided the check; therefore, she requested that the BLT approve the wish list and accept the donation. Secretary Coulter indicated he was ready to make the Motion. Chair Watkins called for discussion. Vice Chair Ray asked if the gift was presented at the City Council. Library Services Director Hartson indicated that had not happened but that she would make everyone aware when the date was selected. Tentatively it would probably happen in September. Vice Chair Ray thought that was good for visibility. Secretary Coulter indicated that the Friends of the Library had announced the gift at their last meeting. Chair Watkins said that the Friends of the Library were critical to the success of the Library and was very successful in their book sales. He also lauded the relationships created by Board of Library Trustees Meeting Minutes July 18, 2022 Page 6 Secretary Coulter with the Friends of the Library. He called for the public comment but heard none. Motion made by Secretary Coulter, seconded by Vice Chair Ray, and carried (4-0-0-1) to approve the annual wish list request and accept the annual donation from the Friends of the Newport Beach Library. AYES: Watkins, Coulter, Kumra, Ray NOES: ABSTENTIONS: ABSENCES: Glabman 9. Lecture Hall Update Trustee Ray will report on activities related to the Library Lecture Hall project. Vice Chair Ray requested that Jerry Kappel provide the report. Jerry Kappel, Newport Beach Public Library Foundation (NBPLF) CEO, reported that on Tuesday, July 26 the City Council would hear and Amendment to the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) and Naming Rights Agreement which was negotiated with the donor family. Once that was approved by Council they would be able to announce the naming of the Lecture Hall. A press release would be put out on Wednesday, July 27. He also reported that there was a potential naming pledge for the Courtyard which would be confirmed in August. There was also a $500,000 matching gift pledge from Tod and Linda White. Two naming rights were still available for the Lobby and the Green Room, and those gift agreements were anticipated by the end of August. The campaign goal was $7 million and assuming Council accepted the naming rights agreements they were at almost 80% of the goal. Chair Watkins called for further BLT and public comment but heard none. He then asked if the legalities of the donor agreement would be wrapped up by July 26. Mr. Kappel said that it was with the City Attorney and would go before the Council on July 26. Chair Watkins noted that the Junior Lifeguard Building was deferred because of high construction costs. He asked if there was a similar situation with the Library Lecture Hall and how it affected the fundraising. Mr. Kappel explained that the MOU indicated that the NBPLF was responsible for 50% or $6.5 million, or whichever was less based on a $13 million potential cost for the building. If the building came in higher than that they would have to renegotiate the MOU with the City. If the City did not renegotiate the MOU, the building would be off. Chair Watkins asked what would happen if the building came in at $15 million and the Council was unwilling to go beyond $6.5 million. Would a public/private partnership be able to raise the extra $2 million. Mr. Kappel indicated that they could, but it would have to go to the Board of the NBPLF. Board of Library Trustees Meeting Minutes July 18, 2022 Page 7 Chair Watkins asked if Mr. Kappel thought the building might run over the $13 million. Mr. Kappel believed that it might. Trustee Kumra asked if they requested any bids in advance. Mr. Kappel explained that the City did not operate that way. The architectural and engineering plans were still with the City under a plan check to ensure everything met code. Bids were anticipated to go out in October and November and return in 45 to 60 days. At that point the City could accept, reject, defer, or go out for other bids. One issue is that the building placement was over utility lines which meant the lines needed to be moved causing extraordinary expense. Chair Watkins commended Mr. Kappel on all his work and suggested the BLT attend Council on July 26 if possible. 10. Balboa Branch Replacement Update Trustee Ray will report on activities related to the Balboa Branch Replacement project. Vice Chair Ray reported that she lived near the Balboa Branch Library and heard from neighbors how important it was to them and the community. A town hall was scheduled for July 19 at Marina Park, but the ad hoc committee had nothing to report. She indicated that she needed to speak with Library Services Director Hartson further about the next steps. Library Services Director Hartson indicated she learned about the town hall from Vice Chair Ray. Councilmember Diane Dixon announced the agenda last week at the Council Meeting. Public Works was on the agenda and would include the Balboa Branch as it was on the Facilities Financial Plan (FFP). She had no further information about the town hall. Vice Chair Ray wanted to move forward in a way that included neighbors of the Balboa Branch especially given the history of the branch. Secretary Coulter suggested Vice Chair Ray speak with Councilmember Dixon. Chair Watkins indicated that Library Services Director Hartson, Vice Chair Ray, and himself would attend the town hall. He stated that it was not a wheelhouse item but that BLT members were welcome to attend. There was a large amount of money scheduled to be spent in FY 2022-23 on the planning of the Balboa Branch Replacement. Vice Chair Ray needed to be extremely involved and kept up to date as the project was important and the branch had a lot of history. He indicated that the BLT would receive and file both the Balboa Branch Replacement and the Lecture Hall reports. 11. Library Services Report of Library issues regarding services, patrons, and staff. Library Services Director Hartson welcomed Trustee Kumra. The administrative staff was currently down to two, so recruitment was open and first round interviews would start at the beginning of August with second round following. The facilities were open, and staff Board of Library Trustees Meeting Minutes July 18, 2022 Page 8 was serving the public but there were currently vacancies at nearly every level. The summer reading program was a success. Chair Watkins asked when the Literacy Coordinator position would be listed. Library Services Director Hartson said that it would come out in the next few weeks. Chair Watkins called for BLT or comment questions. Hearing none he received and filed the report. B. Monthly Reports 12. Library Foundation Liaison Reports A. Library Foundation Board – Report on the most recently attended meeting. Library Services Director Hartson reported the Library Foundation Board was looking at September 15 for its donor recognition event. Chair Watkins asked to confirm that it would be held in the Bamboo Courtyard. Library Services Director Hartson indicated that was correct. Library Live and Witte were on hiatus resuming in September. The Foundation would not meet in August and the next meeting was scheduled for the 2nd Monday of September. Chair Watkins said that both Library Live and Witte would meet in mid-September. Trustee Kumra asked what time the Foundation met on the 2nd Monday of each month. Library Services Director Hartson said that he would be asked to attend Library Live Committee meetings, but she did not have a time for those meetings. Mr. Kappel clarified that the Committee met at 9:30 a.m. and that he would send Trustee Kumra the date. Library Services Director Hartson reported that the speaker contracts for Library Live and Witte Lectures were sent. The fall Bookmark would announce the speakers. Mr. Kappel indicated that he would be taking his vacation in August. B. Library Live Lectures Committee – Report on the most recently attended meeting. Covered in VII.B.12.A C. Witte Lectures Committee – Report on the most recently attended meeting. Covered in VII.B.12.A Chair Watkins indicated the BLT received and filed the reports. Board of Library Trustees Meeting Minutes July 18, 2022 Page 9 13. Friends of the Library Liaison Report Trustee update on the most recently attended Friends of the Library Board meeting. Secretary Coulter announced that the June bookstore sales were $13,463, which was down from $18,367 in 2021. At their June board meeting, the Friends presented Library Services Director Hartson with a check for $200,000. The City Council meeting regarding that was scheduled for September. The new President was Pam Crook, and Amy Hunt would be the new bookstore manager. The Friends recently gave out 71 free memberships as part of its recent sale so there are 830 members of the group. The Volunteer Appreciation Luncheon was scheduled for November 8. He announced the upcoming book sale for August 5 and 6. He also indicated that he had membership applications available. Vice Chair Ray indicated that she knew someone who was trying to reach the Friends of the Library. Secretary Coulter assured her that he would make sure the branches had applications. Library Services Director Hartson agreed that they would be available at all branches. Chair Watkins called for BLT and public comment. Hearing none he received and filed the report. 14. Literacy Services Liaison Report Trustee update on the most recently attended Literacy Services Advisory Board meeting. Library Services Director Hartson reported that learner classes were on summer break. Classes would resume in September. New Learner Orientation was still happening as was New Tutor Training in August. Former Literacy Coordinator Cherall Weiss would continue to work with the Literacy Advisory Board as a consultant until a replacement was selected. Chair Watkins requested that Trustee Kumra receive the Literacy newsletter Literally Speaking. Secretary Coulter stated that he had never received one. Chair Watkins requested that all BLT addresses were provided so that they would each receive Literally Speaking. He noted that Cherall’s farewell letter was included in the last issue. Library Services Director Hartson stated that they were also revamping their brochure to match the new branding. Chair Watkins called for BLT or public comment. As there was none he received and filed the report. Board of Library Trustees Meeting Minutes July 18, 2022 Page 10 VIII. PUBLIC COMMENTS ON NON-AGENDA ITEMS None. IX. BOARD OF LIBRARY TRUSTEES ANNOUNCEMENTS OR MATTERS WHICH MEMBERS WOULD LIKE PLACED ON A FUTURE AGENDA FOR DISCUSSION, ACTION OR REPORT (NON-DISCUSSION ITEM) Chair Watkins requested a discussion about Media Lab occur at the August 2022 meeting. The next BLT meeting was scheduled for August 15. He also reminded the BLT about required Ethics Training. X. ADJOURNMENT – 6:03 P.M. Submitted by: Paul Watkins Chair Approval of Minutes