Board of Trustees
of the
Huntley Area Public Library District
Minutes of the Regular Meeting
August 19, 2026
Call to Order: A Regular Board Meeting of the Board of Trustees of the Huntley Area Public Library District was held in Program Room 3 at the Huntley Area Public Library District, 11000 Ruth Road, Huntley, IL 60142 on August 19, 2026. President Threadgill-Smith called the meeting to order at 5:30 p.m.
Attendance:
Trustees Present: Linda Benigno, Sandy Domagalski, Katie Kunde, Jerry Reedy, John Schmelzer, Leslie Threadgill-Smith, and Stephanie Weil
Trustees Absent: None
Library Staff Present: Elizabeth Steffensen, Acting Library Director; Lindsey Jarr, Business Manager; Michelle Mattes, Friends Liaison; and Sergio Ramos, Head of Maintenance
Visitors Present: Pamela Kampwerth, Genevieve Hochwater, Natalie Starosta, Marjorie Smith, Carol David, Shirley Nowak, Anay Menta, Jordan Francisco and Natalia Tokakska
Pledge of Allegiance: President Threadgill-Smith led the Pledge of Allegiance.
Public Comments: Genevieve from the Friends Foundation spoke on notes from previous Board Minutes.
Secretary’s Report: Benigno motioned; Schmelzer seconded that the Board approve the minutes of the Regular Board Meeting held on July 15, 2026, as presented. All Ayes. No Nays. Motion carried.
Financial Reports and Checks: Weil motioned; Benigno seconded that the Board approve the checks and financial report for July 2026 as presented. Roll call votes were Benigno-Aye; Domagalski-Aye; Kunde-Aye; Reedy-Aye; Schmelzer-Aye; Threadgill-Smith-Aye; Weil-Aye. All Ayes. No Nays. Motion carried.
Monthly Income/Expense Report (Discussion): Trustees reviewed the Income/Expense Report-July 2026 and there were no questions.
Library Director’s Report: Presented by Steffensen, IPLAR Report is complete and ready to be certified. Working on the Certification with the Merger or WIN and LIMRiCC for health insurance. Currently investigating entering the intergovernmental agreement for electricity for potential savings. The auditor will be in the office August 24th to work on the audit for 25 -26 fiscal year. Natalie Starosta will be starting as the New Library Director on Monday, August 24th, 2026.
Committee Reports:
Policy: There was no report.
Finance: There was no report.
Facilities: There was no report.
Friends’ Liaison: Presented by Mattes. There were 137 friends volunteer hours. Nancy Bacheller will present a local history program at the next Friends Foundation Meeting, and all are welcome to attend.
Director Search: Threadgill-Smith proposed the Board consider a retreat for October. It will be added to the next Board Agenda in September.
New Business:
Approval of FY 2026-2027 Budget and Appropriation Ordinance: Approval of line items in the working budget and appropriations. This information will be available to the public. Benigno motioned; Kunde seconded to approve the FY 2026-2027 Budget and Appropriations Ordinance. No questions. All ayes. No Nays. Motion carried.
Approval of Cleaning Company Crystal Maintenance Plus: Ramos presented the Board with contract options and his recommendation of whom he would prefer to hire as the new cleaning company, Crystal Maintenance Plus, at an annual contract rate of $66,540. Benigno motioned; Schmelzer seconded that the Board approve hiring Crystal Maintenance Plus at the annual rate of $66,540. Kunde asked if any of the companies considered were locally owned. Ramos responded none were. Roll Call Vote Benigno-Aye, Domagalski-Aye, Kunde-Nay, Reedy-Aye, Schmelzer- Aye, Threadgill-Smith-Aye, and Weil- Aye. 6 Ayes, 1 Nay. Motion carried.
Approval of Short-Term Energy Contract: Board discussion on benefits of changing current energy provider. Benigno motioned; Kunde seconded to approve Constellation Energy for a short-term electricity agreement from October 2026 through June 2027 meter reading. Reedy questioned why not ask current provider for a short-term contract. Steffensen explained that the rate would jump as our current rate was based on a contract prior to COVID year. All Ayes. No Nays. Motion carried.
Approval of Natalie Starosta as local election official. Kunde motioned; Benigno seconded to approve Natalie Starosta, Huntley Area Public Library Director, as a local election official. All Ayes. No Nays. Motion carried.
Adoption of Resolution #2026-3 designating principal authority for Illinois Fund: Kunde motioned; Benigno seconded to approve Resolution #2026-3 designating Huntley Aea Public Library Director, Natalie Starosta, as the Principal Authority for the Illinois Funds Investment Account for the Huntley Area Public Library District, Kane and McHenry counties, in the State of Illinois. All Ayes, No Nays. Motion carried.
Approval to authorize an authorized signer and account representative for FNBO accounts and safe deposit box. Weil motioned; Domagalski seconded that the Board of Trustees of the Huntley Area Public Library District designate Natalie Starosta, Huntley Area Public Library Director, effective August 24, 2026, as an authorized representative and signer on all First National Bank of Omaha (FNBO) accounts, including the Gift Fund Account, Operating Fund Account, and Special Reserve Fund Account. It also further moves that Natalie Starosta, Library Director effective August 24, 2026, be added to the library’s FNBO safety deposit box and credit card account. This authorization shall become effective upon completion of all bank-required documentation. All Ayes. No Nays. Motion carried.
Approval to Authorize additional library credit cards. Benigno motioned; Domagalski seconded to authorize additional library credit cards to all department heads including Starosta, DelFavero, and Whisenhunt. All Ayes. No Nays. Motion carried.
Approval for authorized bank signer change for INB (ePay settlement bank account) Schmelzer motioned; Benigno seconded the Board of Trustees of the Huntley Area Public Library District designates Natalie Starosta, Huntley Area Public Library Director, effective August 24, 2026, as a principal authority for Illinois ePay and an authorized bank signer for INB.
This authorization shall become effective upon completion of all bank-required documentation. All Ayes. No Nays. Motion carried.
Approval for access to Zions Bank: Schmelzer motioned; Benigno seconded that the Board of Trustees of the Huntley Area Public Library District designate Natalie Starosta, Huntley Area Public Library Director, effective August 24, 2026, as an authorized representative and signer on all Zions Bank accounts. This authorization shall become effective upon completion of all bank-required documentation. All Ayes. No Nays Motion carried.
Old Business:
Upcoming Dates: The next Regular Monthly Board Meeting of the Board of Trustees will be Wednesday, September 16, 2026, at 5:30 p.m.
Board Discussion: Schmelzer asked what the current relationship is with the Friends’ Foundation and the Library. Threadgill-Smith addressed the motion requested by the Friend’s Foundation. According to legal counsel, only a Board member may request to add an item to the agenda. Once meeting minutes are approved by the Board, the minutes themselves are unable to be changed. The Board can go through a process to vote on adding an addendum to the original, already approved minutes if certain standards are met.
Further, legal counsel informed the Board that the previous motion for “Board consider repealing & pausing implementation of any changes affecting the Friends Foundation, until the new Library Director is hired and has the opportunity to review changes affecting the Friends Foundation with the exception of changes involving the safety and security of Library Staff” is void as it did not follow OMA.
Executive Session: There was no Executive Session.
Adjourn: Benigno motioned; Reedy seconded to adjourn the Regular Board Meeting. All Ayes. No Nays. Motion carried.
Regular Board Meeting adjourned at 6:45 p.m.
Respectfully Submitted,
__________________________________________
Stephanie Weil, Secretary
