Board of Trustees
of the
Huntley Area Public Library District
Minutes of the Regular Meeting
March 15, 2023
Call to Order: A regular 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 March 15, 2023. President Budzynski called the meeting to order at 5:30 p.m.
Attendance:
Trustees Present: Vito Benigno, Chris Budzynski, Katie Kunde, Shannon McKibben, Marjorie Smith and Leslie Threadgill-Smith
Trustees Absent: None
Library Staff Present: Frank Novak, Library Director; Loralei Getty, Business Manager; Pamela Kampwerth, Head of Programming & Outreach Services; Douglas Cataldo, Head of Marketing & Public Relations; Elizabeth Steffensen, Head of Public Services
Visitors Present: Angie Sadowski, Teen Volunteer
Pledge of Allegiance: President Budzynski led the Pledge of Allegiance.
Public Comments: There were no public comments.
Secretary’s Report: McKibben motioned, Smith seconded that the Board approve the minutes of the Regular Meeting held on February 15, 2023 as presented. All Ayes. No Nays. Motion carried.
Threadgill-Smith motioned, Kunde seconded that the Board approve the minutes of the Board Retreat held on February 25, 2023 as presented. All Ayes. No Nays. Motion carried.
McKibben motioned, Kunde seconded that the Board approve the minutes of the Executive Session-Board Retreat held on February 25, 2023 as presented. All Ayes. No Nays. Motion carried.
McKibben motioned, Kunde seconded that the Board approve the minutes of the Policy Committee Meeting held on March 8, 2023 as presented. All Ayes. No Nays. Motion carried.
Financial Reports and Checks: Benigno motioned, Smith seconded that the Board approve the checks and financial report for February 2023 as presented. Roll call votes were: Benigno-Aye; Budzynski-Aye; Kunde-Aye; McKibben-Aye; Smith-Aye and Threadgill-Smith-Aye. All Ayes. No Nays. Motion carried.
Monthly Income/Expense Report (Discussion): Trustees reviewed the Income/Expense Report-February 2023 and there were no questions.
Library Director’s Report: Presented by Director Novak. Director Novak noted that Sean Cratty resigned from the library board effective February 24, 2023. Sean Cratty’s name will still appear on the April 4th Consolidated Election ballot as he was set to run again for a four-year term and it was too late to remove his name. The Illinois Public Access Counselor website is working again. Board members who have not completed the electronic Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) or the electronic Open Meetings Act (OMA) training will need to do so. At the conclusion of each training course, you will receive a Certificate of Completion. Print this certificate and return it to the library as proof of completion. Board candidates who are running for re-election, win, and are sworn in are required to take the electronic FOIA and OMA training, even if they have completed the training in the past as a board member. Training must be completed no later than ninety days after taking the oath of office. Board candidates who are running for re-election, win, and are sworn in can wait until they are re-elected to take the training courses. The library staff are in the process of putting together a community survey for use in creating the library’s new strategic plan. It would be difficult to use The Whole Story newsletter to distribute the survey in paper form because the next newsletter doesn’t drop until April 30th. When considering the time required to get the completed surveys back, tabulated, and use the results in the completion of a new strategic plan, the timing will be tight to have the strategic plan issued on July 1st. Other options for distributing the community survey includes a separate, paper survey mailer or a QR code mailed to homes in the library’s district. The cost for each option is as follows:
- Add community survey to May/June edition of The Whole Story – $1,446
- Tri-fold self-mailer – $6,493
- QR code post card mailer – $6,860
Library Trustees would like to have a QR code included in the May/June edition of The Whole Story and a QR code on the library’s website along with signage in the library highlighting the survey. The survey can also be distributed at programs. All social media platforms can be pushed to non-library users. Trustees directed the Head of Marketing & Public Relations to make his best judgement on the length of the response time for the survey, which will be 3 weeks or one month. Due to a child getting injured from a falling flagpole floor stand in the past, the library purchased one flag for each of the three program rooms. As a result, an option to request a flag on the Program Room Application Form is no longer needed. Trustees would like the Pledge of Allegiance recited at all public meetings. Director Novak and Getty had a meeting with representatives from fnbo to discuss a sweep account. A sweep account is a type of bank account that is linked to an investment account and automatically transfers funds when the balance is above or below a preset minimum. The fnbo sweep account did offer an increased interest rate but that increased interest rate would be used to offset new fees. The library is currently considering moving excess funds from fnbo to The Illinois Funds where it will earn more interest. In March 2023, fnbo offered an APY of 2.19% while The Illinois Funds offered an APY of 4.481%. The library is currently paying high processing fees with TSYS for credit card transactions. After conducting research, library staff recommended the library move forward with using ePay for credit card processing. Since the library already has an existing account with The Illinois Funds, there would be no fees. Clover, which is offered by fnbo for credit card processing, does not integrate with CCS. Kane County will be hosting Leah Bartelt, Public Access Counselor from the Office of the Illinois Attorney General to discuss the Open Meetings Act. The Huntley Area Public Library District is on the cover of the latest issue of the ILA Reporter (Volume XLI, Issue 1). This issue of the ILA Reporter showcased new library buildings in 2022.
Committee Reports:
Policy: The committee met on March 8, 2023 to discuss the Patron Behavior Policy, Room Reservation Policy, Compensatory and Extra Time Policy and paid time off.
Finance: There was no report.
Facilities: There was no report.
Friends’ Liaison: Presented by Kampwerth. The March book sale raised $1,900. Culver’s Fundraiser Night will be on March 27. Sponsorship letters have been mailed for the Breakfast Fundraiser on May 10.
New Business:
Approval of Monument Sign Bids: The total budget for the monument sign project is $126,294 which includes all project costs plus contingency. Benigno motioned, Threadgill-Smith seconded that the Huntley Area Public Library District reject the non-conforming, low base bid from Parvin-Clauss Sign Company, Inc. of Carol Stream, Illinois in the amount of $88,244.00, allow the bidder to withdraw the bid, and return the bidder’s bid bond in a reasonable amount of time. Roll call votes were: Benigno-Aye; Budzynski-Aye; Kunde-Aye; McKibben-Aye; Smith-Aye and Threadgill-Smith-Aye. All Ayes. No Nays. Motion carried.
Kunde motioned, McKibben seconded that the Huntley Area Public Library District accept the bid of Doyle Signs, Inc. of Addison, Illinois and award the monument sign contracts to Doyle Signs, Inc. at the base bid amount of $93,294.00. Roll call votes were: Benigno-Aye; Budzynski-Aye; Kunde-Aye; McKibben-Aye; Smith-Aye and Threadgill-Smith-Aye. All Ayes. No Nays. Motion carried.
Modification of Room Reservation Policy (from Policy Committee): McKibben motioned, Smith seconded that the Board approve the Room Reservation Policy as presented. Roll call votes were: Benigno-Aye; Budzynski-Aye; Kunde-Aye; McKibben-Aye; Smith-Aye and Threadgill-Smith-Aye. All Ayes. No Nays. Motion carried.
Modification of Compensatory and Extra Time Policy (from Policy Committee): Smith motioned, Threadgill-Smith seconded that the Board approve the Overtime, Compensatory, and Extra Time Policy as presented. Roll call votes were: Benigno-Aye; Budzynski-Aye; Kunde-Aye; McKibben-Aye; Smith-Aye and Threadgill-Smith-Aye. All Ayes. No Nays. Motion carried.
Old Business: There was no Old Business.
Upcoming Dates: The next Regular Monthly Board Meeting of the Board of Trustees will be Wednesday, April 19, 2023 at 5:30 p.m.
Board Discussion:
Passport Services: Library Trustees revisited providing passport services. The library has contacted the Regional Passport Agency in Chicago. It can take up to one year to get approved as an official passport acceptance facility. Current issues facing the library would be:
- Accepting passport applications during regular business hours.
- Needing to hire another person to become a passport acceptance agent.
- Creating a private space in the library to complete the passport application process that’s available during regular business hours.
The library could benefit by:
- Retaining the $35 acceptance fee for each passport application.
- Providing a vital service in our community.
- Opportunity to introduce the library to non-users.
Following a discussion, Trustees would like to continue to pursue the library becoming a passport acceptance facility.
Notary Services: Library Trustees discussed offering notary services to community members. A notary public and the surety on the notary’s bond are liable to the persons involved in filing a claim against a notary public. The employer of a notary public is also liable to the persons involved. Director Novak is reluctant to put staff at risk of liability. Trustees do not plan to pursue offering notary services.
Executive Session: There was no Executive Session.
Items from Executive Session for Action: None
Adjourn: Threadgill-Smith motioned, McKibben seconded to adjourn the meeting at 6:45 p.m. All Ayes. No Nays. Motion carried.
Respectfully Submitted,
Shannon McKibben, Secretary
