QUEENS LIBRARY BOARD OF TRUSTEES THURSDAY, JUNE 29, 2017 M I N U T E S

Transcription

1 QUEENS LIBRARY BOARD OF TRUSTEES THURSDAY, JUNE 29, 2017 M I N U T E S A meeting of the Board of Trustees was held at the Central Library, Merrick Boulevard, Jamaica, NY on Thursday,. The meeting was called to order at 7:31 PM by Chair of the Board Judy E. Bergtraum Esq.. I. Call to Order Attendee Name Title Status Arrived Andrew P. Jackson Board Member Present Board Member Present Augustus C. Agate Board Member Excused Martha Baker Board Member Excused Judy E. Bergtraum Esq. Chair of the Board Present Board Member Present Matthew M. Gorton Board Member Excused Julissa Gutierrez Board Member Excused James Haddad Esq. Board Member Present Jukay Hsu Board Member Excused Haeda Mihaltses Board Member Excused John Ottulich Board Member Present Michael E. Rodriguez Esq. Vice Chair of the Board Present Edward Sadowsky Esq. Board Member Present Robert Santos Esq. Treasurer Present Eli Shapiro Ed. D LCSW Secretary Present Earl G. Simons Ed. D Board Member Present Lydon Sleeper O'Connell Assistant Treasurer Present Udai Tambar Ex-Officio Rep - Mayor Excused Larry Schimmel Esq. Rep - Public Advocate Present Jimmy Yan Rep - Comptroller Present Generated 7/21/2017 9:25 AM

2 Board of Trustees Minutes Eve Cho Guillergan Esq Rep - Speaker Present Angelina Martinez-Rubio Esq Ex-Officio Rep - BP Present Dennis M. Walcott President & CEO Present Lewis Finkelman Esq. Chief Operating Officer & Sr. VP. Present Sung Kim General Counsel Present 2 P a g e

3 Board of Trustees Minutes II. Approval of BOT Minutes 1. Approval of Minutes of the Board of Trustees Meeting - May 25, 2017 (ID # 1493) I move that the Minutes of the Board of Trustees meeting of May 25, 2017 be approved as submitted. Edward Sadowsky Esq. III. Report of the Chair of the Board Judy Bergtraum, Chair of the Board, reported that State lawmakers agreed earlier in the day to extend mayoral control over New York City public schools for two years; that Dennis Walcott, President and CEO of the Library and former Chancellor of the Department of Education, supported the idea of mayoral control; and that his support had an important impact on its resolution. IV. Committee Reports A. Executive Committee - June 15, Approval of Executive Committee Report (ID # 1491) I move that the report item(s) of the committee meeting be accepted and the action item(s) be approved as presented. Robert Santos Esq. B. Buildings And Grounds Committee - June 15, Approval of Buildings and Grounds Committee Report (ID # 1492) 3 P a g e

4 Board of Trustees Minutes I move that the report item(s) of the committee meeting be accepted and the action item(s) be approved as presented. John Ottulich C. Finance and Investments - 1. Approval of Finance and Investments Committee Report (ID # 1498) I move that the report item(s) of the committee meeting be accepted and the action item(s) be approved as presented. Robert Santos Esq. Earl G. Simons Ed. D V. President's Report Mr. Walcott asked several staff members to give updates on their respective areas. Nick Buron, Chief Librarian, reported that circulation has been lower this year than in the past, as reflected in the Key Indicator Report. He noted that one way to increase circulation and gate counts would be to add more materials, which can be a budgetary challenge. Separately, Mr. Buron also encouraged staff and trustees to attend a ALA conference. Lew Finkelman, Chief Operating Officer, announced that since the last Board Meeting, the Library s new Vice President of Facilities and Environmental Services, Linda Green, has started in her new position. Mr. Finkelman noted that there have already been improvements. Ms. Green has been visiting different branches to make sure that maintenance and custodial services are up to par. He noted that Ms. Green has been a welcome addition to the Library and that she will be at the next Board meeting to be introduced to Board members. Mr. Finkelman gave updates on several projects. He announced that since the last Board meeting, two libraries have opened to the public: Queensboro Hill and Forest Hills. He noted that McGoldrick will be opening shortly; the last outstanding item is for the Fire 4 P a g e

5 Board of Trustees Minutes Department to approve the fire alarm system. Kew Gardens Hills also has one remaining item, which is Fire Department approval of the fire alarm system installed by DDC s contractor. Mr. Finkelman stated that glass for Hunters Point has arrived; however, it has not yet been installed. Painting of the building has started and DDC is expecting to turn over the building to the Library by the end of September. Mr. Finkelman announced that the Library has received an additional $30 million in capital funding from the City for FY 18. The City s expectation is that a portion of this money will be used to cover shortfalls in identified projects. Mr. Finkelman stated that at the next Board meeting he will have more details on how this money will be allocated and ask for Board approval of the allocation. Gitte Peng, Chief of Staff, updated the Board on the status of the Everyone Campaign, which was launched in April. Ms. Peng noted that a lot of work and actions have been taking place at the Community Libraries at the initiative of staff. For example, she stated that at one of the branches, every Wednesday the staff members wear the Everyone Campaign shirts and greet customers. Some branches are developing programs and book displays in alignment with the campaign, and they are going out into the community and forming relationships to bring people into the libraries. There are staff members who do not necessarily work on the floor all the time who are making an effort to open doors for customers and welcome them into the libraries. Customers are noticing and showing appreciation for the initiative. Ms. Peng noted that another initiative of the Everyone Campaign is the Innovation Fund. The Queens Library Foundation has dedicated $100,000 to support creative, innovative projects generated by the staff of the libraries that advance the priorities of the campaign. That process launched on Monday, June 26th, and staff members have been sharing ideas and submitting proposals. Dennis Walcott, President and CEO, added that the grants are for up to $10,000 each, and the libraries can partner with one another in submitting ideas. Ms. Peng stated that this initiative has been created because the Library believes in the value of its staff and the ability of staff to develop innovative ideas to support the diverse needs of our communities. Dennis Walcott, President and CEO stated that the Library's 31hr-marathon in Corona was successful. He announced that the Library is preparing to launch its second 31hr marathon at Peninsula library in the Rockaways in August. The Last marathon was done on Friday and Saturday; this one will be Saturday and Sunday. The Library is currently on all the logistics and programming, and details of the event will be given at a subsequent Board meeting. Jonathan Chung, Director of Government Affairs, announced that the Library did very well for the third consecutive budget cycle. He announced that all 14 members of the Queens delegation gave a significant amount of funding and stated that this is the most capital funding the Library has secured in a fiscal year. He also added that the Library got a baseline increase in its operating fund to offset the cost of operating Hunters Point. Mr. Walcott added that the Library is exploring the idea of a fine forgiveness program for children, funded by private donations, but that no decision has yet been reached. Mr. Finkelman gave one last project update. He noted that the Glendale project is progressing and that DDC has received bids for the work. The low bidder was rejected since it was not on DDC s pre-qualified list of vendors, which will require the Library to fund the project for an additional $500,000 to proceed with the next lowest bidder. 5 P a g e

6 1. Key Performance Indicators May 2017 (ID # 1483) PRESENTED Board of Trustees Minutes VI. Other Business A. Annual Reports for the Library Systems and the Public and Association Libraries Mr. Finkelman explained that the Annual Report is a standard form that the Library has to fill out every year with the State. The Library qualifies as two different systems: a public library system and an association county library System, which means that it needs to file two separate reports which will enable it to receive State funding. The reports contain basic information about the different branches, the identification of all the trustees and their tenures, statistical data about programs and services and financial information. 1. Annual Report for Library Systems and Annual Report for Public and Association Libraries (ID # 1495) Recommended Motion for Consideration by the Board of Trustees: I move that the Board of Trustees approve the filing of the Queens Borough Public Library s Annual Report for Library Systems and the Library s Annual Report for Public and Association Libraries, covering the 2016 reporting year. Robert Santos Esq. B. Queens Library Foundation 1. Acceptance of Queens Library Foundation Fiscal Year 2018 Budget (ID # 1508) Recommended Motion for Consideration by the Board of Directors: I move that the Board of Trustees accept the adoption of the Queens Library Foundation FY18 General Fund Budget as detailed in the Fiscal Year 2018 Queens Library Foundation General Fund Budget document dated June 21, P a g e

7 Board of Trustees Minutes Current Status: : QLF Board of Directors Reports (ID # 1499) The attached Minutes have been approved by the Queens Library Foundation Board of Directors and provided for your information. PRESENTED VII. Executive Session 1. Motion to Go into Executive Session (ID # 1515) I move that the meeting move into Executive Session to discuss personnel matters. James Haddad Esq. John Ottulich 2. Motion to Return to Public Session (ID # 1516) I move that the meeting return to Public Session VIII. Adjournment 1. Motion to Adjourn (ID # 1485) 7 P a g e

8 I move that the meeting be adjourned. Board of Trustees Minutes The meeting was closed at 8:21 PM. Secretary 8 P a g e