The next regular monthly meeting of the Board of Trustees is scheduled for Thursday, July 25, 2024 at 6:00 p.m. at the East Hills Library.
Minutes from the May 23, 2024 Board meeting:
Meeting of the Board of Trustees
May 23, 2024, 6:00 p.m., Downtown Library
M I N U T E S
The Board of Trustees of the St. Joseph Public Library met on May 23, 2024 at 6:00 p.m. at the Downtown Library. Board members in attendance were Joshua Bachman, Rosetta Ballew-Jennings, Bobbie Cronk, Harriet Gordon, David Jordan, Jonht Slayden, Kyla Ward, and Tona Williams. LaTonya Williams was absent. Jen Wildhagen, Jessica Poet, and Mary Beth Revels were present from the staff. Attorney Mark Woodbury attended from Polsinelli PC.
President Rosetta Ballew-Jennings called the meeting to order, and the roll call was taken.
Tona Williams moved and Bobbie Cronk seconded to close the meeting under the authority granted by Section 610.021 (2) RSMO, to discuss matters pertaining to “Leasing, purchase or sale of real estate by a public governmental body where public knowledge of the transaction might adversely affect the legal consideration therefor.” All Board members present voted “yes.” Motion carried.
Tona Williams moved and Kyla Ward seconded to reopen the meeting. All Board members present voted “yes.” Motion carried.
Under approval of the minutes, Kyla Ward moved and Joshua Bachman seconded to approve the minutes of the April 25, 2024 meeting of the Board of Trustees, as presented. All Board members in attendance voted “yes.” Motion carried.
David Jordan presented the monthly expenditures and answered questions. Rosetta Ballew-Jennings moved and Tona Williams seconded to approve checks #34829 through #34884, April electronic withdrawals, direct deposits, and journal entries. All Board members in attendance voted “yes.” Motion carried.
David Jordan presented the April monthly financial reports. He and Mary Beth Revels met with accountant Tim Gawatz on May 14th and the library finances were in good order. The remaining expected revenue has been received and will be reflected in the May financials. Mary Beth and David were able to close the HNB account, as approved by the Board at the April meeting. They also renewed the Treasury bill account for another 90 days at a 4.75% interest rate. Tona Williams moved and Rosetta Ballew-Jennings seconded to approve the monthly financial reports prepared by library staff and office of Liechti & Gawatz, LLC. All Board members in attendance voted “yes.” Motion carried.
There were no other financial reports.
Under Reports of the Committees, David Jordan reported that the Budget Committee met, and they will present the 2024-2025 Budget for approval in June.
There were no other Committee Reports.
There was no old business.
Under new business, Jen Wildhagen, Downtown Library Branch Manager, shared about her recent trip to the Public Library Association (PLA) Conference in Columbus Ohio. She thanked the Board for providing the time and funding necessary to participate in professional development and reported that she returned with new ideas and renewed energy. One of the things she is excited about is self-serve copy/scanning/faxing kiosks, which would offer more security and autonomy for patrons and free up staff time. The other is the idea of “genrefying” the library collection so that for example, all the books on gardening would be in one location. The Downtown Library will be the first branch to try this new way of presentation.
There was no other new business.
Mary Beth Revels gave the Director’s report. She reported that many different librarians were able to participate in professional development in April: Jen Wildhagen, Crystal Stuck, and Misty Snider attended PLA, Clarissa Blakely attended Missouri Association of School Libraries Conference, Bethany Barton attended the MO Evergreen Conference in person, while Maryann Knorr and Sarah Gockley opted to attend virtually. Mary Beth also spoke about the positive impact SJPL’s first Teen Advisory Board (TAB) has had this year, with their input on teen activities at the library and their assistance at various programs. TAB will be helping at the Summer Reading Kickoff event on June 1. Mary Beth also spoke about this year’s output measure statistics that are collected annually for the State Library.
There was no board discussion.
There was no public comment.
The next meeting will be on June 27, 2024 at 6:00 p.m. at the Carnegie Library.
There being no further business, Tona Williams moved and Kyla Ward seconded to adjourn the meeting. All Board members in attendance voted “yes.” Motion carried.
Tona Williams
Secretary