Hoboken Free Public Library Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
MEETING OF TUESDAY, JULY 28, 2020 MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE HOBOKEN FREE PUBLIC LIBRARY, HELD IN A ZOOM ONLINE VIDEO CONFERENCE IN HOBOKEN, NEW JERSEY ON TUESDAY, JULY 28, 2020 AT 6:30 P.M. ___________________________________________________________________________________________ ------------------------------------------- Meeting Excerpt ----------------------------------------------- 1. Call to Order President Abernathy called the meeting to order at 6:32 p.m. and certified that pursuant to the Open Public Meetings Act, notice of the meeting had been given in the annual meeting notice, which was adopted at the July 23, 2019 meeting of the Library Board, which notice was provided to the Jersey Journal and the Hudson Reporter, was posted at the Library website and at Hoboken City Hall, and filed with the Hoboken City Clerk. The meeting notice was amended at the outset of the Coronavirus-19 (Covid-19) emergency to provide the telephone conference number and access code in advance of the scheduled meeting. 2. Roll Call Roll call was taken: Attendance Present Absent Notes Dr. Jerome Abernathy, President** X Mrs. JoAnn Serrano, Treasurer** X Joined meeting at 6:43 p.m. Ms. Susan Murcko, Secretary** X Ms. Amanda R. Blaney** X Ms. Jennifer Evans, School Superintendent’s Designee*** X Mr. Jason Freeman, Mayor’s Designee*** X Ms. Raakhee Mirchandani** X Mr. Jack Silbert** X Mr. Kurt Thoens** X *Ex officio under NJ state law. **Present via remote connection. Also in attendance were: Library Director Lina Podles, Facilities Director Michael Chapka, Recording Secretary Clark Matthews, Library Counsel Michael Cerone, Esq. and members of the public and library staff. 3. Board of Trustees Annual Reorganization for 2020-2021 ---Dr. Abernathy: Requested nominations for the board offices for the coming year. ---Mr. Silbert: Nominated Ms. Murcko to ser e as !oard Secretary for 2020-"#"$. ---Ms. !laney: Seconded. %here being no additional nominations a roll call vote &as taken: ___________________________________________________________________________________ Meeting of the !oard of %rustees of the 'oboken (ublic )ibrary, +uly ",* "#"# 1 ---Adopted by roll call vote as follows: ./AS: 9 NA.S: 0 R/12S/D: 0 A!S%A3N: # Trustee Yes No Recused Abstain Ms. Blaney X Ms. Evans X Mr. Freeman X Ms. Mirchandani X Ms. Murcko X Mrs. Serrano X Mr. Silbert X Mr. Thoens X Dr. Abernathy, President X ---Ms. /vans: Nominated Dr. Abernathy to serve as !oard (resident for 2020-"#"$. ---Mr. %hoens: Seconded. %here being no additional nominations* a roll call vote &as taken. ---Adopted by roll call vote as follows: ./AS: 9 NA.S: 0 R/12S/D: 0 A!S%A3N: # Trustee Yes No Recused Abstain Ms. Blaney X Ms. Evans X Mr. Freeman X Ms. Mirchandani X Ms. Murcko X Mrs. Serrano X Mr. Silbert X Mr. Thoens X Dr. Abernathy, President X ---Dr. Abernathy: Nominated Mrs. Serrano to serve as !oard %reasurer for 2020-2021. ---Ms. !laney: Seconded. %here being no additional nominations* a roll-call vote &as taken. ---Adopted by roll call vote as follows: ./AS: 9 NA.S: 0 R/12S/D: 0 A!S%A3N: # Trustee Yes No Recused Abstain Ms. Blaney X Ms. Evans X Mr. Freeman X Ms. Mirchandani X Ms. Murcko X Mrs. Serrano X Mr. Silbert X ___________________________________________________________________________________ Meeting of the !oard of %rustees of the 'oboken (ublic )ibrary, +uly ",* "#"# 2 Mr. Thoens X Dr. Abernathy, President X ---Mrs. Serrano: +oined the 4oom meeting in progress at 6:43 p.m. Nominations for all board officers reflect her participation and votes &ere recorded after she 9oined the conference. ---Dr. Abernathy: %hanked the trustees for their continuing confidence and added special thanks to the officers for their time and attention to the library during this critical time for the community. 4. Adoption of 2019-2020 Board Meeting Schedule ---Dr. Abernathy: Asked if there &ere any questions or concerns regarding the proposed 2020-21 schedule of board of trustees meetings. %here being none, the meeting schedule &as added to the consent agenda. 5. Acceptance of Minutes ---Dr. Abernathy: Asked if the trustees had any corrections or comments regarding the minutes of the board meeting of +une "7* 2020. %here being none* approval of the minutes &as added to the consent agenda. 6. #u$lic %om&ents ---Dr. Abernathy: 3nvited comments from the public. ---Ms. )aura ;nittel* library staff: %hanked the board for continuing the library reopening and asked how to get the board meeting packet online. %he board package is available on the library &ebsite. ---Mr. Sacha 1havez* staff union president: Added that the staff is &orking hard and looking for&ard to a return to regular hours. 7. (irector)s Report ---Mrs. (odles: 'ighlighted several items from the Director>s Report: %he library reopening continues* &ith computer appointments now available again; the second 8oor has been reorganized &ith -artitions and additional security has been hired to escort patrons there for computer appointments. So far* there have not been too many appointments but -atrons are coming in to print and scan. 1irculation is picking up and patrons are using curbside pickup? this ser ice is a ery labor-intensi e process involving quarantining materials* bagging requests* calling patrons* etc. 1irculation numbers for +une are back to &here they &ere before the 1ovid emergency; there is more digital circulation now* but 5*000 physical items also &ere reserved and delivered. %he -ickup locker ___________________________________________________________________________________ Meeting of the !oard of %rustees of the 'oboken (ublic )ibrary, +uly ",* "#"# 3 system has been activated and it is &orking &ell and &ill probably continue after reopening; the director also spoke to the director of the 'oboken Multi-Ser ice 1enter about installing a smaller -ickup locker at the branch there and the idea &as &ell received? @acilities Director Michael 1hapka &ill meet &ith them about technical requirements. (atrons &ill soon be able to enter the building and use self checkout and the grab-and-go app. /vents for fall are under discussion; li e events are not certain until Actober at the earliest. %he director asked the trustees and library supporters like the @riends and the )ibrary @oundation to record a short endorsement of their favorite book* to celebrate the libraryBs "7#th anniversary. %here &ere 8ooding problems &ith the annex buildings during recent thunderstorms* to be discussed in the !uildings and Drounds 1ommittee report. %he 2019 audit has been scheduled for August? most of it can be done online but the auditing :rm &ill need to visit next month. Staff &orkload remains very heavy* so the circulation &orkers are being reorganized into three teams* instead of the previous four teams. ---Mr. @reeman: Asked if the library has been able to get needed 1ovid testing. .es* the city assisted &ith staff testing but the results are slow. ---Ms. Murcko: Asked about the meeting next &eek on the feasibility study that &as done for the 'oboken 1ommunity 1enter E'11* the former M!S 1enterF.M1A buildingG. ---Dr. Abernathy: %he feasibility study focused on ser ices the center could provide to generate revenue; the library part of the -lan is still taking shape. %he proposed library space is less than &as expected, H*I##-,*000 sq. ft. is available but &e had been hoping for more. 'e is trying to get more clarity and hopes to have a report in August. Discussion about the space at the '11? the original plan involved 0*000-$"*000 sq. ft. for a library branch. 8. %om&ittee Reports+ including ,inance %om&ittee and #ay&ent of Bills ---Mr. 1hapka: Reported for the !uildings and Drounds 1ommittee: 3n the main library, plexiglass -artitions have been upgraded and complete enclosures have been fabricated; the committee is continuously looking at procedures and methods of operating safely. %here have been t&o &ater intrusions in Annex 1 and 2 during the t&o major thunderstorms this month. %he 8oodgates in the main building held up &ith up to three feet of &ater against the gates* but both Annexes experienced 8ooding; Annex 1 got about 3 inches of &ater in the lower level* &hich got into the J%oybrary*” and Annex 2 had more &ater intrusion into the lower level. %here &as no mold after the cleanup, but the donated toys had to be discarded. As a result* there are now discussions about using 8oodgates in the Annexes. ---Ms. Murcko: %hanked Mr. 1hapka for staying on top of the 8ooding situation. ---Mrs. Serrano: Reported for the !udget and @inance 1ommittee: %here is no committee report this month. She described the :nancial matters before the board for approval: $.G this month there &ere no -ayments from the capital improvement construction account at !ayonne 1ommunity !ank E!1!G? ".G in (art A* to pay library operating expenses &ith checks no. ,56H-8700 totaling L7$7*I5$.#I? and 7.G in (art !* to pay expenses for library materials &ith checks no. 8642-8646 totaling L",*578.",. ___________________________________________________________________________________ Meeting of the !oard of %rustees of the 'oboken (ublic )ibrary, +uly ",* "#"# 4 ---Mrs. Serrano: Noted that there &ere several large checks among this month’s bills* including a payment for staff health insurance and another to 'udson A&ning for an awning to protect the patron lock box and curbsite pickup area. She asked if there &ere questions about the bills to be paid or other matters. %here &as discussion about the second quarter health insurance bill? the director -lans to &ait on paying it until the city provides back funds to cover the payment. %he (art A bills to be approved for payment &ere added to the consent agenda. ---Mrs. Serrano: Moved the board approve paying the (art ! bills for library materials. ---Ms. !laney: Seconded. ---Adopted by roll call vote as follows: ./AS: 8 NA.S: 0 R/12S/D: 1 A!S%A3N: # Trustee Yes No Recused Abstain Ms.