ANN ARBOR DISTRICT LIBRARY BOARD
MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING
MONDAY, APRIL 17, 2006
06-155 I. CALL TO ORDER
President Surovell called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m.
06-156 II. ATTENDANCE
Present: Cahill, Greene, Head, Kincaid, Leary, Murphy, Surovell
Absent: None
Staff: Nieman, Parker, Soave (Recorder)
Others: Mike Guthrie, Van Tine|Guthrie Studio of Architecture
06-157 III. RECESS TO EXECUTIVE SESSION FOR DIRECTOR’S EVALUATION, OPINION OF COUNSEL AND PENDING LITIGATION
06-158 IV. RECONVENE REGULAR MEETING AT 6:30 P.M.
President Surovell reconvened the regular meeting at 6:47 p.m.
President Surovell acknowledged the two incumbent Board candidates Connie Greene and Barbara Murphy and offered an introduction and welcome to candidates Jan Barney Newman and Prue Rosenthal, who were both in attendance.
06-159 V. APPROVAL OF AGENDA
Secretary Cahill, supported by Trustee Head, moved to approve the Agenda.
Trustee Kincaid moved to amend the agenda to add C. Personnel Committee under Item X. Committee Reports. Secretary Cahill seconded the motion.
AYES: Cahill, Greene, Head, Kincaid, Leary, Murphy, Surovell
NAYS: None
Motion passed: 7-0.
The original motion was brought to a vote:
AYES: Cahill, Greene, Head, Kincaid, Leary, Murphy, Surovell
NAYS: None
Motion passed: 7-0.
06-160 VI. APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF MARCH 27, 2006
Trustee Head, supported by Vice President Murphy, moved to approve the Minutes.
AYES: Cahill, Greene, Head, Kincaid, Leary, Murphy, Surovell
NAYS: None
Motion passed: 7-0.
06-161 VII. CITIZENS’ COMMENTS
There were no citizens’ comments.
06-162 VII. FINANCIAL REPORT
Associate Director Nieman reported the following related to financials through the month of March:
• We’ve received 98% of the budgeted tax receipts.
• Our fund balance was $4.4 million.
• There are currently four items over budget.
• We spent just over $600,000 on continuing construction, furniture, and materials for the Pittsfield branch.
• We spent just over $71,000 on the Northeast branch project.
06-163 IX. DIRECTOR’S REPORT
In addition to her written report, Director Parker added the following:
Director Parker reported that we completed our first cycle of the employee recognition program and she briefly reviewed the process with the Board.
This cycle’s Extra M.I.L.E. award recipients were:
Chuck Yates, Circulation Supervisor. Comments made by Mr. Yates’s nominator were “He is always pitching in and working alongside his employees. He inspires hard work by example. If he expects hard work it’s because he works hard.”
Roshayne Jaimon, Librarian and Web Developer in IAS. Comments made by Ms. Jaimon’s nominator were “On more than one occasion she has taught me how to utilize the systems available to me more efficiently. She is very patient and approaches problems from various angles, which is helpful if the most direct way is not the easiest way for me to comprehend what it is that I need to do.”
Edith Burney, Public Library Associate in Youth. Comments made by Ms. Burney’s nominator were: “Edith is someone who just exudes energy and enthusiasm and if you are around her you cannot mistake it. She’s been seen to stay after her work day is over to help children with science projects, particularly on the Internet. She is consistently a motivator for other staff to go the extra mile. She does it all the time.”
06-164 X. COMMITTEE REPORTS
A. BUDGET & FINANCE
Treasurer Leary reported the Budget & Finance Committee met to review the status of the proposed budget to be discussed later on the Agenda.
B. FACILITIES
Trustee Head reported the Facilities Committee did not meet. Any issues related to the Northeast site are currently issues for the full Board to hear and consider.
C. PERSONNEL
Trustee Kincaid reported the Personnel Committee met to complete the evaluation of the Director, which was discussed at the closed session and will be presented formally at the May Board meeting. They also made recommendations for the 2006-2007 budget cycle which have been forwarded to the Budget & Finance Committee.
06-165 XI. OLD BUSINESS
04-207 A. UPDATE ON PITTSFIELD BRANCH
Associate Director Nieman reported the following:
The Pittsfield branch has been open for almost a month with everything running smoothly.
The lockers have been installed, but not functional yet.
Landscaping will begin this week and is expected to be completed by the end of May.
The parking lot still needs a second coat, which is expected to be completed after the landscaping is complete. The Pittsfield library will need to close for one day in order to finish this work.
06-125 B. UPDATE ON NORTHEAST BRANCH
Director Parker reviewed the two issues addressed at the last Board meeting:
The first issue was that the City is assessing a fee for development when water and sewer is run to an undeveloped site. We are paying the difference, based on a formula they’ve provided us, for the cost of putting in the sewer and water system now and the cost that would have been current at the time it was installed which was 1987. In our case this amounts to less than $20,000.
The second issue was a grade issue. The City of Ann Arbor was sued (the primary plaintiff is the Center for Independent Living in Ann Arbor) over grades of primarily curb cuts, but they’ve extended the lawsuit now to include all sidewalks. There is a consent decree and the decree stipulates that no new development can be built where a sidewalk grade exceeds 5%. This is a problem for us because there are a couple of places at the Northeast site where the grade of the Traverwood Drive road is 7-8%. We were not told about the consent decree until the staff comments portion of the planning process.
We have a couple of options including asking for a waiver through the City Attorney’s office to the Plaintiff on this grade based on the conditions on the site, or we can change our plan and meet the conditions.
Currently, we are pursuing both options. If the Library chooses, we will present the Planning Department with a narrative that shows them why we cannot meet the grade with a sidewalk that will remain within our budget. The Planning Department would then take it to the City Attorney’s Office. The City Attorney would then decide whether or not there’s merit in a waiver request. We would not be involved in that discussion.
If they waive, we will be able to build a sidewalk that follows the grade in the road. However, the Plaintiff can also say no.
In preparation for this possibility, we have developed an alternative plan that meets the grade, but violates other Planning Department site stipulations. The Planning Department has verbally agreed that if the Plaintiff says no on the waiver, they will accept the alternative plans.
Michael Guthrie reviewed the site options with regard to meeting the 5% grade stipulation.
06-166 XII. NEW BUSINESS
06-167 A. DISCUSSION OF 2006-2007 BUDGET
Treasurer Leary reviewed the highlights of the proposed budget for 2006-2007.
This is a budget of just over $12 million. This $12 million budget is approximately $1 million higher than our projected actual expenses for the current fiscal year. Approximately $800,000 of those differences come from increases in salaries and wages including eight new positions, Pittsfield staffing and a merit pool of 3%.
Other expenses that have been increased are Legal, which we are now budgeting for what we realistically spend. Another increase is in Utilities.
The proposed budget will come to the Board for final approval at the May Board meeting.
Associate Director Nieman added that the operating budget is based on 1.6 mills, with the tax base being estimated to go up 4%. This may change once we get the actual new tax base from the County.
Also, in our employee benefits line we currently have a 15% built-in increase for insurance benefits. This rate may also change before final Board approval of the proposed budget.
06-168 B. VOTE FOR EXECUTIVE SESSION AT THE NEXT REGULAR SCHEDULED BOARD MEETING FOR OPINION OF COUNSEL AND PENDING LITIGATION
Secretary Cahill, supported by Trustee Greene, moved for an Executive Session at the next regularly scheduled Board meeting for opinion of counsel and pending litigation.
A roll call vote was taken:
AYES: Cahill, Greene, Head, Kincaid, Leary, Murphy, Surovell
NAYS: None
Motion passed 7-0.
06-169 XIII. ADJOURNMENT
President Surovell adjourned the meeting at 7:45 p.m.