Public Library Board April 20

Held at the Walton Branch

Presentation

The BCPL’s Chapin Memorial Library (CML) ad hoc committee had retained a community engagement consultant, SHP, who provided a presentation at this meeting regarding the needs of the CML community. Although it was not quite finalized, the report presented by SHP advised that a paper mailer would be appropriate to notify the community of upcoming CML events. Also recommended was electronic digital signage and getting a member of the Petersburg community to act as a Facebook poster of CML events. Also discussed was opening the CML for 4-5 hours on Saturdays to accommodate patrons. 

A big priority of the community was fixing the entry card system, which would cost about $15,000. Many of the patrons expressed difficulty in getting into the CML with some not being able to use their card at all. 

Extensive discussion resulted among the board members, especially regarding the difficulty in getting someone to staff the CML on Saturdays.

Public Comment

Several community members from Petersburg and its environs spoke about the process conducted by SHP, which they felt was very helpful. 

Becky (last name unrecorded) was concerned about access to a printer/copier for children, especially those who are home schooled. Per BCPL staff, a new copier/printer will be installed at the CML within the week.

The community has agreed upon a priority of tasks:

• instituting Saturday hours
• launching a Kelly Elementary reading list partnership with the CML
• covering items either not available in the school or are available but insufficient to accommodate student requests

Bottom line for the patrons is access to the CML, which is tied to the card system. One of the public commenters, Tom Sites, indicated he’s contacted the BCPL IT department six different times with access problems. 

Board member Dave Rich (Rich) requested the associated costs for each of these recommendations. The Saturday hours would add $6,000-$9,000 to the budget, per BCPL staff. 

A motion was made to accept the recommendations of SHP and have BCPL staff come back to discuss with the Board, going over metrics and costs as well as targeted implementation dates. 

Executive Director Carrie Herrmann (CH) pushed back regarding partnering with Kelly Elementary due to some past experiences. Rosemary Mastin, one of the public commenters, argued that students at Kelly should have the same opportunities as other students, and reiterated that residents in zip code 41080 pay taxes to the BCPL too and feel their needs should be met.

Additionally, Judge/Executive Gary Moore attended the meeting and requested that the BCPL consider not just the numbers/dollars but also what the community needs.

Barbara Jacobson also attended the meeting again, still pushing for more conservative reading material at all BCPL branches. CH claimed that library policy prohibits BCPL from accepting any new newspaper/periodical collections. Board member Emily Meyers (EM) suggested re-addressing this policy and reconsidering furnishing BCPL with more conservative content via periodicals such as the Epoch Times. Chair Eric Jackson also stated it was his understanding that the Board had already agreed to reconsider adding more conservative leaning publications.

Executive Director Report

CH mentioned the Moore/Hand debate and that it was well attended with an additional 368 who watched on livestream. 

The BCPL foundation received a grant for postcards to be sent to new mothers at St. Elizabeth Hospital. Staff has now had these postcards translated into Spanish. 

Accountant’s Report

March financials will be sent to the Board within the week. YTD revenue as of February was $11,500,000 with about $6.5 million in district expenses. The $962,000 deficit in March will be sent to the Board shortly for resolution. Apparently, Republic Bank upped its interest rate to 3.6% but the funds have not been moved yet. 

Rich wanted to know what the BCPL is getting from Republic. The accountant confirmed there will be nine certificates of deposit. Again, the Board noted that there is $6.7 million in a zero interest-bearing account at Heritage Bank. Right now there is no automatic sweeping mechanism to sweep the account and invest it in an interest-bearing account. Both Board member Patty Reisz (PR) and Rich were upset at the lost interest to the library, which could be up to $100,000. They indicated that BCPL is not performing its cash management duties. 

Rich pressed on accountability and wondered if some kind of audit should be done from an outside source. Ex-officio Board Member Chet Hand (Hand) suggested calling a special meeting to see how to get there and how to fix the problems. CH is to get dates to the Board for a special meeting by April 22. The account in question will be swept tomorrow to an interest-bearing account. Board member PR recommended leaving a small amount of maybe $1 million in. The issue that there’s been no business services director for four months was also brought up. 

It was also noted that the BCPL’s Fixed Asset Management Policy has not been reviewed or updated since 2013. CH is to get the policy to members of the Board by April 22, and the Board will submit their comments/recommendations by May 1 to be discussed at the May meeting. 

Several items on the agenda are being moved to another meeting so that the fiscal year 2027 budget can be discussed. 

CH has put in the budget increases for the collection budget and the summer reading budget. And to continue the solar study at the Hebron branch. There was some discussion regarding the collections. Rich recommended a reduction in future collections but CH believes it will hamper their system. She claims patrons are asking for actual books. 

Then the discussion turned to the staffing issue, and although the salary schedule agenda item was not specifically addressed, staffing affects the overall budget. Rich claims that based on parameters provided by the KDLA (Kentucky Department of Libraries & Archives), BCPL is overstaffed. CH’s budget reflects $6.8 million for staffing but with no particulars. Rich and Hand both opined that the data shows overstaffing so the whole staffing model needs to be reviewed. 

At this point the discussion got rather contentious between Rich, and Board Members EM, PR and Deborah Dutton-Lambert (DDL). DDL claimed she felt uncomfortable continuing this discussion without the presence of the Chair. (Jackson had conflicting meetings so was not in attendance at this part of the meeting.)

CH pushed back regarding the overstaffing issue, claiming she is the only “employee” of the Board and that staffing is an operational issue and therefore not subject to the Board’s oversight. Hand indicated that as staffing was obviously incorporated into the budget and as the budget is under the purview of the Board, that the Board could address staffing to determine what the budget amount of that item should be. Otherwise, the Board will just provide a number they are willing to allocate to staffing costs and CH will have to deal with it as best she may. Hand also advised it would be difficult to justify a dollar amount for salaries because there is no breakdown between salary and workload. 

DDL, still uncomfortable, moved to adjourn the meeting but no second was issued. After further argument between the Board members, primarily Rich vs. DDL, PR and EM, DDL moved again to adjourn the meeting and this time it was seconded. All approved except Rich. Meeting was adjourned at 7:25 p.m.