Public Library Board August 17

Public Comment

Immediately after approving the meeting agenda, the meeting was opened for public comment:

• Joe Berkshire again expressed his displeasure that the Board was not utilizing his suggestion of the 3 Ps: prayer, pledge and podium. Also, he is upset because he is part of a library-sponsored adult reading group that is comprised mostly of females, and the reading material is quite graphic. This of course garnered pushback from the library under the stance of intellectual freedom and the fact that these were adults. Joe also wanted a definite answer as to whether the Board is approving a brand-new building for the Florence branch, as he wanted to report back to the Florence City Council. However, the Board members explained that they have just finalized the ad hoc committee membership so could not give a definitive answer at this time. 

• Barbara Jacobson continued to push for the Epoch Times or other conservative periodicals to be furnished by the BCPL. Still pushing for paper as she stated again that studies prove reading paper versus digital enhances comprehension. She claims the American Library Association pledges to represent all residents but this is not happening as she believes the conservatives in Boone County are not being properly represented. She was also upset because when she was looking at the non-fiction books at the Hebron branch, she saw a preponderance of anti-American publications and that this is also not a fair representation.

Presentation

Judge/Executive Gary Moore provided a presentation to the Board on an opportunity to partner with the County on the Hebron Land Use Plan related to a family named Schneider who apparently live in the area and are quite affluent. The husband recently passed, and the wife, after attending the community outreach on the Hebron Land Use Plan, has gifted the County with $1.1 million to be used to purchase approximately 9 acres of land adjacent to the library’s acreage to be used as a park. In addition, the Park & Ride lot, along with a narrow strip of land adjacent to the left of the Hebron branch, is owned by the KY Transportation Cabinet who, according to Moore, may be willing to designate it as surplus property and deed or lease it to the library as additional acreage for a park. This would bring a total of almost 52 acres that can be used for a park (not including the acreage taken up by the library itself). Moore spoke to David Whithouse, director of Park Services, who indicated Parks would not be interested in providing ball or soccer fields on this acreage due to both geographic and maintenance challenges and expenses which would be better expended on a larger venue.  Another possible park amenity to be considered by the Board could be an “all abilities” playground, one that would allow use by disabled children (such as using Braille on the equipment for blind children, etc.) Moore advised there are many design options for the ad hoc committee to explore, and suggested they issue an RFP (request for proposal) to several design companies for bids. 

Executive Director Carrie Herrmann (CH) advised that the BCPL has already received a $25,000 grant to use on the Hebron land and there are some potential future grants also pending. 

Moore advised he would like to see as many trees preserved as possible.  Also, Mrs. Schneider was not enthusiastic about a dog park and doesn’t want one on her gifted acres. 

Consequently, a motion was made to allow the ad hoc committee to move forward in collaboration with the County in designating various uses for the land. 

Executive Director’s Report

• CH is accepting quotes from IT firms to look at BCPL IT needs. 

• The BCPL will host a debate at the Main Library between Chet Hand and Timothy Johnson for the Judge/Executive position on October 13.

Business

• A review of the Collection Development Policy and the Social Media Administration & Staff Guidelines Policy were reviewed and approved with a few amendments by the Board.

• The Florence Branch Ad Hoc Committee Community Applications Review was conducted and two community applications were received. Both were approved by the Board. One is a mother who brings her children regularly to story hour. The other works for a Hispanic organization located directly across the street from the Florence branch,

• The completed annual report for the BCPL was reviewed by the Board. A motion was passed to approve the report. The only comment by the Board was that physical circulation went down whereas digital circulation went up. 

Accountant’s Report

The accountant went over June (fiscal year-end) financials; they wait 60 days to ensure all year-end numbers are gathered for audit purposes. 

For the fiscal year ending June 30, 2026:

• Total current assets were $12.2 million;
• Liabilities were $614,000.00;
• Fund Equity was $72 million;
• $12,662,000 in revenue was received for the fiscal year; and
• Total District expenses were $10,248,000

The accountant presented budget projections based on the tax rate information received from the Department of Local Government. The compensating rate increase was 3.9%. Although the tax compensating rate increase for tangible property was higher, Board member Emily Meyers made a motion to use the 3.9% tax compensating rate increase for both the real and tangible property. In addition, a 3% compensating rate increase was used for motor vehicles.

There were some questions from Board member Rich regarding some discrepancy in how the numbers were calculated and what was the actual tax base used previously. Ultimately the 3.9% rate increase was approved by the Board. 

The meeting adjourned at 6:15 p.m.