Public Library Board June 16

Replacement Board Members
The agenda mentioned introducing new board members; however, ex officio board member Chet Hand indicated the new member had not been determined yet.

Ex Officio Board Member Role
An explanation of an ex officio board member’s role was given by Hand and the board’s attorney. An ex officio member may bring up items but cannot vote, and his/her presence does not count toward quorum. However, Hand indicated the county attorney is looking into whether an ex officio member can make motions; the state statute does not appear to prohibit it. The board’s attorney will consult with the county attorney to verify. 

Presentations: Grant Manager/Data Analyst Director
Julie Althaver, grant manager and data analyst director of the Boone County Public Library (BCPL), introduced herself and gave an update on current grant applications. Executive Director Carrie Herrmann (CH) confirmed that BCPL was not selected for the Mellon Bank grant they hoped to receive. One of the grants Ms. Alhaver has applied for is financial assistance for early childhood learning.

Public Comment
The same individual who attended last month’s meeting to voice concerns about vagrants and drug usage around the Florence branch was at this month’s meeting also. He asked that stronger measures be taken to remove the vagrants, stating, for example, that he has seen individuals urinate against the wall of the library. He also said he has seen a local charitable organization distribute food on the library grounds, an activity he describes as drawing a lot of homeless people and drug users to the area. He is still asking for someone to trim bushes at the back of the branch to make it harder for individuals to hide drug use.

Director’s Report
Summer reading kickoff was to be held at one of Boone County’s parks, but after all the rain, the park service requested the event be moved elsewhere. It was held at the Hebron branch instead, and despite the short notice, well over 500 people attended the event. The grounds of the Hebron branch have also received an enhancement in the form of a music garden.

Questions arose regarding the popularity of the quilting machine at the Walton branch, as there is apparently a long waiting list to use it; however, CH indicated the room itself is not big enough to accommodate an additional machine, as they are quite large.

CH confirmed that the branch managers of the Florence and Hebron branches have both resigned. They have already hired someone internally within the Hebron branch to replace that branch manager.

Accountant’s Report
The report noted just over $17 million in assets with $61 million in fixed assets. Fiscal year-to-date revenues through April 30, 2025, totaled $11,349,000.

Attorney’s Report
After reviewing the BCPL’s privacy policy, the board’s attorney determined there were no issues regarding some of the board members’ concerns that the language was too broad. Consequently, no revisions were made to the privacy policy.

Business
There was a lengthy discussion regarding CH’s executive director evaluation process. The board’s attorney confirmed that the trustee manual does indicate the evaluation should be done publicly (with all board members in attendance) rather than the members providing only comments and the chair then providing a summary and conducting the evaluation himself. Chairman Jackson proposed moving toward a more transparent and inclusive process. Hand indicated the board needs a mechanism for each evaluation point. As Hand indicated, the executive director reports to the entire board, not just the chair.  It was determined that each member’s comments would be provided in a summary and then the chair would make a collective summary of the comments so all board members’ concerns are addressed. Several tweaks were made to the manual’s evaluation process to address these issues. 

Bridget Striker is with the Boone County Planning Commission and Boone County Historical Society and attended this month’s meeting to advise the board regarding long-term needs of the library’s Archive & History Center. It was proposed that the Archive & History Center, currently in the basement of the BCPL main branch, be moved to space within the County Administrative Building. Consequently, a recommendation was made to the board’s Archive & History Center’s ad hoc committee to further explore this idea and to add the grant manager and data analyst director to the ad hoc committee.

The board received an update from the Chapin Memorial Library (CML) ad hoc committee. The committee received a second response to their search for a consultant to assist with CML issues. However, although the applicant was well qualified, the price was even higher than the first responses received. In addition, the individual has no presence in the Kentucky/Ohio/Indiana region. The committee therefore declined to recommend and instead the proposal is being sent to various places recommended by the county administrator, hopefully yielding better results. 

The board approved the audit engagement letter engaging Kelley Galloway Smith Goolsby PSC to complete the BCPL audit for fiscal year ending June 30, 2025. This will be the last year BCPL will use this firm, as in accordance with best practices organizations such as BCPL should change auditors every few years. 

With regard to staff reimbursements, CH performed an analysis and determined that about 80% of the reimbursement checks issued were for mileage only. A lengthy discussion followed regarding simplifying the process and reducing the number of “touch points” by multiple staff members plus the additional staff time spent in reconciling the reimbursements. The board requested a quality improvement process be performed, requiring some additional research on the part of BCPL staff to streamline the process.