Lawton Memorial Library Board Meeting

Regular Board Meeting          Tuesday, March 28, 2023

                                                                                                 

*5:15 p.m. Chair Barbara Melvin called the meeting to order at the Lawton Memorial Library. Roll call was taken with all board members present: Melvin, Gail Muller, Gwendolyn Hatfield, Georgia Everson, Donna Niles, Carol Persons (facetime), and Kimberly Walker. Also present was Librarian Lisa Ahler.    

      

*Verification of posting at the Bank, Post Office, and Village Office on March 27, 2023, was given.         

  

*Niles moved, Muller seconded to approve the January 24, 2023, minutes, with a correction in the Directors report on the reading Bingo running thru February, not March, approval of the February 15, 2023 minutes, and approval of the March 1, 2023 minutes with a correction on Becky’s last day, from April 17th to April 7th. (Carried).   

    

*Financial report: Reviewed the report from 1/1/2023 thru 3/23/2023. The balance is $50,794.29. Of this amount $3,715.29 is donations to use. This leaves an operating budget of $47,079. We haven’t received the Vernon County aid payment yet, ($30,700). Muller will check on this with the county. The savings has $22,150.38, plus the 2 CDs of $4,011.82 and $30,662.44. With interest rates higher now, discussed looking at when the CD’s mature, and getting them better rates. Will discuss this further at the May meeting. Everson moved, Hatfield seconded to approve the financial report. (Carried).

 

*Statistical Report: Lisa reviewed the January and February stats of the circulation, community room use, computer use, and curbside use. Reviewed the revenues and a donation we received. For comparison info, Lisa took a few columns from the 2019 annual report and compared them to the 2022 report. Of interest, the use of public wireless internet went from 6,209 to 23,548, along with a few other noteworthy stats. Carol suggested before school is out in May, maybe Lisa could reach out to the school kids and drop off some bookmarks with the library hours.               

     

*Friends Update: Carol mentioned her, and Carolyn Steinmetz put an article in the newspaper for Becky’s retirement/open house on April 7th. Barb Sarnowski is working on a cookbook for her, so she’s looking for recipes to put in it. The summer Music in the Park is all set. Maybe put this schedule on some bookmarks.  

   

*Directors Report:      

**Becky’s last day is Aril 7th. The Friends are having an open house that day, along with refreshments.     

**The winter reading Bingo had a great turnout with 21 kids and 15 adults.

**Nothing new to report with the new ILS system.  

**The annual report was submitted on February 16th.

**Received a donation of $312 from the Darlene Hysel family.

**Dana started this month and seems to be a good fit.

**John Armbruster will be here June 7th. The Friends agreed to pay his fee of $200, which he discounted.

**One of our computer screens was damaged by one of the children. Lisa found an old one in storage and replaced it. So far, it seems to be working fine.     

**At the last regular meeting, it was agreed to contact Vernon Communications and have 3 or 4 cameras installed inside the building. They gave us 3 quotes, so Lisa preferred to present them to the board before proceeding.

1). Four cameras were $2,499.00. Our current DVR system only has 3 ports left. So we’d need a new DVR.

2). A whole new system is $4,154, with a monthly fee of $45.95.

3). Three cameras for $1,149.00. The current system works for this. The indoor cameras will be Dome cameras. They have a broader view area, so three should be good.

Hatfield moved, Niles seconded to go with the 3 cameras for $1,149.00. (Carried).   

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*Business:  

**Annual Report Questions/Comments: All members had received a copy. No one had any questions.       

 

**Becky’s Retirement Celebration: The board will celebrate her retirement on May 23, 2023 at Georgia Everson’s home. Will hold the regular meeting first at 5:15 p.m., then after adjourning, have the party. Will have potluck. For a gift, agreed on a $50 gift certificate in LAPA bucks (Barb will get), a nice stainless-steel mug with a saying (Carol will get), and a nice, stitched sign in a frame by Donna, saying: May you be Proud of the Work You have done, the person you are, and the difference you have made. Happy Retirement!

  

**Cleaning Position: Holly Hysel handed in her 2 weeks’ notice and was done March 26th. Decided to ask a few people if they’re interested: Joan Carpenter, Julie Greenland, and Julie Fraser. Also, raised the pay from $12 an hour to $15.  

 

*Public comments: Carol mentioned she is attending some classes on the Family Research library and may be able to offer classes at our library when she gets done.               

    

*The next meeting was scheduled for May 23, 2023, at 5:15 p.m. at Georgia Everson’s residence.  

               

*Niles moved, Hatfield seconded to adjourn. (Carried). Adjourned at 6:15 p.m.

 

                                                                         __________________________________

Kimberly Walker, Village Clerk/Treasurer