Fitzwilliam Town Library Board of Trustees
6 July 2020
Present via electronic meeting: Dick Goettle, Beth Lorenz, Pam Troccia, Robin Marra, Patricia Toomey, Brian Doerpholz and Library Director, Kate Thomas.
The Chair of the Board of Trustees has concluded that an emergency has necessitated the meeting be held electronically. The emergency has been determined to exist due to the risk of exposure to COVID-19 by the physical attendance of the Trustees. An electronic notice of the meeting was posted on the Fitzwilliam Library website as well as the Facebook page, with instructions for the public to join the meeting, if interested.
Robin Marra called the meeting to order at 5:47 p.m.
The minutes of the June 1st meeting were reviewed. As no corrections were needed, Robin Marra made a motion to approve the minute as submitted. Motion was seconded by Trish Toomey and approved by voice roll call from Robin Marra, Beth Lorenz, Pam Troccia, Trish Toomey, and Dick Goettle. The minutes of the June 16th Board of Trustees meeting, held to discuss the re-opening of the Library, were reviewed. One correction was needed to change the date from May 16 to June 16. With that correction made, Beth Lorenz put forth a motion, seconded by Dick Goettle, to approve them as submitted. The motion was passed with affirmative votes, received by voice roll call from Robin Marra, Beth Lorenz, Pam Troccia, Trish Toomey, and Dick Goettle.
The Trustees reviewed the Library Manifest and Spending-to-Date Expense Report and will arrange with Kate to go to the Library to sign them. Dick Goettle provided the report of the Balances of Fitzwilliam Town Library Investment Accounts, as of 3/31/20 and 6/30/20, for review. These reports will be signed by the Trustees at the Library also.
Kate Thomas presented her monthly report. Circulation for was 1508, down 25% from last year. 155 virtual programs were held with a total attendance of 255. The Library reopened to the public on June 22 and, from that date to June 30th, 94 patrons came into the building. There is a hands-free sanitizing station at the front door and a plexiglass screen at the check-out desk. Summer Rec groups, no more that 10 in each group, have been attending programs. The Summer Reading Program has started, and 40 readers have signed up.
A proposal to allow groups of no more than 10 to be able to be inside the library was brought forth. After discussion on how to allow groups inside the building in a manner safe to all, it was decided that library program groups of not more than 10 may be permitted to use the meeting room but will be required to enter through the side entrance directly into the room, must wear masks and must maintain social distancing. The doors to the general public area of the Library will be closed during any use of the meeting room. The Library Director will be monitoring the groups to be sure these requirements are being followed and will ask patrons to leave if they are not. This procedure will be re-visited at the August 3rd meeting of the Trustees.
The proposed Bylaws were presented by Robin Marra and reviewed by the Trustees. A motion to approve the Bylaws as presented was put forth by Pam Troccia and seconded by Beth Lorenz. The motion was passed with affirmative votes, received by voice roll call from Robin Marra, Beth Lorenz, Pam Troccia, Trish Toomey, and Dick Goettle.
The application deadline for the Moose Grant that the Library would be applying for, to assist with the purchase of display cases for the Locke collection, was extended to July 10, 2020. There are two different grants that can be applied for, each having a different set of requirements for additional information to be submitted. It was decided to table applying for this grant until 2021 to enable the application and additional information be submitted in a thorough and concise format. The Locke Committee will begin working on the grant for next year, using the current grant requirements as a template, in October of this year.
Recruiting/Outreach for a Trustee, Treasurer and additional Alternate Trustee(s) was discussed. Robin Marra suggested trying to reach out to the public by adding a sentence to the Library Newsletter, and also the Town Newsletter, asking if anyone would be interested in becoming a part of the Library Board of Trustees and, if so, to contact him directly. Kate will take care of that.
Under New Business, Chair Robin Marra asked for a nomination/volunteer of a person to fill the vacant position of Vice Chair. Beth Lorenz motioned to accept her volunteering to fill that position. The motion was seconded by Pam Troccia and the motion was passed with affirmative votes, received by voice roll call from Robin Marra, Beth Lorenz, Pam Troccia, Trish Toomey, and Dick Goettle.
The bid for the Library Buildings and Grounds projects was discussed. Wade Leventry of Top Dawg Design Build, LLC was the sole bidder. His proposal was for a price of $15,890.00. The Town is willing to accept this bid and oversee the project by keeping the Library under the umbrella of Town buildings. Selectman Baker and Debbie Favreau have contacted Dick Goettle expressing the need for an answer from the Trustees as to whether this proposal will be accepted. Concerns were raised by The Trustees that accepting a proposal from a single bidder may not be in the best interest of the Library or the Town. It was proposed that Robin Marra ask Debbie to put the RFP out to two additional contractors, names to be supplied by Dick Goettle and Trish Toomey, with a submittal deadline of 7/27/20.
The Investment and Art Show Policies will be reviewed at the August 3rd meeting. Dick Goettle will be providing each Trustee with a copy of the policy for review before that meeting. The Behavior Policy will be reviewed at the September meeting of the Board of Trustees.
A letter was sent to all department heads of the Town, urging them to look at the possibility of cutting expenses from the current year budget if revenue is decreased due to COVID19. Kate has not yet been contacted and will let the Board know if that happens.
As there was no additional business to be discussed, the next meeting is scheduled to be held on Monday, August 3rd at 5:45. The Chair will determine whether that meeting will be held electronically if the virus situation warrants.
A motion to adjourn the meeting was made by Dick Goettle at 7:20 p.m. and seconded by Beth Lorenz. The motion was passed with affirmative votes, received by voice roll call from Robin Marra, Beth Lorenz, Pam Troccia, Trish Toomey, and Dick Goettle.
Respectively submitted
Pam Troccia
Secretary