Minutes of the Meeting
Fitzwilliam Town Library Board of Trustees
2 March 2017
Present: Dick Goettle, Barbara Green, Richard Mays, Ann McEntee, Nick Noyes, Susan Curtin—alternate, and Director Kate Thomas
The meeting was called to order at 6:00 PM in the Quick Meeting Room of the library. The Trustees reviewed Kate Thomas’s spread sheet of library spending, and it was noted that 52.69% of the budgeted amount for heat and oil has been expended. Ann McEntee expressed concern about this amount expended during a relatively mild winter. She asked the Trustees about recent energy audits for the library, and Nick Noyes stated that the Township had conducted an audit a number of years ago. Ann offered to contact Debbie Favreau about a copy of that document; she also suggested that the Trustees consider contracting Eversource to prepare an updated audit to support changes to the 2018-19 budget.
The library manifest was approved and signed by the Trustees.
Susan Curtin asked for clarification of her status as an alternate Trustee; the Township’s Annual Town report for 2017 references Susan as a standing member of the board. Nick Noyes will contact Debbie Favreau about this error.
Richard Mays put forth a motion to accept the minutes of the February 13th meeting as presented, and Dick Goettle seconded it. The motion passed unanimously.
Kate shared a statement of library salary changes for calendar years 2010-16 that she has prepared; in the event questions arise during the Meet the Candidates Night (March 8th, 2017) or the Annual Town Meeting (March 14th, 2017) the statement will provide clarification about questions pertaining to recent salary increases.
Barbara Green reported that she has received materials pertaining to the new Raymond James Investment account; the monies from the Wells Fargo accounts have yet to be transferred, however. She reported discrepancies regarding taxpayer id numbers (TINs): both the Wells Fargo Investment account and the TD Bank account have different TINs than that of the Township. It was agreed that both the checking and investment accounts should reflect the Township’s TIN.
Richard put forth a motion that the Bulletin Board Policy be accepted as presented. Dick seconded the motion, and the motion passed unanimously.
Richard asked the Trustees to consider where the Library sign should be placed on the picket fence as he needs to submit signage location to the Historic District Commission; the matter will be discussed at the April 3rd Trustee meeting.
Kate reported that she contacted Debbie Favreau about the Township’s insurance claim for the damaged section of the fence. Richard stated that the cost for replacement of the entire fence would be approximately $5,000. Nick reported that the CIP will be preparing a warrant in December that addresses the replacement of the fence as either a 1- or 2-year project.
Nick has begun preparing a Technology Plan. He has taken an inventory of all IT equipment in the building.
The next Trustee meeting has been scheduled for Monday, April 3rd, 2017 at 6:00 PM.
The Trustees reviewed the Librarian’s Report, and Kate stated that the library had hosted 28 programs in 28 days. She announced the upcoming program “Understanding Bobcats of New Hampshire,” scheduled for Wednesday, March 15th at 7 PM. The Trustees discussed the upcoming NH Trustees Conference, scheduled for Wednesday, May 24th; Kate suggested that we could carpool to the event.
Kate and Nancy Woodard have begun discussions about library branding, and Nancy is preparing a presentation board for review.
Nick asked Kate for clarification about Income categories on the Library Expenditure/Income spreadsheet, for he would like to have the categories conform to those defined by the State of New Hampshire. He asked Kate to rename “Conscience” to “Conscience donation” and to divide Sale of Books into “Duplicate purchases” and “Book donations.”
Ann reported that the Friends of the Library have determined how the organization’s budget will be allocated during the calendar year: 50% for programs, 30% for materials related to programming, and 20% for equipment used for programming. The Friends are considering scheduling the book sale for August 26th without an accompanying Bake Sale.
Richard put forth a motion that the meeting adjourn; Dick seconded it, and the motion carried unanimously.
Respectfully submitted,
Ann McEntee, Secretary