ST. LOUIS COUNTY LIBRARY DISTRICT
MEETING OF THE BOARD
HEADQUARTERS BRANCH
MONDAY, JULY 25, 2005
3:30 PM

The monthly meeting of the Board of the St. Louis County Library District was held at the Mahlon P. Wallace Headquarters Building, Monday, July 25, 2005 at 3:30 p.m.  The agenda had been posted in all branches of the Library District at least 24 hours before the meeting.

ATTENDANCE: 

Library Board Members:

Richard J. Bagy, Jr., President
Bettie Gershman, Vice-President
Kenneth P. Stricker, Treasurer
Jean Weinstock, Secretary
Chingling Tai, Member

Others Attending:

C. Daniel Wilson, Jr., Director; Gary Holdefer, Associate Director and Comptroller; Darold Crotzer, Crotzer, Ford & Ormsby Counsel; Kristen Sorth, Manager, Human Resources; Barbara Brain, Senior Manager of Public Service;  William Rodgers, Manager, Information Systems Technology; Marie Conlin, Library Planner and Training Manager; Eric Button, Manager, Daniel Boone Branch; Robbin Oehler, Manager, Tesson Ferry Branch; Jim Bogart, Manager of Development; Bianca Roberts, Manager, Youth Services; Ling Thumin, Coordinator of Asian Services; Roz Drohobyczer, Supervisor, Grand Glaize Branch; Kalyani Veeraraghavan, Supervisor, Daniel Boone Branch; Laura Bigelow, Reference Librarian; Mary Jo Tuchschmidt, Manager, Rock Road Branch; County Executive Charlie Dooley; Tom Curran, St. Louis County; Mike Jones, St. Louis County and Sandra Williams, Executive Assistant.

Mr. Bagy invited County Executive Charlie Dooley to address the Board and patrons. 

Mr. Dooley addressed the Board and audience.  He thanked the Board and Library staff for their past efforts and spoke of his appreciation for the initiatives on the agenda that will help to serve all patrons of the Library District.  Mr. Dooley referred to a letter he had received from a patron who had concerns about the Tesson Ferry Branch.  He also referred to the Daniel Boone Branch and the new concept to serve the Asian population.  He offered the support of his office and staff for future undertakings and congratulated the Library on being a leader in the state of Missouri.

The MINUTES, Monday, June 20, 2005, were approved by general consent.

TREASURER’S REPORT:

The June 2005 Treasurer’s Report was received by the Board, subject to audit.

DIRECTOR’S REPORT: 

GET CONNECTED – Dan Wilson reviewed a copy of the delivery contract proposed by Get Connected.  This was for informational purposes.  The contract has already been signed. 

MERIT RAISES – Mr. Wilson informed the Board that there were five long term employees that exceeded the maximum for their grade.  The Board approved $661 for the employees who deserve some recognition but fall outside of the previously approved guidelines as approved by the Board (Stricker/Gershman). 

PATRON LETTERS –  A copy of a letter sent to County Executive Charlie Dooley was shared with the Board.  The letter was from a patron of Tesson Ferry complaining of stained carpet and safety issues.  Another letter from a patron asked the Library to continue to offer Microsoft/Word classes.

The Board approved spending up to $15, 000 to recarpet the Tesson Ferry Branch auditorium (Gershman/Weinstock).  Mr. Bagy requested to hold the August Board meeting at the Tesson Ferry Branch.

UNFINISHED BUSINESS 

None

NEW BUSINESS: 

DIVERSITY OPPORTUNITIES – A discussion led by Barbara Brain, Ling Thumin, and  Bianca Roberts highlighted the results of a recent meeting of the Diversity Task Force Committee.  Statistics suggest increases in minority populations in the county.  To better serve these groups, an Asian Center has been approved by the Board at a cost of $38,486.  The center will be established in the lower level of Daniel Boone.

Plans will go forward for establishing similar centers for African Americans and the Spanish speaking population.  Contractors will include ICS, Flooring Systems, Acoustical Ceiling, Inc. and Negwer Materials for doors.  All were low bidders.  Sachs Electric, the second lowest bidder, was selected due to its excellent work on past Library projects (Tai/Gershman). 

EUREKA HILLS LEASE – The Library Board approved the three-year Eureka Hills Lease for $3,045.00 per month.  This is a 9% increase (Stricker/Gershman).

BOARD ETHICS POLICY – The Library Board approved the Board Ethics Policy known as the Code of Ethics.  Per state statute, the resolution will be sent to the State Ethics Commission (Stricker/Tai). 

EQUIPMENT PRINTERS – The Board approved the recommendation of staff to purchase forty-two printers to replace printers that provide print outs from the internet.  The cost is $40,026 through Dell (Weinstock/Gershman). 

LIBRARY FOUNDATION – Jim Bogart gave an update on the fundraising efforts through the Foundation Department.  Two banks, First National Bank and National City Bank have agreed to sponsor Bookmobiles.  Sachs Properties, Jack Dubinsky and Sons and St. Louis Business Journal have also made contributions.  GHP, Children’s Plus, the Booksource, Merrill Lynch, Plaza Frontenac and Montblanc have agreed to sponsor upcoming author events and/or renovate children’s areas.  The Board approved the memberships of Ellen Sherberg, Patricia McKissack and Allen Pervil to the Foundation Board (Gershman/Weinstock).

CLOSED SESSION (NEXT MEETING):

Mr. Stricker moved that the open meeting adjourn and reconvene in closed session pursuant to Section 610.021 subsection (1), (2), (3), (9), (11), (12), (13) and (14) to discuss matters relating to legal actions, causes of action or litigation; property acquisition or sale and any personnel matters involving hiring, firing, discipline and promotion.  Mrs. Gershman seconded.  All voted in the affirmative.

Mr. Stricker moved that the meeting adjourn.   Mrs. Weinstock seconded.  The meeting adjourned at 4:57 p.m.

Respectfully Submitted,

Jean Weinstock
Secretary