Appleton Public Library

Board of Trustees Minutes

July 11, 2002

Present: Bergen, Bergman, Bloedow, de Young, Chandler, Ducklow, Nagler, Schuessler

Excused: Dunlap

Others present: Dawson, DeJardin, Kelly, Lemke, Muench, Wiltzius

Minutes and Bill Registers

President Schuessler called the meeting to order at 12:06 PM. Nagler moved and Chandler seconded approval of the minutes of the June 13, 2002 meeting. The motion passed. Bergman moved to approve the June bill registers and Nagler seconded. The motion passed. Schuessler appointed Ducklow acting secretary to sign the bill registers.

Finance Committee Report

Dawson distributed copies of the proposed budget and supplemental requests for the year 2003. Bergman reported on the Finance Committee’s meeting of July 3, 2003; the Committee reviewed each budget line in detail. The budget request is a status quo budget: inflation, mostly in personnel and materials, creates 5.04% increase over 2002 for a total of $3,686,593. Bergman moved and Bloedow seconded adoption of the budget request as submitted. The motion passed.

Bergman reported three supplementary requests:

1. A half time Page Clerk in the Circulation Section. Circulation has increased 16 % in the last 2 years and in June, 2003, over 95,000 items were circulated.

2. A Children’s half time Outreach Librarian. With the many changes in the community over the past few years, there is a need for a professional to go out to other agencies in the community to provide opportunities for promoting books and reading.

3. Security System Upgrade. With the library traffic increasing and the downtown becoming more urban, there is an increased concern for security. The proposal asks for an increase in the number of cameras in the building and upgraded equipment to increase efficiency and improve retrieval.

Bergman moved to approve the supplemental requests for a .5 Page Clerk position, a .5 Children’s Outreach Librarian, and upgrade the security system. Nagler seconded the motion and the motion passed.

Dawson distributed copies of projected building operations expenses for the next five years. These expenses will not be submitted with the budget, but the Mayor had requested that such a list be prepared. Staff reviewed recommendations with the Building and Equipment Committee and Finance Committee. Bergman moved to approve the long-term building projects document and Chandler seconded. The motion passed.

Director’s Report

Pat Pehlke, a full-time Circulation Clerk, has given notice that she will retire at the end of August. Because of the sensitivity in filling vacancies at this time of future budget uncertainty, Dawson followed the steps of City practice to get the opinions of the Mayor, HR Director Neisen and Council Finance Chair Groat as advisory to the Board. Staff completed the City’s “request to fill vacancy” form with a request to fill the position with two half time benefited employees. The Mayor, HR Director, Finance Chair and Board Personnel Chair Bergen concurred with the request. Ducklow moved to accept the recommendation, Chandler seconded and the motion passed.

As of July 20, 2002, there are 2,918 children registered for the Summer Library Program. There are also 285 teens registered for the Young Adult Program and 1,000 book reviews have been received.

The Paper Industry Hall of Fame has donated a painting of Appleton’s Lock #1 and the Appleton electric power plant. Bergman moved to accept the painting and Bloedow seconded. The motion passed.

Dawson presented the General Personnel Policy that was written to establish the framework for the library to adopt the city personnel policies. Nagler moved to approve the policy and Bergman seconded. The motion passed.

Other Business

There will not be a Board Meeting in August. The meeting adjourned at 1:07 PM