Seneca East Public Library Board of Trustees
May 11th, 2022
The May 11, 2022 meeting of the Seneca East Board of Trustees was called to order by President Janet Ruffing at 7:29 PM. Trustees in attendance were: Janet Ruffing, Kim Ohl, Tina Shook, Ruth Pifher, Vicki Eckenrod, Heather Stockmaster and Jeff Beaston. Library staff attending included Fiscal Officer Pamala Dunson and Library Director Shannon Featheringill.
Guests in attendance included representatives Kelly Shock, Shirley Williams and Rhonda Martin from the Attica Area Historical Society. We were informed that the Attica Area Historical Society will disband and proposed that the library accept and manage the collection. The board would like some time to consider this proposal. After the guests left a discussion was had on taking on this collection and how it would impact current operations. A list of questions will be drawn up and submitted to the Attica Area Historical Society. Fiscal Officer Pamala Dunson was concerned about separate accounting and tracking. President Janet Ruffing will contact Ohio Library Council inquiring about precedence for this with other libraries in the state. Further discussion will be made after more information is gathered.
Approval of Minutes: The minutes of the April 13th, 2022 meeting were reviewed and approved as amended with a motion by Vicki Eckenrod, a 2nd by Ruth Pifher, and approval of all remaining board members by voting “aye”.
Fiscal Officer’s Report: The board reviewed the April 2022 bills as well as reviewing and initialing the April 2022 Bank Reconciliation and Management Reports as presented by the Fiscal Officer.
Resolution #571 -To supplement appropriations according to the directions of Director Shannon Featheringill for the unencumbered donations received from the period of 4/7/22-5/4/22. The total amount of donations to be appropriated is $586.94. Itemization is as follows: Publicity $100.00, Adult Books $205.93, Children’s Books $63.86 and Supplies $217.15 A motion to approve Resolution #571 was made by Ruth Pifher, with a 2nd by Kim Ohl, and the motion passed with approval by all remaining board members voting “aye”.
Resolution #572 -To approve the 2023 Tax Budget. Once approved, it will be sent to the Seneca East Board of Education for approval and then submitted to the Seneca County Auditor’s office. A motion to approve Resolution #572 was made by Vicki Eckenrod, with a 2nd by Heather Stockmaster, and the motion passed with approval by all remaining board members voting “aye”.
Resolution #573 -To cash in the Everett CD when it comes due June 1st and roll over into the Capital Improvements fund. A motion to approve Resolution #573 was made by Kim Ohl, with a 2nd by Jeff Beaston, and the motion passed with approval by all remaining board members voting “aye”.
The first installment of $2,160.00 was paid for State Audit for 2020 and 2021. The audit is 80% complete. A Survey of Public Employment & Payroll was requested and submitted April 27th.
Director’s Report: Director Featheringill reported a total Patron Count for April of 3417 with 27 days open.
Old Business: Seneca County PLF Distribution formula is almost ready to send sample formulas to other libraries. Priority courier service began Monday, April 18th. Holds were not released until April 29th. Summer Reading plans are finalized.
New Business: Kinn Bros. changed furnace filters May 10th. New OLC membership cards were distributed to board members. COSI Learning Lunchbox is partnering with OLC again to give away 100 free STEM kits to each public library. We will distribute them at the SRP Kick-Off.
Legislative: The ODT posted the May PLF distribution of $57,624,451 which is 45.5% above the July 2021 estimate. The OBM reports that tax collections for FY22 are exceeding estimates by $2.5 billion. Six libraries had levies on the ballots around the state and all passed by significant margins.
Building Update: There are no roof updates at this time. A motion to approve Perry’s Plantation for landscaping work was made by Kim Ohl, with a 2nd by Jeff Beaston, and the motion passed with all remaining board members voting “aye”. Perry’s Plantation will begin work this week. Pavement Maintenance Co. quote was discussed. Davis & Newcomer installed a new infrared sensor on April 20th.
Staff: Ariel Fry has accepted the Adult Services Librarian position. A motion to hire Ariel Fry was made by Kim Ohl, with a 2nd by Ruth Pifher, and the motion passed with all remaining board members voting “aye”. A replacement for Ariel’s part time clerk position will be needed. Shannon will be on vacation May 27th through June 3rd.
Children’s Room Report: The spring sessions of Storytime and Music and Movement will end May 13th. In April, we averaged 13 per week for Storytime and 6 for Music and Movement. There were 13 in attendance for April’s Brick Builders Club. Our last session of the school year will be May 19th. We had 12 attend and create art bots at this month’s Mini Makers program. This was our last session of the school year. Overall, the program was well received and we are planning on starting it back up in October. Teen Board met April 14th with 3 in attendance. They provided ideas for summer reading prizes and helped to narrow down ideas for teen programming this summer. We aren’t planning on meeting in May but will meet again in June to go over summer volunteer opportunities. 181 Take and Make kits were passed out in April. The last visits of the school year with In His Care will be May 11th-12th. Summer Reading Planning is moving along well. The programming schedule has been completed. Children’s prizes have been ordered and most have arrived.
Foundation News: The Foundation has agreed to pay up to $5,000.00 for landscaping at the library. The Raffle date has been moved to September 17th. Plus an additional 25 raffle tickets will be added.
Board Old Business: No old business.
Board New Business: No new business.
At 8:23PM, a motion was made by Kim Ohl to enter Executive Session in accordance with ORC 121.22 (G 1), to consider the appointment, employment, dismissal, discipline, promotion, demotion, or compensation of a public employee. A second was received from Janet Ruffing and the motion passed with all trustees voting “aye”. The Board thereupon entered Executive Session until 8:29 PM at which time regular session was resumed.
The next meeting of the Seneca East Library Board will be June 8th at 7:30 PM. There being no further business to conduct, Tina Shook made a motion to adjourn at 8:35 PM.
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Janet Ruffing, President Tina Shook, Secretary