Seneca East Public Library Board of Trustees
July 12, 2023
The July 12th, 2023 meeting of the Seneca East Board of Trustees was called to order by President Janet Ruffing at 7:28 P.M. Trustees in attendance were: Janet Ruffing, Kim Ohl, Tina Shook, Vicki Eckenrod, Jeff Beaston and Michelle Zeiter. Library staff attending included Fiscal Officer Pamala Dunson and Library Director Shannon Featheringill.
Approval of Minutes: The minutes of the May 10th, 2023 meeting were reviewed and approved with a motion by Michelle Zeiter, a 2nd by Kim Ohl, and approval of all remaining board members by voting “aye”.
Fiscal Officer’s Report: The board reviewed the May 2023 and June 2023 bills as well as reviewing and initialing the May 2023 and June 2023 Bank Reconciliation and Management Reports as presented by the Fiscal Officer.
Resolution #590 – To supplement appropriations according to the directions of Director Shannon Featheringill, for the unencumbered donations received from the period of 5/6/2023 –6/12/2023 for $2371.53 and 6/13/2023-7/8/2023 for $1696.36 and to approve an increase of $5,000.00 in donation revenue budget. The request for an amended certificate has been submitted to the County Auditor. The total amount of donations to be appropriated is $4,067.89. Itemization is as follows for June 2023: Publicity $950.00, Adult Books $1093.13, Children’s Books $143.20, Adult AV $20.00 and Supplies $165.20. Itemization is as follows for July 2023: Publicity $1370.00, Adult Books $156.45 and Supplies $169.91. A motion to approve Resolution #590 was made by Vicki Eckenrod with a 2nd by Jeff Beaston, and the motion passed with approval by all remaining board members voting “aye”.
2024 Tax Budget: We have documentation that supports the School Board approval. Now waiting on the Certificate of Estimated Revenue from the Seneca County Auditor’s Office. This will provide the first look at the estimated resources for 2024.
Chart of Account Change Updates: Work on this will begin after the 2024 Tax Budget has been approved. Hoping to begin in August.
Director’s Report: Director Featheringill reported a total Patron Count for May of 3103 with 26 days open and a total Patron Count for June of 4522 with 26 days open.
New Business: We will have a booth at the Republic Street Fair again this year on August 5th as well as participating in the Attica Fair Kid’s Day on August 12th. We are still working on Fall program planning, but that should be finalized in a week or two.
Legislative: June PLF distribution was $48,207,816 (3.8% above July estimate and 6.67% above December estimate). Overall receipts for May were $214 million (8.4%) above estimates. July PLF distribution is $47,733,557 (2.14% above Jul estimate and 5.84% above December estimate). The July distribution is the first of Fiscal Year 2024. As a reminder, the PLF percentage is now set in permanent law at 1.7% of the state’s General Revenue Fund. Fiscal Year 2023 ended with revenues almost $1 billion (3.6%) over estimates. House Bill 33 was signed by Governor DeWine making the Fiscal Year 2024-25 state operating budget law.
Building Update: Jason Branham will be sealing the annex roof. On the Back Room Project, SK Miller Ins said the insurance forms Jeff Beamer sent over are the same coverage that we have for the library. There are samples for paint colors, flooring and wall base trim. Back Room organizing and clearing are underway. Window sealing has been completed and no leaks have occurred after the last few rains. S.A. Communale replaced the valve on Monday, June 13th. The water had to be shut off to the building during the repair so the library closed until 4:00 PM. After the valve replacement they said there might be sediment in the toilets for a while and then the men’s toilet was acting strange and flushing 10-12 times with every flush. Last Friday, it would not stop flushing. Director Featheringill was able to disassemble and clean the gasket and that fixed the issue. One of the acrylic handles on the faucet in the men’s restroom is broken and will need to be replaced. Spring cleanup of the landscaping is finished. She will be back in July to check for weeds and in the late summer to trim.
Staff: Director Featheringill has a NORWELD roundtable on July 14th and has vacation planned for August 23rd-29th and November 10th-17th. Chris will be on vacation September 1st-8th. Cindy has announced her (re)retirement to be effective September 1st. An advertisement for a 12-18 hour clerk position will be posted to fill Cindy’s position.
Historical Society: There are no updates at this meeting.
Children’s Room Report:
Programming: We are halfway through the Summer Reading Program already! Things are going well- registrations and program attendance are both good. Storytime is averaging 25 per week this summer. There have been 31 in attendance for Storytime at the Park. We will have one more session coming up on July 19th. Stay and Play has had 15 children attend so far. During the August Storytime break, we will offer a Stay and Play program. We are also averaging 25 per week for school age programs. Our teen tie-dye program had 3 attendees. We have one more upcoming teen program this summer. We will be making terrariums. Our Stuffy Sleepover event was a success with 13 children who left toys and 22 stuffies who participated. Passive programming has been popular this summer with 99 entries for our weekly “Guess How Many” jar and 48 completed scavenger hunts.
Adult Services Report:
Past Events: On June 19th bath bombs were made with 12 in attendance. Perfection Landscaping gave a presentation on succulents. Each patron was able to plant their own succulent to take home on June 26th. There were 16 in attendance. A Bingo night was held on July 3rd with 17 patrons present.
Current Events: There are 2 displays for Summer Reading, You Belong @ our library and Facebooks. A new batch of Norweld large prints have arrived, but have not been processed yet. Patrons are invited to participate in our Bookface contest by emailing a picture to be displayed on the SEPL facebook page. The planning of fall events is underway.
Upcoming Events: On July 17th a DIY woven bowl event (using yarn and paper plates) will take place. Hobbit wreaths will be made on August 7th. Book displays will be changed out bi-weekly and passive contests will change weekly.
Foundation News: The book sale brought in $483.34. The Foundation was asked to cover the expense of valve replacement, chair cleaning, landscaping cleanup and window caulking (total $7655.00). At the July meeting, the Foundation agreed to reimburse the library for these expenses. The Reverse Raffle will take place September 16th at 5:30pm at Our Lady of Hope. Volunteers should be there by 4:30pm to eat. Eat-in or carry-out/drive-thru options will be available. The live auction is to be replaced with a silent auction and raffle baskets. It has been decided that the Jett and Lillian Mohr Service Award will be given on a warranted basis instead of annually and as such there will be no recipient this year.
Board Old Business: No old business items.
Board New Business: A new board member is needed to fill the seat vacated by Ruth Pifher.
The next meeting of the Seneca East Library Board will be August 16th, 2023 at 7:30 PM.
There being no further business to conduct, Tina Shook made a motion to adjourn at 8:06 P.M.
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Janet Ruffing, President Tina Shook, Secretary