Seneca East Public Library Board of Trustees
October 11th, 2023
The October 11th, 2023 meeting of the Seneca East Board of Trustees was called to order by President Janet Ruffing at 7:26 P.M. Trustees in attendance were: Janet Ruffing, Kim Ohl, Tina Shook, Jeff Beaston, Vicki Eckenrod and Michelle Zeiter. Library staff attending included Library Director Shannon Featheringill.
Approval of Minutes: The minutes of the September 13th, 2023 meeting were reviewed and approved as amended with a motion by Jeff Beaston, a 2nd by Vicki Eckenrod, and approval of all remaining board members by voting “aye”.
Fiscal Officer’s Report: The board reviewed the September 2023 bills as well as reviewing and initialing the September 2023 Bank Reconciliation and Management Reports as presented by the Fiscal Officer.
Resolution #593 – To supplement appropriations according to the directions of Director Shannon Featheringill, for the unencumbered donations received from the period of 9/9/23-12/2/23. The total amount of donations to be appropriated is $2140.50. Itemization is as follows: Publicity $500.00, Adult Books $855.00, Children’s Books $600.00 and Supplies $185.50. A motion to approve Resolution #593 was made by Michelle Zeiter with a 2nd by Kim Ohl, and the motion passed with approval by all remaining board members voting “aye”. The Resolution Accepting the Amounts & Rates of the Tax Levy is in the hands of the Seneca County Auditor at
this time.
Chart of Account Change Updates:
- Research was done and then applied so that the Covid Grant Funds and The Everett Fund has officially been removed so that there will be a cleaner transition to the New Accounting Numbering System
- Old employee information has been backed up or placed on Archived Reports and has been removed from the system. This was advised by UAN. However, two employees that no longer work but have been paid in 2023, will have their payroll accounts converted in order for their W-2s to print out.
- Research has been done to figure out how to transfer payroll smoothly. UAN has advised that I Reallocate Funds FOR PAYROLL ONLY into the new accounting system anytime I feel I have the time to dedicate to make this transition, but BEFORE year end.
- Fiscal Officer Dunson will dedicate time the first of November right after payroll posts to the old accounts.
- Fiscal Officer Dunson will report activity once it is completed as per the latest authority granted in allowing Reallocation of money within the General Fund.
- Director Featheringill and Fiscal Officer Dunson have completed the Worksheet for the Temporary Appropriations with the exception of how to account for Workmans Comp. Accounts. This will be presented at the November meeting for approval of our Temporary Appropriations for 2024.
Annual Notice of Exemptions Form for Continuing Education has been completed and is on file as required by the State Auditors. No continuing education is required when our only investment is a bank account.
Director’s Report: Director Featheringill reported a total Patron Count for September of 3415 with 25 days open.
Old Business: On Attica Autumn Village Day, Chris manned the library’s tent and offered games, crafts, programming information, and 1000 Books Before Kindergarten sign-up. The committee ended up moving the square dance to the Village Office parking lot. The whole event went very well for the first time.
New Business: We will participate in Attica’s Hometown Christmas event as well, with similar, yet Christmas-themed offerings.
Legislative: Ohio's minimum wage is scheduled to increase to $10.45/hr on January 1, 2024. The current 2023 minimum wage is $10.10/hr. Ohio’s minimum wage increases on January 1 each year based on the rate of inflation which was 3.7% over the last year according to the Ohio Department of Commerce.
October PLF distribution is $40,357,725 (2.55% above July estimate and 8.35% above December estimate). The PLF for CY23 year-to-date total is $424,012,790. The ODT’s estimate for CY23 was $505.5 million. July and August actuals add $5.2 million to the CY21 estimate. With the updated revenue estimates from OBM and calculating the PLF at 1.7% for the remainder of the year, OLC estimates the PLF to end CY23 at $507.95 million.
Building Update: There is no quote yet from Jason Branham for the lower roof sealing. The Back Room Project will be starting in about 2+/- weeks and they have received full plan approval from the State of Ohio. Kinn Brothers replaced the bathroom faucet and was here for regular furnace maintenance. When Kinn Bros. was here for maintenance/to replace faucet he forgot to hook something back up on the Furnace for the Children’s Room. Chris let me know the A/C didn’t appear to be working so I called Kinn Bros., and they came out the next day and fixed it. There was also water on the floor in the furnace room for the Main Building Furnace, so he also cleared the furnace drains. The following day the drain in front of the basement drinking fountain was backed up so Kinn Bros. came back out and cleaned out that drain and did some maintenance on the drinking fountain itself. He said it was leaking, that the seal had gone bad. He used sealant on it and said we may want to consider replacement considering its advanced age. When looking at the A/C behind the Children’s Room, we noticed some issues with the building next door that need attention. The woven “fabric” that was tacked up is completely shredded with weathering/age and was wrapped around our A/C power switch, our railings, etc., and the power lines going into the next-door building. Recognizing it as a fire hazard, AEP was contacted, and they came out the same day and removed it. In addition, the plywood that had been used as a repair the last time we had water issues from the building is rotting. It reeks of mold and mildew and wild animals have complete access to the entire structure. There are also broken and cracked windows in the front of the building that are a concern. I contacted the Health Department for advice on where to get started but was advised theyprobably couldn’t help because it was not residential.
Staff: Director Featheringill will attend OLC Director’s Forum October 12th, NORWELD Board Meeting is October18th and vacation November 9th-17th. Nathan Heabler put in his two-week notice in favor of a full-time position on September 21st and his last day was October 5th. An advertisement was placed immediately, had four applications, interviewed last week, and hired Constance Karniotis-Richter of Attica. She started training October 10th.
Historical Society: No new items.
Foundation News: The Foundation made $8,548.56 at the Reverse Raffle. Thanks to everyone who volunteered, baked pies, sold and/or bought tickets or helped in any way. At Autumn Village Days, the Foundation sold books and (sold out of) bread and made $636.00. Many people commented they missed the bread! The next Foundation meeting will be held October 16th at 7PM.
Children’s Room Report:
Programming: There were 2 teen volunteers in September. This month the volunteers will help get crafts ready for the upcoming Halloween events and we will make Haunted Gingerbread Houses after. Fall sessions of Storytime and Music and Movement began the week of September 18th. There were 13 Storytime attendees and 12 for Music and Movement in September. Brick Builders resumed September 21st with 6 in attendance. Our October Mini Makers program had 16 children attend. In November, we will make Christmas tree ornaments. We have a storybook monster scavenger hunt set up in the children’s room for the month of October.
School Outreach: Both Elementary and Preschool visits have begun. September’s stem collaboration with the Seneca East school library went great. The kids loved the littleBits. We will be joining them again on October 23rd, 25th and 26th for a squishy circuit monster program.
Events: There were a lot of kids who visited our booth during the Autumn Village Day event and they really enjoyed the craft. We had multiple adults comment on how nice it was to have something for the kids to do that wasn’t at any cost to them. We are looking forward to participating in Attica's Hometown Christmas event in November.
Adult Services Report:
Past Events: On September 25th Chandler Wellness came to the library and did a talk regarding Tapping. There were 18 people in attendance. On October 2nd we hosted a Canvas Painting night and 17 people attended. October 1st-7th was Banned Books Week. There are currently 2 Banned Books Displays in the library.
Current Events: Banned Books displays were left up. The displays are both interesting and eye-catching. Patrons are checking out the books on the displays. Displays will likely be changed out in a couple weeks.
Upcoming Events: On October 23rd Mattie Miller will be doing a Scarecrow Craft. Ghost Sisters will be coming to do a presentation on October 30th.
Board Old Business: Regarding Board vacancies, Jaime Martin is no longer interested in completing Ruth’s term.
Board New Business: No new business items.
The next meeting of the Seneca East Library Board will be November 8th at 7:30 PM.
There being no further business to conduct, Tina Shook made a motion to adjourn at 8:01 PM.
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Janet Ruffing, President Tina Shook, Secretary