Board of Trustees River Forest Public Library Regular Board Minutes February 19, 2008 Call to Order & Roll Call President Mark Coe called the regular meeting to order at 7:30 p.m. Secretary Fischer called the roll. Present were Trustees Coe, Cusack, Fischer, Halloran, O’Connor, and Beck. Trustee Horstman was excused. Also present were Interim Director Dee Brennan, staff members Ellen Cutter and Blaire Ranucci, and Sophia Anastos, who has been hired as Library Director. Audience to Visitors, Trustee and Staff Comments The Board of Trustees welcomed Sophia Anastos, who expects to begin work on February 25th. Consent Agenda Trustee Coe requested a motion to approve the February Consent Agenda which included the January Treasurer’s Report and the Warrant and Benefit List for the period of January 11th to February 11th, 2008 including checks numbered from 7604-7623 and 7629-7662 excluding checks 7660 & 7615. Total expenditures for the period were $65701.62. Also included were the minutes from the Board Meeting on 1/15/08. During discussion, Trustee Cusack made note of a few typos. All agreed with the corrections. Trustee Fischer moved to accept the February Consent Agenda as amended. Trustee Halloran seconded. A roll call was taken and passed unanimously. Communications A. Announcements The source of the intermittent foul smell in the library was identified by Sam Cresswell and some mechanical specialists during a walk-through of the building. The drains had dried up, releasing the unpleasant odor. The plan going forward is to flush the drains with water on a weekly basis to prevent another occurrence. Interim Director Brennan thanked Sam Cresswell for her perseverance in resolving the issue. Director’s Report Trustees discussed some overall usage decline apparent in the statistical report, and Interim Director Brennan speculated that factors influencing usage may include the unusual amount of snow and ice this winter. She also pointed out that less of the budget is going to materials due to the salary increases, and that may affect circulation. One upward spike in the “Gale” database series seems to be connected to a school assignment at Roosevelt. Old Business A. Discussion of Employee Health Insurance Interim Directors Brennan and Hampson conducted research about possibilities for health insurance and recommended an upgrade in the benefits package that would cost the Library $48,000 annually. If these improvements were added, 57% of the Library’s budget would be allocated to salaries, which Ms. Brennan advised is well within the range of normal. Interim Director Brennan advised that competitive health benefits are an important way of attracting and retaining the best available employees. Interim Director Brennan indicated that, after comparing rates, the Village’s insurance rates are better than LIMRiCC’s, an insurance pool for MLS-affiliated libraries. [LIMRiCC, Library Insurance Management and Risk Control Combination, “was established to provide conventional insurance coverage and/or self-insurance for claims against or by its participants. The programs provide participating libraries with lower premiums as all these libraries are pooled together as one organization.” (from the MLS website)] Trustee Coe, noting insurance fees that seemed out of line with those he has seen in his own business practice, suggested that the library study its options within the overall insurance market. Interim Director Brennan agreed, noting that the Metropolitan Library System is considering finding outside coverage for any libraries who are members as of 4/1/08. (She noted also that if RFPL wants to be included in that consortium, membership in LIMRiCC would have to commence by 4/1/08). Trustees Beck and Coe agreed to contact brokers they know and trust to investigate options. (As an aside, Interim Director Brennan suggested that the library should coordinate the span of its fiscal year with the Village of River Forest.) B. New Director Orientation The Board agreed that a public reception for Ms. Anastos would be appropriate. Trustees Cusack and Beck volunteered to organize the event. The tentative date for the reception is April 13th from 3-5 PM. Trustee O’Connor has been working on an invite list and some orientation information about River Forest for Ms. Anastos. Trustee Coe suggested that he and Ms. Anastos make a courtesy visit to the offices of local newspapers. Trustee Fischer suggested creating a monthly agenda item during the orientation period to discuss relevant library history with Director Anastos. Trustee Coe intends to distribute information from a meeting he attended on “The Open Meetings Act” to trustees. New Business A. Intergovernmental Agreement The amended agreement would be in effect through the end of 2008. Trustee Coe suggested changing the agreement from flat rate to direct cost to be clear that this is not a for-profit agreement. The discussion of the Inter-governmental Agreement was tabled until the March meeting in order to consider minor adjustments to the language of the agreement. B. LIMRiCC Joint Self-Insurance Plan (JSIP) In a separate but related discussion of LIMRiCC from above, Interim Director Brennan recommended that RFPL participate in JSIP to provide director and trustee insurance. The program costs $3000 for the year and $2500 for each year thereafter. Trustee Coe suggested that the incoming Director evaluate it on behalf of RFPL and make a recommendation. The LIMRiCC JSIP Plan will be added to the March 2008 agenda. Executive Session At 9:05 PM Trustee Cusack moved to go into Executive Session to discuss a human resources issue. Trustee Fischer seconded. The motion carried unanimously. Adjournment At 9:25pm, Ms. Cusack moved that the meeting be adjourned. Ms. Halloran seconded. The motion passed unanimously. Respectfully submitted, Elizabeth Gearen Fischer