Due to the coronavirus restrictions and technical difficulties, the meeting was held via GoToMeeting on April 9 at 7pm. The library director was asked to chair the meeting in order to help with logistics.
Library Director Rebecca Fasulo called the meeting to order at 7:03 PM.
Members present: Lloyd Murdoch, Jane Pingelski, Felicia Hopkins, Franklin Bennek, Sheri Welch, Catherine Bailey, Cathy Lozier, and Librarian Rebecca Fasulo.
Minutes of the previous meeting: Minutes were pre-read at home by board members. A motion was made by Catherine Bailey and seconded by Sheri Welch to accept the January Public Meeting minutes. The motion was carried with all in favor. A motion was made by Sheri Welch and seconded by Cathy Lozier to accept the Jan. 6th meeting minutes. The motion was carried with all in favor.
Treasurer’s Report: The treasurer’s report was also pre-read at home by board members. There was a brief discussion of whether to apply for the PPP (paycheck protection plan) loan that is available to 501(c)3 organizations. The board decided that we did not need this as we are in good shape right now and the funds could be more useful to a small organization that is struggling. A motion was made by Sheri Welch and seconded by Lloyd Murdoch to approve all paid bills. A motion was made by Felicia Hopkins and seconded by Sheri Welch to accept the treasurer’s report. The motion was carried with all in favor.
Librarian’s Report: The Librarian’s report was presented with highlights as follows:
- 2019 Annual Report
- Book and Bake Sale July 25
During the Librarian’s report: A motion was made by Sheri Welch and seconded by Catherine Bailey to approve the following resolution:
Resolved: That the Board of Trustees of the Corinth Free Library agrees to continue its support of the Joint Automation Project between the Southern Adirondack Library System and the Mohawk Valley Library System regarding the administration and maintenance of shared automated library services.
Motion was carried with all in favor.
Also, after a discussion regarding the Governor’s suspension of school budget votes, which affects our proposition, Sheri Welch volunteered to be a liaison with the school to keep us apprised of when/whether that vote will take place. We were reminded by Lloyd that if the vote doesn’t happen we will receive the same amount as the last year the budget was approved.
See attachment for complete librarian’s report
A motion was made by Catherine Bailey and seconded by Sheri Welch to accept the librarian’s report. The motion was carried with all in favor.
Old Business:
1. NYLA: No activity to report.
2. Farm2Library: This was expected to start in late May or June. No news yet but hope we will be able to stay on track.
3. Census: Due to the library’s closure we are limited to on-line help and encouragement of our citizens to fill out their census questionnaire.
4. Harriet Hawley Miller Trust: We have received word that this trust is now ready to be settled. The library will be receiving 1/3 of the remainder of the trust. We received a packet that needs signatures and directives regarding to what account the money should go. In addition, we need to send a copy of a corporate resolution on behalf of the signor of the agreement. A motion was made by Cathy Lozier and seconded by Sheri Welch to approve the following resolution:
Resolved: That the Board of Trustees of the Corinth Free Library has designated Lloyd Murdoch to act on their behalf in the matter of the Trust Settlement of Harriet Hawley Miller and to sign for and perform all responsibilities in relation to said settlement.
Motion was carried with all in favor.
New Business:
1. Pandemic Policy: There was a brief discussion concerning clarification of a couple of the items in the policy. A motion was made by Felicia Hopkins and seconded by Jane Pingelski to approve the following resolution:
Resolved: That the Board of Trustees of the Corinth Free Library agrees to adopt the Pandemic Policy as presented.
Motion was carried with all in favor.
2. By-Laws amendment: Our by-laws include a range of 5-9 for the number of board members that we can have, as was recommended by the state library. In our annual report to the NYS we must provide the number of voting members on our board. To be correct legally we must state a specific number. To insure that all current board members are voting members we need to add that the number of voting positions on the board is 9. This also means that our number for a quorum will be 5. A motion was made by Catherine Bailey and seconded by Cathy Lozier to approve the following resolution:
Resolved: That the Board of Trustees of the Corinth Free Library adopts the following changes to the By-laws of Corinth Free Library:
Management:
The business and affairs of the Board of Trustees of the Corinth Free Library shall be managed and conducted by a board consisting of not less than 5 nor more than 9 members. The voting members of the board shall be 9. No paid employee of the library may be a member of the Board of Trustees. A majority of the trustees shall be residents of the chartered service area. Vacancies on the board are filled at the annual meeting by vote of all members present.
Meetings:
4. A majority of the voting members of the Board shall constitute a quorum.
Motion was carried with all in favor.
3. Overdrive: As a response to the pandemic, a feature has been added to our system- wide Overdrive website that allows people to create a card using their phone number. This is to help people who don’t have a library card or, at this time, a way to get one. This new virtual card allows them access only to the Overdrive e-books and e-audiobooks and will not be valid as a regular card for in-house use once the library is open again. Though once we are open again we will be able to help those people get a full library card. A motion was made by Jane Pingelski and seconded by Sheri Welch to allow Becky to reallocate some budget funds from books to virtual service funds if there is a large surge in usage. Motion was carried with all in favor.
4. Board member resignation: A motion was made by Lloyd Murdoch and seconded by Catherine Bailey to accept Ken Carter’s verbal resignation from the Board of Trustees. Motion was carried with all in favor. Becky will send a note of appreciation for Ken’s years of service.
5. Reopening: To be determined contingent on Governor’s order, SALS recommendation, and library status at the time.
Adjournment: The motion was made by Sheri Welch and seconded by Felicia Hopkins with all in favor to adjourn the meeting at 7:45 PM.
Next two meetings: July 6, Oct. 5