November 2004 Board Minutes

Thorntown Public Library

124 N. Market St.,
Thorntown, IN 46071
Phone: 765-436-7348 Fax 765-436-7011

President Eric Ragsdale called the meeting to order at 6:00 pm. Other members in attendance were: Deanna Brueggert, Teresa Carter, John Merson, Patty Ramsey and Linda Yoder. Also present were Library Director Karen Niemeyer, Treasurer Barb Darnell, Architect Sean Bright, and Clerk of the Works Craig White. Former Board members Peg Mohler and Marcia Rapp also attended.

Deanna moved the acceptance of the secretary’s report, and Patty seconded. The minutes were approved. A copy of the additional claims is attached to these minutes.

Treasurer Barb Darnell presented her report, showing October operating receipts of $107,227.59; this included $83,642.75 from the early draw from the spring 2004 property tax monies. Total amount received from the tax draw was $175,636.27. Of this, $72,677.08 was for debt service, $9479.61 was for capital projects fund, and $93,479.58 for operating fund ($83, 642.75 from general property taxes and $9836.83 from license excise tax).. October disbursements totaled $40,317.56. The ending cash balance is $172,126.66. Karen stated that she had applied for an early draw for the fall and spring at the same time, but she will have to reapply for the fall draw since that must be done separately. The county does have the money, so it will not be a problem.

The Board then considered the Claims Register. After some discussion about specific items, Linda moved the acceptance of the Register, Teresa seconded, and the motion passed. Barb also noted that there are only two CDs remaining since one was cashed in. It is our intent to purchase another one, probably in December. Fund transfers were delayed until the December meeting. Karen noted that we most likely will not do any budget appropriation reductions since the amounts were not inflated; this will be decided at the next meeting.

Under old business, there is nothing finalized with the builder’s risk insurance claim as yet. Patty’s term has expired, but the County Council plans to reappoint her at the meeting Nov. 9. Eric also indicated that he would be willing to serve again; his term expired November 1, but he may continue to serve until the Western Boone school board reappoints him. Continuity is an important part of a well-functioning board, and we are grateful for the service Patty and Eric have provided over the years. Karen also reported that the Celebrate Today Center began this week offering $2 lunches and activities for senior citizens. There were 19 present at the first lunch. Karen will be working with Central Indiana Council on Aging (CICOA). They are putting together a proposal to provide a staff person for four hours per day and to bring in meals, serve and clean up. For the next couple of weeks, the staff is doing the meals, and the Board appreciates their efforts to provide a new and much needed service for our community.

Under new business, Karen reported on the new dumpster design, which will also allow space for storage of leftover tiles; Rick Roseboom will build the pad and fence. Craig presented a proposal to provide fencing for the air handlers. Since the dumpster fencing will be rough sawn cedar, Deanna moved that we commission Craig to build the fence out of matching material. Linda seconded, and the motion passed. The material cost is $603.57, and we will pay Craig $15.63 per hour to do the work. Since the money is available, we will pay for the work out of the 2004 budget.

Karen reported another successful trip to get the budget approved by the Indiana Dept. of Local Government Finance. She was in and out in about ten minutes. The upfront work to be prepared for this meeting makes a big difference, and the Board appreciates her efforts and those of her staff in getting it all together. In the program update Karen reported that the schedule is planned for November and December and that we have about three meetings a night as a general rule. Our original plan to have Kelly Frank help us with the gardening is not going to work out due to her health and schedule conflicts. Karen has requested quotes from three gardeners, and we will discuss this at the December meeting.

In the Director’s Report, Karen commented that Pete Merson sent a landscaping plan for the secret garden when we are ready to do it. There are some challenges with the heating and air conditioning, and Karen has had some basic training. ECS (the controls company) will be installing computer programs into three of our computers, so the staff can see what is happening with the system without having to go into the mechanical room. Because the heat seems to want to operate in some places and not in others, the Board has been warned that the bills may be somewhat higher than desired. The mechanical contractor is working on it. Karen reported that community response has been good as far as helping with the needs of the new library from dusting to cookie baking to whatever we need.

The Board wishes to offer special thanks and appreciation to all of the staff members who have given of their time and energy to put the finishing touches (which sometimes were much more complex than merely “touches”) on the new library in order to be ready for the dedication.

In the building report, Sean said that he has approved $7,331 to suction out loose insulation and replace it with R19 batts to keep the sprinklers from freezing. For all practical purposes, that uses up the rest of the contingency fund, but we will finish the project within our $2 million cap. We still have $163,000 of the project money in retainage, which will not be paid out until all of the final work is completed.

Teresa moved that the non-resident fee for an individual card be set at $83 in order to comply with the non-resident fee law, IC 20-14-2-8 and 20-14-7-1.2. Linda seconded, and the motion passed.

The meeting was adjourned at 7:00 on a motion from Patty and a second by Deanna.