THORNTOWN PUBLIC LIBRARY BOARD OF TRUSTEES
June 13, 2005

Vice President John Merson called the meeting to order at 6:02 pm. Members in attendance were Deanna Brueggert, Ron Guinn, Patty Ramsey and Linda Yoder. Also present were Library Director Karen Niemeyer and Treasurer Barb Darnell. President Eric Ragsdale assumed leadership of the meeting at the presentation of the financial report.

Ron moved the acceptance of the secretary’s report with the addition of three claims reported by Treasurer Barb Darnell. The additions are: $500 to American General Financial (earnest money on the Martin house purchase), $418.16 to Frankfort Masonry (parking bumpers) and $577.13 to Vectren. Deanna seconded, and the minutes were approved.

Barb presented the financial report, showing May operating receipts of $59,376.17 and disbursements of $35,132.32. The ending cash balance is $210,710.81. The additional receipts for May came from the advanced draw on the tax money; the rest of the draw should come this week. The total advanced tax draw was $74,205.90, with $36,150.34 going into the Operating Fund, $34,538.23 into the Bond Interest and Redemption Fund, and $3,517.33 into the Capital Projects Fund. Barb also reported that the $44.22 remaining in the Vectren Fund was transferred to the Fountain Fund.

The Board then considered the Claims Register. A claim for $230.70 was added to the register; this was to pay Craig White for his labor to complete the fence. Linda moved the acceptance of the Claims Register, Patty seconded, and the motion was approved.

Pursuant to a notice from the Indiana Department of Local Government Finance (DLGF), Deanna moved that a Levy Excess Fund be established and that a total of $12,491 be transferred into the fund. The transfer will be as follows: $6,648 from the General Fund, $5,169 from Lease Rental and $674 from Library Capital Projects. Linda seconded, and the motion was approved. It should be noted that this is a book transfer only; DLGF will provide further direction with our budget order in 2006.

As the result of the June 3 direction from the State Board of Accounts, Linda moved that the 2005 resolution stating that the 2005 Rainy Day Fund shall be used for “Emergency Parking Lot/Drainage Repair” be amended, changing the purpose to “Any Lawful Purpose”. Patty seconded, and the motion passed. For future reference, “any lawful purpose” cannot include food or prizes.

Karen gave the building project report. The masons have finished patching holes and did a nice job although it took three trips. The HVAC is still not operating correctly, and there are some temperature issues; she is assuming it is a warranty item since it did work correctly for a while. Perhaps it should be tested in hot weather as well as cold. There are still three items required before the retainage can be paid: the final test and balance report, the as builts, and the photos. Sean Bright, our architect, has all of these items in his possession, and Eric and Deanna, who were appointed last month as Board representatives, have gone through the other information, giving their okay to proceed when the final three items are in hand. Karen reported there were no leaks during the recent heavy rains, although they do still keep an eye on the drains, watching for obstructions.

Under old business, the Board was updated on the health insurance progress. One employee waived coverage and another wishes to be added. The cost for four employees as of July 1 will be $1,923.83 per month under the John Alden plan; that will drop to $1,577.37 from August on since Shirley’s coverage will then be a secondary policy with drug coverage. We anticipate another drop in January as a second employee will be eligible for Medicare coverage and so will only need the secondary policy. The AIG Vision will cost $30.68 per month and the AIG Dental will be $86.72. Currently our monthly cost is $2,558 for medical and dental and $25 for vision, a total of $2,283; as of August this will drop to $1,694.77 per month. Because of the new rates, employees will not be required to pay a portion of the cost, but that is still an open possibility if things change. Deanna moved the acceptance of the new plan, Ron seconded, and the motion passed.

In regard to the Martin property acquisition, Karen reported that the sheriff’s sale is July 21, not June as was originally thought. Going through the sale is the quickest way to clear the liens on the property. On July 11, 2005, 6:00 p.m., the board will hold a public hearing for additional appropriations.

A flood payment is being made to Bouma-Betton. Karen will work on the balance this week. Previously paid were Liberty Painting, Purpfirst, and Mitch Carl.

John gave an update on the AED, reporting that there have been some procedural challenges, so it has not been ordered. We will get it, but we just don’t know when.

Under new business, the annual report was by-passed because of time constraints.

The HVAC maintenance contract was tabled until July since we still don’t have the costs identified.

The chimney repair was discussed during the consideration of the claims register. Neta Masonry is doing the repair but apparently requires an additional day to complete the work.

The four 2006 Budget Proposals were presented by Karen. The Library Improvement Reserve Fund (LIRF) Budget currently has a balance of $15,471.22, with $6,834 approved for 2005 use, which will be held for the July property purchase. The budget proposal for 2006 is the remaining $8,637.

The Rainy Day Fund currently has $2,657 from a COIT check received in 2004. She is looking at recommending an end of year transfer from the telephone monies for the T-1 line to the Rainy Day Fund, pending approval of DLGF.

The Debt Service Fund represents what we shall receive in taxes in 2006 for the purpose of retiring debt. Under a decision made in 2003, we are to collect one-third more than what we owe in order to have a cushion against a time when revenues are less than anticipated. Therefore, the total to be raised in 2006 will be $159,366.

Karen’s proposal for the Operating Fund is based on keeping the increase to the tax levy less than 5%. There was an error in the 2005 budget, which underestimated salaries by $12,000 even though the higher amount had been approved. She has added that back into the budget and then put a 2% increase for the 2006 year. While attempting to keep the budget below the 5% increase, she is concerned about the proposed amount in several areas. She is hoping a cushion might be possible in repair, legal fees, and materials. The library staff is doing their part to keep purchasing down, knowing that leftover dollars can remain in the cash balance, and that, in a worst case scenario, we can do an additional appropriation to access the money. Patty moved that we provide tentative approval to the proposed budgets so that Karen can meet with the DLGF on July 19, Ron seconded, and the budgets were given tentative approval.

In the Director’s report, Karen reported that a man who broke into the library in 2002 is the subject of a probation revocation hearing in June. A recent community service worker, who has done an excellent job, is going to court also and may be seeing some serious jail time. Landscaper Richard Beesley has not ordered our other plants yet, so Karen will follow up on that. We also have not seen the dumpster fence painter, so she is considering handling that job also. We were reminded that the roofers told us we have unsecured tiles on the roof, which need to be removed.

The meeting was adjourned at 7:45 on a motion from Deanna and a second by Linda.

Public Hearing: Monday, July 11, 2005 at 6:00 pm
Next Regular Meeting: Monday, July 11, 2005 at 6:15 pm

Respectfully Submitted,

Linda Yoder, Secretary
Thorntown Public Library Board of Trustees