Meeting: The GCPL Board met on Tuesday, February 21, 2023 at 4:00 pm at the GCPL Administrative Building. This meeting was in-person with a virtual option. Video recordings are available at the GCPL website: GCPL February 2023 Board Meeting. Public Comment is allowed near the end of the meeting.
Board Attendance: President Kate Pitrone, Vice President Paul A. Newman, Secretary Karen Delano, Trustees Kristen Brickman and Jake Yanchar. Joshua Hutchinson was absent.
Reviewer Note: there is currently an opening on the Board. Learn more and apply here.
Staff Attendance:
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Kris Carroll - Director
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Katy Farrell - Assistant Director
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Lisa Havlin - Fiscal Officer
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Christine Reda - Human Resources
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Deborah Shrock - Administrative Assistant
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John Johnson - Facilities Manager
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Marlene Pelyhes - Tech. Services Manager
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Michael Pope - IT Manager
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Dani Hollar - Bainbridge Branch Manager
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Judy Lasco - Chardon Branch
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Eric Coulbourne - Geauga West Branch
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Rachael Hartman - Middlefield Branch
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Kevin Barton - Thompson Branch
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Alicia Evens - Mobile Services Manager
Guests: from Bostwick Design Partnership, Rick Ortmeyer, Emily Carr and Sarah Kramer; Chagrin Valley Herb Society President, Kathy Catani and friend.
Minutes: January 17, 2023 Organizational and Regular Board Meeting minutes were approved without discussion and are available online. Recordings of these meetings also are available on the same page of the GCPL website.
Agenda: all items were approved. Additions included:
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15B request to close branches on Monday, July 3.
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15C to move the March GPL Board meeting to 3/28 at the Administration Center.
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16 a recommendation to reappoint Jake Yanchar to the GPL Board.
Board Secretary Duties: preparation of meeting minutes was designated to Kathy Farrell.
Chardon Conceptual Plan - Bostwick Partner Rick Ortmeyer, library design specialist, and Associate Emily Carr presented details of the Chardon Branch Renovation, which is scheduled to begin in late 2024. Observer’s note. This project is funded by a bond levy that was approved by voters in 2017. The Bainbridge and Thompson projects have been completed.
Mr. Ortmeyer gave background on the project. The first study was done in 2017. Chardon Branch is unique in that it serves a wider area than other branches and serves a population base of 35,000. Strategic goals emerged after participatory workshops and many meetings with library staff, board members, community groups, and Chardon schools and city officials. The consensus was that the branch should stay on Chardon Square.
The presented design includes:
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Multipurpose meeting rooms space increases by 80%.
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IT and creative space increases by 80%.
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Children Services increases by 150%.
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Adult services increase by 150% with lower shelves and more seating.
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Teen Services space decreases but is more enclosed than at present.
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Genealogy and Local History increases almost 1,000% and becomes a destination space with room for collections, programming space and exhibit space.
Ms. Carr presented on the changes to the current structure including:
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A new entry will be built for the east entry linking the existing building to the expansion. Excavation to make a direct entrance to the lower level was out of the range of possibilities so a new entrance was designed from the parking lot where patrons could take the elevator or stairs to the two levels instead of walking through the library.
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The Circulation Desk area was reconfigured with direct outside access to an enclosed book drop-off.
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The parking lot increases from 38-40 spaces to 90, the number of private spaces required by zoning for a building of 30,000 square feet. Under the agreement with Chardon Schools, the school will have access to some spaces. Karen Pitrone said that five years ago, Chardon Manager Randy Sharp had said that a variance could be worked out since they want the library to stay on the square. Mr. Ortmeyer said variances for library sites are usually granted since it would not affect other businesses/homes.
Costs: Construction with a Construction manager estimated at 12.1M with added soft costs (fees, furniture, etc) of 3.4M. Total cost estimated at 15.5M based on a start date of late 2024.
Questions were then taken from the audience. A board member asked how the construction would affect the school. Mr. Ortmeyer said that the Construction Manager would be responsible for construction of fences and barriers. Putting in utilities along Goodrich Court would probably affect the placing of the line of trees.
A printed report was given to each of the GPL Board members and a USB drive with the presentation.
Fiscal Officers Report – Lisa Havlin
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Approval for distribution of gifts - passed
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Approval to pay invoices - passed
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Update on NOACA charging station at Thompson. There is an estimated change of more than 10% so NOACA required a new proposal. The project is now scheduled to begin mid summer 2023 and will be finished by the end of the year.
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Updated estimate of tax revenue including an increase of 359,000. Estimated tax revenue to the Debt Service Fund was lowered by $21,000. Library adjusted taxation for this fund is .32 mil. The estimated millage in 2017 for bond replacement was .50 mil. The GPL budget hearing is scheduled for Tuesday, August 22 at 9:30 at the Courthouse Annex.
Director’s Report – Kris Carroll
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Approval for reimbursement of tuition - passed.
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For the first time in 4 years, a Volunteer Appreciation event was held, put on by the GPL Foundation and Friends of the Library with help from Debby Schrock and Rachael Hartman. Over 40 people attended. Great feedback was received.
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Staff-wide Roundtable meetings have begun. Three have been conducted and when all are complete, topics, issues, ideas and answers will be posted on the staff webpage.
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GCPL Foundation and Bainbridge Branch manager Dani Hollar are working on the Mini Golf event scheduled for March.
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The Veterans Resource Shelf at the Administrative Center is ready.
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Updated security and key fobs are installed at the Administrative Center Branch, Chardon Branch and Bainbridge Branch.
Assistant Manager’s Report – Katy Farrell
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The Valentines for Seniors program was a success. Paula Wagner from Middlefield had the idea, supplies were available at all branches and Mobile services delivered 766 valentines to seniors in residential care communities.
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Dates to remember are June 3 for the Summer Reading kickoff at the Fairgrounds and August 12th for the 60th Anniversary Celebration of GCPL at Veterans Legacy Woods.
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Staff trained for the Ohio Every Child Ready to Read program and the Northeast Ohio Regional Library System Adult Summer Reading program.
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Bainbridge saw an increase in the Digital Lab (Makers’ Space) use.
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A new art show opened in Bainbridge of photographs and sketches by local artist Daryl Humpal.
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Chardon had a Zoom program on The Roosevelts. A Golden ticket program was developed for low circulating juvenile books. The Genealogy and Local History specialists filled research requests.
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Geauga West: Annual Student Art Show 3/5. Chamber of Commerce meeting 1/19 with 20 local businesses. A puzzle exchange brought in 87 patrons.
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Middlefield: MLK Owl craft program, Beginning Beekeeping program. NOACA community meeting with 80 patrons.
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Bookmobile busy signing people up for the winter Reading program
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Thompson Township Board meets at the Thompson Branch. Both the Crochet program and Making Mead program are very popular.
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January 2023 Statistics:
65,583 patrons
16,583 computer and wi-fi uses
260 programs presented for 5,645 patrons
13,016 reference interactions
271,894 items circulated
Human Resources – Christine Reda
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Actions for approval: one new Hire, two Terminations - passed
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2022 Affordable Care Act Forms 1094C and 1095C sent to IRS
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Workmans Comp Form 300P submitted and Form 300AP sent to each branch for posting.
Information Technology Report - Michael Pope
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MAKER SPACE at Chardon High School (see Memorandum of Understanding in the Facilities Committee Report section below). Because space is not available at the Chardon Library Branch, an agreement was reached to locate the MAKER SPACE at Chardon High School. A space was found that had outside access and restroom facilities. When school closes in June, Chardon High School will paint and prepare the area. Most of the equipment has arrived and CHS is storing it. Training for school and library staff will begin soon. The Maker Space will open in early Fall 2023.
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Key Fobs installed at 3 branches. Soon all branches will have them.
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Little Green Button software installed. It is a button on staff computer screens. Pressing it informs all other staff at a branch that assistance is needed.
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24 hour outage a few weeks ago on the CLENET server. A meeting was held to discuss. This was the longest outage in five years of being with CLEVNET.
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MAKER SPACE at Chardon High School. A space was found that had outside access and restroom facilities. When school closes in June, Chardon High School will paint and prepare the area. Most of the equipment has arrived and CHS is storing it. Training for school and library staff will begin soon. The Maker Space will open in early Fall 2023.
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Digital Legacy Lab. A Mandatory training requirement has been dropped so patrons can come in, sign the agreement and use the equipment. Training videos are still posted online and on the computers in the Legacy Lab. Formal training is available once a month
Facilities Committee Report - Three items were presented for action:
Chardon Schools Maker Space Memorandum of Understanding - APPROVED. Observer’s note. Complete text of the Memorandums and Policy were included in the Board Packet with changes highlighted.
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The agreement is entered into and permitted by ORC 3375.403 and 3375.14 for the provision of school library services to students and the community.
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Initial term is for one year, July 1, 2023 to December 31, 2024. It will renew automatically unless terminated by either party with a 60-day written notice.
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Chardon School personnel will staff it during school hours and the Library will staff it at other times.
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Community hours will be: Monday through Thursday - 3:30pm to 8:30 pm. Saturday hours will be by appointment. Closed Fridays and on School District Calamity days.
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The agreement will go before the Chardon School Board in the beginning of March. The GCPL facilities committee will meet with them to discuss the details.
Operating Policy 555, Meeting and Study Rooms Update - APPROVED.
The Meeting and Study Rooms Policy was updated to make the policy consistent across all branches. The update deleted a provision that made meeting rooms available to volunteer tutors from non profit organizations.
Chagrin Valley Herb Society (CVHS) Memorandum of Understanding - APPROVED
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The Chagrin Valley Herb Society maintains an educational, public garden at the Bainbridge Branch for society members and library patrons.
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Since 1991, GCPL has provided land, water and meeting space for CVHS.
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The MOU is not a commitment of funds. Term ends January 31, 2024.
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All areas occupied by the herb garden belong to GCPL and may be used for library programming or projects.
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GCPL is not liable for volunteers working in the garden.
CVHS President Kathy Catan gave a presentation on the projects completed in 2022 and projects for 2023. The Society is working with the Bainbridge Library on a Storybook Garden. Their meetings are free and open to all, but they request that patrons register on their website. CVHS has worked on their IRS status and they are now a 501(c)(7)organization. CVHS is tax-exempt but donations to the organization cannot be claimed as tax exemptions.
New Business: three items were presented for action:
Obsolete Items - January list as provided in Board packet - APPROVED
Schedule Change - Close Library Monday, July 3, 2023 - APPROVED
Board Appointment - Recommendation to reappoint Jake Yanchar - APPROVED
Foundation: Kris Carroll provided a “snapshot” of library activity in 2022. The report will go to all legislators. Ohio Library legislative Day is April 26th in Columbus. Director Kris Carroll will attend.
Public Comment: permitted but none offered
Next Meeting: March 28, 2023, 4pm, GCPL Administrative Center
Observer: Cris Takacs
Reviewers: Anne Ondrey and Shelly Lewis
Submitted: 3-27-2023
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