MEEKER | The Meeker Public Library Board held its regular monthly meeting for the month of April last week in the community room of the public library. Board President John Moffitt, Vice President Keri Grieser, Secretary/Treasurer Toby Leavitt, and board member Dan Olson were present. Board member Michael Cobb was unable to attend in person due to illness but participated via Zoom.
During the public comment period, two community members addressed the board. Jeni Morlan requested that remarks made by Moffitt and Olson during last month’s meeting be added to the agenda for next month’s meeting for further discussion. Morlan raised concerns about Moffitt’s opposition to the American Library Association (ALA) and Olson’s previous comment about opening a homeschooling center at the library.
“For those who are not familiar with ALA, their mission statement reads: to provide leadership for the development, promotion, and improvement of the library and information services and the profession of librarianship in order to enhance learning and to ensure access to information for all,” Morlan said. “I would think and hope every member of the board should believe in this organization. I think the public should know why John Moffitt doesn’t.”
Morlan also questioned Olson’s comment that ALA training is not part of the library’s strategic objective.
“Was this a policy approved by the board? Has the attorney reviewed and commented on it? Shouldn’t that be something the library would get public input on?” she said. “I, for one, would like to see what’s in this strategic objective.”
Morlan concluded by calling for more transparency from the three gentlemen board members, saying, “You obviously don’t want to listen to the majority of the patrons who come to these meetings who just want the library to be run by the board. Maybe you’ll actually say the true reasons that you’re on this board.”
Next up was community member Dan Francis who praised the library, calling it a “treasure.” Francis brought up how a couple months ago Moffitt asked about the capacity of the community room due to a number of the people in attendance that night. Francis agreed that it was a fair question to ask and then said, “I got to thinking about it and started to walk around the facility and it occurred to me pretty quick that this building, even though it’s a public building doesn’t have a fire suppression system, and I wondered why we had people, exits, books which I understood later that this used to be a hardware lumber store that was repurposed,” he said.
“What I did notice was they had open ceilings and with the open ceilings, I think it would be pretty — I’m not going to say cheap — but it’d be easy to put a fire suppression versus having a closed system. I would like this board to investigate what the cost would be to put a fire suppression system in this building,” continued Francis.
In reference to the roof repair Project, Francis suggested looking into replacing the flat roof with a pitched one and adding fire protection, questioning whether it would be prudent to install one as he mentioned to the board that it would be a good time for that.
After the public comments, the board approved the March 26 meeting minutes, with one clarification from Olson regarding his prior homeschooling remarks.
“I talked about opening a homeschool center, and just for a clarification that was never a decision that was made by the board. I was using that as an example of if we had developed a strategic plan that we were going to open up a homeschooling center, and that we would essentially focus our education around doing something like that. So just clearing that up, that was not something that the board had discussed or made a decision on,” Olson stated.
The board then reviewed the March financial report. Income for the month was $55,000, while expenses totaled $54,000. A quarterly librarian salary payment of $14,951.81 was noted, along with $5,684 in repairs and maintenance, including upgrades such as the installation of an electric handicap-accessible door.
The board discussed the underperformance of money market accounts and possible reallocation of funds. Concerns were raised about untracked vacation time liabilities. Revisions to personnel policies are underway with assistance from the Employers Council.
In the absence of school librarian Amber Garcia, Library Director Kristina Selby delivered her report. She explained changes to the format of the financial report to reflect monthly figures.
Selby also shared program updates, including a storytime event with Yampatika featuring a beaver lodge, a teacher appreciation craft, and a bike workshop hosted by the Meeker Cyclery. She previewed a study night planned for Meeker High School students during finals week and introduced the library’s summer reading program.
“The theme is ‘Cover Our World,’ and we’ll be creating a community puzzle out of decorated wooden puzzle pieces,” Selby said.
Under old business, the board discussed its pending application with State Farm for a blanket surety/fidelity bond for staff and members. A separate crime bond policy was proposed at $150 per year, with an additional $15 per covered person.
Board members also provided an update on ongoing bylaw workshops. Leavitt noted significant progress, with the document growing from just over two pages to 10.
“The workshops that we have had supervision of under the supervision of Ms. Levine, we went from two and a quarter pages of bylaws to 10… I think we are working towards doing what is best for the library district in making bylaws current.”
Moffitt echoed Leavitt’s statement and also gave some input on how he thinks those workshops are going.
“I agree, with professional help we’ve covered most of everything.” During new business, the board discussed a proposed public comment protocol suggested by Kathleen Kelley in March. A draft document was attached to the agenda and will be reviewed at the next workshop in May.
The meeting concluded with a budget discussion. Board members emphasized overall budget balance over strict line-item tracking. Legal expenses were flagged as nearing their budgeted limit, with 56% of funds spent by March 31. The board considered alternative budget lines to cover potential overages.
The meeting was adjourned, and the next regular board meeting is scheduled for May 28 at 5:30 p.m. in the community room at Meeker Public Library.
