Video Description:
Longmont Library Monthly Board Meeting for September 20th, 2021.
Note: The following is the output of transcribing from a video recording. Although the transcription, which was done with software, is largely accurate, in some cases it is incomplete or inaccurate due to inaudible passages or [software] transcription errors. It is posted as an aid to understanding the proceedings at the meeting, but should not be treated as an authoritative record.
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Unknown Speaker 0:00
data was so so sensitive to the blue light coming out that she was having her horrible, like insomnia.
Unknown Speaker 0:07
I know. It’s okay.
Unknown Speaker 0:08
We’re here. 7704. And we’ll call the meeting to order. I see the public here. So we have no public comments. Approval of minutes. last meeting,
Unknown Speaker 0:27
motion to approve the minutes. I just made
Unknown Speaker 0:29
one. Minor typo,
Unknown Speaker 0:32
literally minutes ago
Unknown Speaker 0:38
if that distracts instead of District
Unknown Speaker 0:41
last time, yeah, and I copied it. Again,
Unknown Speaker 0:47
okay. approval for the minutes as amended. I move to approve the minutes as amended. All through fortune information, MC.
Unknown Speaker 1:04
Well, as you can see, we’re now open full hour, yeah, we have changed our hours, slightly from what they used to be we are during Monday through Thursday, now, nine to eight instead of 10 to nine, because we had just an informal study of three COVID and found that we had just about as many staff members as patrons from eight to nine. But we always had a line at the door in the morning. People want to do that, unfortunately. So folks are slowly figuring it out. So it’s funny because the first few days, like nobody came at night. And then and then now we’re seeing people 939 45 at least they’re trying they’re figuring out that work. So 95 on Friday and Saturday, and then one to five on Sunday. And those will now be the same hour all year long. They used to change between Labor Day Memorial Day, super confusing for everyone. So that was something that was commented on in our first feasibility study is please keep the average the same and keep Sunday off here. So Sunday’s been quiet the first few Sundays on Saturday has been nuts. Evening, still relatively quiet, but they don’t people, people will kind of get in the groove of what the new hours are pretty soon.
Unknown Speaker 2:19
And actually, are you moving up any programming and also like to earlier
Unknown Speaker 2:23
that is the plan? Well, we are back to more in person programming for kids. Yeah, the plan is that it’s more conducive to doing storytime in the morning. So we will probably be able to do like a 930 and 1030 for we only had one story time in the morning, and then in the afternoon, kids nap or Friday. So yeah. So yes, we are hoping to move programming earlier, we have a pretty sizable segment of the population that maybe would like to get out early. So they are Yeah. Wait for three hours. We usually find we have a bunch of seniors with a bunch of kids are awake. So that was the impetus for that. And because of those open hours are leading toward those open hours, we had kept some temp positions open nominative positions open for quite a while but we weren’t open on our hours. Now we’ve hired three pages to shelters. Let’s see two library technicians and one in adult services. And what is that those are all the temps? Nobody is most of them are anywhere between 10 and 15 hours to fill it and the desks so we need them. So that’s very few of them in place so far turning and be more stilted. We do have one more service point, which is our new kitchen area, which we would like to staff in the afternoons, evenings and weekends because that’s when the teams are there. And so far we don’t we don’t have to do that. So people just been running back and forth from each other. Obviously people
Unknown Speaker 4:09
are those FPS in the budget.
Unknown Speaker 4:13
There are channels there are 10 budget. We have it’s not a they are positions that we go ahead that we have to request from City Council. Those are so those are considered Some are seasonal, some are just kept villains, no benefits and has to be under 20 hours. So we have a separate temp budget and then our regular sample. So for example, we always have more tests in the summer with children’s when it’s not COVID because of summer reading programs, which take which normally have 1000s of kids and take some extra manpower to handle all of them. I don’t know why, but security down here. The security ignition issue I can think of at the moment is that our security system is somewhat problematic. And part of it is that need to work the heat head out. And it’s so archaic that it’s no longer available. So our tech had to go searching on eBay to try and find something that no work, it’s the same kind of thing we ended up with the blinds a couple years ago, where all the blinds folks that came out the company was out of business, they all came out and said, No, you need $10,000 worth of new blinds. And we were three remote controls on eBay, and Jason splice them together. So we’re getting to that point where we do have some systems in the building that are too old fix. So hopefully that’ll fix because our pull away button that we use when we leave the library is stuff like glue so so our learning has gone off at interesting times because the button will stick and then that they’re working on it. And masking orders it’s been Today was a really good day, it’s been a tough couple weeks with the MSP mandate we’ve had some folks that have chosen to argue about it kind of before we even open our house and you can’t tell me what to do and it’s not my mandate and etc. So I think the staffs done a really good job of talking to people about it and letting them know that you really do need to have this mask on and that we would like to stay open so we’ve got like not going to happen at the library so please put your masks on and keep it on it’s more a question of walking past people the minute you have to ask there’s a mascot down below so it’s a constant reminder we have Jake our security percentage share at or even a person and then I make rounds in the building twice in the morning and place in the afternoon for wages to go up and reminding folks like it’s my funniest interaction with the man that told me I wish he would just stop reminding me about this
Unknown Speaker 7:07
so it is mostly an issue in tight spaces like our temp computer lab that we have set up before we’re able to move into a lab and we wanted to go because it is a relatively small space and we have a couple people who claim to medical exemption which of course we cannot question for Is there any way to know whether to have medical condition or not? And so it’s been kind of a little bit of a struggle between the the masculine non masculine but
Unknown Speaker 7:40
this is curious what percentage of patrons are doing
Unknown Speaker 7:45
you know, today it was almost done everything downstairs and children’s it’s almost none when I walked in, I do my rounds upstairs and more often than not is two or three up there sometimes as much as many as eight to 10 that don’t have a mask on but today everybody so I’m hoping that that’s a sign that we’re going the other direction but don’t know
Unknown Speaker 8:10
anyone Becky
Unknown Speaker 8:13
and one person I know who’s written a miniature angry, you know, yelling at the face and try to get try to go behind the desk. And
Unknown Speaker 8:23
so we do We’ve had a few but most the time we just finished your business. And you’re gonna have to leave now because you’re screaming and so. So that is often it’s not as bad as we thought it would be compared to what I’ve heard from some other libraries.
Unknown Speaker 8:49
But then we have other folks that no one has to be more strict and saying you know, why don’t do what you have restrictions in the children’s department and more. You’re asking for vaccine cards for children because children can be vaccinated, etc. So it’s kind of a mix. People
Unknown Speaker 9:04
use the city looking at doing a mandated vaccine.
Unknown Speaker 9:08
No, I don’t think so necessarily, but I think everybody’s gonna wait and I have a holding pattern right now I’m seeing whether or not that that regulation that applies to businesses and if you have over 100 years, you’re blaming other people, etc. Rather than as a mascot. There’s a vaccine mandate. I don’t know if it applies to business apologies, I don’t think that that’s been slighted or whether or not it will apply to staff. There’ll be staff though not public, Toby’s. And that would be potentially a vaccine mandate for require weekly testing, but that’s not on our horizon.
Unknown Speaker 9:47
I don’t think there’s been any written that
Unknown Speaker 9:54
I’ve heard some chatter about it, but there’s nothing concrete at all.
Unknown Speaker 9:57
I’ll be surprised when it comes to If there isn’t something like this, if you take a federal government,
Unknown Speaker 10:05
you will comply with and that’s that’s what the discussion has been whether it was cities and counties take federal dollars and so
Unknown Speaker 10:12
I was the president. That’s his big step.
Unknown Speaker 10:17
And that would be, you know, obviously would force people necessarily to have the vaccine if they’re really anti vaccine, but they would have to be tested. So I have noticed that today, I knew there were a bunch of multiple testing sites reopening. So I think that heard alone last night is still open and that seven days a week so and drive the robot. But I think I think I just saw something about the fairgrounds like opening up again. So
Unknown Speaker 10:49
anyway, do you feel like Jake and Sherry are have the right skill set to help you with that? Yes, I
Unknown Speaker 10:53
do. Oh, yeah. I mean, I’m really good, good. patrons. And we went over, you know, I said, kind of mini scripts out to staff and we’ve been doing a lot of coaching, just saying, you know, here’s how you approach this, if someone says this, here’s what you should say, etc. So we try to help folks out and then you know, obviously, that’s for the frontline staff. But if it won’t give them any hassle that they’re supposed to be able to contact Jake, me or supervisor, I just don’t want to put our frontline staff down. So they’ve been in a bad position for the year and a half now. I know it’s really huge. So I said today was a good day. We’re not close yet, but
Unknown Speaker 11:38
I think we’re gonna hear from health insurers. Yep. There’s gonna be a differential cost and vaccinated you’re gonna pay x i think that’s right. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, if you don’t
Unknown Speaker 11:56
want to be an ICU
Unknown Speaker 11:59
Yeah. And we’re also facing some other weird COVID things and we’re still waiting for the liner that’s supposed to go in the drain system in the keyhole and in the children’s department that was on backorder finish off that space they have a drain system that they didn’t use to drain we used to get the ice damaged snow buildup which is a problem so I’m still waiting on that there’s still some work to be done at the back staff entrance and the loading dock in the back but that can’t be done yet. We have some you know, old rusty changes and stuff here that that are not up to code. But that can’t be done yet because we don’t have the materials are still in backorder so whether they’ll be done in the fall or the spring remains to be seen because there’s concrete that has to be a part of that etc it’s at some point it’s not gonna stay complex. And also for library is a big deal is the new paper shortage. So we’re not talking toilet paper this is a nationwide and beyond paper shortage and it’s affecting everything from people trying to get their wedding invitations to books definitely definitely copy paper and things like that they’ve already gone up considerably in price. So we were giving out X amount of free copies to folks who came in and we’re giving half the amount we were before publishing it’s a big deal that we’ve December we’ve actually had official letters from our book wholesaler and advising us to get more orders and now or we won’t get the bestseller stuff normally publishing goes in cycles and normally there’s a pretty big fall cycle leading up to holidays etc I have a lot of best selling authors and now they said that the the amounts of minigun are limited so prices are going out
Unknown Speaker 13:55
and we’ll have digital material
Unknown Speaker 14:00
now and then or if it does, it may but it’ll be a trickle down thing. And actually you know some of the that’s what some of the different publishers are saying hey, do not affected by paper come by us. So I we had already you know, until COVID never goes away. And we had already shifted a much larger percentage of our purchases over the last year and a half to digital materials and are still juggling what the demand is between print and digital. But definitely more demand for digital than there was before and a lot of folks that didn’t used to indulgent ebooks and eaudio became fans right COVID and their, their liking for those digital materials has increased definitely because a lot of folks that told us anecdotally they just said hey, I never was into ebooks or audiobooks and COVID and I love them. So, but a lot of folks don’t like the print books and we’re still ordering for books. Just our prices are definitely going to go up. As far as print materials go though, even with this, even though we put a request in the budget towards them to kickstart pre processing, we have done some small orders with a vendor so far, just to see how that looks. What that means is perfection. So far, what that means is that we are not physically putting on each little stamp, sticker barcode RFID tag and mylar plastic cover. I was very surprised when I first got to this library that all of that is still being done by hand because I haven’t seen it on my hand in a really long time. Because the vendors do it very inexpensively. It’s actually more expensive for us to pay stamp and buy materials to do those things and to have the vendors do it. So that’s a really big into and yes, it will free up some staff time once we get into that. No, we don’t have that if we don’t have a ton of staff to spare. So it’s good that they’ll free up staff time, because we’re seeing folks that do that technical services are the only people that work in our computer lab right now. So so we’re a little short on. people haven’t been back to full average for a while and we forgot how good Basecamp we were. So paper shortage was not that good thing for us. So that’s what I rated now. So that was what I had was this report. Any questions?
Unknown Speaker 16:34
Okay, well, I don’t have a huge update until, unfortunately, since we’re early in the community council meeting as of tomorrow. So it’s basically it’s an All the way All the same, but the things that we talked about before. I guess, you know, there are many things that made it through in this in the budget, both ongoing and one time expenses that I was very pleased with and the things that I wasn’t pleased with, were the three positions that are not going through. So for us at this point. I know it’s tough, because he said he can’t just keep adding and adding and adding positions. But for us, it’s just difficult to function or act he is not one other personally and a lot of years. And when I looked at who I can get you the info, I think it’s I don’t think it’s fun. It all really measurably since 2013. And so when I look at I have the whole charge, but when I look at the amount of programs that we have, you have the technology that we know, handle and some of the other things that have been added. It’s just tough to keep up. So yeah, I have a whole I have for the Viper together for the consultant. charts that are actually it’s actually 11 years of all those stats comparative with us level and older. We kind of we’re kind of half discounting 2020, because the stats are not very meaningful from 2020. But to look just looking at the other stats and and another stat that was interesting to me, in comparison, and comparing those things, rather, is that our our FTP, professional librarians is extremely low compared to other libraries. And that’s because that’s where we’ve made. That’s where we might cost savings, by hiring folks to be library assistants or library technicians in lieu of hiring master’s degree librarians because it works. So we have 11, and a lot of in Boulder has 26 I think. So and Loveland even has 14 or 15 professional degree library. And so that’s one of those, you know, that’s one of those debates or anything’s that folks with experience can do that, as they don’t require an MLS degree, but you also overtime, I think you you kind of degrade your service by not having that level of professionalism.
Unknown Speaker 19:04
So, you know, how does the city handle inflation? You
Unknown Speaker 19:10
know, that’s a really good question. I mean, do you? I mean, definitely, I mean, definitely the city looks at, I think they do a good job of looking at salaries and, and looking at market and how the market changes and keeping up with with the market value as far as our other categories. And we usually we have to give asking, we don’t get an inflationary adjustment. So that’s why I have to ask every year or two for an increase in the amount of money that we pay to our consortium, because we do most of our databases through the consortium and those go up every year by at least four or 5%.
Unknown Speaker 19:51
So just logically speaking, you’ll end up with less. Yeah,
Unknown Speaker 19:55
absolutely. Because everything on anything. I mean now we’re gonna move papers Lies, all those things have gone up by a lot. Like I said, our databases go up four or 5%. That means every year, subscriptions go up, which even subscriptions with smelly magazine subscriptions, they went down temporarily, when you know, the demand for magazines kind of waned, it still has been. So just
Unknown Speaker 20:19
from a conceptual standpoint, I think you were coming into next year, but the same level you finished up this year. So in reality, you’re taking a hit. Because you’ll end up being able to provide less,
Unknown Speaker 20:35
it’s not too bad, though, exactly. And this year, it won’t be next year is what it will really hit not gonna be for that 2023 budget, because we were able to use some COVID bargaining with some of our vendors, because they were struggling. So some of our database vendors, etc, gave us pretty good discounts during COVID and still earn in for this next year. But I don’t think it’ll happen after that part of themselves out of business. So we were able to get percentages off. Many of the things like the databases are really one of our most expensive things that we purchase. But I don’t think that that’s going to continue.
Unknown Speaker 21:16
So does the city have projection on inflation? yet?
Unknown Speaker 21:23
We haven’t we haven’t talked about inflation is a factor other than in the terms of salary package right in being one market plus 1%? For me, that’s the question is a little different. That’s that’s a legitimate question. But I but I’m just curious, do you have the number right now of a total general fund dollars, dedicated to the library in 2020 to
Unknown Speaker 21:53
2022 is right around 4 million. So it has gone up because but mostly salary personnel.
Unknown Speaker 21:59
So you know, the conversation we’ve had around this table is percentage of general fund, what percentage of general funds
Unknown Speaker 22:09
that I need to look at the
Unknown Speaker 22:10
general fund continues to increase? In fact, this conversation leads me to several questions like in 2013. What was the total general fund? The city’s budget outside of capital? improvement? And what percentage of that was the library? What is it 2022? How many? How many city employees were there in 2013? How many will there be in 2022? Because we’re adding three, five positions for 33
Unknown Speaker 22:36
hours per capita on my four day per capita? Well, that’s because your population is
Unknown Speaker 22:42
exactly what are consultants, what any is, is gathering right now. And she’s been in touch with Sanders appointees and several other folks in the budget office getting those just exactly what you’re talking about for the last 10 years or so. So I don’t have all of it maybe knows. But are you going to talk more about that report? week apart?
Unknown Speaker 23:03
Yes. So can I still talk about the budget that I wanted to talk about your
Unknown Speaker 23:18
catalog
Unknown Speaker 23:19
system in reference, sort of thing that you want to use with the absence of business orders? How do you think that affected your budget, the fact that the city believes is coming from DMC are funded devotion to devotion funds,
Unknown Speaker 23:42
I don’t really think it did. I mean, when I look at though, is that it’s been requested at least twice before I got here. And it’s a big ticket item, you get the request went nowhere. Also, I don’t know at this point, because I haven’t bought one. In years, I don’t have any idea of what the actual cost is going to be. So we had to get we had to issue an RFP, because it’s not just the machine. It’s whatever modifications you have to make, you have to have an induction window, outside inside as you’re putting in the walls, new things. So we issued an RFP is still out there for vendors. Because we need to have that folks come in, do their mandatory meeting walkthrough, do their CAD drawings, figure out how much the entire project would cost? Before I can even ask for something. I mean, I don’t have it. I don’t have any idea in this building, how much it would cost. So I couldn’t go and say, Okay, I think ballparking this would cost this much. And then I hate to lowball it.
Unknown Speaker 24:43
So therefore, you’re reluctant to put it in the budget because,
Unknown Speaker 24:48
number one, I didn’t think it had a snowball’s chance of passing to ideologist for, I don’t want to go in and there was a request a year or two before I got here, which was way lower than a sort of what actually costs even then
Unknown Speaker 25:04
what a guarantee it’s probably more Oh it is just because it is the employer
Unknown Speaker 25:09
but that point that would not have covered what we need to do in that yourself. So maybe the last thing I wanted to do was go in and say okay $250,000 for the sorter and find out it’s 250 so that’s where it’s coming from. And it’s been rejected multiple times.
Unknown Speaker 25:29
You see, this is a multi year project or a single now
Unknown Speaker 25:33
it doesn’t take that long actually, I think there’s a little bit of construction putting in those those inflection points, but then the survey itself takes a few days. They’re not that they’re, they’re big and they’re they’re they’re kind of constructed in compartments now. So they’re modular, there used to be one giant straight piece of equipment and it was a little bit more difficult to get bring in and set up another modular they’re very easy to assemble so the I think that the modification of the space will take longer than the machine itself
Unknown Speaker 26:11
so we’re going to discuss some closure and the fun later it’s just while we’re on the budget I have this little thing that shaped this that the city takes the assumption that the funding for this is going to come from the Mosier DMC cuts your budget that’s that’s the thing that is
Unknown Speaker 26:39
I just think it’s not sure how it’s
Unknown Speaker 26:44
grown with the general funds
Unknown Speaker 26:49
and I guess where my reluctance came from is that some of the things that we asked for that were a very small amount relative to that were questioned pretty heavily so if I have a $10,000 expense that’s really question what is a $300,000 expense? What’s the reality of it The reality is we did sort of 10 years ago and then we have this fund sitting around
Unknown Speaker 27:12
well it’s a taxpayer kind of like the city being yeah diligence in terms of being installers but at the same time they can’t be
Unknown Speaker 27:28
jr you know, they can’t penalize you for for being a surrogate in terms of managing the library that’s very
Unknown Speaker 27:41
much this an empire Charles Manson machine is an empire it’s more than one of these machines Didn’t we just buy a whole ton of them and you with the population
Unknown Speaker 27:57
is gonna send you every link to take you by this computer
Unknown Speaker 28:03
you know, that’s changing so
Unknown Speaker 28:05
but this is where I think the board can help the library where you would be at a disadvantage helping the library because you have to function within the city hierarchy and you know, you’re all part of the female but we’re here to advise on that and whether we think that’s fair from from a civics
Unknown Speaker 28:29
he’s saying we can apply pressure you can so different different right? Yeah, so let us know that we can help this
Unknown Speaker 28:36
I guess I’m to the point where this like I said where we really need to just say get it done 10 years ago we are very low on staff This is going to free up a lot of staff time staff time that we need to do other things.
Unknown Speaker 28:47
So it really is financially certainly our
Unknown Speaker 28:51
financial libraries and so I mean we have these giant pick lists we have this list of hundreds and hundreds of things to pull for people’s homes every day for example and we never get it done because just so many pages and similar to my last library, the library before and after we got disorder it was done before noon because it just freed up so much other time we’re checking
Unknown Speaker 29:21
for the people who are doing that be able to do the other things that you need though because that seems like a different skill set
Unknown Speaker 29:26
and then we’ll be okay. I see your point because when we were having you know budget meetings I was asked if the money that I had asked for for pre processing you know that freed up some folks who were putting you know, mylar covers on books if they could be my computer lab coordinator and Odeon. Oh yeah. But in this case, we are really slow on pulling those holes, shelving materials. We’ve had it we have to keep doing all fall for shelving where everybody from me on down the shelves because we’re inundated. Yes, that’s the same skill set. So it would fall between this In the same job,
Unknown Speaker 30:02
but it almost seems like the city doesn’t use a capital budgeting, assuming this is capital and capital budgeting exercise similar to what you see in his private industry, it doesn’t seem like they take all the they have in front of them they rank it all they look at know what’s gonna return the most for for the dollar. That’s how they evaluate projects doesn’t seem like
Unknown Speaker 30:33
there is there is there’s a fairly sophisticated scoring system problem is a sorter compared to a fire drug or other public safety, health and safety stuff, right? Or infrastructure, flood mitigation, water treatment, that those things all score high. That’s how the library got to where it is. That’s
Unknown Speaker 30:56
what happens in libraries, every community because you’re I mean, obviously you need live integration, you need, you know, safety equipment, etc. And this is very nice to have to move libraries forward, but it’s not going to compete with them.
Unknown Speaker 31:09
This for whatever it’s worth, this will be what I’m going to put away in here. I was waiting for my when I come up on the agenda, but I would just repeat in this conversation. So I did submit we were asked once ago, right? For one time expenditures, I asked you that this was on the list. So I raised the question last Tuesday night. We got a cat Just so you know, we got a capital budget three weeks ago, okay. 443 in the afternoon, but the meeting started at 570 $8 million expense. We had 17 minutes to look at before we got into a meeting. So you know, it’s like, what do you do with that? So there were things for me that were priorities to look for. This was one of them. And I it’s not there. So it just happened to be on the up when we were asked for one time expenditures in May that we were our priorities. This was on the list. So I was like, Well, why would be? Why would we pass this shopping list? I don’t care what the scoring system. So I have I didn’t send an email to Harold and Dale and an approved chemical at the top of my list. Well, I’ve got things on the list. The other budget considerations was the automated handling. I’ve got some narrative here I estimated to cost 2200 50,000. But that’s what you’re giving me back in there. And
Unknown Speaker 32:40
that was I had no idea.
Unknown Speaker 32:43
That’s all I had. Yes, that number. What I have set in is to see. And I’ve acknowledged that there was an agreement together multiple I said for several reasons. I think using the motion fund for this purchase is not a great idea. And asked for our one time cutting priorities May I assume we were being asked about priorities to be funded with general fund or similar resources, not the motion fund. What I am going to say Unless Unless I’ll back off if you want me to back off, maybe maybe I’ll say to you all back to the board I’ll back off. But my message will be if you want a proposal that will be easy to rally the community to create a Library District status course on the budgeting process you’re under underfunded by this out of the motion fund Can you if that’s what you want. It is an easy case to make. That the city will never fund the library at the level it’s supposed to even we have the money to do it. And when when you when we’ve been asked for a one time priority I added the by the way the shelving and the dividers The other thing that there was on my list and I honestly got my position is going to be Don’t ask me what my one time priorities are given ignore me you do that it’s your parents, honestly. That’s the message to the crew. I’m not happy about it. Honestly, I it’s an offense to me to be asked them to be ignored. And then to and then to fund it this way. And I realized what I can’t really you know, really get a chance to watch this.
Unknown Speaker 34:17
We are going to put this on TV. I know.
Unknown Speaker 34:24
I’ll stand down if you if you don’t want that. If you don’t want that kind of conversation, unfortunately. But I’m prepared to moan I do want to make the point that what we’re doing with this budget to the degree that that anybody would want to make the case that if that recommendation comes from the consultant that ought to be the one that you carry to the dispute curious to the council. This budgeting cycle is going to help make that case. So he’s asking us
Unknown Speaker 34:56
well, you know, just jumped in from Microsoft Who is the promotion fund is a rainy day fund, that when the city was absent adequate resources to fund the library, that that would be a place that you could go to keep, keep things going buy things when they couldn’t afford to buy. That’s not the situation I’m hearing this year on hiring that there’s more money than was expected that the city was looking for opportunities. And this one just happened to be ignored. No, fell through the cracks are in I don’t want to be negative, but you know, just didn’t vote below.
Unknown Speaker 35:39
But you used to realize that we had to submit our budget documents before we knew that this pot of money was there. But even so you
Unknown Speaker 35:48
probably under ask right? Not even knowing the money was there. And even so, I want to talk about
Unknown Speaker 35:54
the other time I was asked the other guys get a reward. Why wouldn’t you get a real? I mean, there’s gonna be relooked around. Do you think we should do that? I’m comfortable with that. Are you comfortable with that?
Unknown Speaker 36:09
matter?
Unknown Speaker 36:10
So let’s let’s do a weekend? Yes. Okay.
Unknown Speaker 36:14
me this has been since I’ve been on this board, which has been a few years this is a continual conversation. Yes.
Unknown Speaker 36:26
Yeah. It seems like it’s been an issue since before you even come here. So it’s
Unknown Speaker 36:29
like a unanimous Yeah, go for it.
Unknown Speaker 36:35
I try to be sensitive to the answer. I don’t want to
Unknown Speaker 36:40
specifically said she’s not taking a position, we’re the ones taking this position. So we are taking that position, and we
Unknown Speaker 36:47
are an advisory board. We have a device that we can get to see based on what we have seen happen in terms of funding for the library over a long period of
Unknown Speaker 37:03
time. What I said earlier in the conversation is that I it was my understanding. And it may be my misunderstanding that whatever I understand that Nancy had with with the budgeting process, and we’re colleagues that this board did not assume that this was going to be funded out of the motion. That’s correct. In my mind that you talked about rainy day, I don’t even have a rainy day, it seems to me that you ought to use a motion fund to pursue things that are real visionary, right, right, that are kind of way beyond it’s like what would be really special. Right? Well, not what’s essential to have a functioning library.
Unknown Speaker 37:41
I agree. I want an element I ever realized it for a long time. program budget,
Unknown Speaker 37:48
I spent I spent program a lot of decades on your side of this company. Side your conversation today. So I get I get the pursuit a little differently. But I don’t want to put you on and I don’t want to misrepresent this group. That was part of my concern. When I said to Harold, what that sort of out of emotion that’s and then he said, Well, you agreed to it.
Unknown Speaker 38:23
Now is that now
Unknown Speaker 38:24
I didn’t think you all
Unknown Speaker 38:28
right. So you had mentioned that it might be advantageous if some of us come tomorrow night You’re still have that belief? Absolutely. And how long do you think this is gonna go on?
Unknown Speaker 38:44
It’s most most of the meeting is budget that’s all but other topics? I don’t know that
Unknown Speaker 38:50
there’s I don’t think they’re I mean the library first day, bye bye.
Unknown Speaker 38:56
I’d have to go back. There’s there is a sequence I have to go back and look at our materials to to tell you where the
Unknown Speaker 39:04
conversation what doesn’t matter to me. Here’s what I use. I have no social life. We have family, you
Unknown Speaker 39:16
know, here’s how I think it’s gonna unfold. When we got the capital proven budget, and there’s really no we there was no chance to really ask questions. That night. Was my recollection. We were told the next meeting, we would have a chance to raise questions for the next meeting. There wasn’t any and I made it made the point. You know, which at this thing with no time to review and we were told that we get to ask questions tonight. Now you don’t get what I said was if we get to the point where somebody says to me, it’s too late. I said, I’m going to be really, really grumpy. That is Not going to accept that is a response. We get part of it is budget, but because that’s what happens with GE, we should have fixed this back then. But we never there was. So I’m on record as saying that is not going to work. That’s just not going to wash his timeline. So we were told in last week that tonight, tomorrow night, you can ask questions, and we were told, if you tips give us your questions in writing, I don’t know who else did that? I did. They’ve got a number of them. And I expect us to get our mic, I want my questions answered before we get into any other budget presentations. Otherwise, the same day of things, getting in too late, right? You know, people gonna be exhausted or let’s hype this up another time. I mean, that’s just like, go right. So I’ve got I know what I want to know, tomorrow night. And I wanted, I want answers to my questions before I have another divided discussion.
Unknown Speaker 40:54
So if we show up, what does that how does that work?
Unknown Speaker 40:57
Well, I would suggest is very public invited to be heard you use your three minutes to say, either all the or some of you or certainly you as the board chair, to say we understand that, tonight begins discussions or presentations and discussions about those parts of the budget, that would include the library, whether it comes up tonight, or we’re not as important because my questions will come up. And we want you to know that, that we are we all know that our library has been under resourced based on the work of a consultant hired by the city to do their conduct a feasibility study. We know as a as a percentage, if it was a million dollars a year just to get to average and work for me, and we’re under resourced by 25%. Now as a general, right, as a general number 20%. At least Yeah. And so it’ll be we’re going to be keen to observe and to look to learn, as an advisory board, how much of that 20% deficit we will make up in this budgeting cycle in VR? Because I don’t think we’re making a video. I think we did.
Unknown Speaker 42:10
Is this where we start talking about Library District? Yeah. Well, my
Unknown Speaker 42:17
sound only because we’ll get to that and feasibility study for you. Again, it’s part of what the consultant has been hired to do is to say, and instruct is an option, a hybrid is an option to study how these options could best fund the library. What’s gonna happen with that’s going to be finished next few months.
Unknown Speaker 42:35
I mean, so that doesn’t work. Right. So here’s why because boulder is about to put this they’re going yeah, we’re going whole hog. And they are right up there wrapping around or want to do is they’re taking Kevin into
Unknown Speaker 42:48
signing us for five years.
Unknown Speaker 42:50
So if we don’t move, though, we are going to lose a huge potential revenue stream for the city’s library to Boulder, their number is four times five times actually what your number is 20 million, 20 million. And that’s what their their districts going to create. And they’re going to suck a whole bunch of that along. So we need to act now. We can’t wait two or three months for this report. We can’t we have to start talking about it. We have to start now. Because we have to be balanced next year.
Unknown Speaker 43:22
So what did I do? The city was incentive to give us money in this budget cycle. They’re like, well, they’re just gonna become a library we’re trying to Anyway,
Unknown Speaker 43:30
we’ll be okay. A year thing is okay, if we double our budget next year, we go living authentically.
Unknown Speaker 43:42
To be we want to, we want to do what is best and in my opinion, waiting for that feasibility study. Of course, it seems like a very logical answer.
Unknown Speaker 43:52
Could I say nothing about the feasibility study was supposed to be done before the pandemic
Unknown Speaker 43:58
it was, but it’s not. And so therefore, if we need if it is willing to validate it was voted down. That’s it?
Unknown Speaker 44:08
Oh, no, you can do it again. That’s what next slide was it got voted down
Unknown Speaker 44:12
for? Yeah. Well, the point that the point that I’ll make tomorrow night, unless unless you’d rather me not, is not to short circuit the feasibility study would be to make the point. That if the expectation is, or if there’s an expectation that we won’t proceed, or there isn’t an appetite for proceeding on the city staff, this budgeting cycle, because God is a big mess, or this decisions of bigness. If you don’t want to see that kind of a proposal come forward, then what people who care about the library are going to want to see that we are making up the deficit. And this is not how you make up the deficit. This is the exact opposite message,
Unknown Speaker 44:55
it sends a clear message that we move forward faster as well.
Unknown Speaker 45:00
Well, I’m just saying that that, that they need to hear that. I’ve said it, they need to hear it tomorrow night publicly.
Unknown Speaker 45:10
I don’t mind talking about the library issue. But my concern is that it’ll get in the way of this budget. The people start fixating on that. So maybe it’s a timing issue.
Unknown Speaker 45:29
The folks that are already upset and talking about a Library District before it’s even before you will
Unknown Speaker 45:34
say something now, if we want to do something a couple of weeks later on, but my parents don’t want to have a good start muddying the water to the
Unknown Speaker 45:48
point, I think it’s not not gonna come up, but I think it was right you’ll notice Lee, see what
Unknown Speaker 45:59
is going to influence the out there.
Unknown Speaker 46:02
Whoever in the community thinks power with people in the community by this, they think about it, some, you know, we’re automatically Well, I think it’s important for decision makers in the city. And this is not a decision made in isolation. there’s a there’s a keen interest on the part of people care about the library to see deficits made up, or it’s a clear message that there’s only one way to do that, you won’t be through the traditional budgeting process, there’s not the will or the the appetite to do that. The only alternative that is is to create a district. But But I’d like to do the best job I could to make the case in this budgeting cycle to do more, right, the specter of the potential Library District, which should be a reason to pay attention, but part of the case for me is just simply you asked me for my recommendations, and then you ignore them. Don’t Ask Don’t I mean, that’s, that sets up a different kind of communication with the city staff yet, that I just assume we not get into, I would rather not happen that way. But they need to hear that message as well. And I
Unknown Speaker 47:14
also seen this work another way, one of the cities where I worked, looking at a district did, the city did kick in this much more money. And then everyone said, when we started doing the rest of the, you know, getting people together and enthusiastic about dedicated funding, so we just got a bunch of money. And what we got was like 100,000 bucks, or two or 1000 bucks when we needed 2 million. So that is a little bit of a concern for me too. Is that kicking in and saying, look, look, we gave you $300,000. And now you’re done when we’re short. Bye, guys.
Unknown Speaker 47:51
You’re just grateful.
Unknown Speaker 47:52
So Well, that’s it. That’s exactly.
Unknown Speaker 47:55
Division is a logarithmic 21st 22nd century. But that doesn’t really get it done. That’s, that doesn’t put you on the road. Great.
Unknown Speaker 48:10
I know that and you know that. But when they say, Oh, you just got a bunch of money last year. What more do you want? I’m just saying that
Unknown Speaker 48:18
that happens. Well, this is it. You can kill anything with incremental improvement. Yes, to do our time corporations, right. Yeah. To kill project was to say, look what you got. So yeah, that’s not what we need here. Now, you don’t need to double our budget. Yeah. That’s not for me. That’s not going to happen this year. Yeah. But it could with a district next year. So yeah. Anyway, I don’t want to use this as like a bludgeon or anything with your budget. I just want to do what’s right for the library. And for the city, the city in this library services that it deserves, because we’re not receiving the word 2013. Now, close to that city, because that’s when I moved back and library server
Unknown Speaker 49:01
Incidentally, already.
Unknown Speaker 49:04
So it’s, it’s I think his approach is the right approach. I think that we need to do that. But I also think that we need to a couple of weeks from now, and I can get to this, but we are moving forward and stuff. There’s the library and I met
Unknown Speaker 49:19
Okay, great, we’re good.
Unknown Speaker 49:21
I think it’s good that this particular money is tied to one thing. Yes, thank you. That’s for 10 years ago. Yeah. So it’s not like you’re we’re giving you $300,000 to do with what you want. Let’s look at one item that you’ve been asked for review over the years, your argument to say then our budget, we don’t we need more money, period, right? They still said go to
Unknown Speaker 49:43
for your position.
Unknown Speaker 49:45
And two of them are part time that benefits like this. I mean, the amount of labor disorder with those positions for six, eight years. So
Unknown Speaker 49:57
what looks to those numbers, staffing numbers gonna be really Not for tomorrow night. But before we finish this budgeting cycle to know, the percentage of library employees, what percentage represented in 2013? percentage represent 2022 compared to the overall number of employees, right? Yeah. What you represent them to my guess is it’s gonna be much smaller than that.
Unknown Speaker 50:28
I mean, well, and it’s not it’s not even it is. But it’s not even the size. It’s the diversity. It’s the you know that one of the visitors we asked for is a Bible outreach coordinator. That was another thing in 2013, right, we did a computer lab coordinator, because our needs that will be grown in that area for something more sophisticated than just drop.
Unknown Speaker 50:46
But if we can’t get the numbers, you’ll never get that diversity. No, I mean, No, you won’t. So, so one way to make the case is to say, if we had just kept up, yeah, the number of people employed in the scientific library. Yes. 3030. Yeah, you would have if this be more FP diversified in ways that make sense in 2022?
Unknown Speaker 51:09
Well, I will commit for whatever it may be like,
Unknown Speaker 51:19
do you want help drafting a statement? Or if you
Unknown Speaker 51:23
really extra grease,
Unknown Speaker 51:23
by the Spirit kind of thing?
Unknown Speaker 51:28
You know, he’s a guy talks a lot.
Unknown Speaker 51:33
Take whatever else you get, but I think I need to make sure that if you guys have the time and want to come along, I mean that
Unknown Speaker 51:49
either way, always been eating as well. So
Unknown Speaker 51:52
tomorrow, I can’t, that I’ve got maybe we’ll be there and I have another meeting.
Unknown Speaker 52:00
My kids were vaccinated, and I can bring them
Unknown Speaker 52:05
the messages, you’re on your own boss.
Unknown Speaker 52:10
Okay, well, alright. So anything more on the budget before we move on? This day? How about the principal? Yeah, bad
Unknown Speaker 52:21
meetings on an MBA. When’s
Unknown Speaker 52:23
our meeting before they are?
Unknown Speaker 52:27
Okay, so we’ll skip that one.
Unknown Speaker 52:30
We are going to have the same sheet and we do not. But we will next we’re covered through the end of this part of the end of this year. For those
Unknown Speaker 52:41
as you’re okay. That I think we’ve covered everything up the whole business. And everybody’s dying to hear what’s going
Unknown Speaker 53:01
on. We have a meeting on Friday with Annie. She’s been crunching lots of numbers. I’ve been helping her assemble data. It’s a no, the meeting will be this Friday. So I don’t have a ton of info for you. She has finalized questions for stakeholder interviews, we’ve given her a whole list of stakeholders. So she’ll be doing a lot of 20 to 30 minute calls or online meetings with stakeholders just to update and we I think that the initial call consultants missed a few folks and also some things have happened since then. Some of their questions talk about some of the same things that the verb consultant did the role of the community in the library for the challenges of library facilities definitely changes in the next 10 to 20 years. So that’s the next step. With her. She’s like I said, she’s been compiling data, the stakeholder interviews come next and then it’s going to be the larger group that needs which includes some of you folks on the board and some friends and other
Unknown Speaker 54:02
social survey. So cover. stakeholder interview,
Unknown Speaker 54:08
she has initiated she will start interviewing as soon as we have our meeting Friday, she will be interviewing folks
Unknown Speaker 54:14
next week. So we could be best interviewed that week. Okay. Yeah,
Unknown Speaker 54:21
I have both of you on her list.
Unknown Speaker 54:23
Thank you. You may want to give her a heads up. As we crank up this issue about the budget. Pressure may come back on her. People were asking where are we up with a feasibility study. So I mean it it may come all the way originally about that. We also check our job. We balance it out.
Unknown Speaker 54:51
To start meant earlier that she did not have a contract. Anyway, that’s where we are On the morning of Friday,
Unknown Speaker 55:04
well, maybe you can send out an update,
Unknown Speaker 55:09
I can send an update, you can file that you can send robots to
Unknown Speaker 55:15
give us a heads up. Any questions on the feasibility study? It’s like, Okay. Bowsher Epson funding policy.
Unknown Speaker 55:41
I put it together. I got one comment. Hopefully that was not you to just change it from quarterly to semi annually. So you would ask for more frequent quarterly Mark said to frequent came back and semi annual Eva,
Unknown Speaker 56:01
I think if you’re doing this whole update on it to my annual is fine, but I don’t think that precludes the library from making a request. This is just the semi annual
Unknown Speaker 56:12
review. My take on it was I thought it should be more of a savings account. They should be bigger items. So the Councilman xpoint Nation visionary, and it should be special.
Unknown Speaker 56:27
That’s something that’s required to operate library.
Unknown Speaker 56:28
Yeah. It shouldn’t interfere with a friend shouldn’t interfere with the city.
Unknown Speaker 56:36
What is it? What? What have you dealt with a policy that talks about its purpose?
Unknown Speaker 56:42
So it’s really put a whole bunch of purpose, I said, the review will be the library strategic plan. And then the request was in relation to that strategic plan,
Unknown Speaker 56:56
which extended to the
Unknown Speaker 56:59
southeast forever. So yeah. There was.
Unknown Speaker 57:04
So the reason I asked if
Unknown Speaker 57:05
there wasn’t any, I did not put anything, I didn’t want to put a stipulation on the library per se, because I don’t know what they
Unknown Speaker 57:18
received to me that you want in that policy statement, or the policy statement about what the intended uses or purpose of the motion funding in the pension fund would be,
Unknown Speaker 57:30
unfortunately, in the funds themselves, description, say,
Unknown Speaker 57:33
designated for library purposes. And so so let’s say, you want to be clear what those purposes would be, it seems to me, because if we have that policy in we can do is real clear statement that this is not just to supplement what
Unknown Speaker 57:51
I did right conditionally fund request should not should represent items that the library would not be able to get via Friends of the Library support nor the annual budget. Thank you more strident, and that
Unknown Speaker 58:06
was pretty think things like
Unknown Speaker 58:08
that. That’s pretty good state.
Unknown Speaker 58:09
That’s a generic statement that fits of what we want. So then we get to decide,
Unknown Speaker 58:14
right, so in your comments, john, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to say we have been working on a policy statement. Specifically, to guide what how we think and what we do with the motion fund. This is this is what we believe should be the purpose of the motion. which is which is, which is
Unknown Speaker 58:34
why to get the most refund them tomorrow. They put it in there.
Unknown Speaker 58:41
It’s identified is the funding source for this sort of, okay.
Unknown Speaker 58:48
I did tell them that I mean, I told them that we didn’t have the specifications for how we would spend the funds. And that the only thing that I knew at that point was that you’re in the budget. Here’s how much is in here. The library was appropriated funds, we had to make a library request of the board and then the board had to request you know, I might
Unknown Speaker 59:07
I might make the comment tomorrow night or some other night. This had fallen off the books. Yeah. until until we raised the question, what about their fun? Which one would that be? So what they did and then so for, I have to say, this is my until hell to do this without consulting with this group. Whatever conversation you have with us one thing but to not
Unknown Speaker 59:35
buy around in circles I don’t want to I don’t want to end up in argue this is about this is about are you gonna request this, you know, these little requests aren’t going through. We didn’t know anything about having more money available we heard in our budget budget, which means at that point to request a $300,000 item. When $10,000 items good question is not Something I thought for
Unknown Speaker 1:00:01
sure. My message to the city manager at
Unknown Speaker 1:00:05
that point, though, I mean, he’ll talk to me about it. He said he had this motion funds that he considered and I said yes, I would consider it. But we have not made or the library has not made a request of the board at this point. Right now we have an RFP out to see how much this project costs we don’t know. So that’s where we’re at.
Unknown Speaker 1:00:23
My message to Harold is it’s really bad politics on the part of the city manager to assume the city can spin motion fund without a constitution. The group you’ve convened and ask for advice, no matter
Unknown Speaker 1:00:37
what I’ve said they’re gonna turn around and say I asked him, I asked him he
Unknown Speaker 1:00:41
did ask me should have asked me as a liaison because I offered this is not about you. because there’ll be more
Unknown Speaker 1:00:55
than that I gave you a better
Unknown Speaker 1:01:02
wish list down somebody.
Unknown Speaker 1:01:04
Did you ask her Did you ask her for a wish? Yes.
Unknown Speaker 1:01:06
And I gave
Unknown Speaker 1:01:08
that did you tell them that? Yes. It was not well received. I told
Unknown Speaker 1:01:14
him that she didn’t offer that up I pushed her for I told him
Unknown Speaker 1:01:18
and it was not well received from your boss I would ask you to name names except we’re on double doors on the inside he said can say that we’re looking at this is
Unknown Speaker 1:01:40
one person since getting away from our discussion we’re saying those review shall include should we say in the main excitement word talking about the what the review of the board will include. In the third paragraph we say this board shall include strategic thinking a total amount strategic plan and I’ll actually change that to may may include Yeah,
Unknown Speaker 1:02:04
probably better word give us all my ram Yeah.
Unknown Speaker 1:02:11
You could take okay read in seamlessly connect that with and what visionary or you know necessary operations right to cover those kinds of aspirational languages but with the connected with
Unknown Speaker 1:02:32
Well, I think we’re close but what I’d like to do is recommend sending it out in Haiti based on this conversation for a second reading and then put it up for you never
Unknown Speaker 1:02:46
been it’s a live document like we’re before editing right now. So
Unknown Speaker 1:02:51
you can get in I can send it back around.
Unknown Speaker 1:02:55
Yeah, just you know, we’ve we’ve heard some different thoughts. They want to interject, uh, maybe not, you know, let’s, let’s take another shot at it. And then I mean, this is this isn’t something that’s burning to get done, but it’s something that we felt was approved and should be done. So I think now based on everything I’m hearing, it has greater emphasis than when we first started out. So center, upper secondary, we have anything, throw it in there, and we can put it up for some reason. sorter
Unknown Speaker 1:03:38
this has been something that we did for a long time, we have a huge circulation at a small step, the exact kind of equipment we need. And the last thing I want is to say forget it, we’re not even going to entertain looking at the butcher fun. We’re going to ask for the budget is going to get reviews and then Lord knows how long it’s gonna be
Unknown Speaker 1:03:56
generally more but we really have to them.
Unknown Speaker 1:03:59
And then we have to go through this and not at this RFP process is not a short one. You got to go through the thing
Unknown Speaker 1:04:05
multiple times while you do even though what they asked for.
Unknown Speaker 1:04:09
We have to you have to use an RFP so that you get your customer proposals people come in and tell you how much the thing costs. They give you a proposal. Normally if you were doing this, you would then bring the proposal back to the board and say this is how much it costs. Would you entertain going to city council and asking for this much to be taken from the venture fund in order to purchase purchase this if they said yeah, so you’ve got a council meeting that he buys or
Unknown Speaker 1:04:33
well I could see putting a plug number in the budget like 250,000 or whatever it is
Unknown Speaker 1:04:46
100 well here’s what got me out so I could see putting the plug number in the budget. And then if it’s 320,000 or whatever, the board the board then would pick up The rest of the plug number but you know, we would obviously like the plug number to be.
Unknown Speaker 1:05:08
And I have seen this counselor go back and add funding to things multiple times. So it’s not
Unknown Speaker 1:05:15
a typical western wall.
Unknown Speaker 1:05:19
Can I say one thing back to the language around like visionary projects. I love that idea. But I also don’t become a Library District. I don’t want to tie Nancy’s hands. That’s my point. And I had to study or not be able to get what she needs, because it’s not visionary to have a sorter
Unknown Speaker 1:05:35
which is fairly generic, right? So
Unknown Speaker 1:05:37
I do think it’s spirit, we should try.
Unknown Speaker 1:05:44
To be clear, the expectation is motion for the incident or not used would be population. And it’s not to supplant the kind of funding that you expect reparations
Unknown Speaker 1:05:58
and I. But I would add in I mean, I felt the same way as it’s like, I’ve been around with friends about how libraries have program budgets. And you know, they are friends, that was our, our computer management system to manage our computers, they have funded all of our programs, they have bought software, all kinds of things that have supplanted what should have been in the library budget. So this is not a new thing. Yeah. But if we had a surprise for some of those
Unknown Speaker 1:06:25
instabilities, yes. All right. Part Two,
Unknown Speaker 1:06:29
I guess really, I’m just saying those that do we want to lock ourselves into particular understandings of this fun before we know what’s going to happen with a feasibility study and where your eventual funding streams are going to come from? saying, Let’s wrap this piece up, but it’s not wise to do before we know what the long term process is going to be recorded?
Unknown Speaker 1:06:49
Well, I mean, as long as we keep it reasonably generic, but I’m wrapping it up to lock it down.
Unknown Speaker 1:06:54
Yeah. Yeah, is
Unknown Speaker 1:06:55
it he’s not wrong, but at the same time, this isn’t This is fun. We recently found out yeah, it’s just like money that was very similar. It was very, uh, nobody is controlling that money right now. Yeah, he’s saying what should be done with it is the only way that this is the library purposes group. So we should step up, we should say, we’re going to help figure out how this money gets spent if she says, I really need this order now, and there is no other way to get in the short term. I don’t see a problem with it. But this is a big decision. This is not something we stick out.
Unknown Speaker 1:07:30
Well, I agree with that my intent of the policy was to create some responsibility around the management of the money. The money was just sitting there sticking to it. likelihood of being squandered, there was no responsibility set up for the board. I think it was being admin upon us to try and put some framework around that so that whether this board or some future board, at least have some guidelines as to how to manage money. That’s all I was hoping
Unknown Speaker 1:08:06
for bylaws that it is more we can change it but now it now it’s in our bylaws.
Unknown Speaker 1:08:14
The absence of this is what goes into nice discussion. policy, he had the policy been adopted and people were aware of it, there might have been less than inclination is to assume that we would use the motion to fund something that’s, you know, essential or this library. That policy were already adopted and he can change if the good Library District that’s what the district should do policies. All right, that’s Yes.
Unknown Speaker 1:08:41
But all the concerns that we’re trying to address in this policy kind of bubbled up through this budget, because you know, the interest in trying to use it as a piggy bank to supplement the general fund was the intended support so
Unknown Speaker 1:09:00
excellent. supplants the chip.
Unknown Speaker 1:09:06
Okay, shall we Okay, well on that one, send it around again. Moving on, nothing was a little free leverage because
Unknown Speaker 1:09:19
abilities that I’ll be running.
Unknown Speaker 1:09:22
Okay. And then you order
Unknown Speaker 1:09:25
whatever is actually we have they’re very different one is a little bit library at the homeless shelter, the overnight shelter, they seem quite interested and the other one it is an opposite type thing is that a is forever. The name of it is a brand new coffee shop in town. It’s looking for a bookshelf that looks out for patrons.
Unknown Speaker 1:09:43
So one of the main
Unknown Speaker 1:09:45
looks like they are busy, like they’re interested in doing some community outreach and they would put a shelf right in front of the library. It’s a possibility so far,
Unknown Speaker 1:09:55
your readers they’re inclined to get more involved with Through libraries. Okay, great. I’m going to move on that folder clever district update,
Unknown Speaker 1:10:09
and see everything that’s out there.
Unknown Speaker 1:10:14
So prudence for Friends of the Library, we are going to have a meeting on the 27th of this month, which will be the first beginnings of a citizen committee to look into this. She’s going to bring a couple people, I’m going to bring people and we are probably going to boulders work, so we’re probably going to copy some of the work over dead in terms of reaching out to communities, and you guys, anybody interested in joining this community, things like that. So my question to you guys, is anybody here interested in being involved with it?
Unknown Speaker 1:10:50
Can you talk through them for those people that when he has a good website?
Unknown Speaker 1:10:53
Oh, yeah. Deep into freezer, right, by the way, you are right. She’s awesome. She’s awesome. So yeah, we’re gonna have a lot this is going to be not only an important project to serve you. So
Unknown Speaker 1:11:08
I believe.
Unknown Speaker 1:11:12
I’m interested but I’m guessing I’m not available. Well, why don’t I was it zoom?
Unknown Speaker 1:11:21
that we might very well be reading the rate we’re going right now we’re headed back towards a lot of things, I think I will wet up can we get with you to coordinate with somebody again, so check out so basically, I will get to her the exact time in place. And then you, she’ll send it out to you guys, and anybody here who’s interested, you should welcome to join. So I do want to limit it to a certain number of people. I don’t know how many yet. But you know, can’t be people gotta be super quick to 15, probably to
Unknown Speaker 1:11:53
get in touch with me, if you need to do run in person at the conference room, let me know driven Otherwise,
Unknown Speaker 1:12:00
we’ll speak as well. So you have lots of places, which may be
Unknown Speaker 1:12:02
better, because you can probably do more time there than necessarily.
Unknown Speaker 1:12:06
So I was still saying happened. Warren is the unofficial mayor of Warren, he would be the guy that we should contact this VIPs I know, I thought he was dead, because there’s a base around me, but apparently he is the purpose here. So anyway, my friend knows him and has his contact info. I don’t know how we would approach him necessarily. But if we want a nylon,
Unknown Speaker 1:12:35
if we’re an athletic,
Unknown Speaker 1:12:36
that’s what I’m talking about. We spend a lot. She’s not gonna be big time from Memorial.
Unknown Speaker 1:12:46
It says Bruce W, this word. He’s an attorney.
Unknown Speaker 1:12:50
I’d like to know, if you’d like me to go with the first round. Money early in the morning, or just things going
Unknown Speaker 1:13:07
on for me?
Unknown Speaker 1:13:10
My guess is it’ll be easy. So that would be great. The name isn’t? I think we picked this up when I got to 27. So, I mean, it would be a normal meeting. But this is this is like next week? Yeah. So I will get all of them for her. I think we talked about it.
Unknown Speaker 1:13:45
Well, you set it up how you need to set it up. But for me, I would prefer either. Thank you. So
Unknown Speaker 1:13:55
would you all like me to send, I could send you a list that any heads of stakeholders that she’s going to interview, you can reply directly to me over and over by all, etc. But if there are some holes that you see that you would like her to interview, as well, and we may get some ideas off of this. Yes.
Unknown Speaker 1:14:17
So is this really a combination of the library update and your board activities?
Unknown Speaker 1:14:29
Depends on the visibility.
Unknown Speaker 1:14:33
I can tell you that, from what from what i can i don’t think they’ll be anything. He said he is going to say that the library needs an independent source of funding because the library is going to be low on all of those levels of service parameter that we talked about before us base per capita on on collection per capita on timing on technology, on FTP and all those things and so
Unknown Speaker 1:14:56
it’s gonna be it leaves the hybrid is good. I wouldn’t I
Unknown Speaker 1:15:00
would be shocked if that were not the case. Because I just don’t think that. I mean, I think y’all think I could ask for a $300,000 piece of equipment, which I’m skeptical about, but I don’t think I can see being thrown another couple of million dollars. So I don’t think that they will correct. Equal DNA.
Unknown Speaker 1:15:21
I just believe that right now, the, the fact that boulder is doing this, for real, for sure, is going to negate much of the negative
Unknown Speaker 1:15:31
that we’ve seen, especially when folks know that they’re including nightwatch, and some other while they’re
Unknown Speaker 1:15:36
eating theory right up to our board, the city board and all along it. Never really Colombia shocked
Unknown Speaker 1:15:43
about like young girl, but I think nyuad things that are in Sainte Marie Valley School District, I think that that will be impactful. Yes, usually library districts go along the school district border more often than not,
Unknown Speaker 1:15:56
we might even get the school district to be possible. So that’s so that’s, I think, now’s the time. I don’t think we should wait and wait, wait for the study to be done if the
Unknown Speaker 1:16:08
city wants to tell me that. And so I think you should do what you need to do, we
Unknown Speaker 1:16:11
need to get started to give them a ballot next year. And we need to make it clear that this needs to be fair, if my wife is using long logs, and using both about equally when we looked at it, then maybe we shouldn’t be looking at something
Unknown Speaker 1:16:27
that’s more real and realized that no one wants to branch. Because they’re not going to, they haven’t been paying for library service or get it free. So they’re not going to say Oh, allow me to pay money and that one Sunday. But on the other hand, that site of one month leading toward nyuad would be a great spot in our branch. They’re pretty far away. So.
Unknown Speaker 1:16:49
So yeah, I totally agree. So that’s that’s kind of the thinking here is let’s just keep moving. Certainly not going to sell. There’s a reason I asked to be on the library board. This is one of those reasons. One that surprises me, gee, what a shock.
Unknown Speaker 1:17:08
There are local, close by hyper districts.
Unknown Speaker 1:17:12
The closest thing to a hybrid that I know of anywhere nearby would be Buddha river, in Fort Collins, but I think they’re less Hyper V than they started out. Because they when they when they first separated from the city, and became a district they contracted back for a lot of stuff for HR facilities maintenance for a lot of stuff. I don’t think they contract back for nearly as many things as they did. I think I think they’ve had a good relationship with the city of Fort Collins. I think it’s been relatively smooth. But I don’t think they’re as dependent on that relationship as they were. And that’s just what I’ve heard, though. And I I can talk to Davis, look at this, the director of the city
Unknown Speaker 1:17:57
we will definitely do that. What’s this?
Unknown Speaker 1:18:00
This is what he’s just about to retire. So it would be good to get him quick, like we might be more available. So what’s his name? David, I can give you his contact stuff. slifkin s Li Ve KEN. It would really be a good one to talk to you about that.
Unknown Speaker 1:18:20
We’ve also been talking to some I’ve been doing the city council interviews with all of the city council people and one of the people that we’re working with is filling in Richard Lyons from lions gas law firm. turns out he’s an expert on library districts. He did the Lyons Library District series, he says he’s done a bunch of stuff. He’s retired and I did try to stop him into this but he didn’t really succeed this time. I think I forget what it was. So I just don’t know can it be more chaos at the same time he has other people in this firm? So we have a local man we have a local brother the better. That knows knows a lot about other districts and districts. That’s a really good thing. So just so you know, we’re starting out this conversation.
Unknown Speaker 1:19:12
Okay, so recap this French little library meeting maybe next month, it will be
Unknown Speaker 1:19:20
next Monday just have to get a time time and time to work on the
Unknown Speaker 1:19:24
formation of a citizen
Unknown Speaker 1:19:25
committee is a formation of a library foundation that will work alongside the board where she wants to talk to you about those as soon as you can don’t discount
Unknown Speaker 1:19:37
talking to Eric because I’ve been through that because my last foundation in Bellingham was one through the city’s foundation and we got about 6 million requests in a short time.
Unknown Speaker 1:19:50
So we have we have two choices here. The board Kelly. Well, yeah,
Unknown Speaker 1:19:56
you’re right, that was very good. So just faster. If you don’t really care if you know if you don’t want to do all of this stuff yourself, like, they gave us a great deal, and
Unknown Speaker 1:20:07
we will run more probation provisions do so we want.
Unknown Speaker 1:20:13
Their libraries have their own foundations, but then they have to hire foundation director and all that stuff. And that’s where we
Unknown Speaker 1:20:19
want a place for people to put their excess money if you happen
Unknown Speaker 1:20:24
to be offered to them as options.
Unknown Speaker 1:20:27
Make sure Stutz was
Unknown Speaker 1:20:33
Hi sir, can I find it? No, I would not buy it would have to be something much more interesting. Well, I know this is my preferred. Okay.
Unknown Speaker 1:20:58
So we’re going to find that Library District and good on board. Yes, that’s a follow up so far. Okay, Nancy, tell us what, you know.
Unknown Speaker 1:21:12
I don’t know as much as I can. But I have a meeting tomorrow. They couldn’t get to me before them with the stapler. Because I gave them what I had. And they first said no, no, arza, right. And then supposedly, once they dug into it, they found a reason for the discrepancies. And so we are meeting tomorrow in person. So I will get back to you ASAP. Because I told I said that there’s no reason then that one should be five years and one should be three years. And I understand about finishing terms. And so that’s the first time that you give me an appointment that says five years. I told us physically that you did. So it was great. So I have a year that bleeds into letter acid, because they’re the same ones that changed the meeting date things, they change it in some spots, and they’re still they’re still wrong on the library page. So So I will also be coming tomorrow because I’m going to be in their office.
Unknown Speaker 1:22:20
Okay. comments from the board?
Unknown Speaker 1:22:30
I hope that we can for those of us weren’t able to be involved. But we can you can keep us up
Unknown Speaker 1:22:40
in a way that we’re keeping with slim shape.
Unknown Speaker 1:22:42
Yeah, I have to, I have to figure that out. Because it’s going to have to mean you’re not going to be able to do it as an official. So you can’t even put in a second put it on? Yeah,
Unknown Speaker 1:22:58
you can’t do that. But we have a public website, stupid,
Unknown Speaker 1:23:02
our public website. We did that in in house. Yeah, thank you feel we had a website for that kind of vote yes.
Unknown Speaker 1:23:11
And I gotta give the city credit that they’re engaged. One, my website’s not a bad thing. We use that to gather questions for the mayoria Oh, and see, we got some interesting responses.
Unknown Speaker 1:23:27
And that’s, that’s often where you want to get the basic advice. And they really laid it out for us in Clark County, and said, here’s what you can do, here are the basics of what you can do. And here’s what you absolutely can’t do. And that was useful.
Unknown Speaker 1:23:45
So if this is a board driven activity,
Unknown Speaker 1:23:48
it can be a board of activity, the board can support it. But depending on which state you’re in to, this is why in Colorado person, we know the board can support it using X percent of their time.
Unknown Speaker 1:24:00
We also don’t say that we have no fiduciary responsibility. So we are actually part of everything. We’re not really a board. So we can, we can do anything we want. We can pretty much I mean, we have obeyed the sunshine laws, we have to do all those things. Yeah. But there’s nothing limiting what being one of us or a group of us can do. And then
Unknown Speaker 1:24:29
once things get further, as far as library staff go, you know, we can educate been on advocates, and there are certain things like libraries that would be perfectly fine for us to hand out your flyers that saying, you know, you can even go as far as to say, if this was our budget, if we were to have this amount of money, here are some of the things we can’t
Unknown Speaker 1:24:53
say for sure. There is a model already in place. Yeah, absolutely. It’s called their slice. Yeah, Mama did this. Yeah. Already in LP Park, we did all of these things. And they work closely with my group, which is called friends of fiber.
Unknown Speaker 1:25:17
But we really helped push push that target that group. And they work closely with us, they’ll distribute our stuff. And so it’s there’s a lot of already that the cities.
Unknown Speaker 1:25:27
So on our meeting minutes or adeptly four minutes, we couldn’t create something that says, like, local activities involving the Longworth library. And for those, I mean, you can even post anything here, but you could post this sort of thing here. And that would be monkey calm.
Unknown Speaker 1:25:50
And you probably could
Unknown Speaker 1:25:53
think that you can get the information. You wouldn’t necessarily phone to Steve, would you do some
Unknown Speaker 1:26:03
other things so that attorney? Well, the first thing you just you just have to be careful because there are people who are going to be the vote no people, no matter what you’re going to be looking for whatever mistakes you made and libraries across the country a lot of the time, we wouldn’t
Unknown Speaker 1:26:17
we wouldn’t necessarily endorse that we would just be communicating activities involving
Unknown Speaker 1:26:23
I think if it say that this Abbot, this letter, library advocacy group is meeting at this time,
Unknown Speaker 1:26:29
it’s not going to be related to this board or it’s going to be something that we do outside this board will be involved with, yes, some people on it will be involved involved. But I’m involved in many things. This is one of many things I do so and that’s true of all of you. So there shouldn’t be any conflicts should not be an issue. So yes, answers.
Unknown Speaker 1:26:51
This is information.
Unknown Speaker 1:26:57
Anything else, culture, anything for us. See you tomorrow. With that 831 over here, October. They are thinking
Unknown Speaker 1:27:12
they’re going up