2014-12-08 Board of Library Trustees Minutes

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OrR O� Oi Town of Reading 0 �= Meeting Minutes 9' IMOPPO' Board - Committee - Commission - Council: Board of Library Trustees Date: 2014 -12 -08 Building: School - Memorial High Address: 62 Oakland Road Purpose: General Business Attendees: Members - Present: Time: 7:00 PM kECEIVED !OWN CLERK "DING, MASS. 1015 JAN 20 P 1: 416 Location: Conference Room Session: General Session Vicki Yablonsky, Chair; John Brzezenski, Vice Chair; Alice Collins, Secretary; Cherrie Dubois, Andrew Grimes, Members - Not Present: David Hutchinson Others Present: Ruth Urell, Director Minutes Respectfully Submitted By: Cherrie Dubois Topics of Discussion: The meeting was called to order at 7:08 P.M. The one agenda item was discussion of gift donation policy for the Reading Public Library's renovation and addition project. We discussed several questions: What would the funds be used for? Who would do the fundraising? How would it be done? On the What question, there was a long discussion about whether items should be named or if we might Instead have levels -of- giving categories with a donor plaque in the library. We also discussed whether we should have terms, and, if so, what kind of terms we might set or whether gifts would be pooled and therefore unrestricted - that is, to be used for whatever needs the library might have. There was discussion on whether or not any of the money should offset budgeted construction costs. With the passage of two override votes (2013, 2014) and the strong input from library supporters and the town, the trustees felt that donations or gifts should not be used to offset construction costs. The Trustees moved, seconded and voted that "Any gift or donations would not be used to offset any of the project's budgeted costs." As discussion ensued, we felt we needed to know more about what's in the budget and what isn't, including items that may have been taken out to reduce earlier project estimates. We concluded that our OPM STV (Evan Warner) and our architectural firm CBT could best provide that information, in conjunction with Library Director Ruth Urell. Over the past year or two, we tried to minimize the cost to the town, so what may have been removed might be what we'd place on either a wish list or as unrestricted gifts. Among those items whose funding is not locked in place are things like shelving (what can be salvaged vs. additional or replacement shelving) and unspecified furniture and technology equipment. Page 1 1