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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2019-03-13 LBOT Minutes Special Meeting AmendedPALM SPRINGS PUBLIC LIBRARY BOARD OF LIBRARY TRUSTEES ADJOURNED MEETING MINUTES Palm Springs Public Library March 13, 2019 The Learning Center CALL TO ORDER President McBride called the meeting to order at 10:00 a.m. ROLL CALL PRESENT Ed McBride Yes Harry Courtright Yes David Kelly Yes Kathy Weremiuk Yes STAFF PRESENT: Jeannie Kays, Director of Library Services. CITY STAFF PRESENT: Lisa Brock, Library Operations and Collection Manager; Julie Warren, Library Services and Public Relations Manager. PUBLIC PRESENT: Peter Moruzzi, Michael Hirschbein, Cathy Brant, Nanci Morrison, David Sidley, Linda Futterer, Christine MacCalla. On the phone: Sue Hall and Toni Garvey 1. PUBLIC COMMENT: None. Amended to add: Peter Moruzzi, President of the Palm Spring Modern Committee spoke. He read the strategic plan and said the preservation community is very aware of the strategic needs of the Library. The key issue they are worried about is the building itself because it is one of the last buildings William Cody designed and one of the few nonresidential buildings he designed that remain in Palm Springs. The exterior of the building is key; the interior can be renovated without affecting the integrity of the original design. Treasurer Kelly asked if William Cody had plans for an expansion of the library or plans that showed his vision for the areas surrounding the library. Julie Warren mentioned the Library has worked with Cody’s family and hosted an exhibit at the library two years ago. William Cody was involved in the very beginning of the Library design but then the project was taken over by a colleague because of William Cody’s stroke and colleague created the final plans. When putting the exhibit together the entire archive was looked at and there were no other plans for the Library. We are still in contact with his daughter and can work with her to see if there is any additional information about the Library. 2. LEGISLATIVE ACTION 2. A. Library Strategic Plan: Study session and recommendations for implementation . Discussion and feedback given to Library Strategies consultant. No action was taken. Amended to add: President McBride sent out the draft strategic plan to the Library Foundation Board and the Friends Board so they could review it and give feedback. He reminded everyone that even though they present the plan and the Board of Trustees paid for the plan it is up to Library staff and the City for the final implementation and acceptance of the plan. He suggested they go through the plan section by section and let all representatives share feedback. Treasurer Kelly commented that he feels more emphasis on community is needed in the goals because only goals four and six talk about community. He feels there has not been enough community involvement and talk about the strategic plan. Sue Hall said that the first part of this plan is creating a framework for the work that we will do for a new or renovated library. Once the framework is in place then we will begin to get deeper into the community so they have not prescribed a lot of direction on Board of Library Trustees Minutes: March 13, 2019 2 how we will go to the community. Once the Building Committee is formed and we have started the process, it will be absolutely critical to go to the community and that the community takes us seriously. For example on goal three as soon as we have the Building Committee in place we will immediately do town meetings to gather input on how people are reacting and what they want to see in the new library. At this point in the strategic plan, we are more focusing on logistics. The consultants are willing to include more language about the community and that the process needs to be d riven by the community. Treasurer Kelly mentioned that our mission statement is to be the premier cultural institution in Palm Springs and to achieve this we need the community to buy into it. Looking at the strategic plan it is lacking enthusiasm for the community. Trustee Weremiuk suggested we set a goal addressing how we reach the community, specifically diverse communities, and find ways to reach them and what their needs are. Build into goal three a good deal of broadness of who we go to. Sue Hall suggested adding a strong general statement about that rather than trying to articulate all of the groups who should be reached out to. Trustee Weremiuk said a broad statement would be ok as long as the Trustees are required to figure out how to reach out to the broadest number of groups. Nanci Morrison, President of the Friends group, suggested that in the introduction it is spelled out that anywhere in the strategic plan that a “new” library is mentioned it means either renovate the current building, renovate and expand the existing facility, or build a new library. For goal one the Friends would like to have the option to recommend people to the Building Committee and would like at least one member of the Friends is on the committee. Sue Hall asked if we would also like to include the Foundation and the Foundation President David Sidley said yes. David Sidley agreed that we need a lot of community input and that it should be written into the plan. Treasurer Kelly asked for more information about the site-visits mentioned in goal three. How many site visits are planned? Sue Hall said that specific libraries have not been discussed ye t; architects can often give suggestions of libraries to visit. She said it is important that we see libraries in comparable communities so we are comparing apples to apples. President McBride suggested that the Building Committee look at a variety of libraries (renovated and new construction) up front to help inform their recommendation. Toni Garvey said that the Building Committee should work with the design firm to make the decision to decide what libraries to go visit. She also pointed out that the strategic plan presents goals and strategies but they will still be working with the library to create an implementation plan. Treasurer Kelly asked if dollar amounts for some of these things would be in the implementation plan. Sue Hall and Toni Garvey said they don’t typically see dollar amounts in implementation plans. Treasurer Kelly then asked if the consultants give guidance as to who should be on the building committee. Toni Garvey said she can give advice on who should be on the committee. The people on the committee need to be dedicated and willing to commit a minimum of two years. We do not necessarily want fundraisers on the building committee; the building committee will collaborate with the fundraisers. Treasurer Kelly again emphasized involving the community and getting the community and City Council Member enthusiastic about the Library. President McBride suggested we add something about engaging the community to goal six. Sue Hall said she will add a standalone section in the introduction about t he involvement of the community and go through the goals and add it where it is fitting. Trustee Weremiuk talked about goal three and how we might think about separating visioning and architect because since this is a City building we can only work with c ertain architects. These architects are not necessarily historical architects or architects that have built libraries, so we might want a separate visioning firm that can focus on the library aspect. Sue Hall said she assumed we would have a competition to hire the architectural firm that will lead the visioning and design process. Trustee Weremiuk said the competition aspect is important and the strategic plan does not say that we will be doing that. Sue Hall said she wants to make sure we are not getting into implementation and assumes someone from the City will be on the Building Committee who will be able to guide us through that process. She suggests leaving it as it is for now and if it needs to be amended because of a City process they we can do that or address it in the implementation process. Trustee Weremiuk said she isn’t sure she is comfortable with that but it will be up to the Trustees. She said we should consult with Board of Library Trustees Minutes: March 13, 2019 3 the City to hire the firm so it is left in the Building Committees hands. Dir ector Kays said that the City can override the committee. Director Kays suggested to change the word determine to consult or investigate in goal five strategy one. Treasurer Kelly suggested taking out the word current in goal four strategy one. David Sidley, Foundation President, asked if in goal six strategy one it could be added that at least one member of the Foundation is on the Communications Committee. Sue Hall asked if we would also like to include the Friends and the Friends President Nanci Morrison said yes. Peter Moruzzi said that in order to raise money we will need to have a plan either build a new building or renovate the existing building. He is confident members of preservation community would be willing to donate money to keep the existing building. President McBride suggested a member of the preservation community be on the building committee. Peter said he does not know if the preservation community should be on the committee because even though they will support what ever we decide they would prefer we don’t do something that would negatively affect the integrity of the existing building. Sue Hall asked if we want to include a section in the introduction about architectural preservation. Trustee Weremiuk suggested we say we want to pay attention to architectural excellence as part of our brand. Linda Futterer asked if the Library had 100% of the funds needed for a new library would we still need to go through the City process. Director Kays said yes. Linda asked Peter if they are planning to make the Library a historical site. He said he has not thought about it and there are political considerations to look at. President McBride moved on to section two of the strategic plan and asked for feedback. Trustee Weremiuk said the goals seemed good but asked if we need to support the goals in the current City budget discussion. In goal four, she suggested taking out Library’s public computer area to make that broader. We also need to figure out which infrastructure issues we can address now maybe the air conditioner or fire alarm. President McBride added that the Trustees are committed to finding financial support to implement as many new services as possible. As we look at this, we have to figure out what we can do with staff we have or the staff we can get. Toni Garvey said that when she works with staff on implementation we will set priorities especially for the first year. President McBride suggested we add a section in the introduction or in section one about a maintenance plan. Treasurer Kelly suggested that we say that these goals were created based on feedback from the retreat. Toni Garvey said that it also came from analyzing data and spending time in the library, she said she will add it to the introduction paragraph. Michael Hirschbein from the Friends Board suggested adding “premier cultural institution” to the introduction. In goal one he would like to emphasize adult literacy in the goal and strategies. Director Kays says maybe we need to investigate what literacy programs are already going on and partner with them or offer a space for them to do the program. Toni Garvey said we will do that in the implementation process. Nanci Morrison said they have several friends members interested in volunteering in a literacy program and the Friends are very committed to helping the Library in any way they can to make this plan work and be successful. President McBride said we all need to advocate to City Council and remind them that their responsibility is to fund these programs for our community. Linda Futterer suggested a white paper to give to City Council candidates. She spoke about literacy and suggested partnering with the Pavilion because they have a lot of space. Director Kays said she has asked for a literacy coord inator before and the City has said no so she needs the board members to advocate for a staff member. Toni Garvey said that the Strategic Plan looks at the next three years and it is not always about new resources it could be shifting resources ; as we work on implementation that will be part of the discussion. The consultants will take the comments and prepare an updated draft to review at the next Library Board of Trustees meeting. 2. B. Library Operating Budget: Review and revise budget requests to include strategic plan initiatives. Amended to add: Director Kays had a meeting with the City to discuss Library goals and go over the first draft of the budget. She was told that the budget needs to stay flat, so she has had to move things around to accommodate increases. If we need extra money for literacy, tween center, teen volunteer program etc. we need to talk about that now so it can go to the City Manager. Director Kays suggested Board members go to the Budget Town Hall meetings to advocate for the Library. Trustee Board of Library Trustees Minutes: March 13, 2019 4 Weremiuk asked for a list of what has been cut because in its current format it is hard to see where things were cut. Treasurer Kelly agreed it’s hard to see where the changes are and can’t tell what the decision making process is; to advocate a list would make it easier. President McBride said knowing the reasons why certain areas were cut would help the Board advocate for more funds. President McBride said we should identify as many things from the strategic plan as we can and add them to the budget request. MOTION: (Weremiuk/Courtright, 4-0) To submit the following budget requests to the City of Palm Springs for funding: Awareness Campaign, full-time Literacy Coordinator, Tween Center, Study Rooms, travel for Building Planning Committee, and supplies for Community Meetings. 3. ADJOURNMENT: The Special Meeting adjourned at 12:13 p.m. RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED, Jeannie Kays Director of Library Services