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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2019-04-29 LBOT Minutes Special MeetingPALM SPRINGS PUBLIC LIBRARY BOARD OF LIBRARY TRUSTEES ADJOURNED MEETING MINUTES Palm Springs Public Library April 29, 2019 City Hall Large Conference Room CALL TO ORDER President McBride called the meeting to order at 5:30 p.m. ROLL CALL PRESENT Ed McBride Yes Harry Courtright Yes David Kelly No Kathy Weremiuk Yes STAFF PRESENT: Jeannie Kays, Director of Library Services. CITY STAFF PRESENT: Julie Warren, Library Services and Public Relations Manager; David Ready, City Manager. PUBLIC PRESENT: David Engen, Ken Pengelly, Councilmember Lisa Middleton, and Councilmember Christy Holstege. 1. PUBLIC COMMENT: None. 2. LEGISLATIVE ACTION 2. A. Library Strategic Plan: Feedback and Further Input President McBride presented the Strategic Plan and asked for feedback. Councilmember Middleton said it looks really good and she likes the way it is broken into two sections. She said that a new library, either a remodel or a new building is in excess of $10 million. That kind of commitment cannot be made without City Council weighing in at the very beginning of the process. City Council would have to make the final decision on remodel or new building. When dealing with real estate the discussions must start in a closed session. The Board needs to figure out how to coordinate the processes in the plan with the decisions City Council needs to make. One recommendation is under Goal 1, Strategy 1 to add, “The Trustees will recommend to City Council the role and responsibilities of the building committee and who should be on the committee .” Councilmember Holstege agreed it is a very good strategic plan but reiterated that the role of the City Council should be included in the plan. Councilmember Middleton said the building committee should be a diverse group of people including one or more people from City Council and Marcus Fuller. She also commended the Board for committing to have committees to fundraise. President McBride mentioned that we asked for Measure J funds to be reallocated to this project to get the process started. Library Strategies will work with us through the implementation process. Trustee Weremiuk said that we would need City Council’s help to expand the list of City’s list of architects because there are not any historic preservation architects or library architects on the list. She asked if it would be possible to do an architectural competition. David Ready said that when they did the convention center they did a competition; they paid four firms $25,000 each, and they picked between those four. President McBride said they will go through the plan to change the language to include that the Trustees are making recommendations to City Council. Board of Library Trustees Minutes: April 29, 2019 2 MOTION: (Weremiuk/Courtright, 3-0) Work with consultants to make revisions to make this as a recommendation to City Council. In Goal 2, the Plan recommends that the City examine the three building options: renovate current facility, renovate and expand current facility, or build a new building on a selected site in Palm Springs. Councilmember Middleton suggested that the last option might be split into two to account for potentia l partnerships. The Ad Hoc committee has had a preliminary conversation with a potential partner; there were no commitments but it was a good first step in seeing whether or not something could work. In Goal 3, Councilmember Holstege asked how we are defining community input and what the process would look like. We need to make sure we are reaching out to all areas of the community. Trustee Courtright mentioned we need to go out to the communities ins tead of expecting them to come to us. We will ask the consultants to add in some suggestions to Goal 3, Strategy 4. Councilmember Middleton asked about a museum aspect to the new library; it needs to come into the conversation early on. Providing services and connections to the homeless population needs to be discussed early on as well. In Goal 5, it says the Foundation will hire a consulting firm to work on a capital campaign ; they plan on doing that as soon as possible. Trustee Courtright asked about naming rights; David Ready said the Board could make a recommendation to City Council for naming rights at certain levels. The Library Board has already started working on Goal 6 by approving funds for an awareness campaign about the Library. President McBride suggested the consultant could help identify things that needed to be cleared by the City when starting to fundraise. Trustee Weremiuk asked for clarification on the Measure J funds that are allocated to the Library. The Library asked that these funds be used for a different project than they were originally allocated for. She asked if this has to be approved by City Council. David Ready said the money is set aside for the Library and City Council can repurpose it if the Library has a suggestion. Funds for a new bu ilding will come from Measure J, which can determine the amount of bond funds available. Measure J runs out in 2037. The critical question is on an annual basis how much would City Council be willing to contribute to a bond. Trustee Weremiuk said that at Measure J, they originally set aside $5 million for the Library but now they have reauthorized all but $1.2 million for other projects. She asked if there is a certain dollar amount the City Council would be willing to set aside for a future number of years so the Library would know there is a certain amount of Measure J money coming for a new Library. Council Member Holstege said that is something they are discussing and when Measure J funding comes to City Council and she will ask that question. Trustee Weremiuk believes we need to know the City’s commitment before starting a capital campaign. The second part of the plan covers enhanced library services; these topics came out of the January planning retreat. The Library is already working on some of these goals. Councilmember Holstege asked how the thee focus areas were determined. Director Kays said those topics came out of the breakout sessions at the planning retreat; adult literacy has always been a priority of the Friends of the Library. The consultants looked at data and trends in similar sized libraries and came up with some suggestions based off that information. 2. B. NEXT STEPS WITH STRATEGIC PLAN a. Implementation of services The Library will start working with the consultants on the implementation of services. b. Selection of consultants/architects The Library Board wants to confirm that when it comes to hiring consultants and architects that they will turn that process over to the City. c. Selection of Building Committee Board of Library Trustees Minutes: April 29, 2019 3 The Library Board will make a recommendation to the City on the Building Committee. d. City staff involvement with implementation The City staff will work on the implementation of the strategic plan. e. Status of Library Foundation The Library Foundation will start working on finding a consultant to help with the Capital Campaign. f. Miscellaneous issues David Ready said that when thinking about renovating our existing building or a new building we need to look at what information City staff and the Library Board needs to get to City Council so they can make that decision. Trustee Weremiuk said she thought we needed consultants to get us to that decision. David Ready said eventually we will need consultants but the first things we need to figure out is how much it is going to cost, where it is, and how much we can afford. That will inform us about how much we need to raise and which way we are going. As the City is moving through the budget process City Council will be discussing Measure J. They will look at the long-term revenue, what is earmarked, and what is left over. From what is left over, they will determine if some of the money can go to the Library long-term. Once they give that information to the City we will have a better idea how much of a bond we can sustain. Once we know that information and how much money can be fundraised, we can start to make a decision. Councilmember Middleton suggested starting to look at the cost and benefits of each of the options. Which one can we afford and which one inspires us to find the money. 2. C. DISCUSS CITY CONTRIBUTIONS TO SUPPORT STRATEGIC PLAN Tabled. 2. D. REVIEW MEASURE J REQUEST AND PROVIDE BACKGROUND Trustee Weremiuk gave the background. No Action Taken. 2. E. LIBRARY OPERATING BUDGET: REQUEST SUPPORT Director Kays asked for support of the budget from the ad hoc committee. The Library is asking for a part time position to bring back passport service to the Library. 3. ADJOURNMENT: The Special Meeting adjourned at 7:03 p.m. RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED, Jeannie Kays Director of Library Services