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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2022-10-19 LBOT MinutesBoard of Library Trustees Minutes: October 19, 2022 1 PALM SPRINGS PUBLIC LIBRARY BOARD OF LIBRARY TRUSTEES MINUTES Palm Springs Public Library October 19, 2022 Teleconference via Zoom 1. CALL TO ORDER Chair Borba called the meeting to order at 5:30 p.m. ROLL CALL PRESENT Craig Borba Yes Juanita Garner Yes Al Jones Yes Ed McBride Yes David Norgard 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: Nanci Morrison, Robert Engel, Rosemary Flaherty, Claire Grant, Michael Hirschbein, Jeffrey Norman, Rebecca Olarte, Ginger Semple, David Sidley, Bill Wiley. 2. ACCEPTANCE OF THE AGENDA: MOTION: (Norgard/McBride, 5-0) To accept the agenda. 3. PUBLIC COMMENTS: Michael Hirschbein thanked Director Kays for getting the grant, he mentioned the speed in which the project needs to be done because of the time constraints built into the grant. The first step should be for the City to appoint a project manager that will be invested in pushing the project along and hopefully the Trustees and Staff have input on who that person will be. The grant only covers infrastructure so it’s up to the Trustees, Friends, and community to push the political leaders to make commitments to sweeten the pot more things can get accomplished. We have a lot of unused space in the Library so we need to find away to make the Library work in it’s current footprint. The Frey building needs money committed to it right away so that the timing with possibly moving Library functions over there during the remodel can take place. He believes the City should name the building after the Friends of the Palm Springs Library. Nanci Morrison said it’s important that the Library is representative of what Palm Springs wants their image to be. The Library is over 45 years old and hasn’t had any significant improvements it’s an embarrassment to the City that other cities around us like Coachella and Desert Hot Springs build new libraries and we are sitting here with a Library that hasn’t been upgraded. This is the time for the City, the community, and everyone to get behind the Library to get us up to date. 4. CONSENT AGENDA MOTION: (McBride/Norgard, 5-0) To approve the consent agenda. 4. A. Meeting Minutes of September 7, 2022. 4. B. Library Statistics 4. C. Donation Report 5. ADMINISTRATIVE REPORTS Board of Library Trustees Minutes: October 19, 2022 2 5. A. Friends of the Palm Springs Library Nanci Morrison gave the report. The Friends filed a doing business as (DBA) Palm Springs Speaks to bring Palm Springs Speaks back. They are looking to have one event in the first quarter of 2023. The Friends are having a Holiday Boutique with books, CDs, and baskets on Saturday December 3, 2022, from 10-1. The Events Committee is hard at work planning for Modernism Week. The Friends are ready to assist with any fundraising needed for the Library remodel. 5. B. Palm Springs Public Library Foundation David Sidley gave the report. The Foundation is hosting Pride on the Page book festival at Welwood Library on November 4th and 5th. A special celebrity event: Sharon Gless in conversation with Peter Paige will be on Saturday, November 5th at 5:30. The Foundation is ready to assist the City, the Friends, and the Library in making the dream of a 21st century Library a reality. They are poised to fill in the gap between the grant and the City budget and what we really want. 5. C. Library Staff Zip Books: Did get notification that we have gotten a grant from the California State Library for $14,504. We are glad that the Friends stepped up and sponsored $10,000 to supplement this program. Infrastructure Grant: Awarded $6,569,942 in matching funds from the California State Library. Round One: $314 million for 246 libraries funded. City Council approved the grant and agreed to match. We need to stay within the footprint of the existing building for the renovation. Many things are not covered by the grant and the City does not want to spend much more than what was awarded. They did say they could come up with SOME extra but it’s not officially budgeted anywhere. If there are to be “extras,” the funds need to come forward very soon, within the next year. The infrastructure grant requires that we are finished with that project by March 2026. I expect planning and design to take a 12-18 months and construction to take 12-18 months. We will have to see what an architect can provide us design-wise so we can figure out how much extra we need to fundraise. The 2013 renovation room layout was a good plan and stayed within our footprint. Next steps: Attend the Library Board of Trustees meeting via Zoom, provide public comment if you like, and listen to the discussion. City’s next steps are to put out an RFP for an architect. Waiting for this Board meeting first. JC Frey Building: City Engineers want to renovate this building first. Funds are budgeted in Measure J for $870,000 during fiscal year 2023-24. Friends and Foundation can see if that’s enough to renovate the building. If it is, devote all your attention to fundraise for the Main Library Renovation. Coachella Valley Spotlight Grant Application: Applied on behalf of the Friends for $25,000 to support Accessing the Past Digital History Collaborative. Fingers crossed! Halloween Party: Wednesday, October 26, 5-7 pm. Games, prizes, candy. Pride on the Page Book Festival: November 4-5. Special ticketed Celebrity event with Sharon Gless and Peter Paige, Saturday, November 5 at 5:30 p.m. 6. TREASURERS REPORT Treasurer Jones gave the report. The trust fund balance is $1,817,275.66. MOTION: (Norgard/Garner, 5-0) To accept the report. 7. DISCUSSION/ACTION ITEMS 7. A. Discussion of Memorandum of Understanding between Trustees and Foundation – Report of meeting with City Attorney by Borba/McBride Board of Library Trustees Minutes: October 19, 2022 3 Trustee McBride gave the report. Director Kays set up meeting with the City Attorney, Chair Borba, and Trustee McBride to discuss creating a Memorandum of Understanding between the Trustees and the Library Foundation. The City Attorney has a template that they can use as a guide, they brainstormed things they would like included. The City Attorney is now creating a draft that will be brought to the Trustees for review. 7. B. Infrastructure grant award: discussion of Library renovation scope of work, presentation of items funded and not funded – Director Kays Director Kays gave the report. The Library was awarded $6.5 million, and the City budgeted $7 million over two years. The project must be completed by March 2026. The grant covers several infrastructure items but things like, furniture, fixtures, equipment, study rooms, new event spaces etc. are not included. In the past the Library held several Community input sessions. The next step is for the City to develop a scope of work for architects so they can do a Request for Proposals. Chair Borba asked if walls can be moved. Director Kays said it would need to be justified. For example, the current restrooms are not ADA compliant, and they are not big enough but in order to address those issues they would need to be moved because they would not fit in the current location which would create a domino effect. Trustee Norgard asked for clarification on what the finished date means. Director Kays said the State Library said the items that are included in the scope of the project must be completed and the money spent by that date. Trustee Norgard asked if we are now only talking about a renovation of the current building and no longer considering a new building. Director Kays confirmed that at this time we are focusing on a renovation. Chair McBride said that we need to get input from the Community again to see what needs to put in the program. Director Kays shared the 5 Year Capital Improvement Program from Engineering. It shows the funding coming from the grant and $7 million from Measure J. Trustee McBride said that Measure J had provided future funds for this project and asked it the City is saying this is it there will be no more future funds? Director Kays said this is all they have officially approved at this time. Trustee McBride said we need to confirm if there is more money coming from the City or not so we know what we can plan for. Trustee Garner said that before this grant came along Measure J was going to give us money for the Library and that money is now being lumped in with the matching funds. They money needs to be here now and included in the budget so that the upgrades that need to be done can be completed at the same time as the remodel. Trustee McBride said the Trustees need to raise their hand to the City Council and push for them to give more money towards the project. Chair Borba asked Director Kays to set up a meeting with Mayor Middleton and interim City Manager Teresa Gallavan. Director Kays suggested talking to Measure J as well. MOTION: (McBride/Garner, 5-0) To set up a meeting with Mayor Middleton and interim City Manager Teresa Gallavan. 7. C. JC Frey building renovation discussion Director Kays gave the report. Measure J has set aside $870,000 for fiscal year 2023-2024 but it has not been approved by the City yet. Chair Borba is concerned that 2023-2024 is too late to start. Director Kays said it might be possible to do the scope of work and RFP this year so the work cans start July 2023. The plan is to do this project first so the Library can move to the JC Frey during the main Library renovation. 7. D. Approval of Library Annual Report Director Kays gave the report. MOTION: (McBride/Norgard, 5-0) To accept the Library Annual Report. 8. TRUSTEE/STAFF COMMENTS/FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS Board of Library Trustees Minutes: October 19, 2022 4 The next Board meeting will be November 9, 2022. 9. ADJOURNMENT The October meeting adjourned at 7:02 p.m. RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED, Jeannie Kays Director of Library Services