Haverhill Public Library
Board of Trustees
Minutes of January 19, 2023
The regular monthly meeting of the Trustees of the Haverhill Public Library was called to order at 9:30 a.m. on Thursday, January 19, 2023 in the Donald C. Freeman Whittier Room. In attendance were Trustees Bresnahan, Coletti, Klueber, Rurak, Sheehan and Veasey-Sirois. Also in attendance was Director, Sarah Moser and Assistant Director, Jane Lemuth.
Secretary’s Report
The trustees were given copies of the minutes dated December 15, 2022. After perusing the minutes, a motion was made and seconded to accept the minutes. The minutes were approved.
Treasurer’s Report
Business manager, Josh, presented the financial statements for December. Highlights included:
- We received almost $3000 in unrestricted gift income., including $1000 from Market Basket, a long time supporter.
- A transfer was made from the MacDougall trust to the library for OverUnder payments.
- Building maintenance and repairs is where it should be.
- Josh will continue to watch the library generated income since it has slowed since removing fines.
Director’s Report
Sarah discussed the highlights of the director’s report:
- The past month has been calm and quiet.
- We collected about 400 items during the food drive.
- For the holidays, staff had a movie night, trivia contest, cookie contest and a potluck lunch.
- An agreement was reached with the union to hire Sunday substitutes since not many staff have volunteered to work them.
- Summer reading planning has begun.
- AED’s are being updated.
- Sarah will ask the Mayor for an increase in hours for the position previously held by Suzanne in order to help in special collections.
Old Business
Staff updates:
- Susanne Kummel was promoted to Division Head in Circ.
- Marcus has resigned.
- Vacant jobs have been posted with some in-house candidates applying.
- Suzanne Trottier will be retiring. The library has purchased a gift for her.
CPR training online has begun.
OverUnder update: The trustees discussed the latest report from OverUnder and were concerned about the amount of contingencies and the confusion between the figures presented vs. the percentages. They agreed that they should consult with a professional that can help interpret and explain the finances and that is familiar with construction documents.
Trustee Veasey-Sirois suggested providing them with a more concrete budget and to consider expenses they haven’t thought about yet, such as, the possibility of moving out of the library for a period of time and insurance costs. Trustee Bresnahan thought that might be difficult to provide a budget without knowing how much grant money, donations etc. we will get. Sarah stated to keep in mind that the staff belonging to the union may not be able to drive around to provide services outside of the building.
The trustees agreed that they need a list of priorities for the new library including needs vs. wants and whether to take money from the endowment or not.
Trustee Sheehan will speak to the bank regarding a mortgage and will inquire about obtaining state grants.
Trustee Coletti researched grant databases and fundraising professionals.
The trustees agreed on the need to keep the steering committee involved and up to date.
There was discussion on renaming the library to honor Olive MacDougall.
Sarah will schedule an in-person meeting with OverUnder for further discussion.
There being no further business to discuss, a motion was made and seconded to adjourn. The meeting ended at 11:35 a.m.
Sincerely,
Kathleen Bresnahan