Haverhill Public Library
Board of Trustees
Minutes of January 21, 2021
The regular monthly meeting of the Trustees of the Haverhill Public Library was called to order at 8:30 a.m. on Thursday, January 21, 2021 via Zoom or in the auditorium. In attendance were Trustees Sheehan, Rurak, and Veasy-Sirois. Also in attendance were Director, Sarah Moser and Assistant Director, Jonathan Nichols.
TD Bank Presentation, Joe Marini
The first order of business was a presentation by Joe Marini summarizing the past year’s financials. He stated that 2020 overall in the country has had lows not seen since the 1930’s but has improved slightly toward the end of the year. The library’s Trustees portfolio has increased since July and in 2020 it was up 10%. It has increased 6% since it opened. The Special Collections portfolio has also increased and is up 6.8% since it was opened.
Trustee Sheehan asked if contributions are counted in the increase. Joe stated that they are counted in the raw numbers but for performance measures they are counted along with distributions.
Secretary’s Report
Copies of the minutes dated December 17, 2020 will be available at the February meeting.
Treasurer’s Report
Business manager, Josh, presented the financial statements for December. He stated that gift income was high due to a large donation of $200k. The library is behind in library generated funds but the large donation makes up for that this month. He also stated that state funds will probably be late this year so cash flow will be tight for the second half of the fiscal year. There was not a quorum to vote on the financial statements.
Director’s Report
Sarah discussed the highlights of the director’s report:
- Covid restrictions have been rolled back but there are not too many complaints
- All laptops and hotspots have been checked out
- Sarah attended the City Dept. Head meeting on Dec. 1 and stated that the Mayor was cautiously optimistic about the budget for next year
- Sarah asked the Mayor if the library can be included with Phase 2 of the vaccine distribution. He said he was amenable to it. She also contacted Rep. Vargas and Sen. DiZoglio to ask that library staff be considered in Phase 2 since libraries are not addressed in the State’s guide.
Old Business
- Staff Updae: The Head of Reference position is still vacant with Jonathan filling in. It will be reposted.
- Building: The elevator estimates are coming soon. Trustee Rurak asked how long it would take for the repairs. Sarah said about 4-6 weeks for the part and 4-6 weeks for the work. Trustee Sheehan asked if the second floor bathroom is ADA compliant and Sarah stated that it is.
- Wall Mural: Sarah is waiting for the Friends to make a decision on the mural.
New Business
- Building:
Paul Anastasi spoke with the Trustees about his experience in facilities management. He discussed putting together a maintenance plan and an assessment of equipment, which will help with capital planning. He will create an asset spreadsheet, a list of preferred vendors, manuals and building layout documents and pictures.
Trustee Rurak asked Sarah for her recommendation. She stated that the library should have a needs assessment done, get an estimate on expenses to help with capital planning and would like an organized plan to coordinate outside vendors.
Trustee Sheehan asked Mr. Anastasi if he has a license to perform this type of work. Mr. Anastasi stated that he has a Mass Construction License which he renews every two years with continuing education points.
Trustee Sheehan asked how much time Mr. Anastasi estimates it will take to perform the work. Mr. Anastasi stated approximately one day a week to start for approximately six to eight months. Trustee Sheehan asked if he could add that to the proposal and put together a list of deliverables and scope of services.
Trustees Sheehan, Rurak and Veasey-Sirois agreed to have Mr. Anastasi continue with a formal proposal even though there isn’t a quorum to vote on it.
Trustee Rurak asked if Mr. Anastasi could get involved with the geothermal equipment and the elevator.
There being no further business to discuss, a motion was made and seconded to adjourn. The meeting ended at 10:00 a.m.
Sincerely,
Kathleen Bresnahan