martha canfield library

PO Box 267 • 528 East Arlington Road, Arlington, VT • 05250
802.375.6153 • martha_canfield_lib@hotmail.com

  • Tuesday — 9:00AM – 8:00PM
  • Wednesday — 9:00AM – 5:00PM
  • Thursday — 9:00AM – 8:00PM
  • Friday — 2:00PM – 6:00PM
  • Saturday — 10:00AM – 3:00PM

Russell Collection

Open 9:00AM – 5:00PM
Tuesdays or by appointment

MARTHA CANFIELD MEMORIAL LIBRARY

MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES MEETING

May 7, 2018

**Minutes are considered to be in DRAFT form until approved at the next scheduled meeting**

The Board meeting was called to order at 7:03 PM

Board Members In attendance: Brian Allen, Sally Ayrey, Bob Dudley, Sheila Kearns, John Spencer, Laura Crosslin, Carol Farley, Carrie Gutbier, Dave Van De Water, Cathy Taylor

Staff: Phyllis Skidmore (Librarian), Bill Budde (Russell Collection)

Guests: None

Board Members Absent:, Katie McCartney

Additions to the agenda–

1. Nothing to add

 

Minutes

• Minutes from April – Bob moved that the April minutes be approved. Carol seconded. The motion was approved unanimously.

Treasurer’s Report (summary):

• Sally reported on document shredding service that she had investigated

• The quarterly endowment report was discussed next. Reviewed Q4 17 and Q1 18. There were several errors including some of the Quickbook entries and when the funds to replace the furnace were recorded. Also, income figures are net of investment fees. These investment fees were not taken into account correctly.

• The annual fund record keeping is known to be different between John’s records for the Annual fund and the fiscal reporting in our statements. Sally discovered some additional areas wheret the two did not match up. John and Sally will work to tighten these up in the coming year.

• There was a discussion of long-term maintenance and movement of money between the restricted fund. This will be addressed in the coming months.

• There was not an $18,000 surplus as was reported at the annual meeting.

• Sheila requested that Brian call a meeting of the Finance Committee to dig into this more.

• Brian moved we approve the report, Dave seconded the motion. The motion was approved unanimously.

 

Librarian’s Report (summary):

• Please change the month at the top of the report

• Phyllis attends the Arlington Renewal meetings and is part of the Arts committee

• The Department of Libraries is closed from June 15 to July 15 as they move from Montpelier to Barre.

• Three new volunteers have joined the library

• Brian moved we approve the report, Dave seconded the motion. The motion was approved unanimously.

 

Programming (Adult, Youth, Children’s)

• Carrie reported that there were 26 people attending the discussion on space and astronauts. Andy left a copy of his book “A Man on the Moon” signed for the Library.

 

Buildings & Grounds

• Phyllis reported that the basement insulation is complete.

• Phyllis had samples of noise reducing panels. Measurements were taken at the library. It would not be possible to build a wall for the reading room, but panels should have a significant effect on noise reduction. Various placements were discussed. Panels can go on the walls or be suspended from the ceiling. The contractor will provide a more comprehensive report including costs in the next week or so.

• Carrie reported that she had reached out to the landscaper but had not heard back

 

Gallery

• Dave passed out a gallery update and covered the highlights

• He shared articles in Manchester Life of interest to Arlington, the Library and more

• Phyllis reported that The ART of Angling exhibit had a story in the Rutland Herald

• Over 50 works were submitted for the ART of Angling exhibit. The American Museum of Fly Fishing is a partner in this exhibit. 32 works were accepted. Dave is asking for Board support at the opening ceremony on Saturday, May 12th.

• Lots of social media marketing has been done

• The Rockwell show is coming together. June 30 – Aug 15.

• For the fall, the theme would be “Images of the Shires” which brings in a larger community including Bennington area groups.

• Dave will be working with Sally on budget topics

• Dave asked that 2 things be considered for the next meeting

   o Partnering with SVAC for the Caldecott Medal Art exhibit

   o Consider more weekend hours for the gallery during the summer and fall (foliage) seasons

 

Russell Collection Report

• Bill reported business is picking up. 3 visitors on-site. More email queries too.

• Donations were collected from the genealogy programs

• Bill mentioned that Dave Thomas has been involved with the library for many years and asked if we wanted to recognize him in some way at some point in the future. It would be good to pick a time. Sheila suggested that he be recognized at the next Volunteer Appreciation party.

 

Old Business:

1. Revisions to General Policies – Changes were reviewed that were sent out with the agenda.

Sally made a motion to approve the changes, Brian seconded the motion. The motion was approved unanimously.

2. Bylaws – Review of sections regarding counts of board members and quorums. Sheila captured some ideas from the board. The student board members was also discussed. Sheila will develop a draft to be presented in advance of the June meeting. The goal is to vote on these at the June meeting.

 

New Business:

1. Audit Report – question or comments on this report. The audit was more procedural in nature rather than auditing the numbers. Sally said that she has addressed many of the issues identified and will take care of the remaining ones in the near future.

Bob moved we accept the report, Carol seconded. The motion was approved unanimously.

2. Fixed Assets – the audit report identified that there was not a current fixed asset list. Sally questioned what a fixed asset was. There was a discussion of the need for the list. Insurance and financial purposes. Phyllis will contact the insurance company to see what they need and Sally will continue to investigate if there are any financial need for this. It was suggested that the Building & Grounds Committee be the keeper of the fixed assets once a clear definition is found

3. Bookkeeping and Payroll – the current bookkeeper will retire sometime in the next 2 years. In 2018, the payroll filings will not be able to be done with the version of Quickbooks that she has. Sally is in favor of going with a payroll service. This will cost some more money, but will remove the burden of doing the filings from any bookkeeper going forward. It will cost about $1,000 per year. This will also reduce the burden on the bookkeeper going forward. Security would also be improved by handling the payroll through a service.

Sheila suggested we should be actively looking for a new bookkeeper. She asked that people keep their eyes open. Judy is fine with us getting a new bookkeeper at any time before she retires.

A decision on whether to go with a payroll service will be tabled for a short period of time.

 

Next meeting – Monday, June 4th at 7PM
Meeting adjourned at 8:45 PM.

New Books

for all ages

clean-up

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