HomeMy Public PortalAbout2021.03.08 LBT Minutes Minutes—McCall Public Library Board of Trustees Meeting
March 8,.2021
Zoom/McCall Library Idaho Room, 218 E. Park Street
Call to Order: 9:04 am
Attendance: Via Zoom—Jacki Rubin, David Gallipoli, Lola Elliot, Dawn Matus, Patrick Coyle, Bob
Giles, Linda Stokes, Amy Rush
In Library—Meg Lojek
Amendments to Agenda: None
Approval of Minutes: Lola made a motion to approve the minutes of Feb. 18 and 19; David
seconded. Minutes approved.
Public Comment: No public comments received.
Director's Report:
Payment Approval: Jacki motioned to approve payment for 2/23. Davod seconded. All in favor.
Budget and Stats: Financial statements are online at
https://www.mccall.id.us/financial-statements; February statements will be available by 3/15.
Other: Meg reported that she has been working with the Library staff on their annual
evaluations, and has also partnered with City Communications Manager Erin Greaves on an
information schedule for the public about the proposed Library expansion bond. In addition, Meg
has accepted an invitation to serve on the selection committee for the Idaho Commission for
Libraries' (ICFL) "Let's Talk About It" program, and will work with committee members statewide
on selecting titles, authors and themes for the next five to 10 years of programming.
An outdoor kickoff event is planned for the "Valley County Big Read" community reading
program on Sat., March 20, at Donnelly Public Library. The program is administered by the
area's three public libraries in McCall, Donnelly, Cascade, and is made possible with a grant
from the National Endowment for the Arts. The book chosen for this year's read is Circe by
Madeline Miller. Free copies will be available at the kickoff, which will also feature live music.
Depending on demand, copies can also be picked up at the Library after the kickoff. Other
events, including lectures, book clubs and children's activities will be held from April to May. For
details, see the Valley County Big Read website https://bigreadvalleycounty.lili.ora/
Library Board of Trustees Annual Report to Council (April 22):
Jacki reviewed the draft of this year's report for the City Council. In addition to including a note
of thanks to Mayor Bob Giles for his support for the Library and the proposed expansion, the
draft has been updated to include Lola Elliot as the Friends of the Library liaison. The Board
agreed with Meg's suggestion to also include the newly revised Values and Mission Statement
from the Library Strategic Plan.
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City Treasurer's Report: Due to the change the Board's monthly meeting schedule, the Feb.
financial statements were not yet available at the time of this meeting. Regarding unspent funds
earmarked for the Library, Linda said the City's annual audit was still in process, and preliminary
figures might be available in the third or fourth week of March.
Library Bond Proposal for City Council: Participants discussed the proposed bond ahead of a
City Council meeting on Thu., March 11, when Council members will decide whether to put the
bond on the ballot in May. In consultation with CM Co. and Ratio Architects, Meg removed costs
from the budget that should be eligible for future funding, such as furnishings and fixtures. This
brought the total project budget in line with the $6.5 million sought by the Board. It's estimated
that an additional $1.12 million of funding would be made available by the City (grants, LGIP
donations, LOT and CIP funds), as well as $553,000 from the Library Foundation (cash on hand
minus reserves). The Foundation also has $625,000 in pledged donations, of which the City has
tentatively budgeted approximately $263,700 which would reduce the bond to $4.5 million.
Linda noted that the ordinance being presented to Council on March 11 is a draft, and various
decisions must be made by Council members before the ordinance is finalized.
The floor was opened to discussion. Participants debated working to lower the bond amount
further by drawing on all the donor pledges; Jacki noted that cutting the amount to $4.2 million
would signify a $2 million reduction compared to the May 2020 bond. Amy added that of the
pledges received by the Foundation, about $530,000-550,000 are due to be fulfilled in June
2021 contingent on the bond's passage, and said discussions with individual donors indicate a
solid commitment to carrying through. A bond amount of$4.2 million could be achieved if the
City Council agreed to draw on the pledges due in June and use an estimated $100,000 in
unspent funds left over from prior years of the library budget.
Mayor Bob Giles offered his opinion that if the risk is acceptable, a lower amount would be
better. He added that for voters on the fence, the headline figure on the bond could make a
huge difference. At Amy's recommendation, Meg and Jacki decided, with the Board's approval,
to draw up a memo for the March 11 City Council meeting in support of a bond amount of$4.2
million; Mayor Bob agreed that it would be helpful to the Council. Board members also
discussed setting their sights on working on the campaign message that they'll present to voters
once Council makes a decision.
Revision of McCall Library Strategic Plan: Lola and Meg reviewed the plan and updated the
language to better reflect the new Library Values and Mission Statement. Per the Board's
direction, they removed the old Goal #5 focusing on improvements to the current Library
building, and also removed redundancies and updated dates and other figures throughout the
document. Jacki suggested, and the rest of the Board agreed, to add the proposed Library
expansion bond under the Measures of Progress for Goal #6. Jacki made a motion to accept
the Strategic Plan as written for publication on the Library's website as soon as possible, while
allowing for future revisions, if needed. David seconded. All in favor.
Fundraising and Foundation Report: Amy said fundraising would be on pause until the expected
May bond, with members focusing their attention on donor relations and outreach to nonprofits
and private businesses, to build support for the initiative.
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City Council Liaison Report: Due to a schedule conflict for Mayor Bob, participants agreed to
amend the start time for monthly Board meetings to 10am on the second Monday of the month.
Adjournment: 10:14 am
Next Meeting: Mon., April 12, 10:00 AM
Minutes prepared by Dawn Matus, Secretary
Respectfully submitted by Jacki Rubin, Chair
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