HomeMy Public PortalAboutFebruary 3, 2021 minutes with linksWatertown Free Public Library
TRUSTEES MEETING Minutes
Wednesday, February 3, 2021 at 7pm
Pursuant to Governor Baker's March 12, 2020 Order Suspending Certain Provisions of the Open Meeting Law,
G.L. c. 30A, §18, and the Governor's March 15, 2020 Order imposing strict limitations on the number of people
that may gather in one place, this public hearing of the Watertown Free Public Library Board of Trustees is
being conducted via remote participation. No in -person attendance of members of the public will be permitted,
but the public can listen to or view this meeting while in progress via Zoom meeting ID 816 4998 3747
Password 127706. Members of the public may access the meeting through this link
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81649983747?pwd=Q0Y2OF1YNm93 VTAzY3ZvZm5BLz1NQT09
or by dialing in at 929 205 6099 and entering the meeting ID and password. Members of the public attending
this meeting virtually will be allowed to make comments if they wish to do so, during the portion of the hearing
designated for public comment, by audio.
AGENDA
Present: WFPL Trustees: Leanne Hammonds, Chair, Michael Hanlon, Treasurer, Teddy Kokoros,
Secretary, Daniel Pritchard, Emily Izzo, WFPL Director Leone Cole, WFPL Assistant Director Caitlin
Browne
Call to Order 7:03
Secretary's Report
Minutes of January 13, 2021 Meeting
A motion was made and unanimously passed to accept The Secretary's report as written
Public Forum: No One Present
Red Leaf Cafe Update: No Update
Financial Report
FY21 Budget: The Watertown Library has spent 57 percent of the fiscal year
budget. Director Cole reported that the reimbursement to the Watertown Library for COVID-19
expenses from The CARES Act has not happened yet. Director Cole said there is a personnel
change that she will send The Trustees an email about soon.
Burke Fund Report: The current balance is $10,000
Hatch Financials: No Update
Consideration and Action on Acceptance of Donations: A motion was made and
unanimously approved to accept the donations listed in this month's packet.
A motion was made and unanimously passed to accept the Financial Report as read.
Chairman's Report
Charter Review Update: Chair Hammonds reported that in recent Charter Review
meetings representatives from other towns and cities discussed their systems of government
and in the most recent meeting there was a discussion about creating a preamble to The
Charter. In addition, Chair Hammonds reported that there will be a way to provide comments to
the Charter Review Committee online so Trustees should be on the look out for that.
Director's Report
Consideration and Action on a Library of Things Donation Policy
• A motion was made and unanimously passed to accept the Library of Things
Collection Development Policy as written.
Feedback from Board on Quarterly Reports:
• Chair Hammonds gave feedback stating that she the COVID-19 report provided a lot of
history and the tables and charts related to electronic and physical circulation were
informative and she hoped those charts would continue to be in the reports. Chair
Hammonds also recommended the reports refer to the objectives that will be outlined
in the Strategic Plan.
• Trustee Kokoros shared the idea of possibly taking portions of the quarterly report and
sharing the information blog posts on The Watertown Library website to share the
information with the public.
• Trustee Hanlon asked if the Watertown Library is getting patrons from neighboring
towns whose Libraries are not fully open and Director Cole reported that "yes the
Watertown Library is getting patrons from all over"
Various Updates
• Director Cole and Chair Hammonds went to the Watertown Budget hearing
and met with the Town Manager and Town Auditor. They discussed the request
for the outreach librarian, project literacy going online, potentially relocating
Hatch the former police station site. The Town Manager stated that the use of
the former police station is still to be determined and Hatch is still on the listed
of future occupants. This will be related to the what happens in the future
related to the Senior Center and The New Watertown High School.
Old Business: None
New Business: None
Requests for Information and Responses: None
Date of next meeting: March 3 2021
Adjournment: A motion was made and unanimously passed to adjourn the meeting at
7:42 pm