August 2005 Board Minutes

Thorntown Public Library

124 N. Market St.,
Thorntown, IN 46071
Phone: 765-436-7348 Fax 765-436-7011

President Eric Ragsdale called the Public Hearing on the 2006 budgets to order at 6:05 pm. Members in attendance were Deanna Brueggert, Teresa Carter, Ron Guinn, John Merson, Patty Ramsey and Linda Yoder. Also present were Library Director Karen Niemeyer and Treasurer Barb Darnell. Since no members of the public were present, John moved the public hearing be adjourned at 6:10, Ron seconded, and the public hearing was adjourned.

Continuing with the regular meeting, Patty moved the acceptance of the minutes of the July Public Hearing, Deanna seconded, and the minutes were approved. Ron moved the acceptance of the secretary’s report for the July 11 regular session, with the addition of several claims reported by Treasurer Barb Darnell. The additional claims were all included in the August Register of Claims. Patty seconded, and the minutes were approved.

Barb presented the financial report, showing July operating receipts of $103,800.92 and disbursements of $188,045.95. The ending cash balance is $100,020.93. She withdrew $80,000 from the large CD to cover the $156,030 payment to Flaugher. We can withdraw from the CD up to three times. We are still maintaining almost half a budget year in reserve as is recommended. It was also noted that the AFLAC supplementa insurance premium is now coming out of salaries, so it will be properly accounted for this year.

The Board then considered the Claims Register. After clarification on some amounts, Linda moved the acceptance of the Claims Register, Ron seconded, and the motion was approved.

Karen gave the building project report. Two inches of water in thirty minutes produced yet another “100 year flood” condition. The water came in the west main doors, into the meeting room areas, and flooded in the carpeted area. We didn’t lose any furniture or carpeting. Part of the problem is the town drains, which are inadequate, but there are also other issues that need to be addressed. Representatives of our architectural firm will present a report later in the meeting. There has been no further contact with Flaugher although they have been told about the leak around the round window.

Under old business, the Board was updated on the health insurance progress. We are waiting for cards for the dental and vision. There was a concern when the billing didn’t match the quote, but that has been resolved in our favor. Savings when a staff member reaches Medicare age is about $400 per month. In other issues, the additional appropriation passed at the last meeting was approved at the requested figure of $150,000; no one ever responded to the question of decreasing it to $125,000, but we don’t have to use the extra money. We were asked about which title company to use to finalize our O. P. Lot 52 property acquisition from American General; Eric pointed out it is more cost effective to use a Boone County company although we do not recommend a specific one. The Rapps have offered to manage the Lot 52 property in the event we do rent it, and the Board is considering their generous offer with enthusiasm. The ads for the 2006 budgets have been placed. We are well under the goal of 5% of the levy, so we don’t have to take the budgets before the county council. John reported he has received the AED; training classes will probably be in September. In the repair category, the chimney is done, and Hinshaw has found the roof problem, which is a 30-minute fix. Steve Hill repaired the broken railing. Jake White finished the fence painting. Karen stated that the staff would prefer to be closed for the Turning Leaves Festival this year and use the time to get the carpets cleaned; the board agreed.

Under new business, the annual report is all done except for the last section. Copies were presented to the Board members, and it will be discussed next month in order to save time for the discussion with the architects.

The staff is not pleased with our current portable telephone. They would like to trade for something that can be wired in. There was some discussion about a maintenance contract for the phone system, but the consensus was that it is probably not necessary.

Deanna moved that the Board reappoint Karen as our INCOLSA representative. Linda seconded, and the motion passed.

In the Director’s report, Karen reported that the state will pay for the T-1 line through June 30, 2006. There are other options, which are being considered, particularly in view of the fraud claims against the current provider.

Amanda goes back to college next week, and there are no plans to replace her. She represented us well in her candidacy for Boone County queen. The Board was also advised of the many compliments received by Rita Trafford for her dealings with the community. The reporter for the Indianapolis Star North commented that our web site is the best around; Linda White gets the credit for that. The Board is pleased to hear these good comments about our staff and is grateful for the excellent work they do.

Karen reminded the Board that Eric’s membership needs to be renewed although we are legal until a replacement can be found. The fountain fund is now $5,820.73 with additional donations anticipated in memory of Bill Hitch, who died unexpectedly this week. The community will have good memories of the wonderful party celebrating him and his wife Irene; the party was held at the library on August 4 as part of the daily lunch program.

Karen is working on getting someone to help with the window cleaning. As anticipated the microfilm reader printer died, and a new one is coming. Work continues on a potential merger with Jackson Township. Flu shots will be given at the library November 21. The ancestry on line stats were presented and look very good.

The Board gave oral approval to the library applying for a DNR grant of $1,375 with a required equal match. We already have almost half of it in our tree gift. It is referred to as the Library Releaf Project.

Karen is going to attend classes in Bloomington as part of the YMCA regional training. The classes involve working with the aging and senior citizen health issues. She will later teach the classes at the library. The fees will be paid as part of the Community Foundation of Boone County grant for our Sitting Fit exercise program.

Architects Bill Brown, Eileen Davis, and Nick Warden then presented a summary of their report on the flooding of July 21-22, 2005. There are several different areas of difficulty with differing suggestions for solution. The Bow Street flooding is caused by having a small drain leading to Market Street. They suggested piping it toward the parking lot and “daylighting it”. Eric suggested an awning over the door would also help keep the water out, and that plan was well received. The French drain at the main entrance may need another drain at the top. One suggestion is to replace the 4 inch pipe with a 6 inch pipe to get the water away more quickly. A sump pump is another alternative, but there are pros and cons . The alley side water problem can be resolved by a change in the retaining wall to divert water from the door. The mechanical yard should have been on the back flow preventer. The excess water may be piped to our new Lot 52 property and held in a detention basin. The main goal is to increase the velocity away from the doors and to work with the city for a long-term approach. We were promised a report shortly, detailing the plans.

The meeting was adjourned at 8:05 on a motion from Linda and a second by Deanna.