North Egypt News

C. E. Brehm Memorial Public Library Board of Trustees met Sept. 14.

Here are the minutes provided by the board:

President Clyde Hall called the meeting to order at 7:04 PM and read the following:

“The continuation of the Disaster Proclamation by Gov Pritzker is allowing for CE Brehm Memorial Public Library to make a localized finding that it is not practical, prudent, or safe for all our Board Members to meet in person. This ia based on the fact that Jefferson County has an accelerating number of COVID-19 numbers in the last month, and at the same time, our county has a vaccination rate below the state average (32.60% vs. 51.00%). In accordance with 5 ILCS 120/7(e), this meeting will follow the rules and procedures contained within for this virtual meeting.

Those present were President Hall, Valerie Davis, Bob Metcalf, Linda Woodrome, Sharon Yearwood, Director Bill Pixley, and Assistant Director Esther Curry. Present by Zoom were Amanda Crider and Renee Jenkins. The meeting was recorded.

Audience to Visitors: None.

Secretary’s Report: The August 10, 2021, minutes were previously provided to the Board members. An error was found and corrected concerning the Illinois State website for OMA not being up and running. Linda Woodrome made a motion to accept the corrected August 10, 2021, Secretary’s Report. Bob Metcalf seconded the motion. The motion carried. ROLL CALL #! was approved 7-0.

Correspondence: Director Pixley noted that a notice was received stating Deborah’s Quarters,Inc., owner, Dawn Paulfrey, had filed for a Tax Exemption.

Treasurer’s Report: Treasurer Bob Metcalf presented his monthly report. Balances were as of September 14, 2021:

Community First Bank

General Operating Fund      $ 761,415. 00

Working Cash Fund                199, 942.00

Special Reserve Fund             541, 211.00

TOTAL                           $1,502,568.00

Clyde Hall made the motion to accept the September 14, 2021, Treasurer’s Report; to pay the September, 2021, bills; and to transfer $50,000.00 from Savings to Cash. Valerie Davis seconded the motion. The motion carried. ROLL CALL #2 was approved 7-0.

Director’s Report: Pixley reminded the Board that on October 12, 2021, the Budget meeting would be held from 6:30-7:00 PM to allow the public to have input on the Budget. He also stated staff members had begun training on the LEAP system which would replace POLARIS. Sharon Yearwood stated she was glad to see that Director Pixley had taken part in the Mt. Vernon Convention and Visitor’s Bureau Advisory Board meeting.

Staff Reports: None.

Report of Officers:

President:

President Hall brought to the attention of the Board that staff member Shawn Campbell had held a successful role playing program, Dungeons and Dragons, for the Tweens. He also stated that plans for the staff Christmas party were still undecided.

Treasurer: None.

Standing Committees:

Finance: None.

Personnel: None.

Policy: None.

Building and Grounds: None

Community Relations: None

Report of Special Committees:

Annex: Amanda Crider, Chair, made a motion to accept the Annex Committee minutes of September 8, 2021. Linda Woodrome seconded the motion. The motion carried. ROLL CALL# 3 was approved 3-0.

Report from Illinois Heartland Library System: None.

Report on Shakespeare Foundation: Bob Metcalf stated that the Foundation would soon begin the annual Fund Drive and that decisions for the campaign would soon be underway.

Unfinished Businesss:

Open Meetings Act: The Illinois website for OMA Training is still not up and running.

Covid Update: Director Pixley stated that the Library did not have a Sick Leave Policy in place for COVID-19. The issue was discussed at length and it was decided that Director Pixley would draft such a policy for review at the next meeting.

Annex: Linda Woodrome reported that she had spoken with the architect that had worked on the original Annex plans. Linda felt the digital copies of the original plan would be fine for now and that once we got closer to raising the other million dollar amount needed, then we could formalized the drawings She also stated that she personally felt we should begin with fund raising in the spring of 2022—possibly an open house for library patrons. Director Pixley, Assistant Director Curry and Linda will be speaking with the architect on Sept 16, 2021.

Rare Book Policy: Bob Metcalf shared one copy, of his four-volume set, of the St Louis World’s Fair (June, 1902). He would very much like to see old copies of books relating to Jefferson County and the surrounding area to be housed in Brehm Library. Policy discussions are still underway.

Long Range Plans: The Long Range Plan is still being discussed and ideas given.

New Business:

Director Pixley presented the First Reading of the Budget Ordinance and the First Reading of the Levy Ordinance. Both items will be voted on at the next meeting.

Library Closing Dates: After reviewing the dates given for closing the Library in 2022, President Hall made the motion to add the legal holiday Juneteenth to the original list. Valerie Davis seconded the motion. As no Roll Call was needed, a raised hand vote was conducted with five

against and two in favor of the addition. This holiday, as well as others, will be reviewed next year for inclusion. The vote was then taken to approve the original list of Library Closing Dates as presented by Director Pixley. Linda Woodrome then made the motion to accept the list of Library Closing Dates that Director Pixley had presented. Clyde Hall seconded the motion. The motion carried. ROLL CALL #4 was approved 7-0.

Board Meeting Dates: The dates (second Tuesday of month) were reviewed for Board Meetings in 2022. Clyde Hall, seeing no errors in the dates, made a motion to accept the Board Meeting Dates for 2022. Valerie Davis seconded the motion. The motion carried. ROLL CALL#5 was approved 7-0.

Proposals for Tree Removal: Only two proposals were turned in to remove the dead tree in front of the Library. The decision was tabled till next month in case other bids would come in.

Review of Serving Our Public: Director Pixley said that looking at our Per Capita Grant was a good place for guidance. The Library cannot do a Capitol Asset Plan until we have Annex plans. A suggested fire drill had been accomplished. The Library is continuing to make suggested improvements, but there are still things that needed doing.

Closed Session: None.

Adjournment: As there was no other business, Linda Woodrome made a motion to adjourn. President Hall seconded the motion. The motion carried. ROLL CALL#6 was approved 7-0. The meeting adjourned at 8:39 PM.

https://mtvbrehm.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/BML-Minutes-for-OCT-2021.pdf