Board of Trustees of the St. Helena Public Library

Minutes of the Meeting of April 4, 2007

The regular meeting of the Board of Trustees was called to order by Dr. Darter at 5 p.m. Trustee Chairman Dr. Darter, Lynda Burton, Julie Dickson, and Bonnie Long were present, as were Friends of the Library president Dolores Torrigino and Library Director Larry Hlavsa. Attorney Frank Toller participated in a portion of the meeting.

A motion to approve the consent items was seconded and passed. The minutes of the meeting of February March 14th were approved as submitted.

Library Director’s Report

Interior re-design project. The Page + Moris final scheme drawings are on display in the library. The consultants will attend the regular trustee meeting of May 9th and respond to any public comment or trustee questions. Larry will look into moving the meeting to the Carnegie Building to accommodate interested citizens. A notice of time and place will appear, and a press release will go to the St. Helena Star.

FY 2007-2008 Submitted Budget. No concerns have been communicated to Larry.

Maintenance issues. There has been no response to the letter sent by Dr. Darter to the City Manager after last month’s meeting. At this time, five HVAC units are not working.

St. Helena Public Library Foundation. The subcommittee (Lynda, Bonnie, and Larry) had a productive meeting with local attorney Frank Toller on March 26th and asked that he attend this meeting to give an overview of the process of creating a foundation to support the library and to respond to questions from trustees. Initial tasks were identified, and Frank was asked to prepare and file articles of incorporation once the foundation name was ascertained. Frank estimated that his professional fees to assist in the incorporation would be $2,000. The subcommittee will continue to seek a consultant with experience assisting in the formation of library foundations to review and comment upon draft bylaws once they are completed.

Friends of the Library. Dolores reviewed the February 28 Friends’ Treasurer’s Report, pointing out that $11,577.33 was paid to Page + Moris and noting again that the Carpy Family Foundation grant of $4,000 was underwriting the Summer Reading Program. In connection with the charges for engraving the “Readers Hall of Fame” plaque, Dolores applauded the number of local children who had read 100 or more books a year for fifteen years.

Wine Library Association. Julie reported that the association’s reception at the library Tuesday evening, March 20th, to honor the high school students who have completed video interviews of members of pioneer local winemaking families was enjoyable. She and Larry discussed the process of fine-tuning the NVWL collection policy.

Historical Society. In Gwen’s absence, Larry noted that the society was investigating acquiring an office, as its working area and acquisitions may outgrow its current quarters upstairs at the library.

The meeting adjourned at 6:20 p.m.

Julie Dickson, recording secretary