Board of Trustees of the St. Helena Public Library

Minutes of the Meeting of December 10, 2008

The regular meeting of the Board of Trustees was called to order at 5:05 p.m. Trustee Chairman Dr. Darter, Lynda Burton, Bonnie Long, Susan Swan, and Julie Dickson were present, as were Friends representative Miriam Hess, NVWLA president Kevin Alfaro, and Library Director Jennifer Baker. New trustee Susan was introduced and welcomed.

A motion to approve the consent items was seconded and passed. The minutes of the meeting of November 12 were approved.

Library Director’s Report. Jennifer was thanked for her written summary of the October 11 retreat for organizations related to the library and reported on committee work since. Next steps include identifying key individuals to serve on focus groups for the visioning process. Catarina Sanchez will assist.

December 8 Meeting on Adams Street Property. Jennifer, Bonnie and Julie attended, and reported that the consultants presented and participants discussed three scenarios for the parcel. Following discussion, the trustees directed Jennifer to prepare a submission to the General Plan committee and consultants reiterating that any plan selected (1) reserve 8,000 square feet contiguous to the library for its future expansion (not including parking); (2) preserve the Barney’s Backyard vineyard and the library viewshed (including exploration of preservation of existing heritage vineyard); and (3) recommending that a third community workshop be scheduled. Jennifer will consult city staff concerning the timing of presenting the request.

Staffing/”Extra Help.” Jennifer reported that a meeting will be held December 11 to determine the basic skills each library staff member must know; the subsequent training plan will team staff members to share knowledge. The proposal to hire and train “on-call” staff members has been submitted to City Manager Bert Johansson.

Architectural Design/Remodel. Jennifer reviewed and the trustees discussed the final complete set of drawings and specs submitted by MacCracken November 20. It was MOVED, seconded and passed that the trustees direct Jennifer to begin drafting the RFP to be submitted to the City Council for action at its January 12 meeting. Trustees discussed possible timing of the bidding and construction process.

Following discussion of alternative means of acquiring new furniture, it was MOVED, seconded and passed to (1) authorize MacCracken to enter into a subcontract with Page & Moris for the purposes of creating a furniture bid; and (2) authorize MacCracken to enter into a subcontract with Sierra West for the purposes of developing a cost estimate for the scope of work.

St. Helena Public Library Foundation. Dr. Darter introduced and made a MOTION to approve Resolution No. 2008-1 to appropriate from the Wood Trust “start-up” fees for the foundation such as those associated with the IRS 501(c) 3) application, not to exceed $1500 and recognizing that the foundation is a local, not-for-profit entity existing for the purpose of promoting the use of library resources, enthusiasm for reading, and increasing literacy for all St. Helena residents. The motion was seconded and passed. The process of the Friends and the foundation entering a memorandum of understanding has begun with consultation of the relationships of such entities in other communities.

Friends of the Library. Miriam submitted a written request to the trustees to approve withdrawal of $26,000 from reserve to fund a self-check machine, the teen room facelift, and furnishings for the new reading nook. It was MOVED, seconded, and passed to approve said request. Miriam distributed the Friends’ financial report and commented that contributions appeared to be down due to the economy. She reported upon successful and innovative book sales and the success of the first year of Wednesday evening adult programming (Monday evenings to be added.)

Napa Valley Wine Library Association. Julie and Kevin reported that the annual tasting is set for August 16, that new board member Bob Dye has revamped the website, and that the Napa Valley Grapegrowers Assn. had enlisted NVWLA’s aid in its heritage vineyard documentation project.

St. Helena Historical Sociaty. Lynda reported that the December 3 Repeal Party was a great success, and that the group was actively seeking to secure property on the Adams Street parcel for its home.

Additional item: Susan suggested that the practice of automatically adding email addresses to the library list of all library card applicants be refined vis-à-vis students under 18 years of age, and she and Jennifer agreed upon an appropriate approach.

The meeting adjourned at 6:20 p.m.

Julie Dickson, recording secretary