Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout02-27-2008 Library Commission minutesCITY OF SARATOGA LIBRARY COMMISSION MINUTES DATE: February 27, 2008 TIME: 12:00 noon to 2:00 p.m. LOCATION: Community Room Saratoga Library 13650 Saratoga Avenue Saratoga, CA 95070 1. Call to Order Chair Nilan called the meeting to order at 12:00 p.m. 2. Roll Call Commissioners present: Chiou, Lemmon, McBane Mulford, and Nilan. Others present: County Librarian Melinda Cervantes, Saratoga Community Librarian Barbara Williams, Saratoga Interim Staff Liaison Crystal Morrow, Saratoga Facilities Maintenance Supervisor Thomas Scott, Friends of the Saratoga Libraries Liaison Tat Blesch, and City Clerk Cathleen Boyer. 3. Report on Posting of the Agenda Pursuant to Government Code Section 54954.2, the agenda for this meeting was properly posted on February 22, 2008 (Boyer). 4. Accept Agenda Items and Order: No additional items were added pursuant to Government Code Section 54954.2. McBane Mulford moved to accept the agenda items and order, seconded by Nilan. Motion passed 4/0. 5. Approval of Minutes of Regular Meeting December 5, 2007. Minutes from December 5, 2007 and February 27, 2008 meetings will be distributed for approval at April meeting. 6. Oral & Written Communication No oral or written communications were presented to the Commission. Chair Nilan welcomed Dick Corson, an avid library user who attended the meeting to learn more about the role and activities of the Commission. 7. Old Business A. Review of the Library Commission’s Mission Statement ∗ Chiou recommended minor changes to the mission statement, which focused on including city and library staff in the language. The recommendations were discussed and clarified by the commissioners and staff. Additionally, replacing the word ‘guides’ with ‘advises’ in regard to the Commissions’ role with respect to the Joint Powers Authority was discussed. Saratoga Library Commission February 27, 2008 Meeting Minutes Page 2 of 6 ∗ Nilan read the revised mission statement to confirm the changes proposed, as follows: “The mission of the Saratoga Library Commission is to ensure that access is provided to informational, educational, and recreational library materials and services that respond to evolving community needs. The Commission guides the Saratoga City council and city staff regarding the library facility and grounds, as well as current library issues. The Commission advises the Santa Clara County Library Joint Powers Authority Board and library staff regarding library budgets, politics, plans and procedures.” ∗ Lemmon moved to approve the changes as stated above, seconded by Chiou. Motion passed 4/0. B. Building Maintenance Update Thomas Scott reviewed the memorandum dated February 20, 2008 re: Library Projects Update that was distributed as part of the Commissioners’ agenda packet. ∗ As of February 20th, 2008, the following facilities items were identified as completed: ∗ The outside wall staining project has been completed. ∗ Staff confirmed that the roof top exhaust fans on the roof do not require a shut off safety switch since the service switch is located under the hood. ∗ The following projects are currently in progress: ∗ Getting bids to repair the roof leaks noted after the last large storm, some temporary work has been completed. There are leaks due to failures in the roof in a number of places from unknown circumstances, although roofing material (with nails included) left on the structure by the original contractor may have contributed to the issues when these materials were tossed about the roof in the January storms. ∗ As an additional note regarding roof drainage, the design of the physical structure in one area forces approximately 200 sq. ft. of roof area to shed onto the roof below. This drainage could be converted to piping and may be considered in the future within the capital improvement fund allocations. This would mitigate further leaks in the affected areas. ∗ Getting bids to replace the inside stained ceiling tiles. (a) A total of 42 ceiling tiles were stained by leakage within the library. Currently, only ceiling tiles stained are proposed for replacement. However, once installed the aesthetic considerations regarding combination of new and old tiles may cause staff and the Commission to reevaluate whether additional tiles should be replaced. The work will require a man lift as the tiles are at 30 feet above the finish floor, and plywood must be temporarily placed to distribute the load. The intent is to perform the work on Monday and Tuesday mornings prior to opening the library to the public. The ceiling tile project will start once the roof leakage has been completely addressed. ∗ Getting bids to clean out the roof gutters that are plugged. (a) Large sheets of water are cascading due to debris in the gutter systems. This issue, per the lease agreement, is the responsibility of the County Library. Staff is exploring a ‘gutter guard’ type solution, although the architecturally unique gutters on the facility will not accept any readily available and a custom solution might be necessary. Saratoga Library Commission February 27, 2008 Meeting Minutes Page 3 of 6 ∗ Getting approval on replacing outside failed wood siding, $1,500.00. ∗ Emergency capital repair. Commission must provide approval to reallocate other capital funds in the current budget to address this issue as the failure of the physical building is considered emergency capital repair. The cause of the siding failure was due to sun overexposure and lack of ongoing annual maintenance. Staff has determined that the staining and maintenance cycle for the southern exposure is three years, where the rest of the siding is five years. Staff will perform annual visual inspections to ensure that any issues are remedied prior to material failure in the future. ∗ Correcting the Children’s area lighting problem will be worked on with the first item being the selection of fixtures for the area by the Facilities Subcommittee, Community Librarian and staff. ∗ Repairing various lighting and power issues around the building. (a) This issue is still under investigation, as the site is located at a PG&E grid intersection. Power brownings and outages seem to be prevalent in this area. Staff will continue to observe and investigate as more demand is placed on the systems (air conditioning and replacement computers). ∗ Getting bids to do maintenance cleaning of the rest of Cool Roof areas. ∗ Installing PG&E meters for Metro/PCS and the City. C. Nilan moved to reallocate $1,500.00 from this fiscal year’s budgeted line item “Lighting / Electrical Improvements” towards the emergency capital repair of outside failed wood siding as recommended by staff; seconded by Lemmon. Motion passed 4/0. D. Library Capital Improvement Fund Review ∗ Thomas Scott’s suggestions for 08/09 included: ∗ Various lighting and fixture improvements (10,000) ∗ Improvements in lighting Children’s area (20,000) ∗ Installing new PG&E meters (20,000) ∗ Unplanned Repair and Improvement Funds (10,000) ∗ Walkway around Library (25,000) ∗ No other anticipated expenditures E. Library Commission Vacancy ∗ One vacancy currently exists for the Commission. The City has advertised twice, but no applications have been received. The City Clerk will extend the deadline, providing further recruitment opportunities. ∗ Cathleen will email Barbara Williams and Chair Nilan the current vacancy information. Staff can post the vacancy information as well as assist in the recruiting process. 8. New Business A. Introduction of Interim Staff Liaison, Crystal Morrow ∗ Morrow joined the City’s staff to restart the Parks and Recreation Commission, and has recently reinstated online The Saratogan. She is also currently looking at improving electronic communications with residents, and is exploring development of a subscription based email list for information distribution, notices, etc. Saratoga Library Commission February 27, 2008 Meeting Minutes Page 4 of 6 B. Review and Approval Recommendations for Proposed Facilities Improvement Projects Fiscal Year 08/09 ∗ Nilan moved to carry forward funds into 2008-09 as allocated for 2007-08 for the following projects if not completed by June 30, 2008: ∗ Improvements for various lighting and electrical issues, $8,500 ∗ Improvements to lighting in the Children’s Area, $20,000 ∗ Installation of new PG&E meters, $20,000 and to allocate funds for the following new project and contingency: ∗ Investigate feasibility of completion of a pedestrian walkway around the building, $5,000 ∗ Contingency for unplanned improvements and repairs (to be allocated by commission approval for unplanned projects brought before the Commission within the fiscal year at a regular meeting, or by the Facilities Subcommittee or Library Commission Chair in the interim period), $10,000 C. Advocacy and Outreach ∗ McBane Mulford will follow up with an informational only email to Library Commissioners after attending the March 1st CALTAC Workshop to be held in San Mateo. McBane Mulford also plans to attend the California Library Association (CLA) sponsored Legislative Day in Sacramento with Cervantes on April 16, 2008. D. Agenda Items for Joint Meeting with City Council on April 2, 2008 ∗ This will be a 6:00 p.m. meeting held prior to the 7:00 p.m. regular Council session. While a formal agenda is not required, if the Commission would like to propose agenda items or submit material to be distributed in the Council’s packet it must be received by the City Clerk at least one week prior. 9. Reports A. Melinda Cervantes, County Librarian ∗ Reminder: CALTAC is hosting a workshop at the San Mateo Public Library on March 1, 2008. Dr. Ken Haycock, San José State University School of Library and Information Science will be the keynote speaker. The deadline for registration was February 15th, but usually walk-ins are welcome. ∗ Last month, facilitator Paul Meyer engaged attendees of the Library Commissioners and Friends Forum in a lively discussion o how growth and change in local communities may impact library services in the next 3 – 10 years. In February, approximately 30 library stakeholders will participate in a telephone survey which will be followed by an online survey of all library employees. Results of this strategic planning process will be presented to the Library JPA Board at their June meeting. ∗ The California Library Association (CLA) Legislative Day in the District took place on January 25th and February 1st. The County Librarian joined other library representatives at meetings with Senator Simitian, Assembly members Alberto Torrico, Ira Ruskin, Joe Coto, and Jim Beall. CLA has taken the position that California libraries have taken more than their fair share of cuts. The Governor’s proposed budget includes a 10% cut to the State Library, including the California Saratoga Library Commission February 27, 2008 Meeting Minutes Page 5 of 6 Library Literacy Services Program, Transaction-Based Reimbursement Program (TBR) and the Public Library Foundation Program (PLF). At the October JPA meeting, Cervantes reported that the Governor blue-penciled $15 million in cuts to library funding statewide. The impact on Santa Clara County Library is a loss of $374,000 for FY2007/08: ∗ Direct Loan and Interlibrary Loan Program: Estimated impact = $300,000. This revenue was NOT budgeted so there will be no impact. ∗ Public Library Foundation: Estimated impact = $74,000. This revenue was NOT budgeted so there will be no impact. ∗ The Governor’s FY2008-09 Proposed Budget includes a 10% cut to PLF, BR and CLLS funds statewide that will result in a reduction of $23,790 of PLF funding, $178,000 of TBR funding and $9,060 for CLLS (Literacy) funding for a total estimated impact of $210,850 in reduced funding. ∗ The CLA is sponsoring a Legislative Day in Sacramento on Wednesday, April 16th. It would be great to have a few commissioners, Friends, and other library supporters join staff in delivering our message to State Legislators. Please contact Cynthia Garcia if interested and we will try to coordinate carpools and lunch. ∗ “Senator Joe Simitian, one of the biggest supporters of library issues in the legislature, has introduced a new library construction bond bill for the 2008 session. The $4 billion general obligation bond measure will be sponsored by the California Library Association. SB 1516 would enact the California Reading and Literacy Improvement and Public Library Construction and Renovation Bond Act of 2010, if approved by the voters during the 2010 statewide primary election.” (Excerpt from CLA Newsflash, submitted by Mike Dillon and Christina Dillon, CLA Lobbyists) ∗ The next JPA Board Meeting is Thursday, April 24, 2008 B. Barbara Morrow Williams, Community Librarian ∗ Level of Activity ∗ January 2008 - Saratoga Library circulated 117,574 items (books and periodicals, CDs, DVDs, Videos, games and items in CD Rom format) - Open 235 hours and averaging 498 items per hour - Gate count of 34,426 people ∗ Comparative Level of Activity - January 2007 (Opened on Mondays) - 119,637 in circulation in 243 hours, for an average of 492 items - Gate count of 37,884 people ∗ Not included in the circulation data is the subscription to electronic resources, including full-text sites. Not included in the gate count for January are program attendees estimated at slightly fewer than 800, including Juvenile and Adult/Teen events, Friends events, and outreach. ∗ The library installed new self-check machines which are faster and easier to access. Saratoga now has six machines, three of them new models, in Adult and Juvenile areas. ∗ Select Upcoming Programs Saratoga Library Commission February 27, 2008 Meeting Minutes Page 6 of 6 ∗ Free SAT Strategy sessions by Princeton Review will be held March 1st and March 8th for pre-registered students – currently very well subscribed. ∗ Free Jazz Concert in the Library on March 19th at 7:00 p.m. with Sheryl Mebane and Tangria Jazz Ensemble ∗ Master Gardener Series, March 20th and March 27th ∗ Juvenile programs for kids and parents: Meet the Sheriff on March 13th and Meet the Fire Truck on March 19th; Princess Tea Party for ages 4-6 on April 9th. Pre-registration begins March 1st. ∗ April is a busy month for the Library: ∗ With the participation of the Friends, we will roll out the Month of the Young Child on April 6th, with a special event for children and their families. It is in the planning stages and an excellent opportunity to develop our collaborations in the community ∗ National Library Week, April 13th through 19th ∗ The Friends of the Saratoga Libraries will celebrate their 25th Anniversary ∗ New Teen Program Project ∗ This major project, with the help of the Friends, will revitalize the Teen Area to provide program and reader’s advisory services to the many teens and tweens and their families in our area. March 2ill include researching other teen spaces and holding focus groups with our teens and tweens to get their input. April is scheduled for planning by a cross-functional team of Juvenile and Adult/Teen Program Services librarians who work with this growing demographic. C. Tat Blesch, Friends of the Saratoga Libraries ∗ Please join us on Friday at 10:00 a.m. in the Community Room to welcome Barbara Williams at a reception sponsored by the Friends of the Saratoga Libraries and the City of Saratoga. 10. Agenda Items for Next Meeting A. Library Capital Improvement Fund B. Building Maintenance Update C. Advocacy and Outreach 11. Adjournment Chair Nilan adjourned the meeting at 2:27 p.m.