[EBR Library Board of Control on February 16, 2023.]
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I'D LIKE TO CALL THE, UM, FEBRUARY 16TH, 2023 EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH LIBRARY BOARD OF CONTROL MEETING TO ORDER, UH, CANDACE, WHY DON'T YOU TO LEAD US IN THE PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG, TO THE FLAG OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, AND TO THE REPUBLIC FOR WHICH IT STANDS, ONE NATION UNDER GOD, INDIVISIBLE, WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL.
PLEASE CALL ROLL NICOLE ALMAN.
LET THE RECORD REFLECT WE DO HAVE A QUORUM APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF JANUARY 19TH, 2023.
I MOVE THAT WE APPROVE A SECOND.
ANY OPPOSED? MINUTES ARE ADOPTED.
REPORTS BY THE DIRECTOR FINANCIAL REPORT.
MS. MS. PENNETT WILL DELIVER THE FINANCIAL REPORT FOR 2022.
OPERATING EXPENDITURES ROSE TO 87.51% OF THE OPERATING BUDGET.
THIS NUMBER IS NOT FINAL, THOUGH.
AS ADJUSTMENTS AND CHA CHANGES CHARGES WILL CONTINUE TO BE RECORDED FOR ANOTHER ONE TO TWO MONTHS.
AS OF JANUARY 31ST, UH, FOR 2023, EXPENDITURES ARE $3,213,025 AND 7 CENTS, OR 6.3% OF THE OPERATING BUDGET THROUGH JANUARY.
WE SHOULD HAVE SPENT NO MORE THAN 8.34% OF THE BUDGET.
CASH COLLECTIONS FROM PROPERTY TAXES FOR 2023 ARE SLIGHTLY AHEAD OF THOSE COLLECTED LAST YEAR AS WE ARE 2.1 MILLION AND 4.43% AHEAD OF 2022.
CASH COLLECTIONS FOR 2022 WILL BE FINALIZED WHEN FOURTH QUARTER INTEREST EARNINGS ARE POSTED, WHICH AGAIN, MIGHT TAKE ANOTHER ONE TO TWO MONTHS.
ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THE FINANCIAL REPORT? HMM.
SYSTEM REPORTS, MS. MARY'S TIME WILL DELIVER THE AROUND THE PARISH REPORT.
ALL RIGHT, SO FIRST OF ALL, AND MY SCREEN LOOKS A LITTLE DIFFERENT, BUT WE WON'T WORRY ABOUT IT.
NOPE, THAT'S NOT WORKING EITHER.
I JUST WANT NORMAL VIEW, DANIEL.
I'LL TALK WHILE DANIEL MAKES MAGIC HAPPEN.
UM, SO FIRST OF ALL, YOU'VE SEEN SOME LOVELY COVERAGE IN THE NEWSPAPER AND IN 2 25 AND IN BUSINESS REPORT, IN REGISTER, BATON ROUGE PARENTS, THE ADVOCATE, LOTS OF WONDERFUL THINGS, AND SOME OF IT IS AROUND SOME OF THESE WONDERFUL PROGRAMS. UH, THE DINOSAUR PROGRAM STARTS ACTUALLY THIS WEEK.
I JUST HAVE HUNGRY, HUNGRY DINOSAURS LOOKING DOWN AT US.
I MYSELF SAW HIM AS ALEXANDER WHO CAME IN LAST WEEK.
IT SEEMS LIKE LAST WEEK WAS A LONG TIME AGO.
UH, IT, THE ACTOR'S LUNCH BREAK.
THIS IS A YOUNG MAN FROM NEW ORLEANS, AND WHEN I CAME IN, THEY WERE ALL STOMPING AND DANCING.
EVERYONE WAS HAVING A GOOD TIME.
AND THEN ON THE FAR RIGHT YOU SEE, UH, THE KIDS' ORCHESTRA.
THAT'S ANOTHER SERIES THAT THE CHILDREN'S ROOM HAS GOING ALL AROUND THE TOWN.
AND, UH, WE ARE GETTING GOOD INTERACTION AND ENGAGEMENT WITH THAT.
SO, AS YOU KNOW, THAT'S PART OF
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OUR MISSION TO SHARE WONDERFUL CULTURAL PROGRAMS, BUT ALSO GET THOSE LITTLE MINDS WORKING.THEY ARE GONNA BE WORKING HARD IN THE FIRST WEEK OF MARCH WHEN WE READ ACROSS AMERICA WITH DR.
UH, EVERY YEAR THERE'S SOMETHING DIFFERENT.
I REMEMBER BACK IN THE OLD BUILDING, WE ALL SIGNED A, UH, LOVE LETTER TO DR.
IT WAS PAGE AFTER PAGE AFTER PAGE.
I, IT WAS PROBABLY A HUNDRED FEET LONG.
I DON'T KNOW WHAT THEY'VE GOT PLANNED YET FOR THIS YEAR, BUT I DO HAVE MY RED AND WHITE HAT, AND I INVITE YOU TO GET YOURS READY TOO.
I REALLY WOULD LOVE FOR YOU TO COME TO THE MAIN LIBRARY ON MONDAY, FEBRUARY 27TH FOR A SEVEN O'CLOCK PROGRAM FEATURING LP B'S EXECUTIVE PRODUCER LINDA MIDGET.
AND HER SPECIAL GUEST WILL BE JAY DARDEN, WHO IS THE HOST AND CREATOR OF THE DOCUMENTARY, WHY LOUISIANA, MISSISSIPPI, OR ANYPLACE ELSE.
AND THEY'RE GONNA KIND OF TAKE US BEHIND THE SCENES.
IT'S ABOUT TIME TO SHOW THE DOCUMENTARY AGAIN ON PUBLIC TELEVISION.
SO THEY'RE GONNA TAKE US BEHIND THE SCENES, AND THAT WOULD BE A REALLY GOOD PROGRAM TO ATTEND ON A MONDAY NIGHT.
ALSO, ON YOUR SCHEDULE, I WOULD REALLY LOVE FOR YOU TO GET THOSE PHONES OUT RIGHT THIS MINUTE AND PUT MARCH 19TH.
WE WILL HAVE WONDERFUL WEATHER OUTSIDE IN THE PLAZA.
THE CATFISH WILL BE JUNK JUMPING.
THE MICHAEL FOSTER PROJECT WILL BE PLAYING MUSIC AUTHOR AND MUSICIAN.
CHRIS THOMAS KING WILL BE ON HAND, AND HE WILL HAVE COPIES OF HIS BOOKS FOR, UH, AUTOGRAPHING SALES AND AUTOGRAPHING IF PEOPLE SO CHOOSE.
SO WE'RE GONNA HAVE A WONDERFUL AFTERNOON, BLUESY, OH, WE'RE GONNA HAVE A BLUESY AFTERNOON AS WE KICK OFF OUR 2023.
ONE BOOK, ONE COMMUNITY SERIES FEATURING CHRIS THOMAS KING'S BOOK, THE BLUES.
AND REMEMBER, THE FIRST HALF IS A LITTLE, IS THE RESEARCHED ACADEMIC HALF, WHERE CHRIS REALLY WENT DEEP.
AND, AND HIS PREMISE IS A LITTLE DIFFERENT FROM, UM, UH, THE STEREOTYPE THAT WE ALL THINK THAT THE, THAT THE BLUES FIRST THERE WAS SPIRITUALS AND THEN GOSPEL, AND THEN BLUES.
HE'S TAKING ANOTHER ROUTE AND HE HAS SOME EVIDENCE TO SUPPORT THAT.
UM, SO HE'S GONNA TALK ABOUT THAT.
BUT THEN THE REST OF THE BOOK IS HIS EXPERIENCE GROWING UP IN BATON ROUGE, SON OF TABBY THOMAS, SURROUNDED BY THE BLUES.
SO THAT'LL BE A REALLY GOOD KICKOFF, AND WE EXPECT A REALLY GOOD SERIES.
THE WEBSITE FOR THE SERIES IS ALWAYS THE SAME WEBSITE.
AND Y'ALL, WE SCORED BIG WHEN WE GOT THIS WEBSITE BEFORE ANYONE ELSE BOUGHT IT.
READ ONE BOOK.ORG, R E A D O N E B O O K.ORG.
ALL THE OTHER LIBRARIES ARE JEALOUS
BUT THAT'S WHERE ALL THE INFORMATION IS INCLUDING, THERE'S, UM, THERE'S CHRIS'S TED TALK.
THERE'S PLAYLISTS, THERE'S, UH, OTHER BOOKS FOR YOU TO ENJOY, CUZ WE ARE FEATURING SEVERAL OTHER BOOKS.
THE KIDS ARE GONNA BE READING TROMBONE SHORTY'S BOOK.
THE TEENAGERS ARE GOING TO READ SOLO.
AND THEN WE HAVE JOHN WHIT'S BOOK AND ANOTHER BOOK THAT WE'RE, THAT WE'RE PROMOTING, UH, TO, TO KIND OF ROUND OUT THIS DISCUSSION OF BLUES AS BEING REALLY FROM THIS REGION.
WE'VE GOT THE BLUES, UH, GARDEN DISCOVERIES.
UH, THEY'RE REALLY GOING ON FULL THROTTLE NOW BECAUSE IT'S GARDENING TIME.
SO THE MASTER GARDENERS HAVE BEEN HERE, AND WE'LL GO OUT TO THE BRANCHES.
UH, SI THERE HAVE BEEN PLANT SWAPS, SEED SWAPS.
UH, WE ARE HELPING TO PROMOTE THE SPRING GARDEN SHOW.
SO IF YOU ARE SO INCLINED, I URGE YOU TO PUT GARDEN DISCOVERIES ON YOUR SCHEDULE THAT FOR THEIR MONTHLY, UH, PROGRAM.
IT'S REALLY, THIS IS A PROGRAM THAT HAS LEGS.
AND THE REASON I DECIDED TO PUT THIS SLIDE IN THIS MONTH, I WANTED TO SH SHOWCASE TO YOU.
THEY, THEY ASK US TO PROVIDE THE BOOKS THAT GO WITH THE TOPIC, AND WE MAKE A LIST AND WE SHARE THAT OUT.
SO, YOU KNOW, IT GOES FULL CIRCLE.
SOMETHING ELSE THAT'S GONE FOR FULL CIRCLE IS OUR CROCHET FOR A CAUSE.
WE'VE HAD, UH, WE'VE HAD CRAFT CRAFTING COMPASSION AS ONE OF OUR PROGRAMS FOR MANY YEARS.
UH, ONE OF OUR STAFF HERE AT THE MAIN LIBRARY RUNS THE CROCHET
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FOR A CAUSE GROUP.AND I JUST WANTED TO SHARE WITH YOU THE FRUIT OF THEIR LABOR HERE.
UH, THEY'VE DONATED BUKU THINGS TO WOMEN'S HOSPITAL FOR INFANTS.
THEN THEY'VE MADE IN THE BIG PICTURE, LOOK CLOSELY AT THE PLAN THAT IS PLASTIC YARN CREATED BY SHOPPING BAGS, PLASTIC SHOPPING BAGS.
AND I FIRST RAN ACROSS THIS YEARS AGO WHEN WE WERE GETTING READY TO BUILD FAIRWOOD AND WE WERE DOING COMMUNITY MEETINGS.
WE DID ONE AT THE CHURCH ACROSS THE STREET FROM FAIRWOOD, AND THEY WERE DOING THAT.
AND THEY TOLD ME ABOUT IT, AND I MENTIONED IT TO ONE OF OUR VOLUNTEERS.
AND SHE JUST WENT TO THE RACES AFTER THAT.
THEY DO IT OUT AT DIFFERENT BRANCHES.
PRIDE BRANCHES, ONE OF THE HOTBEDS OF CROCHETING, UH, CRAFTING WITH COMPASSION.
AND THEN HERE AT MAINE, LOOK AT THOSE BEAUTIFUL MATS THAT THEY'VE MADE TO SEND TO THE BISHOP O SHELTER.
YOU'VE TRIED TO, UM, YOU'VE SEEN PLASTIC
SO THESE WILL HAVE REAL WONDERFUL STAYING POWER.
SO I JUST WANTED TO SHARE WITH YOU SOME OF THE BOUNTY, UM, FLOATING OUT THERE ON SOCIAL MEDIA.
YOU MAY SEE THAT KIND OF RELATED TO MY SEGUE FROM CRAFTING IS TO THE DIFFERENT WAYS OF THINKING.
YOU KNOW, LEFT BRAIN, RIGHT BRAIN, THERE'S A FAMOUS BOOK CALLED THE ARTIST'S WAY, AND IT IS BY JULIA CAMERON AND OUR CAREER CENTER SEVERAL YEARS AGO, TOOK THAT BOOK AND DEVELOPED A COURSE FOR PUTTING THAT KIND OF THINKING ON YOU IN THE WORKPLACE.
SO SHE'S RUNNING ANOTHER, UH, 13 WEEK SERIES, THE ARTIST'S WAY AT WORK.
IN FACT, I ASKED HER IF SHE REALLY WANTED US TO PUT IT IN THE NEWSLETTER AGAIN AND STOP ALL THE SOCIAL MEDIA PEOPLE COME AND GO.
SO WE'RE LETTING THAT CONTINUE.
AND ALSO, IT WILL, EVEN FOR THE PEOPLE WHO CAN'T ATTEND, THERE ARE OTHER OPTIONS.
THERE'S PROGRAMS IN OUR UDEMY AND OUR, UH, LINKEDIN LEARNING AND GALE COURSES.
AND I SHOWED YOU SOME OF THEM ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE SCREEN.
SH JULIE CAMERON EVEN HAS THINGS, ARTIST'S WAY FOR PARENTS, UH, FOR PEOPLE MY AGE, WRITING FOR LIFE.
UM, IT'S A, IT'S A WONDERFUL WAY OF THINKING AND APP AND APPLYING A DIFFERENT KIND OF INTENTION TO WHAT YOU'RE DOING.
SO I JUST WANTED TO KIND OF CALL THAT OUT FOR YOU, THAT THIS REALLY, UH, FILLS A WONDERFUL NICHE AND THE PEOPLE WHO ATTEND THIS PROGRAM REALLY LEAVE REFRESHED.
AND IT REALLY CREATES AN IMPACT, WHICH IS, AFTER ALL WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO.
SOMETHING ELSE RELATED TO THE BUSINESS WORLD.
UM, THE LA SINCE COVID, WE WERE DOING THE ONLINE VIRTUAL BUSINESS FORUMS. WELL, NOW WE'RE, UH, BASED ON WHAT WAS SO SUCCESSFUL WITH THE BUSINESS FORUMS, UH, THE PRO THE PROGRAM HAS BEEN JUDGED A LITTLE BIT, AND NOW IT'S STRICTLY BUSINESS.
AND WE'RE GOING TO HEAR FROM DIFFERENT ENTREPRENEURS.
AND WE'VE
THE NEXT SPEAKER IS JOSH DESK CAMP.
SO ONCE AGAIN, THESE ARE FREE.
AND THEN EVEN IF YOU CAN'T MAKE IT THAT DAY, YOU CAN STILL ACCESS IT FOR A WHILE.
SO I'M, I'M VERY PLEASED WITH THAT.
I'M ALSO VERY PLEASED WITH THE PROGRESS ON OUR VIRTUAL AUTHOR TALK SERIES.
AS YOU CAN SEE, ALL DIFFERENT TOPICS, DIVERSE AUTHORS, THEY'RE ALL OVER THE PLACE.
FICTION, NON-FICTION, SELF-HELP, UH, BIOGRAPHY.
IT'S, I'M REALLY PLEASED WITH, AGAIN, THE IMPACT THAT THIS IS HAVING.
SOUNDS OF SCIENCE CONTINUES ALL THE WAY THROUGH THE END OF MARCH.
WE HAD TO, UH, POSTPONE THE JANUARY ONE.
THAT WAS THE DAY THE WEATHER BECAME SO AMAZING IN JANUARY.
WE STILL HAVE ONE IN FEBRUARY.
AND THEN THE AFTERNOON EVENT WITH THE MARS VAN OUT FRONT AND CRAFTS, AND, UM, HUBBLE AND JAMES WEBB THINGS HERE.
AND, UH, ONE LECTURE IN THE AFTERNOON, AND THEN THE EVENING PANEL DISCUSSION AND, UH, PREMIER OF THE MUSIC, INCLUDING A CRAZY LIGHT SHOW.
SO THERE'LL BE SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE ON THAT PARTICULAR DAY.
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OTHER, UH, TWO OTHER THINGS I WANTED TO BRING TO YOUR ATTENTION.UM, IT'S IN THIS MONTH'S, UH, NEWSLETTER OF SUPERTAX DAY.
WE'RE AGAIN, PARTNERING WITH VIDA AND THE UNITED WAY TO BRING THAT TO YOU.
AND, UH, WE HAVE BEEN PASSING OUT THE NEW LITERACY CALENDAR IN ENGLISH AND SPANISH, AND WE HAD SO MANY REQUESTS THAT WE'RE GONNA PRINT SOME MORE.
SO THESE ARE FOR YOUNG PARENTS.
UH, THIS IS DESIGNED FOR THE EARLY LITERACY HAPPENINGS, AND WE'RE WORKING ON NEW WAYS TO GET OUR PRESS START PROGRAM OUT AND ABOUT, UM, INCLUDING, UH, STALKING PARENTS.
UM, I'M GOING WHERE DIAPERS ARE SOLD.
SO, UH, THEN THE LAST THING IS VERY IMPORTANT.
UH, IT WILL BE IN THE MARCH NEWSLETTER, UM, TUESDAY, MARCH 7TH.
UH, BUT AT THE MARRIOTT TUESDAY, MARCH 7TH FROM FOUR TO SEVEN, THE I 10 PROJECT UPDATE WILL BE THERE IN A PUBLIC MEETING.
AND THAT PROJECT HAS CHANGED A LITTLE BIT.
IT'S A DESIGN BUILD PROJECT, Y'ALL.
SO, AS, AS, UH, AS THE DESIGN CHANGE, SO DOES THE PROJECT AND THE DESIGN HAS CHANGED A LITTLE BIT IN RESPONSE TO PUBLIC CONCERNS AND PUBLIC, UH, INFORMATION.
AND, UH, IT IS JUST MIND BOGGLING.
WE, WE WANT TO DO SOME STEM PROGRAMS TO KIND OF CO COINCIDE.
I ASKED IF WE COULD AT LEAST MAKE LEGO I 10, UH, THEY'RE THINKING ABOUT IT.
UH, BUT THAT WILL BE TUESDAY, MARCH 7TH OPEN HOUSE AT THE MARRIOTT.
THE MARRIOTT, AS YOU REMEMBER, IS ON HILTON AVENUE.
OKAY? THAT'S THE TALL ONE ON HILTON AVENUE.
SO, UH, THIS IS GONNA BE SUCH AN IMPORTANT PROJECT FOR ALL OF US.
AND IT'S, I, WE, WE ARE PART OF THIS PROCESS TRYING TO MAKE SURE THAT THE CORRECT INFORMATION IS SHARED WITH THE PUBLIC, UH, AND THAT PEOPLE DON'T GO OFF, OFF TARGET, UH, OR GO OFF THE ROAD.
ANY QUESTIONS? OH, I DID PROMISE YOU, UM, SOME STATISTICS.
DO YOU WANT THOSE IN MISCELLANEOUS OR NO? MISCELLANEOUS.
AND THEN I'M GONNA GET OUT OF THE WAY.
ALL RIGHT, SO MAINTENANCE AND OTHER CAPITAL PROJECTS.
UM, ALVA AND I COMPLETED OUR ANNUAL VISITS TO ALL BRANCH LOCATIONS.
WE ACTUALLY RAN INTO CANDACE DOWNTOWN WHEN WE FINISHED, UH, GOING TO RIVER CENTER.
SO, UM, THEY WERE ACTUALLY, UM, PRETTY QUICK THIS YEAR, WHICH IS NICE.
IT WAS MOSTLY AN UPDATE ON THE THINGS THAT THEY CAN EXPECT TO SEE COMING IN THE SEVERAL SMALLER CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS THAT WE HAVE.
UM, BUT ALSO, YOU KNOW, JUST SEEING IF THERE WAS ANYTHING THAT MAYBE HAS BEEN MISSED OR OVERLOOKED AND, YOU KNOW, KIND OF REMINDING 'EM PUT IN A WORK ORDER FOR THAT.
UM, AND ALVIN TOOK THE TIME TO LET ME KNOW THAT AS LIGHTS ARE, UM, GOING OUT, HE IS HAVING THE GUYS IN THEIR SPARE TIME GO THROUGH SEVERAL OF OUR BRANCHES.
BAKERS ONE THAT I CAN REMEMBER OFF, UM, THE TOP OF MY HEAD TO REPLACE WITH L E D LIGHTS SO THAT, UM, WE HAVE A LITTLE BIT MORE EFFICIENCY AND, AND, AND BETTER LIGHTING AND LONGER LASTING, UH, LIGHTING.
SO WE ARE DOING SOME PROACTIVE THINGS.
UM, AS FAR AS THE OUTREACH BUILDING GOES, THE, UM, NOTICE TO PROCEED WAS ISSUED ON THE 15TH AND COMPUTER COMPUTER SERVICES HAS WORKED WITH OUR PURCHASING DEPARTMENT TO PICK UP ALL OF THE SURPLUS, UH, COMPUTER MATERIALS.
SO THAT WAS DONE ON THE EIGHTH OF THIS MONTH.
AND THEY ARE, UM, MOVING ADDITIONAL, UH, ITEMS TO ONE HALF OF THE ROOM SO THAT THEY CAN BEGIN THE WORK ON THE FLOOR OF THE SERVER ROOM.
AND THEN THEY'LL MOVE, WE'LL DO THE, YOU KNOW, JUGGLING CHESS PIECE, MOVE FROM THIS, FROM HERE TO HERE SO WE CAN WORK AND THEN HERE TO HERE SO WE CAN WORK UNDER THAT.
SO, UM, BUT THAT ALL SHOULD REALLY BEGIN OVER THE NEXT COUPLE OF DAYS OVER AT OUTREACH.
SO THERE WILL BE, UM, A LOT OF VISIBLE, UM, WORK IN THE BACK OF THE BUILDING.
SO WE MAY HEAR SOME STUFF FROM SOME NEIGHBORS BACK THERE.
AND THEN THERE WILL BE SOME VERY VISIBLE CONCRETE WORK THAT STARTS SHORTLY AFTER THAT IN THE FRONT OF THE BUILDING WITH HOPEFULLY DRY DAYS UNLIKE TODAY, SO THAT THE WORK CAN BE COMPLETED ON TIME.
UM, FOR BLUE BONNET, WE HELD ANOTHER
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DESIGN DEVELOPMENT MEETING WITH THE ARCHITECTS ON FEBRUARY 6TH TO REVIEW THE DESIGN CHANGES THAT WE REQUESTED.AND THE ARCHITECT ALSO NEEDS TO FIND A NEW ALTERNATIVE DESIGN FOR THE SERVICE, THE CIRCULATION DESK THAT YOU WILL NOW ENTER AND SEE WHEN YOU FIRST COME IN THE BUILDING.
UM, MARY AND PATRICIA HAD A LOT OF QUESTIONS, CONCERNS AND EDITS, UM, BUT PART OF IT IS THAT CEILING AREA IS SO HIGH, UM, AND GETTING LIGHT TASK LIGHTING SO THAT PEOPLE CAN ACTUALLY DO WORK WHILE THEY'RE AT THAT DESK.
SO THAT'S THE UNIQUE, UM, DESIGN OPPORTUNITY THAT HE HAS TO, UM, TO SOLVE.
UM, WE REVIEWED THAT THE LIGHTING WAS, UH, ADDED TO THE, THE BASE BIT OF THAT PROJECT BECAUSE THOSE HUGE PENDANT LIGHTS THAT HANG DOWN ALL THROUGHOUT, UM, BLUE BONNET ARE THE PARTS REALLY ARE NO LONGER BEING MANUFACTURED.
SO THE SUPPLY IS EXTREMELY DIFFICULT FOR ALVIN TO FIND WHEN, UM, THOSE NEED TO BE REPLACED.
RIGHT NOW THEY'RE OKAY AND WE'RE CERTAINLY HOPING THAT THEY WILL HOLD US THROUGH UNTIL WE GET, UM, THIS PROJECT COMPLETED.
UM, WE ALSO ADDED, UH, AN AD ALTERNATE TO PROVIDE A MOTORIZED PARTITION WALL IN THE MEETING ROOMS AND, UM, AN AD ALTERNATE TO INCLUDE A SECOND INTERIOR, UH, AUTOMATIC DOOR SO THAT WE COULD CREATE A VESTIBULE AREA AT BLUE BONNET.
THEY'VE GOT PLENTY OF ROOM FOR IT AND THEY SEEM TO WORK OUT REALLY NICE AT SOME OF OUR, UH, LARGER LOCATIONS LIKE GREENVILLE SPRINGS, JONES CREEK, EVEN SOME OF OUR SMALLER LOCATIONS.
UM, AS FAR AS ROOF REPLACEMENTS GO, THAT'S THIS ONE.
HA THE SKYLIGHTS WERE REPLACED BOTH AT BLUE BONNET AND JONES CREEK.
THIS IS A VIEW OF WHAT THE SKYLIGHTS NOW LOOK LIKE AT, UH, JONES CREEK.
BEFORE IT WAS REALLY, REALLY KIND OF CREAM AND BROWN COLORED AT BLUE BONNET.
IT WAS REALLY, REALLY DARK AND BROWN, BUT UNFORTUNATELY I DIDN'T GET A PICTURE OF BLUE BONNET FOR YOU.
SO, BUT THEY'RE NICE, CRYSTAL CLEAR.
UM, SO THAT SHOULD ADD SOME ADDITIONAL, UM, NATURAL LIGHT FOR BOTH BUILDINGS.
AND THAT'S REALLY IMPORTANT AT BLUE BONNET IN THE, UM, ADULT AREA.
UM, WE WILL CONTINUE TO WORK WITH THE CONTRACTOR.
WE DO HAVE, UM, SOME SMALL PERSISTENT LEAKS IN A COUPLE LOCATIONS.
UM, BUT THANKFULLY THEY'RE STILL ON THE JOB TRYING TO COMPLETE THAT.
SO THEY'RE, THEY'RE PRETTY QUICK AT GETTING OVER THERE AND ADDRESSING THEM.
AND WE STILL HAVE ADDITIONAL WORK, UM, TO BE COMPLETED.
I WILL SAY THEY HAVE RUN OUT OF THEIR CONTRACTUAL TIME.
UM, PART OF THAT WAS BECAUSE OF WHATEVER ISSUE THEY SAW WITH THE DESIGN BACK WHEN IT WAS FIRST AWARDED IN JULY.
AND THEY WORKED, DID NOT DO ANY WORK FOR ABOUT TWO MONTHS.
SO, UM, IT IS POSSIBLE THAT ARCHITECTURAL SERVICES MAY, UM, RECOMMEND TO DO SOMETHING, UM, LIKE LIQUIDATED DAMAGES OR SOMETHING OF THAT NATURE.
WE DON'T KNOW QUITE YET, UM, JUST BECAUSE THEY ARE NOT MEETING THEIR, THEIR TIMELINE FOR THE THE CONSTRUCTION PROJECT.
UH, WE HELD A PRE-CONSTRUCTION MEETING FOR THE MISCELLANEOUS REPAIR PACKAGE AT PRIDE CHENEY ON WEDNESDAY THE 15TH.
REVIEWED THE PROJECT TIMELINE AND JUST BASICALLY THE WHOLE, UM, APPARATUS OF HOW IT IS TO DO BUSINESS WITH THE CITY AND THE CONTRACTOR.
WHAT EACH OF OUR RESPONSIBILITIES ARE.
THEY DO INTEND TO START AT PRIDE, UH, FOR THE WORK, WHICH WAS A LITTLE BIT OF A CONCERN BECAUSE WE DO HAVE FAMILY HISTORY OR NOT FAMILY COMMUNITY HISTORY DAY ON APRIL 22ND.
BUT, UM, THEY FEEL THAT THEY WILL GET ALL OF THE WORK COMPLETED BY THEN AS LONG AS THE NOTICE TO PROCEED IS ISSUED QUICKLY, WHICH IT SHOULD BE.
SO THAT'LL BE REALLY NICE FOR THE PRIDE COMMUNITY TO COME TO PRIDE FOR THAT DAY AND SEE ALL THIS LOVELY NEW WORK, UM, PAINTING AND REFRESHING AND, AND UPDATING, UH, SOME OF THE INSIDE AND THE OUTSIDE OF THEIR BUILDING.
UM, BUT THEY DID ALSO ASSURE US THAT IF THEY HAPPEN TO STILL BE ON SITE, THEY KNOW THEY CANNOT WORK THAT DAY AND THEY GOTTA HAVE EVERYTHING CLEANED UP IF THEY ARE STILL ONSITE.
UM, THEIR PLAN IS TO TAKE THE LARGEST AMOUNT OF WORK AND THEN KIND OF WORK THEIR WAY DOWN THROUGH, UM, THE SCOPE OF WORK FOR EACH LOCATION.
SO PRIDE HAS THE MOST WORK AND THEN THEY'LL PROBABLY GO TO, UM, I BELIEVE IT'S DELMONT GARDENS HAS THE NEXT AMOUNT OF WORK THAT NEEDS TO BE DONE.
AND THAT IS A LOT OF FLOORING.
AND, UH, WE DID DISCUSS THAT FLOORING WILL HAVE TO BE DONE AFTER HOURS, ESPECIALLY AT DELMONT SINCE THEY'RE SUCH A HIGH, UH, COMPUTER USAGE
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PLACE FOR US.AND THAT'S WHY WE'RE DOING THE FLOORING CUZ IT'S VERY, VERY WORN AND, AND IT, IT'S, IT REALLY NEEDS IT.
UM, SO THOSE WERE SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WE DISCUSSED.
DOES ANYONE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THOSE? THANK YOU.
ALL RIGHT, MARY, THIS IS WHEN I WANTED YOU TO COME SO I COULD TAKE A BREAK.
SO IN YOUR SEATS YOU HAVE YET ANOTHER DRAFT, BUT IT'S UPDATED.
UM, I'M STILL WAITING FOR THREE DATA SETS FOR THE KPIS, UH, WHICH WE TRY TO TRACK OVER TIME SO THAT YOU SEE UP, DOWN WHATEVER.
AND JUST LIKE NORMAL, IF THE GATE COUNT IS UP, THE BOOK CHECKOUT COUNT IS UP, WIFI COUNT IS UP, UH, OVER TIME THE WEBSITE USE HAS GONE UP AND DOWN.
AND SOMETIMES THAT'S HAD TO DO WITH THE WAY WE COUNTED IT OR THE FACT THAT WE COULDN'T COUNT IT.
UH, THE SAME THING WITH DATABASES.
IT GOES UP, IT GOES DOWN EVERY DATABASE REPORTS, NUMBERS A DIFFERENT WAY.
SOMETIMES THEY JUST CAN'T BE BOTHERED.
UH, AND SO IT'S GOTTEN TO THE POINT WHERE WE'VE TOLD THEM, WELL, WE MAY NOT BE ABLE TO BOTHER TO PAY YOU IF YOU CAN'T BE BOTHERED TO TELL US HOW OUR PATRONS ARE USING YOU.
UM, WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE WAY REFERENCE BOOKS ARE IN THE LIBRARY, WE NEVER REALLY KNEW HOW MANY TIMES A REFERENCE BOOK WAS USED OTHER THAN THE FACT THAT IT KIND OF GOT TIRED OR IT GOT CRACKED OPEN, OR THERE WERE PAGES KIND OF DOGGED DOWN.
SO WE KIND OF ANECDOTALLY KNEW USE.
SO WITH THE DATABASE THAT'S REPLACED SO MUCH OF OUR NON-FICTION AND REFERENCE USE, WE CAN USUALLY SEE, YOU KNOW, DID SOMEONE LOG IN? DID THEY PERFORM A CERTAIN NUMBER OF SEARCHES? AND FROM THOSE SEARCHES, DID THEY GET A CERTAIN NUMBER OF VIEWS OR ARTICLES OR PRINTOUTS OR DATA, YOU KNOW, WHAT WAS THE RESULT? AND DEPENDING ON THE WAY THE DATABASE IS DESIGNED, IT COULD BE AN ARTICLE OR IT COULD BE A CLASS.
AND A CLASS THAT LASTS SIX HOURS IS A LOT DIFFERENT FROM A PARAGRAPH IN A, IN AN ENCYCLOPEDIA.
SO IT'S NOT EVEN APPLES AND ORANGES, IT'S LIKE APPLES AND FLIP FLOPS.
BUT WE'RE TRYING, UH, I TOOK A FRESH UPDATE WITH THE STATE LIBRARY LAST WEEK ON WHAT THEY EXPECT FROM US BECAUSE EVERY YEAR NATIONALLY THERE MAY BE A NEW DATA SET THAT THEY WANT US TO TRY TO COLLECT.
LAST YEAR WE LOST OUR MINDS BECAUSE THEY SAID, OH, BY THE WAY, ALL THE CHILDREN INFORMATION THAT YOU'RE GETTING, WE WANT IT FROM ZERO TO FIVE AND THEN FIVE TO 11, AND THEN ANOTHER ONE THAT COULD BE MIXED.
AND WE JUST LOST OUR MINDS TRYING TO COLLECT THAT DATA.
SO ON THE HALL, I'M JUST GONNA TELL YOU NUMBERS ARE UP.
I WOULD LIKE TO PIN DOWN A LITTLE BIT MORE ON THESE, UH, WEBSITE HITS AND DATABASE NUMBERS.
THE COLLECTION SHOULD STAY AT ABOUT 2 MILLION NOW BECAUSE OF OUR SIZE, WHEN WE OPEN UP THE SOUTH BRANCH, WE'LL ADD OF COURSE SOME MORE BOOKS.
BUT AS THE OLD, AS THE NEW BOOKS COME IN, OLDER BOOKS THAT ARE TIRED AND OBSOLETE AND SUPERSEDED LEAVE, IT'S LIKE YOUR CLOSET AT A CERTAIN POINT.
YOU CAN'T BUY A NEW WHITE BLOUSE UNTIL AN OLD WHITE BLOUSE GOES AWAY.
SO WE SHOULD STAY RIGHT AT ABOUT 2 MILLION PLUS THE ARCHIVES, THE ARCHIVES WILL JUST KEEP GROWING.
BUT WE, IF I COUNTED THAT, IT WOULD BE LIKE 8 MILLION.
SO I'M NOT ALLOWED TO COUNT THAT FOR THE STATE REPORT, SO I DON'T BOTHER YOU WITH IT HERE ON THE HALL.
GOOD ON THE HALL, GOOD ACTIVITIES, GOOD PROGRAM PEOPLE ARE COMING BACK, THEY'RE USING THE ROOMS, THEY'RE STAYING LONGER WHEN THEY DO COME, WHICH HELPS IN OTHER WAYS.
AND THE WEBSITE, THE WIFI USE REALLY ROBUST.
AND I THINK WE'RE GONNA CONSTANTLY SEE OUR IN-HOUSE COMPUTER USED TO GO DOWN AND OUR WIFI USED TO GO UP BECAUSE PEOPLE HAVE MORE AND MORE DEVICES.
BUT ON THE OTHER HAND, WHEN SOME OF OUR PCS WERE UNAVAILABLE FOR TWO DAYS, WE HEARD ABOUT IT.
IT, SO THERE ARE STILL A GOOD NUMBER OF OUR PATRONS WHO REALLY DEPEND ON OUR DEVICES TO BE ABLE TO CONNECT TO THE INTERNET AND DO THEIR WORK, GET THEIR JOBS, FINISH THEIR HOMEWORK, CONNECT WITH THEIR DOCTOR OR WHATEVER.
SO, UM, I HOPE TO NOT HAVE ANY RED ON
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THIS NEXT TIME YOU SEE IT, BUT, UM, ON THE WHOLE, I THINK YOU SHOULD BE HAPPY.MARY, REAL QUICK, SOMETHING HAS KIND OF JUMPED OUT AT ME.
I'M JUST KIND OF LOOKING AT THESE STATS CARD HOLDERS.
I MEAN, WE'VE DROPPED QUITE A BIT.
I MEAN, IS THAT POPULATION LOSS OR NO, NO, I MEAN, WHAT, WHAT'S, AGAIN, WITH NEW RULES AND NEW WAYS TO USE OUR COMPUTERS, BECAUSE SOME THINGS WE COULDN'T DO OR WE COULDN'T FIGURE OUT HOW TO DO IT WITHOUT MESSING SOMETHING ELSE UP.
BUT SEVERAL YEARS AGO WE STARTED, WE DID THE BIG PURGE AND WE MADE SURE THERE WAS, YOU KNOW, NOBODY VOTING IN CHICAGO THAT WASN'T ALIVE.
UM, THAT EVERYBODY WAS AN ACTIVE PATRON WITHIN THREE YEARS.
AND THEN NOW BRYCE PURS US EVERY SINGLE YEAR PEOPLE ROLL OFF, OKAY.
BUT LUCKILY EVERY YEAR MORE PEOPLE COME IN THAN ROLL OFF.
AND WHAT WE'RE DOING IS WE'RE ALSO SENDING MESSAGES RIGHT BEFORE YOUR CARD EXPIRES SAYING, HEY, YOU KNOW, IT'S TIME TO RENEW, TIME TO UPDATE YOUR CARD.
AND WE'RE GETTING A LOT OF, UH, PEOPLE COMING IN FROM THAT SAYING, YOU SENT ME A MESSAGE AND THEY ARE COMING IN AND RENEWING.
AND THEN WE'RE GETTING OTHER CARDS FROM FRESH, FRESH PEOPLE WHEN WE OPEN SOUTH.
UH, TRADITIONALLY WHEN YOU OPEN A NEW BRANCH, YOU ALSO GET FRESH PEOPLE.
UH, THOUGH A LOT OF PEOPLE WHO WILL USE SOUTH PROBABLY ALREADY USE THE MAIN LIBRARY IN BLUE BONNET AND MAYBE EVEN CARVER.
UH, BUT EVERY, EVERY, EVERY TIME ONE BRANCH OPENS IT, YOU KNOW, IT GIVES EXTRA SPOTLIGHT ON THE LIBRARY.
PEOPLE SAY, OH, IT'S CONVENIENT, I'LL GO.
AND, AND EVERY TIME WE ANNOUNCED SOME NEW INITIATIVE, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE GET CARDS.
SO, UM, DURING COVID WHEN PEOPLE NEEDED TO ACCESS LIBBY ONLINE, WE GOT NEW CARDS AND THEN WE HAD THOSE STUDENT CARDS.
SO NOW THOSE ARE JUST PART OF THE MIX.
BUT, UH, I CAN ASSURE YOU THAT OUR 335,000 PATRONS ARE REAL PATRONS.
AND OF THOSE PATRONS, Y'ALL, 145,000 OF THEM USED THEIR CARD WITHIN 12 WEEKS OF THIS REPORT, THEY USE THE CARD AND, AND THEY DON'T EVEN HAVE TO USE THE CARD TO COME IN THE BUILDING, RIGHT? OR, OR COME TO A MEETING OR ATTEND A PROGRAM OR USE THE WIFI.
SO REALLY PROBABLY A LOT MORE CARD HOLDERS WERE ACTIVE THEN I CAN PROVE BECAUSE WE CAN'T CHIP THE PEOPLE THEY FROWN ON THAT YOU'RE NOT GONNA DO IT.
BUT, UH, Y'ALL 145,000 PEOPLE, IF I WAS A STORE, I'D BE PRETTY HAPPY THAT 145,000 OF MY PA MY CUSTOMERS HAD PATRONIZED MY MY SERVICES IN 12 WEEKS.
SO, UM, THERE'S A LOT OF VALUE BEING USED BY THE COMMUNITY AND YOU KNOW, WE JUST HOPE THAT THEY SEE IT.
WE ARE TRYING TO REMIND THEM, UM, A FEW MONTHS AGO, BRYCE WAS ABLE TO FIX SOMETHING IN THE COMPUTER OR ADD A NEW FEATURE SO THAT EVERY TIME YOU CHECK OUT IT SAYS, OH, WELL THESE FOUR BOOKS WERE VALUED AT $123
YOU KNOW, IT JUST ONE MORE WAY TO REMIND PEOPLE THAT, THAT THERE, THERE'S A CONCRETE VALUE, NOT JUST THAT NICE TOUCHY FEELY GOOD FEEL VALUE, BUT THERE'S A CONCRETE VALUE THAT'S $123 YOU DIDN'T HAVE TO SPEND BECAUSE THE BOOK WAS HERE READY FOR YOU TO CHECK OUT.
NOW, SADLY, WE CAN'T DO THAT WITH ALL THE OTHER THINGS LIKE THE EBOOKS AND THE DATABASES AND THE WIFI, BUT WE, WE'VE RUN IT ON THAT VALUE CALCULATOR BEFORE AND, YOU KNOW, IS IN THE MILLIONS AND MILLIONS AND MILLIONS OF, OF WHAT PEOPLE USE THE LIBRARY FOR WHEN YOU APPLY THOSE THINGS.
YEAH, I CAN OF, THIS IS JUST A SUGGESTION BECAUSE, UH, OF THE, UH, THE DATABASES, UH, SO MANY TIMES I FIND MYSELF TELLING SOMEBODY OR TRYING TO TEACH SOMEBODY THAT THEY CAN GO BACK AND GET ARCHIVED, UH, MATERIAL FROM THE ADVOCATES, YOU KNOW, OR THEIR, THAT'S ONE OF OUR BIGGEST USED DATABASES.
RE THEY'RE RESEARCHING STUFF SO THEY DON'T HAVE TO REALLY SUBSCRIBE TO A MM-HMM.
SO, UM, AND, AND THERE ARE OTHER RESOURCES.
I KNOW WE USED TO REACH OUT TO THE, UM, TO THE HIGH SCHOOLS AND STUFF TO USE, UH, UM, YES, THE, THE HIGH SCHOOLS ARE THE AL DATABASES YES.
[00:35:01]
ENCYCLOPEDIAS MM-HMM.WIKIPEDIA IS NOT USUALLY WHAT A TEACHER'S LOOKING FOR.
AND SO I WOULD, MY ONLY SUGGESTION WOULD TO BE, UM, TO EXPAND THE, UM, THE, THE KNOWLEDGE, UH, TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC ABOUT THESE, ALL THESE DATABASES ARE AVAILABLE AND REALLY HOW TO USE THEM.
I KNOW YOU HAVE HAVE CLASSES MM-HMM.
BUT, UM, YOU KNOW, TO CITE YOUR SOURCE TO HAVE A GOOD, UH, QUALIFIED, RESPECTED SOURCE OF INFORMATION IS SO, UH, VALUABLE, ESPECIALLY FOR THE, THE STUDENTS AND FOR THE ADULTS ALSO.
AND THEN THEY CAN GET ACCESS, UM, TO MANY THINGS THEY'RE LOOKING FOR, ESPECIALLY IF YOU'RE DOING GENEALOGY AND THINGS LIKE THAT, RIGHT? MM-HMM.
UM, SO YOU, WE, SO EVERY MONTH THAT WOULD BE MY SUGGESTIONS.
WELL, OF COURSE, FIRST OF ALL, I WANT TO RE UH, ASSURE YOU THAT THE SCHOOLS ARE, HAVE LED US BACK IN, UH, DURING THE HEIGHT OF COVID.
ALL THE SCHOOL VISITS HAD STOPPED, BUT THEY'RE COMING BACK HERE AND WE ARE GOING BACK OUT THERE.
SO OUR TEEN LIBRARIANS ESPECIALLY ARE IN THE CLASSROOMS NOW.
AND, UH, THERE WERE TOURS HERE, I WANNA SAY EVERY DAY LAST WEEK.
BUT, UH, WE ARE, YOU'LL ALSO SEE IN THE NEWSLETTER, WE'RE DOING DEEP DIVES THAT INCLU IN SUBJECTS THAT INCLUDE DATABASES.
SO IF YOU CARED ABOUT GARDENING, OH, BY THE WAY, HERE'S SOME STUFF IN G DATABASES THAT YOU, YOU MIGHT NOT HAVE THOUGHT TO LOOK IN A DATABASE FOR GARDENING INFORMATION, AND HERE'S A CLASS AND HERE'S THE ARTICLE.
AND, YOU KNOW, IT, IT KIND OF SHOWS YOU A WAY TO USE THE LIBRARY MORE HOLISTICALLY AND, AND USE ALL THE THINGS, ALL OF THE THINGS.
BUT ABSOLUTELY, UH, WHEN WE DID THE UNAK, THE NEWS DEEP DIVE FOR THE BUSINESS REPORT AND PUT THAT OUT AS SPONSOR CONTENT, THAT WAS ONE OF THE MOST ACCESSED ARTICLES AS PEOPLE WANTED TO KNOW HOW TO GET REAL INFORMATION.
AND THEN AS WE DO THE SPONSORED CONTENT OUT INTO THE COMMUNITY, WE ALWAYS INCLUDE DATABASES AND WE KIND OF FLIP THROUGH DIFFERENT ONES TO KIND OF LET THEM RISE TO THE TOP AND SHOW PEOPLE HOW YOU USE THEM.
AND THEN THE NICHE ACADEMY ON THE HOMEPAGE WHERE IT SAYS LI TUTORIALS, THOSE, UH, ARE WONDERFUL QUICK, UH, VIDEO TUTORIALS ON HOW TO USE WONDERFUL THINGS LIKE THE GALE BUSINESS AND THE GALE LITERATURE.
AND, UM, IT DOESN'T DO ALL 150 DATABASES BECAUSE THAT DOESN'T EXIST, BUT IT DOES OUR PREMIER DATABASES.
SO IT'S JUST A CONSTANT MATTER OF, UM, ANDREW AND I ARE CONSTANTLY GOING OUT TO GROUPS AND WHATEVER THE GROUP, WHATEVER THE GROUP LOVES, WE SERVE UP TO THEM WITH A LITTLE DATABASE ON THE SIDE.
BUT, UH, IT, IT IS A CONSTANT STRUGGLE BECAUSE WHEN YOU HAVE SO MUCH, IT'S HARD TO SHARE IT ALL.
ALL RIGHT, LET ME GET OUT THE WAY.
SO I'M GONNA START, UH, WITH ACTUALLY THE, THE SERVER ISSUE THAT WE HAD, UH, EARLIER THIS WEEK.
AND IT WAS A LITTLE BIT MORE LIKE FOUR DAYS, UNFORTUNATELY, THAT WE HAD, UM, NO PATRON COMPUTERS AVAILABLE, 3 0 3 0 3 3 DAYS
UM, BUT THERE WAS A, UH, UH, A SERVER ISSUE AND A SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS THAT, UM, PREVENTED US FROM BEING ABLE TO GET OUTSIDE HELP WITH THAT.
UH, IF YOU HAVE SPECIFIC QUESTIONS ABOUT IT, THAT IS WHY BRYCE IS HERE CUZ HE CAN EXPLAIN BETTER WHAT THOSE SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS WERE.
SO ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THAT? I HAD A COUPLE OF CALLS ABOUT IT, BUT, YOU KNOW, TOLD 'EM, HEY, THINGS, THINGS HAPPEN.
AND I DON'T KNOW IF THEY LIKED MY ANSWER, BUT
THE VDIS ARE THEMSELVES VERY RELIABLE.
THEY ALLOW OUR STAFF TO DO THE UPDATES THAT WE NEED TO ACROSS ALL 894 COMPUTERS THAT WE HAVE AVAILABLE FOR THE PUBLIC.
IF WE DIDN'T HAVE THEM, UH, IT WOULD NOT BE MANAGEABLE WITH THE SIZE OF THE COMPUTER STAFF THAT WE HAVE.
[00:40:01]
ALL RIGHT.WE HAVE RECEIVED, UH, 23 PROPOSALS FOR OUR WEBSITE REDESIGN.
SO OUR ENTIRE, UH, COMMITTEE IS STARTING THAT INITIAL REVIEW PROCESS AND WE WILL BEGIN, UM, UH, WE'LL HAVE AN INITIAL GRADING PERIOD, AND THEN WE WILL HAVE, UH, A SECOND TIER OF GRADING AFTER THAT.
AND THEN THE GOAL IS TO HAVE A FULLY EXECUTED CONTRACT FOR THE VENDOR, UM, OF CHOICE BY THE END OF, UM, EARLY MAY SO THAT WE CAN SUBMIT FOR INTRODUCTION TO THE COUNCIL, THE NAME ON APRIL 12TH.
SO, UM, I'LL BE DOING A LOT OF READING.
I'M TAKING MY SET WITH ME ON MY ROAD TRIP TO AUSTIN AND SOMEONE ELSE IS DRIVING ME, AND I'M JUST GONNA BE LOOKING AT RFPS FOR, YOU KNOW, SEVEN HOURS, UM, THERE AND BACK.
IT WAS A LOT OF INTEREST AND, AND WE'RE REALLY HAPPY AND WE'RE REALLY EXCITED TO GET WORKING ON THAT NEW WEBSITE SO THAT MAYBE MARY CAN HAVE BETTER STATISTICS ON WEBSITE HITS.
AND WE CAN SHARE SOME MORE OF THIS FUN, INTERESTING INFORMATION THAT WE HAVE, ESPECIALLY AROUND DATA SETS AND SO PEOPLE CAN UNDERSTAND THE VALUE, UM, THE MONETARY VALUE, THE TANGIBLE AND INTANGIBLE VALUE THAT THEIR LIBRARY SYSTEM, UM, HAS FOR THEM.
SO WE ALSO HAVE BEEN WORKING ON OUR E-RATE, UM, RFP FOR FIBER SERVICES.
UM, AND WE WILL BE REVIEWING THOSE PROPOSALS SHORTLY AFTER, UM, THE RFP PROPOSAL REVIEW PROCESS IS DONE AND THE NEW CONTRACT FOR INTERNET SERVICE SHOULD BE AWARDED AND IN PLACE, UM, WELL BEFORE THE SERVICE STARTS, WHICH IS, UM, SUPPOSED TO START IN, WELL, HAS TO START IN JULY.
UM, I HAVE AN UPDATE ON THE BAKER BRANCH, AND THIS ACTUALLY WILL BE THE LAST TIME THAT WE HAVE AN UPDATE ON THE BAKER BRANCH FOR A WHILE.
THE ARCHITECT, UM, REQUESTED THAT WE AMICABLY PART WAYS IN OUR DESIGN CONTRACT.
UM, PART OF IT, OUR INABILITY TO MAKE MUCH PROGRESS WITH THE SCHEMATIC DESIGN HAS FORCED THE TIMELINE BACK SO MUCH AND HE HAS INTENTIONS TO RETIRE.
SO, UM, HE'D RATHER GET, GET OUT OF THE CONTRACT.
THEY'VE ALSO HAD SOME STAFFING ISSUES AND IN THEIR OFFICE.
SO, UM, THEY DON'T FEEL THAT THEY CAN COMPLETE THE, THE CONTRACT, UH, WITH US.
SO WE WILL HAVE TO GO OUT FOR AN RFQ AT SOME POINT IN THE NEAR FUTURE TO SELECT A NEW ARCHITECT FOR THE BAKER RENOVATION PROJECT.
UM, SO MARY PATRICIA AND I HAVE A MEETING WITH THE MAYOR AND THE NEW CHIEF ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER, UH, GLENN CURTIS ON MONDAY.
UM, THAT WAS TO INFORM THEM OF Y'ALL'S DECISION TO PAUSE THE DIRECTOR'S SEARCH.
UM, AND I WILL SAY THEY DID HIGHLY ENCOURAGE US TO FORMALIZE A PLAN TO INCREASE THE DIRECTOR'S SALARY, UM, IN, IN ANY WAY THAT WE CAN COME TO THEM.
AND, UM, THEY SEEM VERY SUPPORTIVE IN THE, IN, IN THAT PROCESS.
SO IT SEEMS LIKE SHE WILL AT LEAST, UM, TRY AND TRY AND HELP US HOWEVER SHE CAN.
UM, SO THEY ALSO RECOGNIZE THAT THE 5% EIGHT PAY INCREASE WAS NOT ENOUGH FOR THE CITY PARISH, UM, EMPLOYEES ACROSS THE BOARD.
SO THAT DOES SEEM LIKE THAT IS STILL SOMETHING THAT IS HIGH ON HER LIST TO TRY AND ADDRESS ACROSS THE BOARD, WHICH IT WAS VERY REASSURING FOR US TOO, NOT ONLY FOR THE DIRECTOR SEARCH, BUT FOR ALSO THE REST OF, UM, OUR STAFF.
AND, UM, THE, THE HIRING PRACTICES ARE ALSO A FOCUS FOR THEM.
SO JUST BE AWARE OF THAT, ESPECIALLY IF ANYONE, UH, COMES TO YOU ALL.
UM, SO IN ORDER TO, TO, UM, TO DO THAT STRATEGY, UM, FOR INCREASING THE DIRECTOR'S SALARY, AND SINCE YOU ALL VOTED ON IT LAST MONTH AND SHE WAS VERY POSITIVE, UM, I SET UP A MEETING TO DISCUSS THE CONTRACT OPTION WITH THE PARISH ATTORNEY'S OFFICE SOLELY TO GET THEM STARTING TO RESEARCH WHAT THE OPTIONS ARE.
SO I IMAGINE ONCE THEIR RESEARCH IS DONE, THEY'LL WANNA MEET WITH THE SEARCH COMMITTEE TO KIND OF DISCUSS THAT.
SO JUST KNOW THAT THIS IS ONLY THE INITIAL STEPS IN FIGURING OUT HOW WE CAN DO THAT.
WELL, HOW Y'ALL CAN CAN DO THAT.
SO THEY'RE JUST GATHERING INFORMATION, THEY'RE JUST GATHERING INFORMATION TO SEE HOW THAT WOULD WORK FOR US.
SO SHE'LL NEED TO MEET WITH, WITH YOU ALL AT SOME POINT IN TIME, ONCE THAT'S KIND OF DONE.
[00:45:01]
THEN ALSO SHE'S SUPPORTIVE OF POTENTIALLY LOOKING AT A WAY OF INCREASING THE SALARY IF EITHER, EITHER OPTION.UM, WE ALSO DISCUSSED THE SCHEDULING AND STAFFING SHORTAGES WITH, WITH THE, UM, THE MAYOR.
AND, UM, WE LET THEM KNOW THAT AT THE RECOMMENDATION OF, UM, THE AUDITORS AND HR WHEN WE MET WITH THEM SOMETIME LAST YEAR, LATE, EARLY LAST YEAR, THAT WE HAD ENGAGED A SCHEDULING CONSULTANT THAT IS, UM, LIBRARY FOCUSED TO SEE IF THERE'S ANYTHING THAT WE CAN DO THAT WE HADN'T THOUGHT OF ALREADY.
UM, SHE MAY ALSO JUST HAVE RECOMMENDATIONS THAT WE ALREADY HAVE THOUGHT OF, BUT SO THEY'RE AWARE THAT WE'RE WORKING ON THAT BECAUSE WE AGAIN, VOICED THE ISSUE OF CHANGING TO THE CITY PARISH WORK WEEK, WHAT THAT HAS CAUSED, UM, FOR, FOR OUR STAFF AND OUR ABILITY TO KEEP, UM, OUR DOORS OPEN.
UM, WE ALSO LET HER KNOW THAT WE'RE ENGAGING A, A SEPARATE CONSULTANT TO REVIEW, AND PART OF THEIR WORK WILL BE TO DO A SALARY STUDY SO THAT IF THE CITY PARISH DOES FIND A WAY FOR US TO INCREASE OUR SALARIES OR THE CITY PARISH, YOU KNOW, IS FINDING A WAY FOR EVERYBODY TO GET A SALARY INCREASE, THEN WE WOULD BE PREPARED WITH A SALARY STUDY AND SAY, THIS IS WHAT WE SHOULD BE AT, AND THEN BE WONDERFUL.
BUT I DON'T, DON'T, WOULDN'T PLAN ON, IT'D BE WONDERFUL IF WE, IF WE WERE ABLE TO DO THAT IN THE 24 20 24 BUDGET PROCESS, BUT, YOU KNOW, WE'LL AT LEAST BE READY WHENEVER WE'RE TOLD WE CAN DO THAT.
UM, SO, UM, WE ALSO HAD A BRIEF DISCUSSION ABOUT THE ATTORNEY GENERAL REPORT AND WE LET THEM KNOW THAT WE ARE VERY MUCH IN LINE WITH EV ALL THE RECOMMENDATIONS THAT WERE IN THE REPORT.
UM, AND WE WILL ALSO CONTINUE TO REPORT TO GLENN CURTIS, THE CHIEF ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER, IF WE HAVE SOME NEED FROM THE MAYOR'S OFFICE, THAT'S WHO, UM, WE WOULD GO TO.
SO, UH, SHE ALSO WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE WERE AWARE THAT THE TASK FORCE THAT SHE IS PUTTING TOGETHER ON STORM WATER, SHE THINKS THAT THE, UM, PEOPLE THAT ARE BEING HAVE BEEN APPOINTED TO IT WILL HAVE A MORE COMPREHENSIVE VIEW OF HOW TO ACTUALLY PAY FOR THE WORK THAT NEEDS TO BE DONE AND, UM, NOT JUST SINGLING IN ON ONE PARTICULAR WELL KNOWN WAY OF GOING ABOUT TO FUND ALL THE WORK.
SO ANYBODY HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT ANYTHING I'VE SAID SO FAR? NO.
UH, KIOSK STATS AS OF JANUARY, THERE'S UH, 30% OF ITEMS WERE CHECKED OUT AT KIOSK, UH, CREDIT CARDS.
WE HAD 194 PAYMENTS AND 189 PATRONS FOR A TOTAL OF $2,973 AND 94%.
SO 13 AND A HALF PERCENT OF ALL PAYMENTS WERE MADE BY CREDIT CARD.
AND AS OF THE 31ST HOTSPOTS HAVE CIRCULATED 456 TIMES BY 339 PATRONS.
IS THERE ANY PUBLIC COMMENT ON ANY OF THE ITEMS UNDER ROMAN NUMERAL FOUR ON THE AGENDA REPORTS BY THE DIRECTOR? SEEING NONE, UH, WE HAVE NO COMMITTEE REPORTS.
UNFINISHED BUSINESS UPDATE ON SOUTH BRANCH LIBRARY.
LET'S SEE, JUST SO YOU HAVE SOMETHING NICE TO LOOK AT,
SO ON FEBRUARY 3RD, THE LIBRARY STAFF MET WITH THE SOUTH BRANCH ARCHITECTS AND ARCHITECTURAL SERVICES TO REDO REVIEW THE DOOR HARDWARE OPTIONS.
AND SO IT, IT'S, UM, IT'S JUST A LOT OF GOING THROUGH THE DETAILS OF WHICH DOORS HAVE CARD ACCESS, WHAT KIND OF DOORS HAVE ASTRAS, WHICH ARE THE, THE MIDDLE, UM, THE MIDDLE ROD IN DOUBLE AND
[00:50:01]
SOME DOUBLE DOORS.UM, THINGS LIKE, UM, WHAT KIND OF LOCKS WE'RE GOING TO HAVE.
AND, UM, INFORMATION ABOUT THE NARROWNESS OR THE WIDTH OF THE LIBRARY, THE DOOR STYLES, THE, THE METAL PART YOU SEE ON THOSE DOORS.
SO A LOT OF DETAIL WORK AND UH, WE FEEL LIKE WE MADE A LOT OF PROGRESS THERE.
UH, WE ALSO REVIEWED DETAILS OF REGARDING THE SHADES AT THE CHILDREN'S AND TEENS COURTYARD WINDOWS.
AND, UM, IN ADDITION, THE ARCHITECTS HAVE BEEN EMAILING ME WITH A LOT OF THE DETAILS THAT I SENT THEM FROM THE REVIEW OF THE CONSTRUCTION DOCUMENTS LAST FALL.
SO WE ANTICIPATE GETTING THE REVISED FLOOR PLANS AND SPECIFICATIONS SOMETIME NEXT WEEK.
THAT'S A LITTLE LATER THAN WE INITIALLY THOUGHT WE WOULD GET THEM.
AND ONCE WE RECEIVE THEM, WE'LL REVIEW THE CHANGES IN PREPARATION FOR GOING OUT TO BID.
THAT WON'T BE AS TEDIOUS OR AS TIME CONSUMING AS REVIEWING EVERYTHING BECAUSE THE, WE WILL JUST BE REVIEWING THE NOTES TO MAKE SURE THAT THE CHANGES HAVE BEEN MADE.
UM, WE DON'T HAVE AN UPDATED TIMELINE AT THIS POINT.
DEPENDING UPON WHEN WE GET THE DRAWINGS AND HOW LONG IT TAKES TO REVIEW, WE MAY BE ABLE TO STAY ON TRACK, BUT, UM, BUT IT'S POSSIBLE THAT THE TIMELINE MAY NEED TO BE MOVED A COUPLE OF WEEKS BECAUSE THEY INITIALLY SAID THEY WOULD GET US THE DOCUMENTS BY THE END OF JANUARY OR THE BEGINNING OF FEBRUARY, AND NOW WE'RE IN THE THIRD WEEK OF FEBRUARY.
SO I CAN SEE WHERE IT MIGHT GET PUSHED BACK A LITTLE BIT.
AND PART OF THAT IS NOT JUST THE REVIEW OF THE DOCUMENTATION, BUT THE IDEA OF THEM GOING THROUGH VALUE ENGINEERING AND IT'S NOT JUST, OH, WE'LL JUST, WE'LL JUST NOT DO THIS THING.
NO, IT JUST MEANS, IT MEANS THAT YOU'LL HAVE TO DO SOMETHING ELSE, WHICH MEANS THERE'S SOME REDRAWING NEW ESTIMATES, THINGS LIKE THAT.
ALL THOSE THINGS TAKE A LITTLE BIT OF TIME.
AND SO, UM, RIGHT NOW WE'RE HOPING TO GET THE DOCUMENTS NEXT WEEK, AND I'LL BE FOCUSING ON MAKING SURE THAT WE'VE REVIEWED EVERYTHING AS, AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE.
UM, THAT'S REALLY ALL I HAVE FOR THE SOUTH BRANCH.
DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS AT ALL? ARE WE STILL LOOKING MAYBE AT THE END OF JUNE NOW INSTEAD OF THE BEGINNING OF JUNE? I, YOU KNOW, I'M HOPEFUL.
UM, AND, AND SO THE THING IS, OKAY, WHEN WE DID THE SCOTLANDVILLE REVIEW OF THE CONSTRUCTION DOCUMENTS AND THEY SENT BACK THE REVISIONS TO ME, I TOOK MY SPREADSHEETS AND I WENT THROUGH AND I SAID, OKAY, CHECK THIS OFF, CHECK THIS OFF, CHECK THIS OFF, CHECK THIS OFF.
I DIDN'T GO THROUGH EVERY FLOOR PLAN OR EVERY SPECIFICATION, UM, SECTION BECAUSE I DIDN'T NEED TO.
AND THAT'S THE SAME WAY IT'S GONNA BE.
THEY THIS TIME WITH, WITH SOUTH, I WOULD GO THROUGH MY SPREADSHEETS AND I'LL SAY, OKAY, THAT'S BEEN FIXED, THAT'S BEEN FIXED, THAT'S BEEN TAKEN CARE OF.
THIS HAS BEEN CHANGED, THIS HAS BEEN UPDATED.
OH, AND, AND SOMETIMES THEY E THEY'VE BEEN EMAILING ME THIS WEEK AND SAYING, OKAY, HERE'S THIS EXPLANATION OF WHY WE DID THIS.
AND I RESPOND TO 'EM AND SAY, OKAY, THAT MAKES SENSE.
YOU KNOW, SO, UM, SO THEY'VE BEEN DOING THAT A LOT WITH ME, SO I'M HOPING, I AM HOPING, BUT I'M NOT PROMISING.
LET'S LOOK FORWARD TO A JUNE RIBBON CUTTING OR SHOVEL AND TURN OVER, WHATEVER.
TELL MARY TO GET HER GOLDEN SHOVELS REAL.
I GOT SHOVEL IN THE, IN THE HARD HAT.
ALSO, EVERY TIME YOU REPORT IT MAKES ME LOOK AT BUILDINGS DIFFERENTLY.
LIKE, I REALLY WOULDN'T HAVE THOUGHT ABOUT THE THING THAT GOES BETWEEN DOUBLE DOORS AND PLANNING FOR THAT.
SO ASTRONAUT, YEAH, JUST THAT LEVEL OF DETAIL IS SO IMPRESSIVE.
WELL, WE JUST WANT, WE HAVE DOORS TO THE TEEN ROOMS IN THE CHILDREN'S ROOM.
IF WE NEED TO MOVE SOMETHING WIDER IN, WE WANT TO BE ABLE TO DO IT WITHOUT HAVING TO, WITHOUT ANY PROBLEMS.
SO OVER TIME, AS WE, WE THINK ABOUT THESE THINGS AND EXPERIENCE PROBLEMS IN OLDER BUILDINGS, WE GO, WELL, WE DON'T WANNA HAVE THAT HAPPEN AGAIN.
SO WE JUST, I JUST KEEP A RUNNING LIST.
OKAY, UH, UPDATE ON SCOTLANDVILLE BRANCH LIBRARY.
SO AS YOU'RE AWARE, THE BIDS FOR SCOTLANDVILLE CAME IN OVER BUDGET.
I KNOW SPENCER SENT AN EMAIL ABOUT THAT.
A LIBRARY CONSULTED WITH ARCHITECTURAL SERVICES AND WE MADE THE DECISION TO CANCEL THE BID SO THAT WE COULD VALUE ENGINEER THE BUILDING.
UH, ONE OF THE REASONS WAS, UH, SOME COMMENTS WE RECEIVED FROM THE ARCHITECT.
UH, FIRST OFF, WE, WE HAD TWO BIDDERS, TWO OTHER CONTRACTORS PICKED UP INFORMATION BUT DID NOT SUBMIT A BID.
UM, AND SO IT'S POSSIBLE THAT SOME OF THE CONTRACTORS WERE RELUCTANT TO
[00:55:01]
BID BECAUSE OF THE LENGTH OF THE TIME TO BUILD THE ARCHIVES AND THEN RENOVATE THE LIBRARY, THE LENGTH OF THAT TIME, BECAUSE WHEN THEY BID, THAT'S THE NUMBER WE PAY THEM.AND SO IF, IF INFLATION, IF CONSTRUCTION COSTS CONTINUE TO ESCALATE, IT'S POSSIBLE.
AND WE'RE SPECULATING HERE THAT SOME OF THEM WERE RELUCTANT TO BID BECAUSE THEY, THEY DIDN'T KNOW HOW TO, TO ANTICIPATE HOW TO FORECAST, FORECAST THAT.
AND IT IS ALSO POSSIBLE THAT THAT'S WHAT LED TO THE, THE HIGHER BID WAS THAT PEOPLE WERE ANTICIPATING THESE CONSTRUCTION INCREASES AND WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY HAD ENOUGH TO, YOU KNOW, TO COVER THAT.
SO, UM, SO THERE WAS ALSO SOME CONCERN ABOUT THE TIMING OF THE BID PROCESS.
YOU KNOW, IT WAS DONE OVER THE HOLIDAYS AND, UM, MAYBE PEOPLE DIDN'T, YOU KNOW, MAYBE THEY DIDN'T HAVE ENOUGH TIME OR FELT THEY DIDN'T HAVE ENOUGH TIME.
AND AGAIN, SPECULATION, BUT IT WAS, UH, IT WAS LET, UH, SOMETIME IN NOVEMBER AND THERE WAS A 30 DAY WINDOW AND THEN, THEN THE, UM, AND THEN THE BIDS WERE DUE IN JANUARY, SO THAT COULD HAVE BEEN A FACTOR AS WELL.
UM, SO WE DECIDED TO, UM, THE VALUE ENGINEER INSTEAD OF WORKING WITH THE LOW BID CONTRACTOR TO VALUE ENGINEER BECAUSE WE DIDN'T WANNA CREATE ANY OBLIGATION, UH, FOR THE, FOR THE CONTRACTOR OR FOR US.
AND SO WE'VE BEEN WORKING WITH THE ARCHITECTS, ARCHITECTURAL SERVICES AND LI LIBRARY HAVE BEEN WORKING WITH THE ARCHITECTS WHO HAVE BEEN, UM, VERY HELPFUL.
AND, UM, ONE THING THEY SUGGESTED WAS DIVIDING THE PROJECT INTO TWO PHASES, BECAUSE THE SHORTER CONSTRUCTION TIME OF EACH INDIVIDUAL UNIT MIGHT RESULT IN A, UH, A BETTER PRICING.
UH, AND THE OTHER THING IS THAT WE'VE DONE SOME VALUE ENGINEERING.
UM, SO WE SEPARATED THE PROJECT INTO TWO PHASES.
WE MET WITH THE ARCHITECTS AND ARCHITECTURAL SERVICES.
THEY HAD GOOD SUGGESTIONS AND SOME PRELIMINARY DRAWINGS TO SHOW HOW WE MIGHT, MIGHT BRING THE PROJECT A LITTLE BIT FURTHER DOWN IN COST.
UH, ON FEBRUARY 13TH, WE MET WITH THE ARCHITECTS AND ARCHITECTURAL SERVICES TO REVIEW THE PROPOSED CHANGES.
UM, AND SOME OF THE CHANGES THAT WE WILL PROBABLY MOVE FORWARD WITH INCLUDE AT THE, AT THE, THE SOUTH SIDE, THERE'S A DETENTION POND, AND THE LOCATION OF THE DETENTION POND WAS GONNA REQUIRE US TO MOVE A GAS LINE, BUT IF WE RELOCATE THE DE DETENTION POND, WE WON'T NECESSARILY HAVE TO MOVE THE GAS LINE, AND THAT WILL SAVE US SOME MONEY.
SO THAT'S ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE'RE GONNA BE DOING, UH, REDUCE SOME OF THE LANDSCAPING.
TYPICALLY, WE ALWAYS HAVE A LOT OF LANDSCAPING AND, UM, AND WE CAN ALWAYS ADD MORE LATER, BUT MANY TIMES WE'VE, WE'VE OPENED A BRANCH AND IT'S BEAUTIFULLY LANDSCAPED AND IN ABOUT FIVE YEARS IT'S BEAUTIFULLY OVERGROWN.
SO, UM, I DON'T THINK THAT'S GONNA BE A REAL ISSUE.
UM, WE DID SOME REDUCTION OF, OF LANDSCAPING AT SOUTH BRANCH AS WELL.
UH, WE WERE GOING TO HAVE SOME CONCRETE PAVERS JUST KIND OF AS AN EDGING IN THE COURTYARD.
AND THE SUGGESTION WAS TO RE UH, SUB SUBSTITUTE CONCRETE FOR THAT, UM, AT THE ARCHIVES BUILDING, UH, PROPOSAL TO REDUCE THE SIZE OF THE BUILDING AND RECONFIGURE IT.
IF YOU REMEMBER THAT THE, THE ORIGINAL BUILDING HAD TWO LITTLE INDENTATIONS, WELL, THOSE ADD TO THE COST, AND SO THEY SUGGESTED CHANGING IT TO A, JUST A RECTANGLE.
UM, AND THEY WERE ABLE TO RECONFIGURE IT AND PROVIDE ALL THE FEATURES WE NEEDED, WILL STILL HAVE THE SAME AMOUNT OF, UH, AUTOMATED COMPACT SHELVING.
AND SO, UM, SO WE'RE OPEN TO THAT SUGGESTION.
UM, SO WE'D BE REDUCING THE FOOTPRINT THERE ALSO, OR WE WOULD BE REDUCING THE FOOTPRINT, BUT WE DON'T HAVE THE FINAL NUMBERS ON THAT YET.
UH, RECONFIGURE THE, UM, THE FACILITIES, WORKROOM STORAGE AND MECHANICAL ROOMS TO ACCOMMODATE THE NEW SHAPE.
AND THEN, UH, SUBSTITUTE METAL PANELS ON ONE AND PERHAPS PART OF A SECOND SIDE.
UM, AND, AND CLAD IN BRICK ON THE OTHER SIDES, THE SIDES THAT FACE THE FRONT AND THE SIDES THAT FACE THE COURTYARD.
SO RIGHT NOW WE'VE GOT IT ON THREE SIDES.
THE NORTH SIDE THAT FACES THE COURTYARD, THE EAST SIDE THAT FACES THE FRONT, THE SOUTH SIDE THAT FACES MANGO ROAD AND THE BACK SIDE, THE WEST SIDE IS, UH, IS BACK OF THE HOUSE WORK AREA.
SO WE'RE PROBABLY GONNA USE METAL PANELS FOR THAT.
UM, OKAY, THIS IS A SMALL DETAIL, BUT CHANGE THE FULLY CONCEALED SPRINKLER HEADS TO SEMI RECESSED HEADS.
I'M PRETTY SURE ALL OF YOU WANDER AROUND THE BUILDINGS LOOKING UP AT THE SPRINKLER HEADS SAYING, I CAN SEE THEM.
[01:00:01]
PEOPLE ARE NOT, NOT PARTICULARLY CONCERNED ABOUT THAT.AND IT, IT DOESN'T CHANGE THE FUNCTIONALITY.
UM, WE ARE ELIMINATING FLOOR BOXES IN THE ARCHIVES IN THE SHELVING AREA, AND WE'RE GONNA RELY ON WALL OUTLETS THAT IS A LITTLE BIT MORE OF A CO A LESS, YOU KNOW, A LITTLE BIT OF A COST SAVINGS IN THE LIBRARY.
ONE OF THE THINGS THEY SUGGESTED WAS REMOVING THE GABLE BUMP OUTS.
SO WE HAD THREE GABLE BUMP OUTS, ONE IN TEENS, ONE IN CHILDREN'S, AND ONE IN THE MEETING ROOM.
THEY WEREN'T HUGE, BUT THEY JUST BUMPED OUT AND GAVE A LITTLE BIT MORE CHARACTER.
AND SO IN THE, IN THE BUMP OUT IN THE MEETING ROOM, INSTEAD OF THE, THE RE RETRACTABLE STAGE BEING IN THAT BUMP OUT, IT'LL BE FLUSH WITH THE WALL.
IT'S NOT REALLY GONNA MATERIALLY AFFECT PERFORMANCE, BUT THAT'S ONE OF THE SUGGESTIONS.
THE OTHER SUGGESTION TO MOVE THE, REMOVE THE BUMP OUTS ON THE TEEN'S SIDE AND THE CHILDREN'S SIDE, IT WOULD MAKE IT MORE CONSISTENT ON THAT SIDE AND IT WILL, YOU'LL LOSE A LITTLE BIT OF ROOM, NOT A HUGE AMOUNT, AND IT WE'LL HAVE TO RECONFIGURE THE FURNITURE A LITTLE BIT.
PART OF THAT IS THAT THE GABLE BUMP OUTS ADD A CONSIDERABLE COST.
SO, SO THAT'S ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE ARE ENTERTAINING AT THIS POINT.
UM, FINDING MORE ECONOMICAL LIGHTING IN THE FIXTURES IN SOME AREAS.
SO WE WON'T CHANGE THE SIGNATURE LIGHTING IN THE CHILDREN'S AND TEENS.
UM, YOU MAY REMEMBER THAT WE DID SOME, UH, VALUE ENGINEERING OF SOME OF THE LIGHTING AT SOUTH BRANCH AS WELL, SO WE'RE FOLLOWING SIMILAR THINGS.
WE DIDN'T, THEY, THOSE WERE THEIR SUGGESTIONS.
SO IT SOUNDS TO ME LIKE FOR ME IT'S LIKE THIS IS KIND OF ONE OF THE STANDARD PRACTICES IF THEY NEED TO DO THAT.
UM, REMOVE THE HIGH GLASS ON THE NORTH, NORTH AND SOUTH WALLS OF THE BLACK HERITAGE ROOM.
SO WE HAD SOME HIGH GLASS, ALL THREE SIDES.
WE'LL STILL HAVE IT ON THE WEST SIDE, SO, UM, WE'LL STILL HAVE PLENTY OF LIGHTING THERE.
AND I THINK, MARY, YOU SAID SOMETHING ABOUT NOT HAVING TO WORRY ABOUT PAINTINGS FADING SO MUCH IF WE, WE DON'T HAVE THOSE WINDOWS, BUT THEY'RE HIGH WINDOWS.
IT'S NOT LIKE YOU'RE GONNA BE ABLE TO LOOK OUT OF THEM UNLESS YOU'RE VERY, VERY, VERY TALL.
UM, CHANGE THE CEILING TILES FROM ONE BY FOUR SIZES TO TWO BY TWOS.
THIS IS SOMETHING WE DID AT SOUTH BRANCH AS WELL.
IT JUST MAKES A SMALLER CEILING TILE.
IT'S A LITTLE BIT EASIER TO DEAL WITH, AND THE TILES ARE, ARE, ARE LESS EXPENSIVE.
UM, REDUCE THE NUMBER OF DOORS WITH ACCESS CONTROL.
UM, ACTUALLY WE'RE BRINGING IT IN LINE WITH WHAT WE DID DONE AT GREENWOOD SPRINGS AND AT JONES CREEK AND AT SOUTH BRANCH.
UM, SO THAT'S REALLY NOT, NOT A PROBLEM FOR US.
AND, UM, THE CART ACCESS, IT'S A, IT'S A GOOD THING TO HAVE FOR SECURITY IN, IN NECESSARY PLACES, BUT IT ALSO IS FAIRLY EXPENSIVE.
UM, LET'S SEE, RELOCATE THE CHILLED WATER PUMPS AND ACCESSORIES INTO THE BOILER ROOM.
SO WE DON'T NEED A CANOPY OVER THE PUMPS.
UM, AGAIN, THE SPRINKLER HEADS CHANGING THOSE CHANGING WIRES GREATER THAN A NUMBER ONE.
AND I'M NOT EXACTLY SURE WHAT THAT MEANS, BUT IT HAS TO DO WITH SIZE TO ALUMINUM.
THIS IS NOT, WE VERIFIED IS NOT GONNA POSE A SAFETY HA HAZARD.
AND IT'S A COMMON PRACTICE IN COMMERCIAL BUILDINGS.
UH, REPLACE JIT BOARD CEILINGS IN RESTROOMS WITH ACOUSTICAL CEILING TILES.
IT HAS THE ADDED BENEFIT OF BEING ABLE TO ACCESS THE AREA ABOVE THOSE, THOSE SPACES A LITTLE BIT MORE EASILY, UH, THAN HAVING TO PULL OUT SOME DRIP BOARD OR CREATE A, A, A PANEL, AN ACCESS PANEL, AND THEN CHANGE THE CLADDING ON THE INTERIOR COLUMNS.
THEY WERE GONNA USE A LAMINATE, UH, WE'RE GONNA PROBABLY CHANGE TO AGY BOARD WITH, UM, WITH CORNER GUARDS AND, AND PAINTED.
IT'S JUST, UM, IT'S JUST A COST SAVING FEATURE.
UM, AND LOWER THE HEIGHT OF THE GLASS AT THE PROGRAM ROOMS. AND YOU MAY REMEMBER THAT WE DID THIS AT THE SOUTH BRANCH.
I MEAN, WE, WE LOWERED IT SO THAT, THAT THE, UM, THE WALLS, THE JET BOARD CAME DOWN TO ABOUT SEVEN FEET OR EIGHT FEET ABOVE THE FINISHED FLOOR.
WE HAVE THE SAME THING AT JONES CREEK, AND WE HAVE THE SAME THING AT GREENWALL SPRINGS.
SO A LOT OF THESE THINGS ARE, WE'RE GONNA HAVE SOME CONSISTENCY AND WE'RE NOT GONNA HAVE AS MUCH GLASS IN THOSE, THOSE THREE AREA, THOSE, UH, THREE ROOM AREAS.
UM, ALTERNATES, WERE USING A SIX INCH HIGH CHAIN LINK FENCE INSTEAD OF DECORATIVE FENCING AT THE BACK IN THE STAFF AREAS.
SO IT'S, IT'S, AGAIN, IT'S BACK OF THE HOUSE.
AND, UM, WE HAD SOME COLOR BANDING ON SOME OF THE GLAZING BEHIND THE INTERIOR SIGNAGE, SO IT WAS A LITTLE VINYL COLOR
[01:05:01]
BAND.AND THAT RIGHT NOW IS, IS ON THE TABLE FOR AS A POSSIBLE COST SAVINGS.
WE'RE WAITING ON SOME UPDATED DRAWINGS, SO I DON'T HAVE UPDATED DRAWINGS FOR YOU AT THE MOMENT.
THE PLAN IS TO COMPLETE THE UPDATE OF THE ARCHIVES BUILDING AND HAVE IT READY FOR BID.
AND THEN ONCE THAT GOES OUT FOR BID, THE CONTRACTOR, THE ARCHITECTS WILL UPDATE THE DOCUMENTATION FOR THE LIBRARY PORTION AND HAVE THAT GO OUT FOR BID AT A LATER TIME.
AND, UM, WE DON'T HAVE A REVISED TIMELINE YET, BUT I THINK, UM, THE ARCHITECTS HAVE BEEN PRETTY, UM, THEY'VE BEEN WORKING DILIGENTLY AND I THINK, I DON'T THINK WE'RE GONNA HAVE A PROBLEM WITH THAT.
UM, WE, WE COULD CONSIDER, DEPENDING UPON HOW THE NUMBERS COME BACK, WE COULD, WE CAN DISCUSS THE POSSIBILITY OF ADDING BACK SOME OF THESE VE THINGS LIKE THE BUMP OUTS AT THE, AT THE MAIN, YOU KNOW, AT THE, IN THE MAIN, IN THE LIBRARY PORTION.
UM, WE ESTIMATE THE VA SAVINGS TO BE ABOUT 900,000 TO A MILLION DOLLARS.
AND AS YOU RECALL, IT WAS OVER A MILLION DOLLARS FOR, UM, OVER BUDGET.
UM, EVEN AT THIS SAVINGS, WE MAY STILL FIND THAT WE HAVE TO PROVIDE SOME ADDITIONAL FUNDS FOR THE LIBRARY PORTION OF THE PROJECT, BUT I THINK WE'VE MADE A LOT OF PROGRESS AND I DON'T THINK WE'VE, WE HAVEN'T COMPROMISED THE INTEGRITY OR THE ATTRACTIVENESS OF THE BUILDING.
AND THAT'S WHAT I WAS GONNA ASK YOU.
UH, WE, WE'VE HAD SOME VERY ATTRACTIVE LOOKING, UH, THINGS AT THE VIGNETTE I WENT TO, TO, TO SEE IT.
IS IT GONNA CHANGE IT, YOU'RE SAYING YOU'RE TAKING AWAY SOME OF THE ARCHITECTURAL, UH, FEATURES THAT, WELL, WE'RE KEEPING ALL THAT, THAT FRONT FACADE THE SAME.
AND, AND THAT HAS BEEN THE MOST DRAMATIC CHANGE.
AND THERE WAS ONE CHANGE THAT, UM, THAT THE ARCHITECT SUGGESTED THAT SPENCER SAID, NO, IT'S NOT WORTH THE, THE SAVINGS BECAUSE IT'S GONNA, AND IT HAD TO DO WITH THE ARCHIVES.
SO INITIALLY IN THE ARCHIVES YOU HAVE A WINDOW, A WINDOW AT THE MEETING ROOM AND A WINDOW AT THE CHILDREN'S ROOM.
AND THE ARCHIVES HAD THE SAME KIND OF WINDOW.
SO EVERYTHING WAS COHESIVE AND MATCHED.
AND THEY SUGGESTED TAKING THE WINDOWS AND MOVING THEM TO ONE SIDE AND, AND HAVING A BRICK FACADE IN THE MIDDLE.
AND WE DECIDED THAT IT WAS BETTER TO MAINTAIN THE SAME LOOK RIGHT.
AND SO THE VALUE WAS, WAS NOT EXTREME.
AND SO WE FELT LIKE THAT WAS A, THAT WAS SOMETHING WE WANTED TO RETAIN.
AND THAT'S ALWAYS WHAT WE DO, IS WE TALK ABOUT, THEY MAKE SUGGESTIONS AND WE SAY, YES, WE CAN LIVE WITH THIS.
AND WE DID THE SAME THING WITH SOUTH PATRICIA.
UH, THE RETENTION POND DID SCOTLANDVILLE, IS THAT CORRECT? DID I, DID I HEAR THAT? A DETENTION POND? YEAH.
UH, IS THAT TO PREVENT FLOODING OR IS THERE, UM, HAVE YOU HAD ANY KIND OF PROBLEMS WITH THESE, WITH THE PONDS SILTING IN OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT? IF WE'VE USED THEM, THEM BEFORE? CUZ ANYWAY, THAT WOULD BE A, A, A CONCERN THAT'S BEEN MENTIONED TO ME ABOUT, UH, ESPECIALLY IN SOME DEVELOPMENTS ABOUT USING THE, THE PONDS AS, UM, A WAY TO, TO MITIGATE FOR FLOODING THAT PERHAPS THERE MIGHT BE A PROBLEM IN THE FUTURE.
I JUST, WELL IT'S, IT'S MORE LIKE A, A, A LOW SWALE.
IT'S REALLY NOT LIKE A, A PALM THAT'S GONNA RETAIN A WHOLE LOT OF WATER.
IT'S MORE TO DRAIN THE WATER AWAY FROM THE BUILDING INTO THIS SWALE AND THEN IT WOULD SEEP INTO THE GROUND.
UM, IS THERE ANYTHING THAT, IS IT GONNA HAVE TO BE, UH, IS THERE ANY UPKEEP ASSOCIATED WITH IT? WILL IT HAVE TO BE, WILL, WILL THE AREA HAVE TO BE CLEANED OUT AND MAKE SURE THAT IT'S STILL GONNA HOLD WATER OR TAKE WATER FROM THE BUILDING? I THINK WHAT THEY'RE TRYING TO DO IS DESIGN IT SO THAT IT HAS MINIMAL MAINTENANCE.
UM, YOU KNOW, SO WHEN IT'S DRY, I THINK WE JUST CUT IT, YOU KNOW, I DON'T THINK IT'S GONNA BE A SITTING FULL-TIME POND.
IT'S NOT GONNA HAVE WATER FULL-TIME.
THAT'S MY UNDERSTANDING IS THAT IT'S JUSTLY, IT'S BASICALLY A LOWER, THIS IS A LOWER AREA.
IT'S A LOWER AREA THAT, SO THAT WE'VE GOT THIS, THE LIBRARY, WE'VE GOT THE ARCHIVES AND THAT WATER WILL DRAIN TOWARD THAT SPACE.
AND THAT SITE'S, IT'S A LARGE SITE TOO.
NO, IT, AND IT ALSO, AS TIME GOES ON, IT'S ONLY NATURAL FOR THOSE KIND OF FEATURES TO EVENTUALLY START KIND OF FILLING IN A LITTLE BIT.
AND THEN I GUESS WE'LL HAVE TO ADDRESS THAT OR IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE CITY PARISH, YOU KNOW, YEARS DOWN THE ROAD WHEN THEY MAY HAVE TO DO SOMETHING ELSE WITH IT.
[01:10:02]
NOW THEN WHAT, WHAT IS, UH, MR. JOHNSON SAYING ABOUT, UH, SEAN JOHNSON SAYING ABOUT THE ESCALATING COST ON EVERYTHING? HOW DOES HE FEEL? CUZ I KNOW PERSONALLY, I WAS TRYING TO DO A PROJECT THAT, UH, EIGHT MONTHS, WELL, ALMOST A YEAR AGO WAS $150,000.AND THEY CAME BACK IN WHEN I SAID, OKAY, LET'S SIGN THE PAPERS.
AND THIS HAD BEEN LIKE SIX MONTHS GONE BY AND THEY SAID IT'S NOW $250,000.
UM, HE HAS IT LAST YEAR AND THE YEAR BEFORE.
HE MADE RECOMMENDATIONS AS TO HOW MUCH MONEY WE SHOULD ADD TO THE BUDGETS, THE CONSTRUCTION BUDGETS.
WE HAVEN'T HAD THAT DISCUSSION WITH HIM THIS YEAR, BUT I IMAGINE WE WILL.
AND I'M SURE THEY'RE WATCHING THE WHOLE CONSTRUCTION PROJECT.
I CAN'T BELIEVE WE'RE THE ONLY, THE ONLY, UM, AGENCY THAT'S DOING ANY KIND OF BUILDING OR RENOVATION.
SO I IMAGINE HE'S GETTING A LOT OF FEEDBACK ON THAT.
AND AS A MATTER OF FACT, SOME OF OUR BUILDINGS, UH, THE, THOSE, UH, SMALLER PROJECTS HAVE COME IN MM-HMM.
SO I THINK THAT'S GONNA BE AN ONGOING THING THAT WE'RE GONNA CONTINUE TO MONITOR.
THE ANTICIPATION IS THAT THINGS ARE GONNA LEVEL OFF AND START COMING DOWN.
OBVIOUSLY THEY ALMOST NEVER COME DOWN TO THE PRE INFLATION.
A STOP OR LEVEL OFF WOULD BE NICE, RIGHT? YES, YES.
YOU COULD HAVE SOME CONSISTENCY IN YOUR PLANNING, BUT EVEN WITH FURNITURE, WE ORDERED SOME TASK SHARES, UH, A COUPLE OF WEEKS AGO.
WE GOT QUOTES FOR THEM AND THE COST WAS 25% HIGHER THAN IT WAS LAST YEAR.
SO IT'S NOT JUST AFFECTING CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS, IT'S AFFECTING FURNITURE, FIXTURES, EQUIPMENT, THINGS LIKE THAT.
ANY MORE QUESTIONS? AND I LOVE WHAT YOU DO.
LIKE, LIKE MY COLLEAGUE SAID EARLIER, UH, TO, TO LISTEN TO YOU TALK ABOUT BUILDINGS,
YOU DO SOMETHING LONG ENOUGH, UH, YOU'VE COME PRETTY GOOD AT IT.
IS THERE, UH, FOR MOVING ON, IS THERE ANY PUBLIC COMMENT ON ANY OF THE ITEMS LISTED, WRITTEN UNDER ROMAN NUMERAL SIX ON THE AGENDA? UNFINISHED BUSINESS, SEEING NONE.
NEW BUSINESS VOTE TO APPOINT KRISTEN SSON AS INTERIM LIBRARY DIRECTOR.
UH, BECAUSE OF OUR PAUSING OF OUR, OF OUR, UH, PROCESS, UH, THAT LEAVES, UH, SPENCER LEAVING US, UH, THAT LEAVES THE POSITION OPEN.
KRISTEN WILL BECOME THE INTERIM DIRECTOR AND, UM, I MOVE THAT WE APPOINT HER, UM, AS INTERIM LIBRARY DIRECTOR.
I LOOK FORWARD TO, TO THE NEXT, UH, HOPEFULLY SHORT PERIOD OF TIME AND THEN WE'LL FIND A NEW DIRECTOR.
I, I, I'M, I'M, I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO GETTING THE PROCESS GOING AGAIN.
IS THERE, BEFORE MOVING, IS ANY PUBLIC COMMENT ON ANY OF THE ITEM OF THE ITEM LISTED UNDER, UM, ROMAN NUMERAL SEVEN ON THE AGENDA? NEW BUSINESS.
SEEING NONE COMMENTS BY THE LIBRARY BOARD OF CONTROL.
AND CAN WE HAVE PATRICIA TALK FOR ANOTHER 20 MINUTES? I DON'T HAVE TO WALK IN HER RING.
MARY, MARY, DID YOU HAVE SOMETHING? STOP
AT YOUR SEATS YOU'LL SEE THAT I PUT, UH, THE, THE DRAFT FOR YOUR REVIEW AND THE ORIGINAL DATING BACK ALMOST 20 YEARS.
THE VERY, VERY VOLUMINOUS, YOU KNOW HOW SPENCER SAYS IF A LIBRARIAN CAN SAY SOMETHING IN TWO WORDS, LINE UP 200
AND THIS IS THE NEW ONE, AGAIN, IN LINE WITH THE WAY WE'VE REDONE OTHER POLICIES IN THE LAST TWO YEARS, SEPARATING PRACTICE, PROTOCOL, PROCEDURE AND FORMS AND SUCH FROM THE ACTUAL POLICY.
SO, UM, I, I'VE SUBMITTED TO YOU FOR YOUR REVIEW.
IT WEIGHS A LOT LESS THAN THE OLD ONE.
AND, UH, THEN JUST SOME OF OUR PRACTICE, UH, PROCEDURE THAT GOES WITH IT, AND WE'LL TALK ABOUT IT NEXT MONTH, WE WOULD LIKE YOU TO CONSIDER FORMAL IMPROVEMENT OF IT NEXT,
[01:15:01]
NEXT MONTH.I JUST WANNA SAY BEFORE WE MOVE ON, I, I LOVE THAT VALUES ARE RIGHT THERE AT THE TOP.
I THINK THAT'S, UM, A GREAT WAY TO THINK ABOUT DEVELOPING ANY SORT OF POLICY.
ANY OPPOSED? WE ARE ADJOURNED.