[EBR Library Board of Control on January 19, 2023.]
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I'D LIKE TO CALL THE JANUARY 19TH, 2023 EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH LIBRARY BOARD OF CONTROLLED MEETING FOR ORDER.
DON, WHY DON'T YOU LEAD US IN THE PLEDGE? MY PLEASURE.
I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG FLAG OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA TO THE REPUBLIC FOR MR. STAND.
ONE NOMINATION UNDER GOD, INVISIBLE WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL.
PRESENT, PLEASE FOLLOW NICOLE ALMAN NIEN.
LET THE RECORD REFLECT THAT WE HAVE A QUORUM, UM, APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING OF NOVEMBER 17TH, 2022.
I MOVE THAT WE APPROVE THE MINUTES.
ANY OPPOSED? THE MINUTES ARE ADOPTED.
UH, NO SPECIAL ORDERS REPORTS BY THE DIRECTOR.
MS. PINETTE WILL GIVE THE FINANCIAL REPORT FOR 2022.
OPERATING EXPENDITURES THROUGH DECEMBER 31ST ARE $41,291,229 AND 73 CENTS ARE 81 POINT 43% OF THE OPERATING BUDGET.
ALTHOUGH 22 2022 HAS ENDED, A NUMBER OF EXPENDITURES ARE NOT YET POSTED.
SO BOTH TOTAL EXPENDITURES AND THE CORRESPONDING PERCENTAGE WILL INCREASE FOR SEVERAL MORE MONTHS.
CASH COLLECTIONS FROM PROPERTY TAXES FOR 2022 ARE APPROXIMATELY $606,000 AND 1.23% AHEAD OF 2021.
THIS TOTAL WILL ALSO CHANGE IN A FEW MONTHS.
ONCE FOURTH QUARTER INTEREST EARNINGS ARE POSTED FOR 2023.
CASH COLLECTIONS ARE OFF TO A GREAT START AS WE ARE 2.2 3000006.1% AHEAD OF 2022.
WHILE THIS INCREASE IS VERY ENCOURAGING, IT IS TOO SOON TO KNOW IF IT WILL CONTINUE OR WILL DROP TO PERHAPS A THREE TO 4% INCREASE, WHICH OVER TIME IS OUR HISTORICAL AVERAGE.
DOES ANYBODY HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THE FINANCIAL REPORT? THAT PERCENTAGE, AGAIN, WHICH ONE? UH, TWO POINT, UH, TWO IS THE HISTORIC AVERAGE.
WHAT'S THE AVERAGE? OH, HISTORIC AVERAGE IS THREE TO THREE TO 4% INCREASE.
RIGHT NOW IT'S 6.1% AHEAD OF 2022.
UH, SYSTEM REPORTS, MS. MARY STEIN WILL DELIVER THE AROUND THE PARISH REPORT.
SO FIRST OFF, SINCE IT'S BEEN A WHILE SINCE WE'VE SEEN YOU, BELIEVE IT OR NOT, WE HAD A VERY BUSY NOVEMBER AFTER OUR BOARD MEETING IN NOVEMBER, AND THEN AN EQUALLY BUSY DECEMBER, AND WE'VE LAUNCHED A NICE HAPPY JANUARY.
SO ONE OF THE BIG THINGS THAT HAPPENED AFTER WE LAST MET WAS THE GAME ON EVENT AT THE LIBRARY, AND THERE WERE HUNDREDS AND HUNDREDS OF PEOPLE PLAYING GAMES ALL DAY.
LET ME TELL YOU, THE CHILDREN'S ROOM WAS PRETTY SAD LOOKING BY THE TIME THEY WENT HOME THAT NIGHT BECAUSE THERE HAD BEEN A LOT OF KIDS IN THEIR ROOM DOING FREE PLAY.
AND THEN THERE WAS GAME PLAYING GOING ON IN THIS ROOM.
YOU SEE IN THE UPPER, UH, LEFT HAND CORNER OF THE CHILDREN'S ROOM, YOU SEE PEOPLE PLAYING IN THIS ROOM.
YOU ALSO SEE PEOPLE PLAYING IN THE TEEN ROOM.
AND LET ME BACK UP JUST A MOMENT.
THEY'RE PLAYING ALL DIFFERENT KINDS OF GAMES.
SO BOARD GAMES, PHYSICAL GAMES, THINK CRITICAL THINKING GAMES, UM, OPERATION, UH, RIDICULOUS GAMES GROUP ROLE PLAYING GAMES.
UM, IT WAS JUST WONDERFUL, AND ESPECIALLY WONDERFUL IS THE REPE BETWEEN THE ADULT BRINGER AND THE, UH, CHILDREN
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WHO PERHAPS HAD NEVER PLAYED GAMES WITH THEIR, UH, THEIR FATHER OR MOTHER OR GRANDPARENT OR WHATEVER.AND IT WAS GREAT TO SEE THAT WE EVEN PLAYED LIFE SIZE GAMES OUTSIDE.
SO IT MADE A VERY DREARY GA DAY, VERY WONDERFUL.
WE ALSO HOSTED G I S DAY HERE FOR KIDS AND DOWNTOWN FOR THE ADULTS WITH A RIVER CENTER, UH, HOSTING, UH, WHERE WE HAD A, A NICE CADRE OF PRESENTERS TALK ABOUT DIFFERENT KINDS OF THINGS, INCLUDING, FINALLY, I GOT TO GO DEEP DIVING INTO RASTERS.
UH, INSTEAD OF MRS. CLAUS THIS YEAR, WE BROUGHT BACK TIM THE MAGICIAN.
WE HAD MET HIM IN SUMMER PROGRAMMING, AND HE WAS MARVELOUS.
AND WE ASKED HIM TO BE THE HEADLINER IN, IN THE, THE, UH, DECEMBER PROGRAMMING.
WE ACTUALLY STARTED IT AFTER THANKSGIVING AND RAN IT THROUGH DECEMBER.
AND ONCE AGAIN, I WENT INTO THE CHILDREN'S ROOM JUST TO DROP SOMETHING OFF, AND I HEARD SUCH LAUGHTER COMING THROUGH THE CLOSED DOORS,
AND IT WAS THE GROWNUPS WHO WERE LAUGHING EVEN LOUDER THAN THE KIDS.
WE WANT HIM BACK ALL THE TIME.
OF COURSE, WE ALSO DID SOME OTHER HOLIDAY EVENTS.
OF COURSE, THE BOOK MOBILE WAS IN HIGH DEMAND AT PARADES ALL OVER TOWN AND RIVER CENTER HOSTED REDS STICK RISING.
AND THEN, UH, YOU CAN ALSO SEE KRISTEN AND MYSELF IN THE BOTTOM LEFT RIDING ON THE MAYOR'S FLOAT IN THE DOWNTOWN CORTAN KIWANIS PARADE.
SO, YOU KNOW, KEEPING IT GOING, A LOT OF OPPORTUNITY FOR ENGAGEMENT AND A LOT OF OPPORTUNITY FOR PEOPLE TO DISCOVER THE DOWNTOWN LIBRARY, UH, FOR THE REDS STICK RISING.
THERE WERE SOME PEOPLE WHO HAD DRIVEN IN JUST TO BE THERE FOR THAT EVENT BECAUSE THEY KNEW THEY COULD DO IT ALL, AND THEY DID SOMETHING NEW THAT WE STARTED IN DECEMBER WAS RIGHT TIME WITH BOO MILTON.
BOO MILTON IS A YOUNG WRITER, CREATIVE ENTREPRENEUR, BON VIV AND GENERAL MAN ABOUT TOWN.
HE IS, YOU KNOW, ONE OF THOSE, HE'S GOT THE RIGHT STUFF.
AND HE CAME TO US WITH AN IDEA.
HE SAID, YOU KNOW, MISS MARY, IF YOU DON'T GO TO BARS, THERE'S JUST NOT THAT MUCH FOR YOU.
AND HE WANTED TO PROVIDE SOMETHING FOR PEOPLE THAT WEREN'T JUST LOOKING TO FIND OTHER PEOPLE IN BARS, P 20 SOMETHINGS AND EARLY THIRTIES.
AND HE WANTED TO DO IT THROUGH CREATIVE WRITING AND POETRY AND CREATIVE EXPRESSION.
SO HE'S PUT TOGETHER A SERIES, AND WE STARTED IN DECEMBER, LET ME TELL YOU, ON A NASTY COLD YUCKY NIGHT DOWNTOWN IN THE RIVER CENTER.
WE HAD A ROOM FULL OF YOUNG CREATIVES AND THEY'VE COME BACK AGAIN AND WE'LL SEE THEM ALL THROUGHOUT THE SPRING.
SO I'M VERY EXCITED ABOUT THIS.
WE ALSO FEATURED SOME CREATIVES ON YOUR WAY INTO THE BOARD.
UH, THE BOARD MEETING THIS EVENING, YOU PROBABLY NOTICED THAT ON YOUR LEFT, THERE WAS THIS GIANT ART INSTALLATION.
THIS IS A PERMANENT ART INSTALLATION DOWN CREATED BY THE STUDENTS AND STAFF OF THE HOUSE OF PALACIOS, WHICH IS AN ART STUDIO WHERE THEY DO FINE ARTS, THEY DO PERFORMING ARTS, THEY DO MUSICAL ARTS.
IT'S JUST A HOLISTIC KIND OF PROGRAM.
AND THE KIDS WERE MUCH STRUCK BY THE THEMES OF RESILIENCE AFTER HURRICANE IDA.
AND SO THEY STARTED CREATING SOMETHING AND THEY ASKED IF THEY COULD GIFT IT IT TO THE LIBRARY.
SO THOSE ARE THOSE PANELS THAT THEY CREATED MUSIC TO GO WITH IT.
THERE'S A QR CODE, UM, STATION NEXT TO IT.
SO YOU CAN GO ONLINE AND HEAR THE MUSIC.
YOU CAN SEE THE MUSIC, AND YOU CAN SEE THE ART IMAGES THAT WERE THEIR RESPONSE TO ON THE THEME OF RESILIENCE AFTER THE HURRICANE.
SO THEY CAME HERE FOR AN AFTER HOURS EVENT TO DEDICATE, AND OF COURSE, MUSIC WAS HAD BY ALL.
THERE'S GLORIA RUIZ AND JAMIE HEIDELBERG WHO ARE THE, THE LEADERS OF THAT EFFORT.
WE ARE, OF COURSE, CONTINUING OUR LIVE AND VIRTUAL AUTHOR TALKS.
UM, WE WERE ABLE TO PROMOTE JACINDA TOWNSEND THROUGH OUR MESSAGING, BUT AS A SPECIAL GIFT, SHE VISITED US THIS TUESDAY NIGHT.
WHAT A FANTASTIC LYRICAL WRITER.
I URGE YOU TO LEAVE THE BOARD MEETING AND GO DOWNTOWN TO HEAR HER TONIGHT.
THE AUTHOR TALKS ARE ALWAYS ARCHIVED, SO I WANNA REMIND YOU OF THAT.
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PARTICIPATION SINCE WE STARTED IT IN JULY, AND WE'RE GOING TO CONTINUE WITH THAT.A NEW PROGRAM FOR US IS SOUNDS OF SCIENCE WITH LSU DEPARTMENT OF ASTROPHYSICS, AND WE'RE STARTING IT WITH A LECTURE NEXT SUNDAY WITH THE BANG.
WE'RE STARTING IT WITH A BANG, AND THIS IS LIKE COMPANION TO OUR SCIENCE SATURDAYS.
IT'S NOT THE SAME AS SCIENCE SATURDAYS, WHERE WE WENT UNDERWATER INTO MAYAN DISCOVERY.
UH, BUT THIS SERIES WILL CULMINATE WITH A PERFORMANCE OF AN ART PIECE, A, A MUSIC MUSICAL COMPOSITION DONE BY A YOUNG MAN WHO IS CO HE'S GETTING HIS CODRE IN PHYSICS AND MUSIC COMPOSITION.
SO HE WROTE A PIECE CALLED MICRO LOGOS.
DAVID WALTERS IS THAT YOUNG MAN'S NAME AS HE'S GETTING HIS ADVANCED DEGREE IN PHYSICS.
SO IT'S KIND OF LIKE THE MUSIC OF THIS SPHERES.
AND WE'VE GOT AN INFO GUIDE ALREADY PUBLISHED THAT GOES WITH IT.
IF YOU WANT YOUR PLAYLIST TO GET YOU INTO THE HOLSTER, ERIC, OR, OR ANY OF THE OTHER FABULOUS COMPOSERS, OR DO YOUR DEEP DIVE ONTO THE PHYSICS OF EXOPLANETS, WE'RE THERE FOR YOU.
ABRAHAM LINCOLN IS GOING TO MAKE A WHISTLE STOP TOUR HERE IN BATON ROUGE THIS WEEKEND, AND HE WILL, UM, BE AT THE LIBRARY SUNDAY AFTERNOON IN THIS ROOM.
AND THEN HE'LL BE IN THE CHILDREN'S ROOM THE NEXT NIGHT FOR, UM, UH, A, A PROGRAM MORE GEARED TOWARD THE YOUNGER AUDIENCE.
BUT CHILDREN CAN BENEFIT FROM EITHER AUDIENCE.
WE'VE HEARD HIM BEFORE, HE'S SO PERSONAL, PERSONABLE, AND, UM, REALLY LOVELY.
SO THAT'LL BE A NICE START TO OUR YEAR.
AND, UH, FINALLY, I AM HAPPY TO TELL YOU THAT IT IS TIME TO PUT ON YOUR STICKER BECAUSE THIS IS THE 10TH TIME YOUR EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH LIBRARY HAS BEEN NAMED A STAR LIBRARY, UH, THE ONLY ONE IN LOUISIANA OUT OF, UH, OVER 5,300 PUBLIC LIBRARIES.
THIS IS BASED ON DATA THAT WE TURNED IN FROM 2020.
SO IT'S ALWAYS KIND OF LAGGING, BUT UM, IT, IT'S REALLY NICE TO BE DESIGNATED IN THIS WAY.
UH, ULTIMATELY THIS IS A TESTAMENT TO OUR PATRONS.
THERE'S NOTHING TO DO WITH US.
IT'S ALL ABOUT OUR PATRONS IN THE WAY THEY USE THE LIBRARY.
SO, UH, THE OTHER THING I WANTED TO SHARE WITH YOU, UM, I PUT AT YOUR TABLES, UM, UH, DID YOU NOTICE SOMETHING DIFFERENT ABOUT THE NEWSLETTER? IT'S IN COLOR.
YES, IT'S ALWAYS BEEN IN COLOR ONLINE, BUT WE'VE NEVER PRINTED IT IN COLOR.
AND SINCE THIS MONTH'S ISSUE BESIDE HAVING OUR STAR, WHICH IS RED, WHITE AND BLUE HAD SO MANY AUTHORS BECAUSE WE WERE, WE PROFILED SOME OF THE HOT BOOKS OF THE YEAR AND WE PROFILED SOME OF OUR AUTHORS.
AND THE BOOK JACKETS JUST DID NOT LOOK SPECIAL IN COLOR AND NEITHER DID THAT COSMOS PHOTO FROM THE, UH, JAMES WEBB TELE JAMES WEBB TELESCOPE THAT WE WANTED TO DO EXPERIMENT IN COLOR.
AND LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, ALL THROUGH THE MONTH, EVERYWHERE I'VE BEEN, PEOPLE HAVE CONGRATULATED ME ON STARTING A NEWSLETTER.
AND, AND THEY SAID THEY'VE SEEN IT LIKE IT WAS NEW AND THEY'VE PAID MORE ATTENTION TO IT.
UM, SO I REDUCED THE NUMBER, BUT PUT THE COLOR IN.
AND SO THAT KIND OF OFFSET THE COST AND WE'RE RUNNING OUT, WHICH IS A HAPPY PROBLEM TO HAVE.
BUT WE'RE, WE ARE GOING TO CONTINUE THIS EXPERIMENT ALSO PUT AT YOUR DESKS, THE MAYOR'S STATE OF THE CITY.
UM, YOU'RE ONE OF THE FEW THAT HAS THIS.
SHE WILL BE HERE IN PERSON ON MONDAY EVENING TO GIVE IT IN THIS ROOM.
I WAS LUCKY ENOUGH TO HEAR HER GIVE THAT PRESENTATION A WEEK OR SO AGO.
AND I ALSO PUT IT AT YOUR DESK, A DRAFT OF THE STATISTICS, UH, 4 20 22.
UM, IT'S JUST THE PLACEHOLDER FOR TRUE NUMBERS.
BUT I THINK YOU CAN SEE THAT IN MOST CASES, UH, MY FAVORITE SAYING NUMBERS ARE UP, YOU CAN SEE THAT PEOPLE ARE COMING BACK, THEY'RE CHECKING OUT MORE ITEMS, THEY'RE USING MORE PRODUCTS, MORE RESOURCES.
THEY'RE CERTAINLY USING THE WIFI.
UH, SO A LOT OF NUMBERS UP AND I HOPE TO SHARE MORE ON THAT LATER.
ANY QUESTIONS? UH, MARY, THE ARTWORK IS OUTSIDE IS YES, MA'AM.
IS THERE ANY OTHER OPPORTUNITY
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THAT WE HAVE TO, UM, PUT SOME OF THE ARTWORK? UH, WILL THEY, YOU KNOW, PERHAPS DONATE SOME OF THE ARTWORK TO OTHER, UH, PLACES OR TO OTHER PLACES IN THIS LIBRARY OR TO OTHER LIBRARIES? BECAUSE IT IS TRULY OUTSTANDING.IT, IT, IT IS ENGAGING AND PEOPLE HAVE STOPPED.
UH, THE ISSUE OF COURSE IS WHAT WALL SPACE DO WE HAVE
SO THAT, THAT CONVERSATION STARTED AND OTHER PEOPLE HAVE SEEN IT AND SAID, WELL, MY STUDENTS MIGHT BE ABLE TO DO THIS.
IN FACT, WE HAVE FOR ON PERMANENT DISPLAY IN THE TEEN ROOM HERE, A A WORK OF STUDENTS FROM GLASGOW, UH, WITH THE SPORT PROJECT WHERE ALL THOSE, UH, THREE-DIMENSIONAL CREATURES THEY MADE OUT OF PLASTIC SPARKS, THEY'RE MIND BLOWING.
WE'VE HAD SOME STUDENT WORK AT BLUE BONNET.
WE'VE HAD, UH, SOME THINGS IN OTHER PLACES.
HAVING IT PERMANENTLY MOUNTED ON THE WALL WAS ALWAYS A LITTLE SCARY BECAUSE ONCE YOU DO IT, IS THERE, UH, SO THERE ARE OPPORTUNITIES DEPENDING ON WHAT WALL SPACE REMAINS HERE AND IN OTHER PLACES.
UH, PATRICIA AND I HAVE HAD OUR EYE ON A FEW SPACES IN SOME OF OUR BRANCHES, AND, UH, SO SOMETHING MAY HAPPEN, BUT SH MUM'S THE WORD.
SO YOU'VE REDUCED THE NUMBER OF CIRCU, UM, FOR CIRCULATION FOR THE NEWSLETTER TO OFFSET THE COST? YES.
IF, IF THERE IS A, UM, A GREATER DEMAND, UH, OR A DEMAND FOR THOSE FOLKS THAT DO NOT HAVE IT, DO YOU HAVE IT IN THE BUDGET TO BE ABLE TO, UM, TO REAP TO, TO, UM, INCREASE THE, THE CIRCULATION BACK TO WHAT IT WAS SO THAT EVERYONE CAN RECEIVE THE, THE NEW NEWSLETTER? YES.
I THINK WE CAN, I WANTED TO DO ONE CAUSE JUST CAUSE I SEE THE COST ON THE CONTRACT DOESN'T MEAN THAT'S WHAT WAS ON THE BILL AND IT DID INDEED TURN OUT LIKE I EXPECTED.
SO I THINK I CAN CREEP THE NUMBERS BACK UP.
I DIDN'T CUT IT TOO BADLY BECAUSE WITH TODAY'S OFFSET PRINTERS, THE COST BETWEEN TWO COLOR AND FOUR COLOR IS NOT THAT GREAT.
SO IF THEY'RE ALL PICKED UP BY THE THIRD WEEK OF THE MONTH, THAT IS WELL WORTH IT.
AND I THINK I HAVE ENOUGH TO COVER THAT, SO THANK YOU.
OH, AND THE LAST THING I WANTED TO SAY IS, IS EXCITING TO SEE BOO MILTON.
UM, MY FIRST INTRODUCTION TO HIM WAS WHEN THE MAYOR REACTIVATED THE MAYOR'S YOUTH ADVISORY COUNCIL.
LAST YEAR HE WAS THE FACILITATOR MM-HMM.
SO HE ALSO WORKS VERY WELL WITH YOUNG PEOPLE.
THEY, YES, THEY RELATE, RELATE TO THEM.
AND, AND UNDER HIS FACILITATION, THEY DID SOME REALLY GREAT COMMUNITY OUTREACH PROJECTS.
SO WE HOPE TO HAVE A LONG HISTORY WITH BOO.
SO I WILL BE DELIVERING THE MAINTENANCE AND OTHER CAPITAL, UH, SMALL CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT REPORTS.
UM, SO YOU HAVE THE NEW, UM, WORK ORDER REPORT AT YOUR DESKS.
UM, IT'S VERY VISUAL AND KIND OF JUST COVERS GENERALLY WHAT'S BEEN HAPPENING OVER THE LAST COUPLE OF MONTHS AT ALL THE LOCATIONS ACROSS THE SYSTEM.
UM, AND ONE OF THOSE BIG THINGS THAT HAPPENED WAS WE DEVELOPED SOME MAJOR ISSUES WITH THE NEW BOILER AT, UH, DELMONT GARDENS DURING THAT COLD SNAP.
AND UNFORTUNATELY WE, UM, HAD TO CLOSE THE BUILDING FOR TWO DAYS RIGHT BEFORE AND AFTER CHRISTMAS.
UM, IT WAS A SMALL PART, BUT VERY INTEGRAL TO THE ACTUAL FUNCTIONING OF THE BOILER.
SO, UM, AND OF COURSE IT WAS A SMALL PART THAT WAS NO LONGER IN WARRANTY BECAUSE ONLY MAJOR PARTS ARE COVERED IN WARRANTY FOR UP TWO 10 YEARS.
UM, SO THEY UNFORTUNATELY ALSO HAD TO DO A LOT OF TROUBLESHOOTING.
UM, BUT THEY REPLACED THE IGNITER TWO FLU PROBE SENSORS AND, UM, THE SYSTEM WAS THEN TESTED AND BALANCED ON THE 12TH AND HAS BEEN RUNNING WELL SINCE THEN.
UM, ALSO DURING THAT COLD SNAP, IT WAS DISCOVERED THAT THERE WAS A ISSUE WITH THE OUTSIDE DAMPER HERE ON, UM, THE SECOND FLOOR.
SO IT DID NOT CLOSE AS IT SHOULD HAVE.
SO IT WAS LETTING IN A LOT OF OUTSIDE COLD AIR AND IT, UM, DAMAGED ONE OF THE COILS IN THE COOLING UNIT ON THE SECOND FLOOR.
UM, SO THEY WERE ABLE TO JUST REPAIR THE COIL IN PLACE AND IT SEEMS TO BE, UH, DOING FINE.
AND THEY ARE WORKING ON AFFIX, UM, WITH THE
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VENDOR TO ENSURE THAT DAMPER DOES CLOSE.AND WE'RE PRETTY SURE THAT THAT IS WHAT HAPPENED LAST YEAR WHEN THEY, IT COMPLETELY KIND OF, UM, WHERE MORE DAMAGE WAS DONE TO THAT SAME EXACT COIL.
SO, UM, BUT WHEN THEY REPLACED THE COIL, EVERYTHING SEEMED TO BE WORK FUNCTIONING FINE, UM, INCLUDING THE DAMPER.
SO SOME POINT BETWEEN THE LAST, UM, REPLACEMENT AND THEN THIS LAST, UH, FREEZE, SOMETHING WENT WRONG WITH THAT, THAT DAMPER AGAIN.
SO, UM, WE HAVE REPLACED WINDOWS AT MAIN TEENS, EDEN PARK MEETING ROOM AND GREENWELL SPRINGS CHILDREN'S AREA HAS BEEN REPLACED.
HOWEVER, JUST THE OTHER DAY, YESTERDAY WE HAVE A BREAK IN THE WINDOW HERE ON THE SECOND FLOOR IN THE REFERENCE AREA.
NOT EXACTLY SURE HOW THAT HAPPENED.
I WENT AND LOOKED AT IT TODAY.
IT DOES KIND OF LOOK LIKE SOMEONE MAY HAVE THROWN SOMETHING AT THE WINDOW CUZ IT WAS DEFINITELY NOT CAUSED BY, UH, LAWNMOWERS.
SO, UH, WE'LL LOOK INTO GETTING THAT REPLACED.
AND THEN OVER THE HOLIDAY, UH, A PATRON BUSTED THE, UH, WINDOW OF THE SLIDING GLASS DOORS AT THE ENTRYWAY.
IT AGAIN, IT WAS JUST THE OUTER PANE, SO IT IS STILL DOUBLE PANED, UM, ON PURPOSE.
YES, WE LOOKED AT, UM, WE LOOKED AT THE, THE FOOTAGE AND IT LOOKED LIKE HE WAS GOING BACK AND FORTH BETWEEN THE INTELLIGENT RETURN, THINKING THAT THAT WAS SOMEHOW GOING TO OPEN THE SLIDING GLASS DOORS AFTER HOURS.
AND, UH, THEN HE EVENTUALLY JUST GOT FRUSTRATED AND BROKE THE WINDOW.
UM, SO WE HAVE SPOKEN WITH THE, UH, PATRON.
WE ACTUALLY SPOKE WITH THEIR PARENTS.
HE IS NOW REQUIRED TO HAVE A PARENT WITH HIM IN THE LIBRARY.
UM, WE DID NOT PRESS CHARGES THOUGH WE WOULD HAVE OVER A YEAR TO DO SO IF WE, IF YOU KNOW, SOMETHING ELSE HAPPENED WITH THEM.
BUT, YOU KNOW, WE ARE TRYING TO GIVE THAT TEEN THE CHANCE.
WE DON'T WANNA TAKE AWAY HIS ACCESS TO THE LIBRARY, BUT OBVIOUSLY HE DOES NEED TO HAVE A LITTLE BIT MORE, UH, MONITORING OR PARENTING TIME.
SO, UM, SO YEAH, BUT WE'RE WORKING ON GETTING THAT FIXED.
UM, BUT NO OTHER DAMAGE WAS SUSTAINED TO THE BUILDING AND IT SHOULD BE REPLACED THIS WEEK IF IT HASN'T ALREADY.
UH, WE RECEIVED FORMAL QUOTES AND THE CONTRACT HAS BEEN AWARDED TO THE, TO THE VENDOR FOR THE CEMENT REPAIRS NEEDED AT THE BACK OF JONES CREEK FROM THAT WATER MAIN RUPTURE.
AND THE WORK SHOULD BEGIN SOMETIME IN FEBRUARY.
UH, WE ALSO RECEIVED INFORMATION ON THE CITY, UH, CHANGING OVER THE CARD ACCESS CONTROL SYSTEM.
SO THE BREO SOFTWARE, WHICH HAS BEEN, UM, AN ON-PREMISE SOLUTION, HAVING THE, THE SERVERS ON-PREMISE IS OUTDATED AND IS NO LONGER BEING SUPPORTED.
SO THAT IS A SOFTWARE SECURITY RISK AND THEY WILL BE MOVING TO THE NEW CLOUD HOSTED PRODUCT.
UM, WE WERE GIVEN HINTS, UH, TOWARDS THE END OF LAST YEAR THAT THIS PROJECT WOULD TAKE PLACE, BUT, UM, THEY NEVER REALLY GIVE US A TIMELINE OR A COST ESTIMATE.
UM, AND IT WAS KIND OF BROUGHT UP OUTSIDE OF OUR, OUR BUDGET PROCESS HAD ALREADY BEEN FINALIZED.
UM, SO WE ARE GOING TO HAVE TO DO THIS PROJECT THIS YEAR AND, UM, THEY FINALLY GOT AROUND TO GIVING US A COST ESTIMATE OF WHAT THAT WOULD LOOK LIKE.
UM, WE HAVE SOME LITTLE SAY IN THE MATTER CUZ I THINK THERE ARE A COUPLE DOORS THAT, UM, THEY HAVE ON FILE THAT WE WON'T ACTUALLY HAVE TO HAVE ACCESS CONTROL ON.
SO THE UH, FACILITY STAFF ARE GOING AROUND AND DOING AN INVENTORY TO MAKE SURE THE LIST THAT THEY SENT OVER IS A HUNDRED PERCENT ACCURATE.
SO THIS IS AN EXAMPLE OF HAVING SOME FUNDING BEING ABLE TO BE CARRIED FORWARD WILL BE HELPFUL, UM, TO MAKE SURE THAT WE CAN ACTUALLY COVER THAT COST CUZ IT ISN'T INSIGNIFICANT SINCE WE HAVE BEEN ADDING ACCESS CONTROLS TO THE BUILDINGS AS WE RENOVATE THEM.
AND YOU KNOW, OBVIOUSLY SCOTLANDVILLE AND THE NEW SOUTH BRANCH WILL HAVE THEM.
AND THEN IN THE MIRE REPAIR PACKAGE WE ARE ADDING SOME ACCESS CONTROLS AS WELL.
BUT IN THOSE, UM, PROJECTS THAT IS BUILT INTO THE PROJECT WHERE ALL OF THESE OTHER REPLACEMENTS ARE, ARE NOT, THAT WILL HAVE TO COME OUT OF OUR FACILITIES.
UM, OPERATING BUDGET FOR THIS YEAR.
UM, SO WE ARE WAITING ON A NOTICE TO PROCEED FOR THE OUTREACH.
UM, PHASE TWO WE HAVE, UH, ANOTHER MEETING TOMORROW WITH THEM AND I ANTICIPATE THAT A NOTICE TO PROCEED WILL BE ISSUED SHORTLY AFTER THAT MEETING.
BUT A LETTER WAS PROVIDED TO THEM SO THAT THEY COULD, UM, ORDER THE
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LIEBERT AC UNITS BECAUSE THOSE ARE AN EXTREMELY LONG LEAD TIME.THEY'RE AT ABOUT 40 WEEKS RIGHT NOW.
UM, AND THAT WOULD ACTUALLY EXCEED THE AMOUNT OF TIME THAT THEIR CONTRACT IS CURRENTLY WRITTEN FOR.
SO WE WANTED TO GET THEM TO BE ABLE TO, UM, ORDER THAT THAT EQUIPMENT AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.
UM, WE MET ON THE 11TH TO DISCUSS THE PHASING OF THE CONCRETE WORK CUZ IT IS VERY IMPORTANT SINCE, UM, YOU KNOW, THE BOOK MOBILES AND THE STAFF PARKING AND WE ARE REDOING THE ENTIRE FRONT PARKING LOT.
PLUS WE DO HAVE THE, UM, BOOK SALES FOR THE PUBLIC AND WE DO WANT TO TRY AND HAVE THOSE, UM, STILL WHILE THE CONSTRUCTION IS IS GO ONGOING.
UM, SO WE MADE IT VERY CLEAR THAT THEY HAD TO COMPLETE THE WORK IN A VERY SPECIFIC SEQUENCE BECAUSE THE BOOK MOBILES HAVE TO HAVE SOMEWHERE TO PARK AND TO CHARGE.
UM, AND SO THE, THE WORK IN THE BACK OF THE BUILDING REALLY MUST COME FIRST SO THAT THAT IS WHERE THE BOOK MOBILES CAN PARK AND CHARGE AND THEN THEY WON'T BE, UM, AND, AND LOAD UP IN THE FUTURE.
CUZ RIGHT NOW THEY'RE LOADING IN THE FRONT OF THE BUILDING AND AFTER THIS IS COMPLETE, THEY SHOULD BE LOADING IN THE BACK OF THE BUILDING SO THEY DON'T HAVE TO, YOU KNOW, KIND OF WIND THEIR WAY AROUND ALL THE OTHER PARKING, UH, CARS IN THE PARKING LOT.
UH, WE WILL PROBABLY HAVE TO STOP OUR ADVANCED SALES ON FRIDAYS TO SENIORS SO THAT THE WORK CAN BE COMPLETED IN A TIMELY MANNER.
WE DISCUSSED, UM, STAGING AREAS AND THAT THERE ARE A COUPLE SMALL PIECES OF CONCRETE WORK UP IN THE FRONT THAT WILL HAVE TO BE DONE AT THE SAME TIME AS THE CONCRETE WORK IN THE BACK JUST BECAUSE OF THE, UM, THE BLOCKING AND FRAMING THAT HAS TO BE DONE FOR BOTH OF THOSE, UM, PARTS OF THE CONCRETE WORK.
IT MAKES MORE SENSE TO HAVE THOSE PEOPLE ALL ON SITE AT ONCE.
AND THE OTHER BIG ISSUE THAT WE DISCUSSED WAS THE CEILING REPLACEMENT IN THE WORKROOM AREA.
UM, WE WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY UNDERSTOOD THAT WE NEEDED TO TRY AND, UM, REDUCE AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE ANY DUST AND DEBRIS THAT WAS KICKED UP IN THE BUILDING BECAUSE WE STILL HAD TO HAVE PEOPLE IN THE BUILDING WORKING WHILE THEY WERE, UM, REMOVING THAT SWEET, UH, BLUE BOMB.
WE HELD A DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT MEETING WITH THE ARCHITECT ON THE 8TH OF DECEMBER TO KICKSTART THE PROJECT AGAIN.
UM, WE REVIEWED HIS PLANS AND MADE SOME ADJUSTMENTS TO THE DESIGN, INCLUDING THE NEW TEEN ROOM ENTRANCE, EXPANSION OF STAFF REFERENCE WORKROOM, THE EXPANSION SIZE OF THE MAKER SPACE, AND A NEW CONTENT CREATION DIGITAL SPACE.
UM, WE REVIEWED THE NUMBER OF DOORS FOR CARD ACCESS, WHICH YET AGAIN DID THAT TODAY AND GOT IT BACK TO HIM.
UM, AND THE SCOPE SHOULD BE REFINED ENOUGH THAT HE'S NOW GOING TO ENGAGE THE MECHANICAL, ELECTRICAL AND PLUMBING ENGINEER AND WE SHOULD BE HAVING A MEETING WITH HIM BEFORE, UM, BEFORE THE NEXT BOARD MEETING.
ROOF REPLACEMENTS, UH, ALMONT GARDENS IS COMPLETE.
WE'RE JUST WAITING ON A NEW BENCH AND SOME METAL FENCING.
ZACHARY THE ROOF AND PRESSURE WASHING AND MASON.
MASON REE IS COMPLETE, BUT THEY STILL NEED TO DO THE, UH, GUTTERS.
UH, THE BLUE BLUE BONNET ROOF SHOULD BE COMPLETE, IS COMPLETE BECAUSE THEY HAVE MOVED ON TO JONES CREEK.
UM, BUT THERE IS STILL A LOT OF OTHER EXTERIOR WORK THERE THAT HAS TO BE DONE IN THE PRESSURE WASHING CEILING, PAINTING, THINGS LIKE THAT.
AND THEY JUST BEGAN ROOF REPLACEMENT AT JONES CREEK ON THE 18TH.
UM, WE ARE NOT SURE WHEN THE, UH, COW WALLS, WHICH ARE THOSE BIG SKYLIGHTS IN THE MAJOR, UH, REFERENCE READING OR ADULT READING AREAS.
WELL, THE JONES CREEK AND BLUE BONNET, UH, WILL BE DONE.
THEY HAD HOPED THAT IT WOULD BE DONE IN JANUARY, BUT THE INSTALLER WAS NOT AVAILABLE, SO WE'RE HOPING, UM, IN FEBRUARY THEY WILL BE ABLE TO REPLACE THOSE, UM, ON MAYBE MARDI GRAS WHEN WE'RE DEFINITELY GOING TO BE CLOSED TO THE PUBLIC.
UH, WE RECEIVED THE CONTRACT AMENDMENT FOR THE CHILLER REPLACEMENTS.
UH, IT WAS PROCESSED LAST WEEK AND WE ARE WAITING ON PRICING FOR THE MONUMENTAL SIGNS FROM THE DESIGNERS.
ANY QUESTIONS ON MAINTENANCE AND SMALL CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS? KRISTEN? YES.
WHEN, WHEN YOU'RE, UM, GOING OVER EACH PLAN AND RENOVATION AND STUFF, IT'S, UH, IT'S INTERESTING TO ME LIKE WHEN YOU DID OUTREACH, DID YOU COORDINATE
[00:30:01]
WITH, UH, THE STAFF AND SEE LIKE, AND LET YOU KNOW THE THE WORK NEEDS TO BE DONE IN THE BACK BEFORE THE FRONT AND, AND THINGS ARE WITH, SO IT'S THE STAFF AND THE CONTRACTORS, UM, AND EVERYBODY WORKING TOGETHER BECAUSE IT SEEMS THAT YOU HAVE TO BE PRETTY KNOWLEDGEABLE IN CONSTRUCTION AND UM, UH, AND WHATEVER ELSE IS GOING ON FOR ALL THESE RENOVATIONS, BUT YOU HAVE TO BE ABLE TO SEE WHAT THE, THE IDEAS THAT THE STAFF HAS.SO CAN YOU KIND OF GIVE US A SURE, YEAH.
THE, THE STAFF HAVE BEEN INVOLVED WITH DESIGN FROM THE BEGINNING BECAUSE WE'RE TRYING TO MAKE THE BUILDING MORE FUNCTIONAL FOR THEM.
UM, AND THEN WHEN IT GETS TO THIS PHASE, IT'S BOTH SETS OF ARCHITECTS, THE CITY AND THE ARCHITECT THAT WE, UM, YOU KNOW, CON CONTRACTED WITH TO DESIGN THE, THE ACTUAL PROJECT AND NOW THE CONTRACTOR, THE FOREMAN, STAFF ADMINISTRATION, AND, UM, IT'S USUALLY THE CONTRACTOR AND THE STAFF HAVE TWO DIFFERENT IDEAS OF HOW THINGS SHOULD GO BECAUSE THE CONTRACTOR WANTS TO DO WHAT'S BEST FOR THEM TO GET THE PROJECT DONE AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE, WHICH WE APPRECIATE, BUT AT THE SAME TIME WE STILL HAVE TO HAVE THAT BUILDING FUNCTION.
SO, UM, WE HAVE TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY UNDERSTAND WHY WE HAVE TO DO IT THAT WAY.
AND HAVING THE STAFF THAT ACTUALLY WORK THERE IS, UM, IS ONE OF THE BEST WAYS TO DO IT.
SO WE HAD ABOUT FIVE, FOUR, WAS IT FOUR, FOUR STAFF MEMBERS AT THE LAST MEETING ON THE 11TH.
AND THEN, YOU KNOW, TAMIKA AND A COUPLE OF THE STAFF MEMBERS WILL BE THERE TOMORROW AS WELL.
UH, MISCELLANEOUS REPORTS? YES.
I FORGOT TO SHOW YOU THE WORK VERY QUICKLY.
THIS HAS MORE PAGES, BUT I THINK IT'LL GO FAST TOO.
SO WE'LL START WITH, UH, THE STRATEGIC PLANNING.
SO, UM, TO ENSURE THAT WE CAN MEET THE PATRON EXPERIENCE GOAL OF CREATE A CUSTOMER SERVICE EXPERIENCE THAT IS INCLUSIVE, POSITIVE, RESPONSIVE, AND CONSISTENT.
UM, WE NEED SOME STAFF BUY-IN TO, UM, CARRY OUT THIS PLAN AND WE, WE NEED STAFF BUY-IN TO CARRY OUT THE ENTIRE STRATEGIC PLAN.
THEY ARE AN INTEGRAL PART OF THIS.
THIS IS HOW WE, UM, DELIVER SERVICES AND PROGRAMS. SO, UM, ONE OF THE TASKS THAT WE CAME UP WITH AND, UH, BASED OFF OF RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE CONSULTANTS THAT WE, UM, USED FOR THE STRATEGIC PLAN THAT WE HAVE LIKE TOWN HALL MEETINGS AND AFTER SOME FEEDBACK FROM SOME OF THE STAFF MEMBERS THAT WERE INVOLVED IN CREATING THE TASKS, WE UM, KIND OF MORPHED IT INTO HAVING A STAFF TRAINING DAY.
SO WE HAVE SELECTED FEBRUARY 20TH TO CLOSE TO THE PUBLIC, UM, AND HAVE ALL STAFF THAT DO NOT ALREADY HAVE VACATION, UM, SCHEDULED FOR THAT DAY.
COME HERE TO THE MAIN LIBRARY, ALL BE TOGETHER AND WE CAN DISCUSS SEVERAL THINGS.
UM, SO THERE WILL BE LIKE A KEYNOTE THAT I WILL DELIVER.
WE CAN TALK ABOUT, UM, HOW THINGS ARE GONNA GO AFTER SPENCER LEAVES US, UM, SEVERAL OTHER PROJECTS THAT ARE, THAT WE'RE WORKING ON AND MAKING SURE THAT THE ENTIRE LIBRARY STAFF GET THE SAME CONSISTENT MESSAGE.
THIS WILL BE VIDEOTAPED SO THAT ANYONE THAT IS ON VACATION WILL BE REQUIRED TO SEE IT.
AND, UH, THEN WE CAN GO INTO A SEPARATE, UM, DISCUSSION ABOUT WHAT THE STRATEGIC PLAN IS, HOW WE'RE GOING TO CARRY IT OUT.
UM, AND THEN WE DECIDED TO GIVE STAFF SOME TIME TO EXECUTE OTHER TRAININGS.
UM, WE'VE HEARD THAT INCREASED COMMUNICATION WOULD BE VERY, VERY BENEFICIAL FROM LIBRARY ADMINISTRATION.
SO THAT WILL BE AN ADDED BENEFIT TO BE ABLE TO COME TOGETHER ON THIS DAY.
AS WELL AS, UM, WE CAN HAVE SESSIONS ON THOSE NEW PROGRAMMING, PRE-APPROVAL APPS THAT I'VE DISCU THAT WE'VE DISCUSSED BEFORE AND THE PURCHASING APPS.
SO INSTEAD OF JUST HAVING PEOPLE DO THE TRAINING ON THEIR OWN, THEY'LL BE ABLE TO COME TOGETHER, DO THE TRAINING, AND THEN HAVE SOMEONE AVAILABLE IN PERSON TO ASK.
AND WE WON'T BE ASKING THEM TO FIT IT INTO THEIR ALREADY BUSY DAILY SCHEDULE.
SO WE'RE HOPING THAT THEY'LL BE ABLE TO COME TOGETHER, CONNECT WITH THEIR COLLEAGUES, REFRESH, RENEW THEMSELVES A LITTLE BIT, AND GAIN SOME, SOME MORE KNOWLEDGE OF WHAT IS GONNA BE HAPPENING, UH, THROUGHOUT
[00:35:01]
2023 AT THE LIBRARY.UM, SO ALONG WITH THAT, THE, UM, THE TECHNOLOGY STRATEGIC PLAN COMMITTEE, UH, MET AND DISCUSSED THE ANNUAL REVIEW THAT WE ARE SUPPOSED TO DO THAT PLAN.
AND IT WAS OBVIOUSLY VERY NEEDED BECAUSE WE WANT IT TO MESH WITH THE NEW STRATEGIC PLAN THAT WE JUST, UH, CAME OUT WITH.
SO WE'VE EACH TAKEN PARTS TO UPDATE SO THAT IT DOES, UM, REFLECT THE LARGER STRATEGIC PLAN.
AND WE WILL HAVE A COPY OF THAT UPDATED PLAN FOR YOU ALL BEFORE THE NEXT MEETING.
UM, IN WHAT WAY DID EMPLOYEES ASK FOR MORE COMMUNICATION? WAS THAT A DONE NORMAL REQUEST OR JUST YOU'VE NOTICED THEM ASKING FOR IT? SO SOME OF THE, UM, INFORMATION THAT CAME IN WHILE WE WERE DOING THE STRATEGIC PLAN, CUZ WE DID A STAFF SURVEY THAT WAS, AND THEN A COUPLE OTHER TRAININGS THAT WE'VE OFFERED TO THEM, IT'S BEEN MENTIONED.
SO SOMETIMES, YOU KNOW, WE RELY ON OUR MANAGERS TO DO THE, THE TRICKLE DOWN AND THEY DO, I'M SURE THEY DO THAT, BUT WITH SO MANY VARYING SCHEDULES TOO WITH PART-TIMERS AND IT, IT'S KIND OF HARD TO ENSURE THAT EVERYONE ALSO REALLY, UM, REALLY DOES.
AND THEN, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE A LOT MORE COMMUNICATION TOOLS WITH THE INTRANET AS WELL.
BUT AGAIN, IT'S KIND OF, UH, YOU HAVE TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY, THEY HAVE TO MAKE SURE TO SEEK IT OUT SOMETIMES A LITTLE BIT MORE.
SO WE'RE TRYING TO GIVE THEM SOMETHING THAT'LL BE, AND THEN IS THIS, UM, IS THIS NEW AND DIFFERENT TO CLOSE THE WHOLE SYSTEM TO DO? IT IS NOT, IT, IT HAS NOT HAPPENED FOR A WHILE.
MARY, DO YOU KNOW WHAT, WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME? UM, IT'S BEEN MORE THAN EIGHT YEARS, BUT I, I'M GONNA SPEAK, ALTHOUGH I WAS GONNA TRY TO REFRAIN
UM, IT IS, UM, A FAIRLY COMMON, EXTREME COMMON, UH, EVENT AND LOTS OF LIBRARY SYSTEMS ACROSS THE COUNTRY.
I CAME TWO OUT OF THE THREE LIBRARIES I WAS AT BEFORE THIS HAD STAFF TRAINING DAYS WHERE THEY CLOSED LIBRARY.
AND YOU'LL OCCASIONALLY GET SOME COMPLAINTS ABOUT IT, BUT FOR THE MOST PART, IF YOU TRY TO CHOOSE A GOOD TIME, AND MOST PEOPLE DO UNDERSTAND THAT, UM, STAFF IS WORKING THESE EXTENDED SCHEDULES AND IT'S HARD TO BRING EVERYBODY TOGETHER WITHOUT KIND OF BRINGING THE, THE OPERATIONS TO A, A SMALL HAWK ONCE, ONCE A YEAR.
UM, AS LONG AS YOU DON'T WANT TO DO IT EVERY MONTH,
I SHOULDN'T SAY GET AWAY WITH IT.
IT, PEOPLE'S TOLERANCE IS FINE IF YOU'RE DOING IT ONLY OCCASIONALLY, BUT IF, IF SO, AND WE HAVE A LOT OF TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES FOR PEOPLE WHERE, UM, BUT THEY HAVE TO FIT IT WITHIN THEIR WORK SCHEDULES AND, UM, AND SOMETIMES, UH, AND, AND ALL THE DIFFERENT FACILITIES THE MANAGERS HAVE TO ACCOUNT FOR, OKAY, THESE TWO PEOPLE ARE GONNA BE TRAINING THIS AFTERNOON.
CAN I COVER EVERYTHING? AND THEN SOMEBODY GETS SICK AND THEN YOU HAVE TO TELL ONE OF 'EM, WELL, YOU CAN'T GO TO THE TRAINING YET.
SO THIS HELPS SOLVE A LOT OF PROBLEMS BY GIVING A LOT OF, I I LIKE THE IDEA TIME.
PLUS THE OPPORTUNITY FOR THE DEEP REPAIRS.
SO THERE IS A, UM, A DRIVE THAT HAS TO BE REPLACED AT RIVER CENTER AND IT WOULD, UM, CAUSE NO, THEY HAVE TO SHUT DOWN THE AC IN ORDER TO DO IT FOR THE ENTIRE BUILDING AND IT WILL TAKE MOST OF THE DAY.
SO WE'RE HOPING THAT THEY WILL BE ABLE TO SCHEDULE IT ON THAT DAY AND THEN IT'LL ALL JUST BE, YOU KNOW, DONE AND NO INCONVENIENCE AND NO ONE WILL HAVE TO BE IN THE BUILDING.
SO I HAD FORGOTTEN ABOUT THAT CAUSE I JUST FOUND ABOUT IT, ABOUT IT THIS MORNING.
SO, UM, I MEAN, YOU CAN CERTAINLY SURVEY THE STAFF AND SEE IF THEY, HOW THEY, I MEAN THAT'S PART OF THE PLAN TO SEE HOW USEFUL THEY FELT THAT IT WAS.
AND YOU KNOW, HOPEFULLY THEY'LL HAVE A GOOD POSITIVE RESPONSE.
BUT AS SPENCER SAID, NOT EVERYBODY'S GONNA GET ON THE BANDWAGON.
UM, QUICK WEBSITE ON THE WEBSITE RFP.
THE QUESTIONS WERE ANSWERED AT THE END OF DECEMBER.
PROPOSALS WERE DUE ON JANUARY 6TH.
I RECEIVED OUR CONFIDENTIALITY STATEMENTS TODAY FROM THE PURCHASING DEPARTMENT AND RETURNED THEM TO THEM.
AND NOW I AM JUST WAITING FOR THEM TO GIVE US ALL THE PROPOSALS THAT WERE DEEMED RESPONSIVE.
[00:40:02]
SO, AND THEN WE'LL HAVE FUN READING A BUNCH OF PROPOSALS.UM, SO NEXT YEAR'S FOCUS FOR, UM, APPS THAT WE ARE CREATING TO HELP WITH, UM, STAFF WORKFLOWS WILL BE ON AN INVENTORY SYSTEM AND TYING IT INTO THOSE OTHER APPS THAT WE'VE ALREADY DEVELOPED, THE BUDGET AND THE PURCHASE REQUEST APPS.
UM, SO WE CAN KIND OF HAVE THEM IN A NICE LITTLE PACKAGE AND WE CAN SEE WHERE THE PURCHASE REQUESTS ARE GOING AND HOW THEY'RE TYING BACK INTO THOSE THINGS.
SO IT MAY BE READY FOR NEXT YEAR AND PERHAPS IF THIS GOES WELL, THAT WOULD BE ANOTHER OPPORTUNITY NEXT YEAR TO HAVE, UH, ALL STAFF TRAINING ON THE NEW INVENTORY SYSTEM.
SO I THINK THERE'S ALWAYS GONNA BE SOMETHING THAT
UM, GOOD NEWS, THE LAB AT RIVER CENTER IS COMPLETE AND READY AND OPEN FOR PROGRAMMING.
THIS IS THE, UM, AE COMPUTER LAB ON THE SECOND FLOOR BETWEEN TEENS AND THE MAKERSPACE.
SO THERE ARE NINE COMPUTERS, SIX VERY BEEFY WINDOWS COMPUTERS AND THREE IMAX.
AND THEY HAVE A LOT OF SPECIALIZED, UM, PROGRAMS LIKE BLENDER, WHICH IS A 3D MODELING AND ANIMATION SOFTWARE, UH, INK SPACE, WHICH IS A ART ILLUSTRATOR, ADAM, TEXT EDITOR FOR PROGRAMMING.
UM, AND A WHOLE BUNCH OF OTHER REALLY HIGH TECH THINGS THAT PEOPLE CAN GO IN THERE AND PLAY AROUND AND, AND, UM, LEARN SOME VERY ADVANCED DIGITAL SKILLS.
UM, SOME OF THE, THE MACS DO NOT HAVE JUST A COUPLE OF THE PROGRAMS BECAUSE THEY'RE MAX AND THEY'RE NOT WINDOWS.
MR, WHERE IS THIS? THIS IS AT THE RIVER CENTER.
WHY DID I SAY SECOND FLOOR? THIRD FLOOR, SORRY.
BETWEEN TEENS AND THE MAKER SPACE ON THE THIRD FLOOR.
SO IT CAN BE BOOKED EITHER FOR TEEN PROGRAMMING OR ADULT PROGRAMMING.
YOU HAVE TRAINING ON THOSE SPECIFIC PROGRAMS? WE HAVE SOME AND WE ARE LOOKING TO EXPAND BECAUSE IT JUST DID OPEN AND SOME OF THE, UM, SOME OF THE SOFTWARE IS MORE ADVANCED THAN WE HAVE SKILLS AT THE LIBRARY, UM, FOR, SO, BUT THAT IS SOMETHING THAT WE'LL BE WORKING ON IS TRYING TO GET EITHER OUR STAFF SKILLS UP, UH, TO PAR OR TO, UM, BRING IN SOMEONE FROM THE OUTSIDE.
WE, UH, WENT OVER TO, WE, MYSELF, ADAM AND WES WENT OVER TO SEATECH AND MET WITH THE, UM, SOME OF THE INSTRUCTORS OVER THERE, THAT'S THE CAREER AND TECHNICAL HIGH SCHOOL.
AND, UM, WE TALKED ABOUT THE LAB WITH THEIR DIGITAL MEDIA ARTIST INSTRUCTOR.
AND SO THEY'RE VERY, HE'S VERY EXCITED TO BRING HIS STUDENTS TO THE RIVER CENTER LIBRARY AND GIVE THEM A TOUR AND SHOW THEM THAT THEY HAVE, WILL HAVE ACCESS TO THIS AFTER SCHOOL.
AND SO HE COULD BE A RESOURCE FOR, UM, FINDING SOMEONE TO COME IN AND TEACH CLASSES OR PERHAPS IF HE HAS EXTRA TIME, BUT HE'S A TEACHER, SO WE'LL SEE.
DO Y'ALL HAVE A, UM, A A LIST THAT YOU SEND OUT, LIKE TO THE HIGH SCHOOLS, UM, ANNOUNCING WHAT YOUR NEW PROGRAMS ARE? ANYTHING LIKE THAT, MARY? WELL, WE HAVEN'T YET, BUT WE WILL.
UH, MOVING ON TO BAKER CUZ STILL IT'S NOT ON ITS OWN YET.
UM, WE HAD A MEETING WITH THE ARCHITECT TEAM ON DECEMBER 7TH TO REVIEW THEIR LATEST CONCEPT, DRAWING THE BUDGET AND OPTIONS FOR EXTERIOR CLADDING.
WE WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY KNEW THINGS LIKE STONES, STUCCO, METAL PANELS, AND PRECAST, UM, BLOCKS ARE ALL ON THE TABLE AS, UM, AS AN OPTION FOR THE NEW ADDITION AT THAT RENOVATION.
UM, WE HAD SOME DISCUSSION ABOUT THE FACT THAT SINCE THEY'RE NOT STRUCTURAL, PERHAPS REMOVING THE WOODEN BEAMS THAT ARE ON THE INSIDE OF BAKER WOULD, UM, BE AN OPTION TO REALLY MAKE THE INSIDE OF THAT LIBRARY OPEN UP AND LOOK LIKE, YOU KNOW, WE, WE MADE A, A GOOD INVESTMENT FOR, UM, THAT COMMUNITY.
UM, AND MAYBE THAT AESTHETIC IS NOT SOMETHING THAT WE REALLY NEED TO KEEP TO, CUZ WE, WE WANNA MOVE IN A LITTLE BIT MORE OF A MODERN, UM, INTERIOR.
UM, WE ALSO DISCUSSED AND STRESSED GREATLY THAT THE VAULTED ENTRANCE THAT WAS PUT IN THE, THE CONCEPT DESIGN THAT THEY HAD FOR US WAS, UM, RATHER HEAVY AND THICK AND VERY IMPOSING AND THAT THEY DID NOT REALLY NEED TO, AGAIN, STICK TO THAT VERY VAULTED, UM, ENTRANCE.
BUT WE WANTED TO HAVE A MORE CLEAN,
[00:45:01]
UM, LOOK AND AGAIN, MAKE SURE PEOPLE UNDERSTOOD THAT WE MADE AN INVESTMENT IN THIS BUILDING AND AN INVESTMENT IN THAT COMMUNITY.AND, UM, OFTEN A BRAND NEW, NICE, COMPLETELY DIFFERENT ENTRANCE WILL, UM, IMMEDIATELY SHOW THAT TO PEOPLE.
UM, WE HAD, UH, A FOLLOW-UP MEETING SCHEDULED FOR THE 11TH, BUT IT HAD TO BE CANCELED.
SO WE WILL, WE WILL SEE, UM, A FEW THINGS IN THE GREATER LIBRARY WORLD.
UH, PENGUIN RANDOM HOUSE AND THE SIMON AND SCHUSTER PROPOSED MERGER WAS DENIED BY THE FEDERAL COURTS UNDER, UM, AN ANTITRUST TRIAL AND THAT WAS IN NOVEMBER.
UM, THEY CITED THAT THE MERGER WOULD BE BAD FOR COMPETITION AND HARMFUL TO AUTHORS.
AND SO THAT MEANS HOPEFULLY WE WON'T SEE TOO MUCH OF A PRICE INCREASE, CUZ THAT CERTAINLY WOULD'VE BEEN POSSIBLE HAD THEY MERGED AND TAKING IT FROM, UM, FIVE LARGE PUBLISHING HOUSES DOWN TO ONLY FOUR.
UM, WITH PENGUIN RANDOM HOUSE BEING ALREADY THE LARGEST UM, PUBLISHING HOUSE THERE IS, BUT THEY DID STATE THAT, UM, PENGUIN RANDOM HOUSE MAY ACTUALLY APPEAL THAT RULING.
SO IT'S NOT QUITE DONE YET, BUT IT'S DONE FOR NOW.
UM, WE WANT TO MAKE MENTION THAT DARRYL GISEL RESIGNED IN DECEMBER AND WE HAVE A NEW, UH, CHIEF ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER OVER IN THE MAYOR'S OFFICE, GENERAL GLENN CURTIS.
AND WE ARE HOPING THAT IN THE NEAR FUTURE WE WILL SCHEDULE A, UH, A MEETING WITH HIM WITH SENIOR LIBRARY LEADERSHIP AND, AND GET TO KNOW HIM AND MAKE SURE HE KNOWS THAT WE ARE A RESOURCE AND MAKE SURE HE KNOWS WE MAY NEED HIM AS A RESOURCE AS WELL.
SO, UM, WE ALSO WANTED TO BRIEFLY BRING UP THE, UH, TIP LINE THAT THE ATTORNEY GENERAL HAD SET UP IN EARLY DECEMBER FOR PEOPLE TO EXPRESS THEIR CONCERNS OVER MATERIALS IN SCHOOL AND PUBLIC LIBRARIES.
UM, NOT MUCH HAS BEEN SAID TOO RECENTLY UNTIL ACTUALLY YESTERDAY IN THE NEWS ABOUT IT.
UM, THERE WAS A LOT OF, WELL, MAYBE NOT A LOT, BUT THERE WERE A NUMBER OF, UM, MEDIA PIECES, YOU KNOW, GOING AGAINST THAT, UH, THAT MR. LANDRY DIDN'T NEED TO SET THAT, THAT UP.
AND, UM, EVEN YESTERDAY ON W R K F, THEY STATE, UM, IT WAS DISCUSSED THAT LIBRARIES HAVE POLICIES IN PLACE MUCH LIKE WE DO.
AND SO WE JUST NEEDED, WANTED TO REMIND YOU THAT WE DO HAVE A, UH, REQUEST FOR RECONSIDERATION FORM.
MOST LIBRARIES DO HAVE THIS, IF NOT EVERY SINGLE LIBRARY IN THE COUNTRY.
AND THAT, UM, THAT'S BASICALLY WHAT THIS TIP LINE IS KIND OF DOING, BUT IT'S CIRCUMVENTING THE LIBRARIES, UM, ESTABLISHED POLICIES.
SO, UM, IN CASE WE HAVE NO IDEA, UM, RIGHT NOW WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE ONCE SOMEONE SUBMITS TO THE ATTORNEY GENERAL'S TIP LINE.
UM, SO I GUESS IF, IF IT DOES HAPPEN, WE'LL FIND OUT WHEN I GUESS WE NEED TO, UM, THE BUDGET HEARING.
SO THAT WAS HELD JUST AFTER YOUR NOVEMBER MEETING ON NOVEMBER 21ST.
UH, THE LIBRARY WAS ASKED TO PRESENT FIRST SPENCER DID A WONDERFUL JOB OF DELIVERING A REPORT ON ALL OF THE WONDERFUL PROGRAMS AND SERVICES AND, UH, EVENTS THAT ARE GOING ON ON IT, THE LIBRARY.
AND WE RECEIVED, UM, SEVERAL COMPLIMENTS ABOUT WHAT WE DO AND THANKS.
AND, UM, THERE WAS A SPECIFIC CALL OUTS ABOUT OUR LIBBY APP AND THE CONTENT THAT CAN BE FOUND IN THERE BOTH FOR YOURSELF AND YOUR CHILDREN.
UM, HOWEVER, THERE WAS A LINE OF QUESTIONING THAT IS RATHER CONCERNING IT FROM COUNCILMAN MOK.
UM, HE, HE IS OF THE OPINION THAT, UH, WE DO NOT NEED TO RENOVATE THE CENTRAL LIBRARY BRANCH, AND HE IS WONDERING IF WE ARE JUST BUILDING, UH, FOR BUILDING'S SAKE AND COULD THAT MONEY BE USED ELSEWHERE.
SO, UM, COUNCILMAN GODETTE KIND OF CHIMED IN LATER WHEN IT WAS HIS TURN TO ASK QUESTIONS AND IT WAS VERY MUCH, UM, ALONG THE LINES OF WOULD THE LIBRARY BE WILLING TO PARTICIPATE IN DISCUSSIONS ABOUT WHAT, UH, CAN BE DONE ABOUT REDEDICATING PORTIONS OF THE MILL.
UM, WE KIND OF KNOW THAT THIS IS COMING FROM THE STORM WATER, UH, MASTER PLAN AND NO LONGER HAVING A STORM WATER FEE AT THIS TIME.
[00:50:01]
AND, UH, COUNCILMAN MOK THEN KIND OF GOT BACK THE, THE MIC AND WANTED TO TRY TO GET, UH, SPENCER TO PROMISE THAT WE WOULD BE ASKING FOR LESS OF A MILLAGE, EVEN THOUGH WE ARE NOT AT THE POINT IN TIME WHERE WE ARE QUITE DOING THAT PLANNING YET.THE, AND SPENCER DID A GREAT JOB OF EXPLAINING TO THEM THAT YOU DON'T DO IT THIS FAR OUT FROM THE VOTE.
UM, BUT YES, WE WOULD BE WILLING TO PARTICIPATE IN ANY DISCUSSION AS WE SHOULD THAT HAS ANYTHING TO DO WITH, UM, OUR MILL AND OUR MONEY, UH, THAT WAS PROVIDED TO US BY THE VOTERS.
SO, UM, SO AGAIN, A BIT OF CONCERN, NOT QUITE SURE WHAT'S GOING TO DEVELOP OR WHEN IT WILL DEVELOP, BUT JUST BE ON THE RADAR.
AND THEN, UH, COUNCILMAN HURST WAS VERY COMPLIMENTARY TO US, BUT UM, WANTED MORE FROM OUR BOOK MOBILE, UM, AND GOING INTO THOSE AT RISK POPULATIONS AND I THOUGHT, I THOUGHT IT WAS WONDERFUL THAT I THINK IT WAS LIKE THE NEXT DAY OR
AND THEN THE ADVOCATE HAD, UM, PUBLISHED THE NEXT DAY A RIDE ALONG PIECE WHERE THE, UH, A EVER BORDER WENT WITH THE BOOK MOBILE OUT TO ALL OF THEIR STOPS.
AND, AND IT WAS A WONDERFUL, WONDERFUL WRITEUP.
SO, UM, AND UH, HE ALSO CAUTIONED ABOUT MOVING THE BELMONT LIBRARY OVER TO THE PLANK ROAD AREA WITH THE PLANK ROAD REVITALIZATION.
I'M NOT SURE WHERE THAT CONCERN WAS COMING FROM BECAUSE WE, WHEN WE TALKED TO THE COMMUNITY ABOUT THAT, THERE WAS NO GLARING CONCERNS THAT WERE BROUGHT UP, UM, AT ALL.
THERE WAS ONE PERSON, MAYBE ONE PERSON, THE 40 OR 40 THEY CAME.
SO MAYBE THAT ONE PERSON CALLED MR. HER.
AND SHE DIDN'T LIVE IN THE SERVICE AREA.
SO, UM, SO ALONG WITH THAT, UM, THE NON-BINDING LETTER OF INTENT FOR THE PLANK ROAD PROPERTY, UM, WAS ISSUED AND APPROVED BY THE PARISH ATTORNEY ON NOVEMBER 23RD.
AND, UM, SPENCER AND MARY, I BELIEVE WENT TO A, UH, ANOTHER MEETING WITH THE BILL BATON ROUGE PEOPLE DISCUSSING THAT IN WHOLE BLOCK AND SOME OF THE INTERESTED PARTIES IN NEARBY, UM, PLOTS OF LAND.
I THINK YOU SAID THE, THE CHASE BANK, THAT THERE WAS SOME INTEREST IN ANOTHER ORGANIZATION PURCHASING THAT THAT WOULD, UM, GO VERY NICELY DOVETAIL, UM, WITH THE LIBRARY BEING NEXT DOOR.
SO, UM, LET'S SEE, THE GARDEN CAFE, UM, I BELIEVE WE MENTIONED THAT BRICK WILL BE TAKING OVER, UM, THE GARDEN CAFE.
UM, THEY ARE HOPING THAT IT WILL BE OPEN IN MARCH.
UM, THEY'RE VISIONING THIS AS HIGH-END VENDING MACHINES INCLUDING SANDWICHES AND CASUAL TABLES.
UH, SO THEY'RE PLANNING ON ENCOURAGING ADDITIONAL STUDYING AND, AND LOUNGING IN THEIR CAFE AREA.
UM, THEY WILL HAVE A ROW OF MONITORS BEHIND THE COUNTER THAT WOULD HAVE MENUS.
SO IT WOULD BE, UH, A LITTLE BIT MORE EYE-CATCHING TO PEOPLE TO COME INSIDE.
UM, AND THEY WANT IT TO BE A LITTLE LESS INDUSTRIAL LOOKING, AGAIN, ENCOURAGING PEOPLE TO STAY LOUNGE AROUND, STUDY CONGREGATE TALK.
UM, AND THE EXTERIOR MONITORS THAT DON'T WORK WILL BE REMOVED.
THEY, I GUESS, THOUGHT THEY ALREADY HAD BEEN SO GOOD THING WE BROUGHT THAT TO THEIR ATTENTION.
UM, THEY'RE ALSO THINKING THAT THEY WOULD OFFER WORKSHOPS AND CLASSES IN THE CAFE POTENTIALLY, OR IN THE ROOM AT THE BACK.
UM, AND THAT PERHAPS IT COULD BE REARRANGED AND USED, WE COULD USE THE SPACE SOMETIMES PERHAPS LIKE FOR THE MINI MAKER FAIR OR THE MAKER FAIR, NOT MANY ANYMORE, AND THAT THEY WOULD ALSO BE DOING SOME SPACE RENTAL IN THE BACK FOR THAT CONFERENCE ROOM AND THAT, UM, THE ENTRANCE WOULD BE ACCESSIBLE FROM THE GARDEN PATH.
AND THEY'RE LOOKING AT, YOU KNOW, PROMOTING THAT FOR MEETINGS, WEDDINGS AND OTHER PARTIES.
AND WHEN WILL THAT BE AVAILABLE IN MARCH WHEN IT REOPENS? YEAH, I WOULD THAT WHEN THEY'RE PLANNING TO DO IT, BUT I WOULD IMAGINE THAT THEY WOULD WANT TO DO IT THAT, BUT THERE'S NO GUARANTEE.
AND THERE'S NO GUARANTEE THAT IT WILL BE MARCH, 2023, EITHER.
THAT IS JUST WHAT THEY TOLD US.
[00:55:02]
UM, SO A QUICK NOTE ON C COVID.UM, LIKE MANY PLACES WE'RE HAVING AN UPTICK IN THE NUMBER OF STAFF THAT ARE, UM, REPORTING.
SO FROM NOVEMBER 15TH THROUGH THE 17TH, WE HAD 13 STAFF MEMBERS OUT, AND THEN AS OF THIS MORNING, THERE WERE THREE MORE STAFF MEMBERS.
UM, SO WE HAVE STILL BEEN DOING THE EVERY OTHER WEEK FOGGING AND IF REQUESTED, UM, EXTRA FOGGING WITH THAT, UH, ANTIVIRAL, ANTIMICROBIAL, UM, SPRAY THROUGHOUT THE, THE BUILDINGS H V A C SYSTEM.
SO IT'S, UH, STILL AROUND, BUT WE'RE MAKING IT, UH, LET'S SEE.
UH, EARLY VOTING AT CENTRAL FROM NOVEMBER 26TH THROUGH DECEMBER 3RD, THERE WERE 2093 VOTERS, UM, KIOSK FOR THE YEAR OF 2022 HAD 24.7%, UH, CHECKOUTS.
AND THAT'S 278,000 900 219 ITEMS. UM, WE HAVE HAD $24,465 OF CREDIT CARD PAYMENTS THIS YEAR, AND THAT'S 1,705 PAYMENTS.
UH, OUR HOTSPOTS IN 2022, WHICH AGAIN STARTED IN JUNE, WERE CIRCULATED 3,440 TIMES BY 974 PATRONS.
AND WE ARE LOOKING TO EXPAND, UM, THIS YEAR, UM, PROBABLY BEFORE THE END OF THE FIRST QUARTER, DEPENDING ON SUPPLY CHAIN ISSUES AND, UM, WORKFORCE ISSUES TO HAVE THEM PROCESSED AND READY TO GO OUT.
BUT THAT WILL MAKE IT SO THAT THERE WILL BE SOME, AT LEAST 25 HOTSPOTS AT EACH LOCATION FOR PEOPLE TO CHECK OUT.
AND COMPUTER SERVICES TICKETS, THERE WERE 2,117 CREATED AND 2,148 WERE RESOLVED.
SO THAT MEANS OUR GUYS CREATED SOME EXTRA TICKETS WHEN THEY SAW SOMETHING WAS, UM, GOING WRONG OR NOT WORKING.
UM, FOOD FOR FINES THERE WAS 11,871 POUNDS OF FOOD COLLECTED AND THAT EQUATES TO 9,893 MEALS FOR THOSE IN NEED.
ANY QUESTIONS? YEAH, CHRISTIAN, GOING BACK TO, UM, THE TIP LINE.
SO WHAT TYPE OF, UM, FEEDBACK OR INPUT DID THE LIBRARIES DID? DID THE ATTORNEY GENERAL SOLICIT FROM THE LIBRARIES BEFORE THE UNENROLLED THIS, UH, ROLLED OUT THIS TIPLER? NONE THAT I AM AWARE OF.
UM, NO MATTER OF FACT, THAT SEEMED TO BE THE HALLMARK OF IT.
IT WAS A, YOU KNOW, GONNA BE A SURPRISE TO EVERYBODY THAT, YEAH.
UM, SO THE, THE PIECE THAT W R K F AIRED YESTERDAY IS NOW ON THEIR WEBSITE IF YOU WANTED TO LISTEN, UM, TO THAT IT'S ABOUT 24 MINUTES AND IT DOES HAVE BOTH SIDES OF THE ARGUMENT.
AND I THOUGHT THEY DID A, UM, A VERY GOOD JOB OF REPORTING THAT, THAT THAT STATION, AGAIN, WK, W R K F, THE NPR STATION, LOCAL NPR STATION, AND IT'S, UH, UNDER LOUISIANA CONSIDERED.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? ALL RIGHT.
BEFORE GOING ANY FURTHER, IS ANY PUBLIC COMMENT ON ANY OF THE ITEMS LISTED UNDER ROOM NUMERAL FOUR ON THE AGENDA? OKAY, SEEING NONE, UH, REPORT OF COMMITTEES UPDATE FROM LIBRARY DIRECTOR, SEARCH COMMITTEE, UM, UH, MANY OF YOU, UH, MANY OF OF YOU ARE AWARE THAT OUR, WE HAD A TOTAL, I BELIEVE IT WAS SEVEN APPLICANTS, UM, THAT APPLIED FOR OUR DIRECTOR POSITION.
THOSE THREE WERE SUPPOSED TO COME IN AND DO FULL PRESENTATIONS.
UM, AND THEN FROM THOSE THREE WE WOULD MAKE A SELECTION, UM, BASED UPON, YOU KNOW, HOW WE FELT AND THEN WE'D GO FROM THERE.
PROBLEM IS OUR TWO TOP CANDIDATES DROPPED OUT.
WE WERE LEFT WITH A THIRD CANDIDATE WHO IS PROMISING, BUT,
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UM, UH, DID NOT HAVE THE EXPERIENCE THAT THE OTHER TWO CANDIDATES HAD.UM, SO THAT KIND OF LEFT, UH, LEFT THE COMMITTEE A BIT OF A QUANDARY ON WHAT TO DO HERE CUZ WE REALLY DIDN'T HAVE A SEARCH AT THAT POINT.
SO IT WAS A, A DECISION WE MADE TO, IN ESSENCE BASICALLY PAUSE THE PROCESS.
AND SO HERE WE ARE AND I WANTED TO BRING THIS UP TO THE FULL BOARD OF, TO GET YOUR THOUGHTS AND MAYBE A, A DIRECTION GOING FORWARD REGARDING THIS ISSUE.
SO I OPEN UP OR ANY SUGGESTIONS OR ANY COMMENTS ON THIS MATTER? SO JASON, YOU MENTIONED THAT IT'S A PAUSE, SO HOW LONG OR DID THEY SAY WHEN, AND WE CAN RESUME, I KNOW IT WAS MENTIONED LIKE A YEAR THEN.
WELL, I, I, I THINK IF WE WOULD'VE SCRAPPED THE PROCESS, IF I'M, IF I UNDERSTAND IT RIGHT, AND I I I I'M TRYING TO REMEMBER IF WE HAD SCRAPPED THE PROCESS, IF IT, WHETHER IT WAS AN INDUSTRY STANDARD THAT WE WAIT 12 MONTHS BEFORE THAT PROCESS COULD GET STARTED AGAIN OR WAS THAT JUST A, UM, KIND OF A SELF-IMPOSED RULE OR WHAT? UM, OUR CONSULTANTS, BASED ON THEIR PRIOR EXPERIENCE THINKS THAT USUALLY WHEN YOU DON'T HAVE A SUCCESSFUL SEARCH, UM, AND THIS IS FROM YEARS OF OBSERVATION, UM, UH, AND, AND FROM EVERYTHING I KNOW IT SOUNDS PRETTY, UH, ACCURATE, IS THAT USUALLY YOU CAN'T TURN AROUND IN TWO MONTHS OR THREE MONTHS AND, AND RE ADVERTISE A MAJOR POSITION LIKE THIS AND GET, UM, A GOOD RESPONSE.
YOU PROBABLY HAVE TO HAVE SOME PASSAGE OF TIME IF YOU'RE GONNA TOTALLY RESTART THE, THE POSITION AGAIN.
AND SOMETIMES THAT MIGHT BE BECAUSE THERE'S AN INDICATION THAT THERE'S SOMETHING WRONG, SOMETHING WRONG, MAYBE IT'S NOT THE RIGHT WORD, THAT THERE'S SOME FACTORS OUT IN THE MARKETPLACE THAT ARE, ARE MAKING IT DIFFICULT TO ATTRACT OR, AND AS A CONSULTANT SAID, UNLESS YOU MAKE SOME CHANGE ON YOUR END, THAT WOULD CHANGE THE DYNAMIC OF, OF PEOPLE APPLYING MOST TYPICALLY IS YOU INCREASE YOUR, YOUR SALARY RANGE, WHICH IS NOT WITHIN OUR POWER TO DO.
IS IT NOT TRUE THAT WHENEVER WE DID OUR LAST SEARCH AND YOU CAME ON, THAT YOU TOOK A CUT AND PAYE TO COME HERE? THAT'S CORRECT.
AND IT REALLY HADN'T GOTTEN ANY BETTER SINCE THEN.
UH, IT'S GOTTEN A LITTLE BIT BETTER, BUT, YOU KNOW, PROGRESS HAS BEEN MADE AND I, I REALLY WANT TO STRESS THAT, YOU KNOW, THE MAYOR RECENTLY WAS ABLE TO, TO RAISE THE, UM, ADJUST THE PAY GRADES FOR EVERYBODY.
AND SO THERE'S THAT, BUT THAT WAS ONE SMALL STEP.
AND, UM, ONCE AGAIN, SHE'S CONSTRAINED BY WHAT SHE CAN DO, YOU KNOW, WITH THE, THE PAY SYSTEM AS A WHOLE, UH, THE COMPENSATION SYSTEM AS A WHOLE.
SO, BUT YEAH, IT'S NOT, IT'S NOT A LOT BETTER
SO WHEN YOU SAY PASSAGE OF TIME, WHAT, WHAT IS THE TIMEFRAME? LIKE, UM, NINE TO 12 MONTHS, 12 MONTHS TO 18 MONTHS? WHAT, WHAT IS THE RECOMMENDED PASSAGE? PASSAGE PASSAGE, ROUGHLY? YEAH.
YEAH, PROBABLY NINE TO 12 MONTHS, UH, TO START AFRESH.
UM, UNLESS YOU HAVE SOMETHING DRAMATIC TO, TO OFFER, YOU KNOW, THE CHANGES.
SO I, I, I REALLY DON'T, UH, I MEAN, I'M, I'M KIND OF BIT OF A CROSSROADS HERE.
UM, I, I'M, I WAS VERY RELUCTANT TO JUST KIND OF GO FORWARD WITH A CANDIDATE BY DEFAULT, SO TO SPEAK.
I WAS REALLY HOPING TO, TO HAVE A GOOD CROSS, UH, ACROSS, UH, SECTION OF PEOPLE TO, TO SEE THESE FULL PRESENTATIONS AND TO REALLY KIND OF GET SOME FEEDBACK WHERE I FEEL LIKE I CAN MAKE AN INFORMED DECISION.
UM, SO, BUT UH, I'M JUST ONE PERSON AND, UH, THIS PERSON THAT WE'RE GONNA PUT HERE IS, IS GONNA BE VERY IMPORTANT.
AND, UH, YOU KNOW, WE DO HAVE A TAX ELECTION COMING UP, AND SO ALL THESE FACTORS COME INTO PLAY IS, UM, UH, WE JUST HAVE TO BE VERY CAREFUL ABOUT WHO WE HIRE.
AND SO I JUST WANT TO THROW IT OUT THERE.
UM, REALLY OUR OPTIONS ARE, IS TO NOT HIRE ANYONE.
AND JUST, I GUESS KRISTEN WOULD BE,
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WOULD ASSUME THE DIRECTORSHIP UPON, UH, SPENCER'S OFFICIAL RETIREMENT, WHICH I BELIEVE IS FEBRUARY 11TH.IS THAT THE LAST DAY YOU'D BE ON THE, ON THE PAYROLL, SO TO SPEAK? FEBRUARY THE 10TH? YES.
UM, OR, UH, WE CAN BRING IN, UH, MS. IRELAND AND HAVE HER DO A FULL PRESENTATION.
UM, YOU KNOW, BASICALLY CONTINUE THE PROCESS, UM, AND MAKE A DECISION AT THAT POINT.
BUT, UH, I FELT THAT AT THE POINT THAT WE WERE DOWN TO JUST ONE PERSON, I FELT LIKE THE ENTIRE BOARD NEEDS TO BE INVOLVED IN THIS PROCESS AND TO, TO GET SOME FEEDBACK ON WHICH WAY WE NEED TO GO.
WHAT WAS THE CONSENSUS FROM THE COMMITTEE? SORRY, I DIDN'T HEAR YOU.
WHAT WAS THE CONSENSUS? CONSENSUS FROM THE COMMITTEE? TO BRING IT TO THE WHOLE BOARD.
TO TRY AND, YEAH, IT WAS, THE POINT IS I WANTED TO BRING IT OUT WHERE WE WERE ALL HERE AND WE COULD TALK ABOUT IT.
AND THAT'S, THAT'S THE POINT OF THIS.
UM, SO WE DROPPED IT TO THREE CANDIDATES.
UH, THEN, UH, WE WERE SETTING UP TO SCHEDULE FOR THEM TO COME AND MEET THE COMMUNITY, MEET THE WHOLE BOARD, AND ANOTHER PERSON DROPPED OUT.
AND THAT LEFT MISS SON IRELAND AS THE ONLY PERSON STANDING, UH, IN, IN THE RACE.
AND WE, YOU KNOW, WE THOUGHT AT THAT POINT, YOU KNOW, IT REALLY WASN'T A SEARCH ANYMORE.
IT WAS, UH, SOMETHING WE NEEDED TO BRING TO EVERYONE.
UM, HER, SHE, SHE WAS, UH, A STRONG INTERVIEWER, UH, IN THE INTERVIEW THAT I SAW AND PARTICIPATED IN.
UH, BUT HER, SHE'S IN THE SMALLEST SYSTEM WITH THE SMALLEST BUDGET, UH, WITH, UH, SOME, UH, DOESN'T HAVE THE EXPERIENCE, ONLY HAD A HANDFUL OF PEOPLE THAT WORKED, UH, UNDER HER.
UH, I MEAN, IT WOULD BE, IT WOULD BE A MAJOR LEAP TO COME IN AND RUN THIS SYSTEM FROM WHERE SHE'S COMING FROM.
UH, SO, UM, MR. PRESIDENT, SO I, I, I THINK AS WE FOCUS ON WHAT'S BEST FOR OUR LIBRARY SYSTEM, AND LIKE YOU SAID, TAKING INTO CONSIDERATION, UM, THE UPCOMING MILLAGE, UM, THE MILLAGE COMING TO, TO ELECTION AGAIN, AND HOW LARGE WE ARE THAT MAYBE IT IS IN OUR BEST INTEREST TO NOT, UM, JUMP TO A DECISION QUICKLY, BUT MAYBE WE SHOULD TAKE THIS TIME, UM, TO
I, I, THAT WAS MY CONCERN WHEN WE, WE WERE BASICALLY DOWN TO ONE PERSON AND, YOU KNOW, IN ESSENCE, YOU'RE, YOU'RE GIVING A POSITION BY DEFAULT.
UM, SO I GUESS, UH, IF, IF THE AGREEMENT IS TO PAUSE THE PROCESS, IS THAT KIND OF WHAT I'M READING THE ROOM RIGHT NOW? UM, YES, I AGREE.
IS TO PAUSE THE PROCESS AND NOT SCRAP THE PROCESS, NOT TO PAUSE THE PROCESS, UH, GIVE IT THE, OUR NINE MONTHS TO A TO A YEAR, UH, AND THE, UH, AND THEN TO RESTART THE
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PROCESS, UH, AND, AND, AND SEE HOW IT GOES FROM THERE.BUT, UM, THAT, I THINK WHAT WE ALL WANTED IS TO SEE CANDIDATES WHERE WE COULD COMPARE MM-HMM.
SO THAT, THAT IS REALLY WHAT WE WOULD LIKE TO SEE IN THE FUTURE.
WE MAY HAVE TO ACTUALLY GO OUT AND MARKET OUR SYSTEM AS A 10 YEAR STAR SYSTEM THAT, UM, THERE REALLY OTHER REASONS TO COME HERE BESIDES THE SALARY.
SO, UM, AND THE WONDERFUL SYSTEM THAT WE HAVE.
SO, UM, THAT MAY BE WHAT WE HAVE TO DO ALSO.
SO, PRESIDENT, AS YOU AND I DISCUSSED, WHEN YOU CALLED ME AND WE HAD THE BRIEF BUT ELOQUENT DISCUSSION OF, OF, UH, THE CANDIDATES, UH, AND WE WERE LEFT WITH THE ONE WITH THE LEAST EXPERIENCE, THAT'S A GRAVE CONCERN FOR ME.
UM, AND IF PAUSING THE ENTIRE PROCESS, WE'RE LOOKING AT, WHAT, NINE MONTHS? OKAY.
UM, I THINK, UH, OUR LIBRARY SYSTEM, I THINK WE DESERVE THAT TO GET THE QUALITY THAT WE LE UH, WE NEED AND THE QUALITY OF LEADERSHIP THAT CAN, UM, DO THIS JOB WITH FIDELITY.
MY QUESTION IS, UM, I WANNA KNOW YOU ALL'S OPINION ON THE CONSULTANTS.
BASED ON WHAT MARTHA'S SAYING, IT SEEMS LIKE WE REALLY NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE SOMEONE THAT'S, UM, MARKETING THE SYSTEM WHERE, UM, DOING A VERY GOOD JOB MARKETING THE SYSTEM, AND IT'S NOT JUST ABOUT THE SALARY.
DO YOU FEEL THAT THOSE CONSULTANTS CAN ACHIEVE THAT? BECAUSE THAT'S GONNA BE THE ONLY DIFFERENCE BETWEEN, UM, PROBABLY WHAT THEY'VE DONE BEFORE AND THE, THE BIGGEST CHANGE I CAN THINK OF THAT THEY CAN MAKE, BECAUSE IT PROBABLY WON'T BE THE SALARY THAT WOULD CHANGE BETWEEN NOW AND THEN.
SO YOU'RE ASKING ME HOW, WHAT I THINK THAT THE, THE, THE COMPANY WOULD HIRED IF THEY'RE DOING A, A GOOD, A GOOD, I MEAN, I MEAN, I'M, I'M NOT, I FEEL LIKE THEY HAVE, BUT I MEAN, WHEN I SAY THAT, I, IT'S NOT LIKE, UM, I'M WITH THEM, YOU KNOW, STEP OF THE WAY, EVERY STEP OF THE WAY KIND OF HAS, THEY, THEY DO THESE THINGS.
I MEAN, ALL WE CAN DO IS YOU HIRE A COMPANY, THEY GO OUT, THEY DO WHAT THEY DO, AND THEN YOU GET, YOU GET RESUMES IN AND, AND THAT'S WHAT YOU'RE, YOU'RE LEFT WITH.
SO, UM, I I, I DO BELIEVE THAT THE SALARY IS, IS, IS, IS THE, THE PROBLEM.
UM, UH, YOU KNOW, MAYBE THAT'S SOMETHING AS A BOARD THAT WE MAYBE NEED TO, TO LOOK AT.
THIS MIGHT GIVE US THE AMMUNITION WE NEED TO, TO TRY.
I MEAN, AT THE END OF THE DAY, ALL THEY CAN SAY IS NO, UM, PRESIDENT.
BUT THERE, THERE, THERE ARE MORE FACTORS TOO.
WE JUST WENT THROUGH THE GREAT RESIGNATION WHERE PEOPLE DON'T WANT TO WORK AND PEOPLE DON'T WANT TO COME IN AND TAKE A JOB AND MOVE ACROSS THE COUNTRY TO TAKE A JOB WHERE THEY'RE SERVING AT THE PLEASURE OF A BOARD OF, OF PEOPLE THAT THEY DON'T KNOW.
AND, UH, YOU KNOW, WE'VE HAD SOME BAD PRESS AS A CITY AND STATE
I MEAN, IT, IT'S, WE'RE ASKING A LOT AND WE NEED THE RIGHT PERSON AND, UH, WE NEED TO, UH, HAVE PEOPLE COMPETE FOR THAT IN ORDER TO SEE WHO'S GOT THE THICK ENOUGH SKIN TO HANDLE THIS JOB.
LET, LET, LET ME ASK YOU, HENCE FORTH AS WE MOVE FORWARD, UM, WILL WE USE, UH, BE USING THE SAME, UM, GROUP AND THE SAME CONSULTING FIRM TO, UH, CONTINUE WITH THE PROCESS? OR YOU'RE LOOKING, OR WE'RE LOOKING FOR A NEW CONSULTING FIRM? WHERE, WHERE ARE WE WITH THAT POINT? I, I MEAN, I WOULD ASSUME WE'D USE THE SAME FIRM.
I'M, I'M NOT AWARE OF, OF, OF ANOTHER, I MEAN, I'M SURE THERE ARE OTHER COMPANIES, BUT I'M NOT AWARE OF ANY, I MEAN, JUST MY EXPERIENCE OF WHEN WE HIRED SPENCER, I MEAN, WE, WE, THAT'S WHO WE USE.
SO, YOU KNOW, MY MY EXPERIENCE IN DEALING WITH SEARCH FIRMS IS, IS FAIRLY LIMITED INTO, YOU KNOW, WHAT WE'VE DEALT WITH HERE.
THEY'RE STILL UNDER CONTRACT TO US BECAUSE OKAY.
AND SO THEY WILL CONTINUE TO WORK WITH US IF WE WANT THEM TO.
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UM, MY OPINION IS THAT, UH, YES, THERE ARE ONLY A COUPLE OF FIRMS OUT THERE THAT SPECIALIZE IN, UM, AND, UH, LIBRARY PLACEMENTS.UH, THEY KIND OF, THEY KNOW THE MARKETPLACE FAIRLY WELL, AND THEY WORK, UM, THE CONFERENCES AND THE GATHERINGS SO THAT THEY KNOW WHO'S, THEY KNOW A LOT ABOUT THE, THE, A A LOT ABOUT SOME OF THE POTENTIAL CANDIDATES OUT THERE AND WHO MIGHT BE INTERESTED, AND THEY CULTIVATE NETWORKS THAT THEY WORK.
SO THERE ARE ALSO, I GUESS TO OTHER PEOPLE KIND OF WHO CAN, YOU CAN USE, YOU KNOW, THE DON'T SPECIALIZE IN LIBRARIES, BUT THEN THEY DON'T HAVE THAT NETWORKING CAPACITY.
SO IT SEEMS LIKE EVERYONE IS SATISFIED.
IT WOULD JUST BE A MATTER OF TALKING TO THEM ABOUT, UM, AND GOING OVER, I GUESS WHAT CAN WE DO DIFFERENTLY CONVERSATION AT THIS POINT.
BUT WE, I THINK WE'RE ALL IN AGREEMENT THAT IT SHOULD BE, UM, PAUSED.
UM, JUST TO, TO PIGGYBACK ON THAT.
SO, UM, I THINK FOR THE MOST PART, IT'S NOT SO MUCH DO WE HAVE THE RIGHT CONSULTANTS, YOU KNOW, WE, THEY, THEY CAME WELL RECOMMENDED, SO LET'S, YOU KNOW, OFFER THEM THE CHALLENGE OR, OR YOU KNOW, THE, TO, TO GIVE THEM THAT CHALLENGE TO COME UP WITH SOME IDEAS THAT COULD HELP US GIVEN OUR, OUR SITUATION.
AND IF WE CAN WORK ON THE, THE SALARY, THAT WOULD BE A PRIORITY ONCE WE'VE MADE THIS DECISION.
BUT, UM, SHOULD WE DECIDE TO MOVE FORWARD WITH THIS DECISION, I THINK WE NEED TO FOCUS ON WHETHER OR NOT WE WANNA DO THAT.
AND IF, SO, I'M, I'M WILLING TO OFFER UP A MOTION, BUT ONCE WE THEN MAKE THIS DECISION, UM, WORKING, I HAVE CONFIDENCE IN KRISTEN TO, TO BE ABLE TO STEP UP IN THIS ROLE TEMPORARILY, UM, WHILE WE GO THROUGH THIS PROCESS, AND THEN ISSUE THE CHALLENGE TO OUR CONSULTANTS, UM, GIVEN OUR SITUATION TO HOPEFULLY, UM, COME BACK WITH SOME CREATIVE AND INNOVATIVE IDEAS TO HELP US WITH RECRUITMENT.
OUR, OUR, UH, AGENCY, AGENCY THAT WAS CONTRACTED WITH, UH, I DON'T THINK IT COST US MUCH OF ANY MORE TO KEEP THEM, UH, MOVING FORWARD.
AND I AGREE WITH YOU, WE DO NEED TO CHALLENGE THEM FOR THAT.
UH, I DON'T WANT YOU TO THINK THAT BY MY STATEMENT EARLIER THAT MONEY'S THE ONLY PROBLEM, BUT IT WAS ODD TO ME THAT THE ONLY PEOPLE WHO APPLIED WERE FROM LOUISIANA.
UM, AND, UH, THAT, THAT'S JUST INTERESTING AND, AND SOMETHING THIS LARGE, UH, THAT'S, UH, SUCH A GOOD SYSTEM.
I MEAN, 10 YEARS IS A HISTORIC LIBRARY.
UH, SO I, I WAS DISAPPOINTED THAT WE DIDN'T GET A BIGGER RESPONSE, UH, BUT I THINK THAT THEY DID EVERYTHING THEY COULD TO TRY AND BRING OTHER PEOPLE TO THE TABLE.
IT WAS JUST A TOUGH TIME TO GET PEOPLE TO, TO LOOK AT THIS.
SO I WONDER A LITTLE BIT ABOUT TIME OF YEAR, UM, AND WHETHER PEOPLE MAKE BIG CHANGES AT THE END OF A CALENDAR YEAR.
I'M NOT EXCITED ABOUT WAITING A FULL YEAR TO RESUME.
SO I'D BE INTERESTED IN WHAT THE CONSULTING FIRM WOULD SAY ABOUT WAITING SIX MONTHS AS OPPOSED TO, I THINK IT'S WORTH ASKING ABOUT, HEY, I, SPENCER, CAN YOU SHEDDING LIGHT ON THAT? I MEAN, I, I THINK THAT'S THE, A PERFECTLY GOOD QUESTION TO ASK.
SO, YOU KNOW, YOU MIGHT WANNA START IT AFTER SIX, OR SE IF YOU START THE PROCESS AFTER SIX MONTHS, YOU'LL BE MAKING A DECISION EIGHT MONTHS, YOU KNOW, LATER.
SO I THINK THAT'S A POSSIBILITY.
AND, UM, YOU CERTAINLY TALK TO THE CONSULTANTS ABOUT IT, AND I THINK THAT'S A GOOD POINT TO BRING UP.
I WAS ALWAYS A LITTLE CONCERNED THAT, UM, THE END OF THE YEAR, ASKING PEOPLE TO BE MAKING DECISIONS AROUND, UM, UH, IT'S HOLIDAY PERIOD, UH, MAY BE KIND OF DIFFICULT, MAY HAVE CAUSED SOME PEOPLE TO STEP BACK FROM IT.
SO, UH, MAYBE IF YOU DO SOMETHING MORE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE CALENDAR YEAR, OR CERTAINLY BY THE END OF THE SUMMER OR SOMETHING, THAT'S A WHOLE DIFFERENT, UM, TIMEFRAME WHERE PEOPLE ARE LOOK AT THINGS AND MAKE WAY WEIGH OPTIONS TO MAKE DECISIONS.
SO IN ESSENCE, IF WE GO SIX MONTHS, I MEAN, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT MAYBE, YOU KNOW, LIKE TALKING ABOUT LIKE RE-ADVERTISING SOMETIME IN JULY.
YEAH, I THINK THAT, I MEAN, I'M FINE WITH THAT.
I MEAN, I WOULD START BY ASKING THE CONSULTANTS BECAUSE THEY MAY SAY, THAT'S A TERRIBLE IDEA, YOU DON'T WANNA DO THAT.
I JUST AM CURIOUS ABOUT WHAT THEY WOULD SAY,
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ASK THEM ABOUT A SUMMER SEARCH.SO I GUESS WE WOULD NEED TO KIND OF MAYBE SCHEDULE, SCHEDULE ANOTHER LITTLE ZOOM MEETING WITH THE, WITH THE SEARCH COMMITTEE AND, AND, AND OUR COMMITTEE SIT DOWN AND, YOU KNOW, TAKE THE INFORMATION THAT WE'VE, WE'VE GATHERED FROM THEIR MEETING HERE TONIGHT.
AND, UH, AND SEE WHAT THEY SAY ABOUT IT.
I MEAN, WE WERE, WE WERE INFORMED THAT WE SHOULDN'T GO RIGHT BACK INTO IT.
UH, I DON'T REMEMBER THEM GIVING US A SPECIFIC TIMEFRAME, BUT THEY SAID THAT, YOU KNOW, JUST REOPENING AGAIN, JUST PROBABLY WASN'T THE BEST OF IDEAS THAT, UH, AND I DON'T WANT ANYONE TO THINK THAT MS. IRELAND WASN'T A STRONG CANDIDATE.
SHE WAS, UH, SHE WAS JUST THE LAST ONE, AND NONE OF Y'ALL GOT TO MEET HER
UH, YOU KNOW, SO THAT, THAT'S NOT THE CASE.
I THINK SHE COULD BE AN ASSET TO, TO OUR SYSTEM.
UH, I'M, UH, JUST NOT A, I'M NOT SURE THAT SHE'S, YOU KNOW, SHOULD BE THE DEFAULT ASSET TO OUR SYSTEM.
I ALSO WOULD, WOULD LIKE, UM, MOVING FORWARD, IF THERE ARE ONLY TWO CANDIDATES WHO THE COMMITTEE THINKS WOULD BE GOOD IN THIS POSITION, AND I WOULD RATHER JUST HAVE TWO FINALISTS, I I DON'T THINK IT'S FAIR TO INCLUDE SOMEONE AS A FINALIST WHO YOU DON'T HAVE CONFIDENCE IN.
IT'S NOT THAT I DIDN'T HAVE CONFIDENCE IN HER, I JUST DIDN'T WANNA MAKE A DECISION ON HER AFTER HER, HER INTERVIEW THAT Y'ALL DIDN'T GET TO SEE THE PERSON.
UH, SHE INTERVIEWED MUCH STRONGER THAN HER, UH, EXPERIENCE AND CREDENTIALS.
AND, AND I WOULD LOVE TO HAVE SEEN HER, YOU KNOW, GO HEAD TO HEAD WITH SOME OTHER PEOPLE, SEE HOW SHE, UH, YOU KNOW, WORKED WITH THE, THE COMMUNITY, SEE HOW SHE DID WHEN SHE WAS KIND OF, YOU KNOW, PUT UNDER FIRE A LITTLE BIT.
I MEAN, SHE, SHE WAS INCLUDED BECAUSE SHE DID GIVE A VERY STRONG ZOOM PRESENTATION, BUT IT'S A ZOOM PRESENTATION, AND IT'S NOT, YOU'RE NOT IN, YOU KNOW, IN FRONT OF A GROUP OF PEOPLE AND YOU'RE DOING YOUR FULL PRESENTATION AND YOU'RE COM YOU'RE COMPARED AGAINST OTHER PEOPLE THAT, THAT ACTUALLY HAVE DIRECTORS EXPERIENCE, YOU KNOW, AND IN LARGE SYSTEMS. SO I GUESS, UH, UM, UH, I'M, I'M WILLING TO MAINTAIN, BASICALLY WE JUST MAINTAINS THIS PAUSE, UM, UH, UNTIL WE HAVE ANOTHER CONVERSATION WITH THE, THE SEARCH COMMITTEE AND KIND OF GET THEIR FEEDBACK ON MAYBE A SIX MONTH, MAYBE REENTER THIS PROCESS AGAIN.
WELL, WE NEED TO HAVE A CONVERSATION WITH, UH, CONSULTANTS YEAH.
TO SEE, UM, THAT WHAT THEIR RECOMMENDATION FOR A, A TIMELINE IS TO, UM, TO RE ADVERTISE IF THE CONSULTANTS IN THEIR, UM, IN, IN, YOU KNOW, IN THEIR JOBS, SEE WHEN A PARTICULAR TIME OF THE YEAR IS BETTER WHEN PEOPLE COME AND GO ENTER INTO JOBS, LEAVE JOBS, UH, AND WHEN WE CAN, UH, WHAT THEY WOULD SUGGEST THAT WE RESTART THE, UH, THE PROCESS SO WE CAN, UM, GO ABOUT IT AGAIN AND SEE WHAT WE GET.
MR. MR. PRESIDENT, MR. CHAIR, I, I MOVE THAT WE PAUSE THE, UM, THE SEARCH PROCESS, UH, FOR, FOR, UM, UH, I MOVE THAT WE PAUSE THE SEARCH PROCESS AND DURING THIS PAUSE, UM, CONSULT WITH OUR, UH, UH, OUR CONSULTANTS, GET THE, ALLOW THE FEEDBACK THAT WE'VE GIVEN THE COMMITTEE, UM, TO BE PRESENTED TO THE CONSULTANTS, GET THEIR FEEDBACK, AND THEN, UM, BRING THIS BACK, UM, ACCORDINGLY, BRING THIS BACK TO THE, THE, UH, THE, THE, UM, BOARD ACCORDINGLY.
I WOULD LIKE TO SECOND THAT, BUT I WOULD ALSO LIKE TO ASK IF ANY OF THE OTHER BOARD MEMBERS WOULD LIKE TO BE ON THE SEARCH COMMITTEE, UH, SINCE I, I APPARENTLY DIDN'T DO THE BEST OF JOBS HANDLING THIS ONE.
I ACTUALLY, THAT WAS, I MEAN, IT'S, IT'S, YEAH, I MEAN, IT'S, UM, UH, YEAH, WE, IT IS JUST UNFORTUNATE WE JUST DID NOT HAVE A STRONG, UH, A VERY STRONG CANDIDATE POOL THAT WE CAN REALLY PULL FROM.
SO I, I'LL, WE HAVE A MOTION, UH, TO, TO, TO MAINTAIN THIS PAUSE THAT WE'RE IN RIGHT NOW WITH THE, UH, WITH THIS SEARCH PROCESS.
UH, TAKE THE INFORMATION WE'VE, WE'VE TALKED ABOUT TONIGHT, CONSULT WITH THE, THE, THE, THE FIRM AND GET THEIR INPUT AND THEN MAKE A DECISION AT THAT POINT.
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SECOND, I THOUGHT DONE OR DONE? SECOND IT.THAT'S WHERE, WE'LL, I WANNA SAY THANK YOU, UM, AND YOU DID A GREAT JOB, AND I APPRECIATE YOU ALL STOPPING THAT AND BRINGING IT TO THE WHOLE BOARD FOR US TO BE ABLE TO DISCUSS IT.
SO I, I REALLY APPRECIATE YOU ALL DOING THAT.
I I WILL TRY AND HOLD IT TO TWO CANDIDATES AT MOST.
NEXT
UM, IS THERE ANY PUBLIC COMMENT ON THE, UH, NUMBER FIVE ON THE AGENDA? REPORTS OF COMMITTEES SEEING NONE UNFINISHED BUSINESS UPDATE ON SOUTH BRANCH LIBRARY, MS. HUSBAND AND MS. STEIN WILL GIVE THE UPDATE.
UM, WE MET WITH THE ARCHITECTS, THE SOUTH BRANCH ARCHITECTS AND A ARCHITECTURAL SERVICES TO REVIEW THE LATEST VALUE ADD VALUE ENGINEERED OPTIONS.
AND THE ARCHITECTS PROVIDED AN UPDATE OF THE ESTIMATED PROBABLE COST, AND IT LOOKS LIKE FROM THEIR ESTIMATES THAT THE FINAL REVISIONS WILL BRING THE BUDGET BACK TO OUR PROPOSED BUDGET.
UM, WE ALSO ASKED THE ARCHITECTS TO BRING US SAMPLES OF THE FLAT METAL PANELS, UH, IN THE ACTUAL COLORS THEY WERE PROPOSING.
AND SO THEY DID THAT, AND WE SELECTED THE COLORS WE WANTED AND GAVE THEM THAT FEEDBACK.
UM, THEY BROUGHT SAMPLES OF THE ACOUSTICAL WALL COVERING THAT WAS INTENDED TO REPLACE THE WOOD, UH, ON THE CIRCULATION WALL AND THE WALLS BEHIND THE CHILDREN'S AND TEENS DESKS.
AND WE SELECTED, UM, WE SELECTED A COLOR FOR THE CRC DESK, AND THEN WE ENLISTED THE INTERIOR DESIGNER'S HELP FOR COLORS BEHIND THE CHILDREN'S AND THE TEENS DESKS.
AND SO THOSE HAVE BEEN APPROVED AND THAT FEEDBACK IS GIVEN, BEEN GIVEN BACK.
AND THEN WE SUGGESTED, UM, SOME ALTERNATES.
WE WERE GOING TO HAVE VINYL WALL COVERINGS IN THE CHILDREN'S AND TEENS AREA ON ONE WALL.
AND ALONG THAT, UH, THE WALL, THAT'S THE BRIDGE BETWEEN THE CIRCULATION AREA AND THE ADULT AREA.
AND SO THAT'S GONNA BE AT ALTERNATE NUMBER ONE.
ALTERNATE NUMBER TWO IS ADDING BACK THE WOOD WALL, THE CIRCULATION DESK ONLY.
AND THEN ALTERNATE THREE IS ADDING SOME, SOME LIMITED SPANEL GLASS ON THE NORTH FACADE TO GIVE A, A MORE CONSISTENT LOOK.
SO THAT'S WHERE WE ARE WITH THAT.
UM, THE, THEY'RE SUPPOSED TO, I'LL GET TO THE TIMELINE IN A MINUTE.
WE ALSO MET WITH, UM, LIBRARY, LIBRARY STAFF AND ARCHITECTURAL SERVICES MET WITH THE INTERIOR DESIGNER.
UM, SO WE HAD ASKED FOR AN ESTIMATE, A DETAILED ESTIMATE OF PROBABLE COST OF THE FURNITURE PACKAGE.
UH, WHEN WE GOT THAT, IT WAS OVER BUDGET.
SO WE HAD A MEETING AND WE TALKED ABOUT SOME DIFFERENT OPTIONS PRIOR TO MEETING WITH THE INTERIOR DESIGNER.
UH, UH, MARY AND KRISTEN AND I AND LORI GOT TOGETHER AND WE LOOKED AT SOME OF OUR OPTIONS AND SAID, OKAY, WE CAN MAKE SOME CHANGES HERE AND HERE AND HERE.
IT HAPPENS FREQUENTLY IN OUR LAST FOUR PROJECTS, WE'VE DONE SIMILAR THINGS.
UM, SO WE HAD SOME, UM, WE HAD SOME SUGGESTIONS.
UH, IT'S BEEN OUR EXPERIENCE THAT THERE'S ALWAYS A LITTLE BIT MORE FURNITURE THAN WE NEED.
AND, UM, I WILL TELL YOU IN THE LAST FOUR PROJECTS, WE'VE ELIMINATED FURNITURE IN EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM.
UM, AND NOBODY HAS NOTICED THAT THERE WAS, THOSE PIECES WERE NOT THERE BECAUSE WE STILL HAD PLENTY FURNITURE.
SO, UM, THAT WAS ONE OF THE OPTIONS.
UM, CHANGING SOME FURNITURE SELECTIONS TO MORE ECONOMICAL MODELS.
SO WE'VE HAD SOME EXPERIENCE WITH WHERE WE, YOU KNOW, DIFFERENT PIECES OF FURNITURE AND WHAT THE AVERAGE COST SHOULD BE, AND WE BOUGHT ENOUGH FURNITURE THAT WE CAN KIND OF SAY, WELL, WE MIGHT WANNA TRY THIS INSTEAD, YOU KNOW, SO THAT WE CAN SHAVE SOME COST OFF.
AND THEN, UH, CHANGING SOME FINISHES, UM, THAT, THAT CHANGES THINGS DRAMATICALLY.
NOT COMPROMISING THE QUALITY, BUT, BUT FINDING A LITTLE BIT MORE ECONOMICAL FINISH.
SO WE HAD QUESTIONS ABOUT STATE CONTRACT ITEMS, BECAUSE I WANTED TO KNOW IF THE PRICE THAT THEY WERE LISTING WAS THE, THE ACTUAL CONTRACT PRICE, OR WAS IT A PRE DISCOUNTED PRICE? SO THE INTERIOR DESIGN IS GONNA GO BACK TO THE DRAWING BOARD WITH SOME OF THE STATE CONTRACT VENDORS AND, AND GET US THAT INFORMATION.
WE'RE LOOKING AT THE SHELVING PROJECTS, UH, THE SHELVING, UM, PACKAGE AS WELL.
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ESTIMATE OF PROBABLE COST FOR THAT.AND THEN THERE WERE SOME FURNITURE PACKAGES THAT WE STILL DIDN'T HAVE THE DETAILED ESTIMATE.
WE LOOK AT THIS, WE SAY, WE NEED TO MAKE THIS CHANGE.
AND SO FAR, THE CHANGES WE'VE MADE IN THE PAST HAVE BEEN WELL RECEIVED AND THEY'VE RESULTED IN A GOOD PRODUCT.
SO, UM, THAT'S WHERE WE ARE WITH THAT.
UM, ON OTHER NOTES, THE FINAL PLANS HAVE BEEN SUBMITTED.
THE ARCHITECTS HAVE SUBMITTED THE FINAL PLANS TO ROSEANNE FOR THEIR APPROVAL.
AND SO WE'RE WAITING TO HEAR FEEDBACK ON THAT.
AND THEN THE ARCHITECTURAL SERVICES ASKED ABOUT, FOR A TIMELINE ABOUT PROJECT AND THE TENTATIVE UPDATED TIMELINE CALLS FOR COMPLETION OF THE FINAL BID PACKAGE DOCUMENTS THAT SHOULD BE READY BY THE END OF THIS MONTH OR EARLY FEBRUARY, WE'LL STILL HAVE TO GO THROUGH.
SO WHEN WE GOT THE CONSTRUCTION DOCUMENTS IN AUGUST, UM, WE WENT THROUGH ALL OF THAT.
WE SUBMITTED OUR NOTES FOR THE FLOOR PLANS AND THE SPECIFICATIONS, AND SO THEY'VE BEEN WORKING ON THAT IN ADDITION TO THE VALUE ENGINEERING.
SO THEY SHOULD GET THAT BACK TO US, AND WE'LL QUICKLY RUN THROUGH THOSE, BECAUSE NOW WE'VE GOT, WE'VE GOT ANOTHER LIST OF, OF THE THINGS WE WANT TO CHECK, AND WE'LL CHECK THAT.
UM, WE THINK ONCE EVERYTHING IS DONE, WE THINK WE SHOULD BE GOING OUT TO BID AROUND MARCH.
AND OF COURSE WE'LL HAVE TO ADVERTISE, UH, THREE TIMES AS WE DID FOR SCOTLANDVILLE.
AND SO THAT SHOULD TAKE ABOUT 30 DAYS.
AND THEN ONCE THE BIDS ARE ACCEPTED, SUBMITTED, EVALUATED, AND UM, ACCEPTED, UM, THE METRO COUNCIL WILL NEED TO ACCEPT THE BID AND THEN POSSIBLY IN MAY AWARD THE CONTRACT AND POSSIBLY IN JUNE BREAK GROUND.
TENTATIVE CONSTRUCTION TIME IS ABOUT 365 DAYS.
WE ALL KNOW THAT IT ALMOST ALWAYS TAKES LONGER BECAUSE THERE'S ALWAYS SOMETHING THAT HAPPENS.
IT DOESN'T HAVE TO, WE HAVE A LOT OF THAT AROUND HERE.
IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE A HURRICANE.
IT JUST HAS TO BE A LOT OF RAIN, AND THAT'LL DO IT.
SO THAT'S KIND OF MY RUNDOWN ON SOUTH BRANCH.
DO Y'ALL HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? THERE'S A LOT OF CONSTRUCTION OUT THERE GOING ON RIGHT NOW.
UH, SO IT'S, UH, LOOKING LIKE IT'S A GROWING COMMUNITY, UH, THAT THIS BRANCH WILL BE WELL SUITED FOR.
SO WE'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO THAT.
UH, ANY OTHER COMMENTS ON SOUTH BRANCH? OH, UM, SAY HOW WE'RE REUSING THE SHELVING FOR SOUTH.
IT'S GONNA BE NEW SHELVING, BAIN.
WE HAVE SOME ARCTIC WHITE CANTILEVER SHELVING THAT WE DID NOT USE AT, UH, THAT WE HAD AT MAINE.
AND WE'VE, WE'VE WEEDED SOME THINGS, AND SO WE DON'T HAVE AS MUCH SHELVING.
SO ONE OF THE THINGS WE'RE GETTING IS THE CONTRACTOR WHO SOLD US THAT SHELVING IS DOING AN INVENTORY, AND THEY MAY BE ABLE TO INCORPORATE SOME OF THAT SHELVING INTO THE NEW SHELVING AT SOUTH BRANCH, AND THAT'LL SAVE US SOME COSTS.
SO THAT'S ANOTHER WAY WE'RE LOOKING AT, AT COST REDUCTIONS.
SO WE'RE TRYING, WE HAVE A, WE HAVE A LOT OF OPTIONS AND WE'RE EXAMINING ALL OF THEM.
SEEMS A LONG TIME FOR THE, UH, THE PROCESS.
UH, AND IT'S ALWAYS, IT'S ALWAYS LIKE THAT.
AND, AND, UH, IT'S JUST THAT WHEN YOU HAVE THE CONSTRUCTION DOCUMENTS IN, IN AUGUST, AND THEN YOU DON'T TURN OVER DIRT TILL THE FOLLOWING JUNE.
SO I'LL HAVE TO, I'LL EXPLAIN IT TO PEOPLE IN THE AREA THAT IT PROBABLY WON'T BE TILL THE SUMMERTIME THAT WE ACTUALLY START THE CONSTRUCTION WORK WELL COMING OVER DIRT.
IT DOES, IT DOES SEEM LIKE A LONG TIME.
IT'S JUST THAT WHEN, WHEN WE LOOK AT THESE FLOOR PLANS, WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE AS MUCH MU AS MANY ISSUES OR CONCERNS OR LITTLE DISCREPANCIES ADDRESSED PRIOR TO GOING OUT TO BID, BECAUSE ONCE YOU GO OUT TO BID, WHAT YOU BID IS WHAT YOU GET.
AND SO THEN WHEN, WHEN YOU HAVE TO GO BACK AND SAY, OH, WAIT, WE MISSED THIS, OR THIS ISN'T COMPLETELY RIGHT, THEN, THEN WE'RE LOOKING AT POTENTIAL CHANGE ORDERS.
SO PART OF THIS, IT DOES SEEM LIKE IT'S A TIME INVESTMENT, AND IT IS, BUT IT IS A TIME INVESTMENT THAT WE HOPE WILL MINIMIZE CHANGE ORDERS AND CONSTRUCTION DELAYS.
I JUST, I, I WANNA BE ABLE TO EXPLAIN THAT TO THE PEOPLE IN THE, THE NEIGHBORHOOD WHO ARE SO ANXIOUS.
[01:35:02]
UH, YOU KNOW, FOR THE LIBRARY, THE PARKING GARAGE IS WENT UP IN RUANNE.THEY WANT TO KNOW IF THAT WAS THE LIBRARY AND KNOW, YOU KNOW, I MEAN, THEY'RE VERY ANXIOUS EVERY TIME A CONSTRUCTION STARTS IN THE AREA.
IS THAT THE LIBRARY? YOU KNOW? SO, UM, THAT'S, YOU KNOW, WHAT WE NEED TO, UH, NEED TO CONVEY TO THEM WHEN THE, WE THINK THE ACTUAL CONSTRUCTION WILL START.
AND, AND THIS IS OUR TENTATIVE TIMELINE.
UM, TENTATIVE, I KNOW TENTATIVE, YOU KNOW, BUT I UNDERSTAND THEY'RE READY FOR IT TO BE THERE.
FINALLY, THEY'LL LOVE TO SEE THAT FIRST.
THEY WANNA KNOW WHY, WHY, WHY THIS IS HAPPENING, AND WHERE'S OUR LIBRARY? WOW, THIS IS HAPPENING AND WHERE'S OUR LIBRARY? AND SO IT, IT GETS CONFUSED IN THE, UH, IN THE PROCESS.
SO I, I JUST WANNA BE ABLE TO EX, UH, EXPLAIN IT TO THE, TO THE PEOPLE.
UM, WE WOULD LIKE TO HAVE THE LIBRARY ALREADY UNDER CONSTRUCTION.
WELL, THAT, YEAH, THAT WOULD
SO WILL THERE BE A A, A SHOVEL CEREMONY ON THIS ONE? LIKE THERE WAS FOR YEAH, YEAH.
WE'LL DO THAT WHOLE DEAL AGAIN.
DO YOU THINK MARY'S GONNA MISS AN OPPORTUNITY? DO YOU HAVE SHOVELS AND PAR PETS?
BUT WE HAVE TO KNOW WHO THE CONTRACTOR'S GONNA MEET BEFORE WE MAKE THE SIGN.
WELL, CON, CONSIDERING WHERE THIS PROJECT, THIS PROJECT WAS WHEN I CAME ON THE BOARD,
UH, UPDATE ON SCOTLANDVILLE BRANCH LIBRARY HUSBAND.
SO THE BID PACKAGE FOR SCOTLANDVILLE, AS WE TALKED ABOUT IN NOVEMBER, UH, IT WAS ADVERTISED DECEMBER 2ND, DECEMBER 9TH AND DECEMBER 16TH.
THE BIDS WERE INITIALLY DUE JANUARY 12TH, BUT WERE MOVED TO JANUARY OF 19TH, WHICH IS TODAY.
AND AS OF JANUARY 13TH, SIXTH ADDEND WERE ISSUED FOR THE PROJECT.
AND THAT WAS THE FINAL NUMBER OF ADDENDA.
UH, THOSE ADDENDA INCLUDE THINGS LIKE CHANGE IN THE PRE-BID MEETING DATE, BECAUSE WE WERE CLOSED FOR INCLEMENT WEATHER ON THE, THE ORIGINAL DATE OF DECEMBER 14TH.
UM, UM, AND THEN, UH, REVISIONS TO THE CONSTRUCTION DOCUMENTS.
SO AS WE ARE GONNA DO WITH SOUTH, ONCE WE GOT THE, THE FINAL CONSTRUCTION PACKAGE, UM, I WENT OVER THE FLOOR PLANS AGAIN AND I HAD SOME ADDITIONAL COMMENTS.
AND SO THEY TOOK THOSE AND, AND MADE SOME REVISIONS AND ISSUED A PACKAGE, UH, ISSUED AN ADDENDUM.
AND THEN OTHER CHANGES WERE TO CIVIL AND TO LANDSCAPE DRAWINGS.
AND THERE WERE SOME CHANGES THAT ARCHITECTURAL SERVICES HAD.
SO AGAIN, TRYING TO, TO MINIMIZE THE NUMBER OF CHANGES WE HAVE LATER IN THE PROCESS, A CHANGE IN THE BID DATE TO JANUARY 19TH, UPDATES TO SPECIFICATIONS AND RELOCATIONS OF SOME UTILITIES.
SO THOSE WERE THE KINDS OF THINGS THAT WERE INCLUDED IN THE AGENDA.
AND THEN THERE WAS A QUESTION AND ANSWER PROCESS.
AND SO, UM, I WENT TO THE BID OPENING AND, UH, WE DON'T HAVE A FINAL, UH, BID TABULATION, BUT ARCHITECTURAL SERVICES AND PURCHASING WILL WORK TOGETHER TO DETERMINE, YOU KNOW, TO REVIEW AND EVALUATE THE BID.
AND, UM, ONCE A BID IS AWARDED, THEY'LL BE, YOU KNOW, WE'LL HAVE TO GO THROUGH THE SAME PROCESS, METRO COUNCIL CONTRACTS AWARDING AND EVERYTHING.
SO I DON'T HAVE A CONSTRUCTION DATE FOR YOU AT THIS POINT.
UM, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT CAME UP IN THIS PROCESS WAS BUILDERS RISK INSURANCE.
AND, UH, BUILDERS RISK INSURANCE TYPICALLY COVERS DAMAGE TO THE BUILDING THAT IS NOT THE CONTRACTOR'S RESPONSIBILITY.
SUCH, UH, EXAMPLES OR INSTANCES OF FIRE, UH, OR LIGHTNING EXPLOSIONS, VANDALISM, THAT'S NOT, YOU KNOW, AS A RESULT OF SECURING THINGS, YOU KNOW, IMPROPERLY SECURING THINGS, HURRICANES, OTHER EVENTS PROVIDED THE INCIDENT IS NOT THE FAULT OF THE CONTRACTOR.
THE CITY HAS NOT REQUIRED BUILDER'S INSURANCE IN THE PAST.
AND WHEN THIS DECISION WAS MADE YEARS AGO, IT WAS BASED ON THE FACT THAT BUILDER'S, INSUR BUILDER'S RISK INSURANCE MAR, YOU KNOW, MARKEDLY INCREASED THE COST OF CONSTRUCTION BECAUSE IT'S EXPENSIVE.
IT IS, UM, STILL APPEARS TO BE VERY EXPENSIVE, AND THE CITY'S TRYING, STILL HASN'T COME TO A FINAL DECISION ABOUT THIS.
OPTIONS ARE FOR US TO GET QUOTES FOR THE INSURANCE ON THE PROJECT BY PROJECT BASIS, AND THEN DECIDE TO REQUIRE IT, OR, OR TO CONTINUE, CONTINUE NOT TO REQUIRE THE INSURANCE.
SINCE THE CITY IS SELF-INSURED TO DATE NOT REQUIRING THE BUILDER'S, BUILDER'S RISK INSURANCE HAS NOT PROVEN TO BE A PROBLEM FOR US.
[01:40:01]
SO, UM, I THINK WE'RE, WE'RE INCLINED TO GO DOWN THAT PATH OF JUST NOT REQUIRING THE BUILDER'S RISK INSURANCE, UH, WITH THE UNDERSTANDING THAT IT'S THE CONTRACTOR'S RESPONSIBILITY TO SECURE THE BUILDING WHILE IT, WHILE IT'S UNDER THEIR PURVIEW AS CONSTRUCTION AND CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS TO AVOID THEFT IN VANDALISM.SO, YOU KNOW, THEY, THEY TYPICALLY DO THINGS LIKE CONS, ERECT, CONSTRUCTION FENCES, AND THEY, YOU KNOW, THEY'LL SECURE THE BUILDING, THEY'LL SECURE THEIR MATERIALS, THINGS LIKE THAT.
SO THAT'S ALL I HAVE FOR YOU RIGHT NOW.
DOES ANYBODY HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ON THIS? MM-HMM.
DOES THERE ANY PUBLIC COMMENT ON ANY OF THE ITEMS LISTED UNDER ROMAN NUMERAL SIX ON THE AGENDA? UNFINISHED BUSINESS.
NEW BUSINESS VOTE TO ELECT OFFICERS FOR THE YEAR 2023.
MR. PRESIDENT, I'D LIKE TO MOVE THAT WE REAPPOINT MR. JACOB FOR PRESIDENT, MS. TEMPLE FOR VICE PRESIDENT AND MRS. STRICK FOR TREASURER TO BE OUR 2023, UH, BOARD LIBRARY, BOARD OF CONTROL OFFICERS.
YOU HAVE ME FOR ONE MORE YEAR,
COMMENTS BY THE LIBRARY BOARD OF CONTROL.
WE HAVE A COUPLE OF GUESTS AND JUST WANNA THANK Y'ALL FOR COMING AND WATCHING US.
THEY WILL
WELL, IN THAT CASE, THANKS FOR THE HARD WORK,
I JUST WANNA THANK SPENCER FOR HIS YEARS HERE AND FOR GUIDING US THROUGH DIFFICULT TIMES AND, UM, AND PERHAPS AND KEEPING ON THE, UM, THE UPSWING OR THE INCREASED, UM, GOODNESS OF OUR LIBRARY SYSTEM AND THE, UM, DYNAMIC LIBRARY SYSTEM THAT WE HAVE.
AND A PERSONALLY WANT TO THANK YOU FOR ALL THAT YOU HAVE DONE TO CREATE THAT, THE DI DYNAMIC SYSTEM, AND REALLY A JEWEL IN OUR CITY, AND AS YOU MOVE TO ANOTHER CITY.
BUT YOU HAVE LEFT A LEGACY HERE OF, UM, A REALLY WONDERFUL LIBRARY SYSTEM THAT THE ENTIRE PARISH, UH, USES.
AND I WANT TO THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
I'VE, I'VE BEEN PRIVILEGED, I FEEL LIKE TO WORK WITH, UH, WONDERFUL LIBRARY BOARD AND, UM, A GREAT STAFF AND, UH, CITIZENS WHO APPRECIATE AND USE THE LIBRARY.
SO ALL THOSE ARE IMPORTANT THINGS, AND ALL OF US WORKING TOGETHER HAVE ACCOMPLISHED A LOT.
THERE WAS ALREADY A TREMENDOUS FOUNDATION, UH, BASIS, A GREAT OPERATION WHEN I GOT HERE.
I THINK THAT WE'VE MAINTAINED THAT.
WE'VE GONE THROUGH SOME ROUGH TIMES WITH PANDEMICS AND HURRICANES AND OTHER ISSUES.
UH, BUT UH, THE LIBRARY KEEPS ON COMING THROUGH AND, UH, DELIVERING ON ITS MISSION TO THE CITIZENS.
SO THANK YOU FOR LE GIVING ME THE OPPORTUNITY TO WORK WITH YOU.
THANK YOU, SPENCER, FOR YOUR LEADERSHIP AND DEDICATION.
DO I HAVE A MOTION TO ADJOURNED? A MOTION TO ADJOURN? SECOND.
ANY OPPOSED? WE ARE ADJOURNED.