[EBR Library Board of Control on January 18, 2024.]
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I WANT TO CALL THE JANUARY 18TH, 2024 LIBRARY BOARD OF CONTROL MEETING TO ORDER.
AND MR. DOLORES, CAN YOU
ALL RIGHT, NEXT ROLL CALL PLEASE.
NEXT APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF NOVEMBER 16TH, 20.
UM, OKAY, I MOVE FOR APPROVAL.
NEXT ON THE AGENDA IS SPECIAL ORDERS.
AND HERE WE WANT TO RECOGNIZE OUR NEW LIBRARY DIRECTOR, MS. KATRINA STOKES.
THANK YOU FOR COMING TO OUR COMMUNITY.
UM, I WANNA SAY THAT THE PATRONS AND THE LIBRARY STAFF, UH, WILL BE, AND THEY ARE EXCITED FOR YOU TO BE HERE.
AND I HOPE THAT YOU ARE JUST AS EXCITED AS WE ARE TO HAVE YOU.
THE REPORTS BY THE DIRECTOR FINANCIAL REPORT.
CANDACE, YOU MIGHT WANNA RECOGNIZE THERE ARE TWO NEW MEMBERS TOO.
WELL, IT'S AT THE BOTTOM OF THE AGENDA.
THAT'S THE ONLY THANK YOU THOUGH.
THINK I SHOULD MOVE IT UP FOR 2023.
OPERATING EXPENDITURES THROUGH DECEMBER 31ST ARE 44 MILLION.
$50,348 AND 49 CENTS ARE 82.06% OF THE OPERATING BUDGET THROUGH DECEMBER.
OF COURSE, WE SHOULD HAVE SPENT NO MORE THAN A HUNDRED PERCENT OF THE BUDGET.
CASH COLLECTIONS FROM PROPERTY TAXES FOR 2023 REMAIN AHEAD OF THOSE COLLECTED IN 2022 AS WE ARE APPROXIMATELY $4.3 MILLION AND 8.7% AHEAD OF THE SAME PERIOD LAST YEAR.
THIS TOTAL WILL ALSO CHANGE IN A FEW MONTHS.
CASH COLLECTIONS FROM PROPERTY TAXES FOR 2024 ARE SLIGHTLY BEHIND THOSE COLLECTED IN 2023.
WE ARE $431,000 AND 0.87% BEHIND THE SAME PERIOD LAST YEAR.
ACCORDING TO THE SHERIFF'S TAX OFFICE, THE TAX BILLS WERE MAILED OUT MUCH LATER THAN NORMAL, AND TAXPAYERS HAVE BEEN GIVEN A GRACE PERIOD TO PAY THEIR PROPERTY TAXES UNTIL JANUARY 16TH WITHOUT ANY PENALTIES OR INTEREST, WHICH MEANS SEVERAL HOMEOWNERS AND LARGE CORPORATIONS HAVE NOT PAID.
THIS MEANS NEXT MONTH'S COLLECTION REPORT SHOULD LOOK MUCH CLOSER TO NORMAL.
DOES ANYBODY HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? ALRIGHT, THANK YOU.
NEXT ON THE AGENDA SYSTEM REPORTS, MS. MARY STEIN.
UM, AT YOUR DESK, YOU HAVE A SMALL IMAGE OF WHAT YOU'RE GONNA SEE ON THE SCREEN.
UM, I WILL SAY THAT SINCE WE HAVEN'T SEEN YOU SINCE NOVEMBER, UH, IT HAS BEEN A PRETTY ROBUST DECEMBER FILLED WITH SEASONS READINGS.
WE RE WE WENT BACK TO OUR ROOTS AND WE DISCUSSED THE BOOKS, AND PEOPLE SHARED THE BOOKS AND THE STAFF SHARED THEIR FAVORITE BOOKS AND PROGRAMS WERE RELATED TO BOOKS.
AND EVEN THE BOOKS WERE ON THE COVER OF THE JANUARY NEWSLETTER WITH RESOLVE TO READ.
AND YOU CAN SEE ALL THE BOOKS THAT OUR, OUR COMMUNITY
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READ ALL LAST YEAR.AND IT WAS EVERYTHING FROM BIOGRAPHIES TO COLLEEN HOOVER TO, UH, JOHN GRISHAM.
UH, TWO THINGS, UH, THAT THE KIDS WERE, WERE READING.
AND AS ALWAYS, DIARY OF A WIMPY KID LEADS THE WAY FOR THE MIDDLE GRADE AND FOR OUR LITTLES, IT WAS EVERYTHING FROM PETE THE CAT, MY PERSONAL FAVORITE, AND HIS FAMILY OF FUN, MO WILLIAMS, AND THEN THE WHOLE DR.
SO PEOPLE WERE SPENDING TIME READING, THEY WERE READING DIGITALLY.
WE DID BREAK MORE THAN A MILLION WITH DIGITAL DOWNLOADS.
AND OF COURSE, WE BROKE MORE THAN A MILLION WITH OUR PHYSICAL ITEMS. UH, AS YOU KNOW, WHENEVER POSSIBLE, ESPECIALLY FOR THE CHILDREN, EVERY EVENT THEY DO CONNECTS BACK TO A BOOK.
SO EVEN THE KIDS ORCHESTRA, WHEN THEY WERE HAVING MEET THE ORCHESTRA HERE, THERE WERE BOOKS AS PART OF THE EVENT.
AND I'D JUST LIKE TO STRESS THAT.
UM, THE DISPLAYS STRESSED THE BOOKS.
UH, OF COURSE, PRESS START, READY, SET, READ, IT WAS, THERE WERE BOOKS AND LETTERS AND ALL KINDS OF THINGS HANGING FROM THE CEILING.
AND THERE WAS SOME RESIDUAL FROM THAT IN SOME OF OUR MEDIA CONTACTS.
THERE, YOU SEE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE SCREEN, THE IN REGISTER, THERE WERE THINGS IN THE ADVOCATE, THERE WERE THINGS IN OTHER MEDIA, UH, CHANNELS, AND THE RADIO, AND THE TV AS WELL.
WE, OF COURSE, CELEBRATE THE HOLIDAYS AT ALL LOCATIONS.
AND I JUST HAD TO SHOW YOU SOME OF THESE PICTURES.
THE PICTURE IN THE TOP RIGHT IS JONES CREEK.
AND THOSE BEAUTIFUL IMAGES OF THE PONSETTO WERE CREATED BY MEMBER OF THE COMMUNITY.
I, AND THEY, THEY CAME TO THE LIBRARY AND SAID, COULD WE DO THIS? AND ONCE THE STAFF SAW THEM, THE ANSWER WAS A RESOUNDING YES, THEY'RE EXQUISITE AND CREATED AGAIN AS A THANK YOU FROM MEMBERS OF THEIR COMMUNITY OVER AT JONES CREEK.
UM, I LOVE SEEING THE KIDS, AND AGAIN, CONNECTING TO THE BOOKS, BECAUSE YOU DON'T JUST PLAY, IT'S ALL LITERACY CENTERED.
UM, UH, THERE WAS A YOUNG MAN BUILDING AT DELMONT, AND IN THE BOTTOM CORNER, YOU SEE ONE OF THE POP-UP SYMPHONY ORCHESTRAS, UH, YOU KNOW, JUST A GIFT.
THIS BATON ROUGE SYMPHONY CALLED AND SAID, HEY, CAN WE COME OUT? AND THE ANSWER'S ALWAYS GOING TO BE YES.
SO WITH VERY SHORT NOTICE, WE WERE ABLE TO GET A NICE CROWD UNDER THE STAIRS HERE AT THE MAIN LIBRARY.
AND THERE, YOU SEE, THEY ALSO ATTRACTED, UM, A NICE CROWD OVER AT THE RIVER CENTER BRANCH.
THEY, IT WAS A BEAUTIFUL DAY, SO THEY PLAYED OUT IN THE FULL SUN, AND THE CROWD STAYED UNDER THE CANTILEVER.
ALSO UNDER THE CANTILEVER AT RIVER CENTER WAS OUR NEW YEAR'S EVE TRADITION WITH RED STICK RISING, WHERE WE RAISED THE GIANT RED STICK AND THE MAYOR WAS THERE.
WE HAD STILT WALKERS, WE HAD CLOWNS.
WE MADE THINGS, WE DECORATED THINGS, AND WE MADE SOME NOISE.
I ALWAYS MAKE SURE THE RED STICKS ARE THERE.
AND, UH, WE LIKE TO BOP THOSE THINGS AROUND.
SO THAT WAS A LOVELY, FUNNY EVENT.
THE SIGNATURE TRAVELING EVENT WE USED THIS LAST DECEMBER, TWO, TWO DIFFERENT, UH, LADY CHOPS WENT ON HER OWN TO SEVERAL BRANCHES.
SHE USED TO BE IN, UH, STOMP, AND WE HAD HER AT THE LIBRARY IN THE SUMMER, AND WE JUST FELL IN LOVE.
SHE GETS THE KIDS STOMPING AROUND, SHE GETS THEM TO MAKE MUSIC, SHE GETS THEM TO ENGAGE, AND SHE GETS THE PARENTS TO DO THE SAME.
HERE COME THE BELLS, SO MANY BELLS AT A NUMBER OF BRANCHES THROUGHOUT THE PARISH.
AND THEN SHE CAME BACK FOR EVERY BRANCH WITH HER FRIEND, MADAM DULCIMER, WHO PLAYS THE HAMMERED DULCIMER.
SO THEY BEAT AT IT WITH KIND OF LIKE A LITTLE WOODEN SPOON.
AND THEY WERE AT EVERY LOCATION THERE.
YOU SEE PICTURES FROM THEM AT PRIDE.
AND AGAIN, THEY INCORPORATE THE AUDIENCE IN THE PERFORMANCE.
IT'S FUN, IT'S ENTERTAINING, IT'S DELIGHTFUL IN THE EAR.
TO ME, DULCIMERS ARE THE SOUND OF THE INSTRUMENTS PLAYED BY THE ANGELS, AND IT WAS JUST REALLY FUN.
SO WE ARE GOING TO HAVE THEM BACK AGAIN.
PEOPLE WERE ASKING ME ALREADY, OH, CAN YOU HAVE HER BACK? CAN YOU HAVE HER BACK? AND I'M GONNA SAY, YES, WE CAN.
UH, SANTA, OF COURSE, WAS IN MANY DIFFERENT PLACES, THIS, THIS DECEMBER.
UH, AND SOMETIMES IT'S FOR A GROUP THAT'S USING OUR MEETING ROOM SPACE.
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THE BATON ROUGE EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION COLLABORATIVE, WHICH IS, UH, A GROUP THAT WE ARE PARTNERED WITH, CAME AND BROUGHT SANTA CLAUS TO THE LIBRARY, DISTRIBUTING GIFTS TO CHILDREN WHO WERE IN HOMESTART, EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION AND WELLNESS.AND THEN WE WERE COLLECTING SOCKS.
WE COLLECTED OVER 5,000 PAIRS AT ALL OF OUR BRANCHES.
UM, BOOKMOBILES WERE IN PARADES AND AT EXPOS, AND THAT'S IN SPITE OF, YOU KNOW, THE, THE WEATHER WENT CRAZY ON US JUST LIKE IT DID THIS WEEK.
AND, AND MANY EVENTS THAT WERE SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN EARLY IN DECEMBER HAD TO BE POSTPONED.
BUT, UM, PEOPLE MANAGED TO PULL TOGETHER A NEW CREW TO DO WHATEVER IT WAS THAT NEEDED TO BE DONE.
AND THE PICTURE IN THE TOP RIGHT, I JUST HAD TO SHOW YOU, THOSE WERE SOME PRESCHOOLERS VISITING JONES CREEK.
AND I COULD JUST LOOK AT THOSE KIDS ALL DAY.
THEY SNUCK INTO THE TEEN ROOM.
THEY'RE JUST THINKING FORWARD.
AND IN 10 MORE YEARS, THIS WILL BE THEIR ROOM.
SO TOURS ARE COMING BACK, Y'ALL.
UM, AND YOU'LL SEE A LITTLE BIT LATER ON, EVERYTHING'S COMING BACK.
NEW PROGRAMS THAT WE JUST INTRODUCED INVOLVED TAI CHI AND Y'ALL.
WE TOOK EVERYTHING OUT OF THIS ROOM.
EVERY SINGLE PIECE OF FURNITURE WAS TAKEN OUT OF THIS ROOM EXCEPT THE PODIUM AND THE ROOM WAS FILLED.
THERE WERE 83 PEOPLE IN HERE DOING TAI CHI AND BREATHING AND BEING THOUGHTFUL AND MINDFUL ADULTS WHO WANTED TO LEARN.
AND, UH, A, A CLUB WAS THE ONE THAT WAS OFFERING THIS FREE OF CHARGE TO THE PUBLIC.
AND A DIFFERENT CLUB CAME BACK THIS SUNDAY AND TAUGHT PEOPLE LINE DANCING.
AND I AM GOING TO BE AT THE NEXT ONE, LET ME TELL YOU.
UM, SO AGAIN, PART OF HEALTHFUL WELLNESS, UM, WAYS TO ENGAGE IN THE COMMUNITY WITH THE GROUPS THAT ARE USING THE LIBRARY AND GIVING BACK TO THE COMMUNITY.
WE HAD OUR FAVORITES, GARDEN DISCOVERIES.
YOU KNOW, I DON'T KNOW WHETHER IT WAS THE SAME 83 PEOPLE, BUT THERE WERE 83 PEOPLE IN THIS ROOM FOR GARDEN DISCOVERIES FOR URBAN GARDENING.
AND PEOPLE WERE FASCINATED BY THIS.
AND I ESPECIALLY LOVE THE FACT THAT THE AGE RANGE OF THE AUDIENCE WAS A NICE VARIANCE.
SO IT WASN'T JUST PEOPLE THAT LOOKED LIKE ME.
UH, WE ALSO HOSTED HENRY TURNER WITH HIS LISTENING ROOM, FILM FESTIVAL, AND WE DID THAT IN TWO LOCATIONS DOWNTOWN AT RIVER CENTER, AND HERE AT THE MAIN LIBRARY OVER SEVERAL DIFFERENT NIGHTS.
AND HE, IT, IT'S REALLY COOL WHAT HE DOES.
HE CURATES THE FILMS, AND HE PICKED ONE ABOUT THE LIBRARY JUST FOR US.
UH, AND THESE ARE, THESE COULD BE SHORT FILMS, DOCUMENTARIES, FORUM FILMS. THEY'RE, THEY'RE NOT GONNA BE FILMS THAT YOU'RE GOING TO JUST SEE.
IT'S NOT GOING TO BE WHAT'S ON THE AMERICAN MOVIE CHANNEL.
UM, THEY HAD PANEL DISCUSSIONS AND THERE WAS LIVE MUSIC.
AND IN THE BOTTOM YOU'LL SEE HENRY WITH HIS DISTINCTIVE HAT RIGHT THERE.
UM, PLAYING A LITTLE SMOOTH JAZZ FOR PEOPLE TO ENJOY.
SO THIS IS THE FIRST TIME THEY HAVE DONE THIS.
AND I EXPECT THAT WE'LL BUILD UP, UM, CLIENTELE EVEN MORE NEXT YEAR.
UM, MR. LINCOLN WILL BE VISITING US IN A FEW DAYS.
VERY TALL MAN WITH A VERY TALL HAT.
UH, WE HAD TO MOVE SOME DATES AROUND FROM WHAT'S IN THE NEWSLETTER BECAUSE, UH, SCOTLANDVILLE IS GOING TO NEED TO CLOSE THIS SATURDAY BECAUSE THEY'LL BE COMPLETELY BLOCKED BECAUSE OF THE CREW OF OCEAN.
SO INSTEAD, MR. LINCOLN WILL GO TO SCOTLANDVILLE ON SUNDAY, AND HE'LL COME TO GREENWELL SPRINGS IN ZACHARY ON SATURDAY WITH DIFFERENT PROGRAMS. UH, THIS IS A CHATAUQUA PERFORMER.
HE KNOWS THE HISTORY, HE KNOWS THE FACTS, HE KNOWS THE PHILOSOPHY AND WHAT WE FEEL IS THE CORRECT SCHOLARSHIP BEHIND SOME OF THE DECISIONS THAT WERE MADE BY THE PRESIDENT, UH, OVER A HUNDRED YEARS AGO.
ONE OF THE PROGRAMS IS MORE FOR KIDS, AND THE OTHER TWO ARE MORE FOR ADULTS, AND YOU CAN READ ABOUT THEM IN THE NEWSLETTER.
SO WE'RE SO PLEASED THAT HONEST AID WAS ABLE TO COME BACK AND VISIT.
HE'S COME BEFORE, AND WE THOROUGHLY ENJOYED HIM HERE AT THE MAIN LIBRARY.
SO WE'RE SHARING THE WEALTH NOW.
SOMETHING ELSE THAT WE'RE SHARING INVOLVES SPECIAL COLLECTIONS.
UM, YOU'VE HEARD ME SAY BEFORE FOR THAT, THE MORE YOU HAVE TECHNOLOGY, THE MORE THE PAST CAN BE PRESERVED AND THEN DISCOVERED.
AND THAT'S WHY WHAT WE DO IN SPECIAL COLLECTIONS IS SO IMPORTANT.
THEY COLLECT THINGS, THEY PRESERVE THEM, THEY CONSERVE THEM, AND THEN THEY MAKE THEM
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DISCOVERABLE.SO, MOST RECENTLY, I'M HAPPY TO SHARE THAT A LOT OF THE MATERIAL IN THE BATON ROUGE ROOM WAS USED TO MAKE A TALL, UH, ORDER, WHICH WAS AIRED ON LPB LAST MONTH.
THIS IS THE LOUISIANA STATE CAPITOL, THE BUILDING OF THE STATE CAPITOL, WHICH IS A TREASURE.
IT'S ONE OF THE THINGS I LOVE TO TAKE PEOPLE TO.
IT'S JUST MIND BOGGLING THAT THEY BUILT IT SO QUICKLY, AND IT HAS SO MANY FASCINATING DETAILS.
THEY, THEY, THE LEVEL OF DETAIL IS OUT, IS ASTOUNDING.
IT IS OUTSTANDING AND ASTOUNDING.
SO MANY OF OUR MATERIALS WERE CONSULTANT BY THE DEVELOPER, THE PRODUCER, THE WRITER FOR A TALL ORDER.
AND THEN A LITTLE BIT AFTER THAT, OUR OLD FRIEND BUCKSKIN BILL MARCHED ON.
WE HAVE A LOT OF THE ARCHIVES FOR BUCKSKIN BILL HERE IN THE LIBRARY.
UM, OUR ARCHIVIST, MELISSA, HAS WORKED WITH HIS FAMILY.
SO WE HAD A LITTLE EXHIBITION UP IN THE SPECIAL COLLECTIONS ROOM, AND CHANNEL NINE DID A WONDERFUL FEATURE ON HIM, UH, WHAT, TWO WEEKS AGO.
AND THAT PROBABLY YOU'LL SEE MORE OF LATER.
IT'S SOMETHING NEW I WANNA CALL YOUR ATTENTION TO IN THE NEWSLETTER.
WE'VE DONE THIS BEFORE, BUT IT HAS BEEN MORE THAN 10 YEARS SINCE WE'VE DONE LIBRARIES CHANGE LIVES.
AND SO IN THIS MONTH'S ISSUE OF THE SOURCE, ON PAGE FOUR, YOU'LL SEE WHERE OUR PUBLIC RELATIONS COORDINATOR MICKEY AND TAKIA HAVE IN.
THEY HAVE INTERVIEWED, UH, SOMEONE THAT WE HAVE SUGGESTED TO THEM.
OUR SOCIAL MEDIA COORDINATOR HAS SNAPPED SOME VIDEO.
SO WE'VE CREATED A LITTLE PACKAGE THAT WILL AIR ON VARIOUS LIBRARY CHANNELS, OUR TV STATION, OUR SOCIAL MEDIA, WE'LL MAKE IT AVAILABLE TO OTHER PEOPLE.
AND THEN, OF COURSE, THE NEWSLETTER.
AND WHAT WE'RE DOING IS TALKING TO PEOPLE FOR WHOM THE LIBRARY HAS HAD AN IMPORTANT IMPACT IN THEIR LIVES.
AND WE KICKED IT OFF WITH FATHER BLAKE HICKS AND HIS DAUGHTER ALINA.
WE MET HIM BECAUSE HE HAD BEEN SPENDING TIME READING TO HIS DAUGHTER, GOT HER ENROLLED IN A THOUSAND BOOKS BEFORE KINDERGARTEN, FIGURED OUT WHAT SHE LOVED, WHAT SHE RESPONDED TO AS THEY WERE WORKING THROUGH THAT SERIES.
AND THEN HE EVEN WROTE A BOOK WITH HER, AND HE PREMIERED THAT BOOK HERE IN THE LIBRARY A FEW MONTHS AGO.
AND HE'S EVEN DONATED COPIES OF THAT BOOK TO GO TO FUTURE A THOUSAND BOOKS BEFORE KINDERGARTEN, UM, COMPLETERS.
SO WE THOUGHT THAT WAS A PRETTY GOOD WAY TO START THE SERIES.
AND YOU'LL, YOU'LL SEE PEOPLE FROM ALL DIFFERENT WALKS OF LIFE.
SOME ARE BUSINESS PROFESSIONALS, SOME ARE NON-PROFITS, SOME ARE JUST REGULAR OLD PEOPLE THAT YOU MIGHT SEE ON THE SHELF,
SO I JUST WANNA CALL YOUR ATTENTION TO THAT.
UM, OF COURSE, THE AUTHOR TALK SERIES IS CONTINUING.
WE ARE SO PLEASED WITH THIS SERIES BECAUSE IT GIVES US SUCH A VARIETY OF NATIONAL AUTHORS THAT WE WOULD NEVER, EVER BE ABLE TO HAVE IN THE LIBRARY, BECAUSE THEY'RE FROM ENGLAND, THEY'RE FROM WASHINGTON STATE, THEY'RE FROM WASHINGTON DC AND THERE'S RICK STEVES, YOU KNOW, WE COULD NEVER HAVE HIM HERE IN THE LIBRARY, BUT IT LETS OUR PATRONS GET KIND OF UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL.
THEY CAN SEND IN THEIR, UH, QUESTIONS AND THE MODERATOR WILL ASK THOSE QUESTIONS.
AND THEN THESE THINGS ARE ARCHIVED FOR, FOR FUTURE LISTENING, PLEASURE.
ALSO WORKING WITH THE BUSINESS REPORT AND STRICTLY BUSINESS.
YESTERDAY IT WAS BRAD IVES TALKING ABOUT THE ENERGY PLANS, UH, AND WHAT ELSE U IS WORKING ON WITH ENERGY.
UM, I'M, AGAIN, VERY PLEASED WITH THIS SERIES BECAUSE IT ALLOWS US TO DISCOVER SOME OF OUR LOCAL MOVERS AND SHAKERS IN THE BUSINESS COMMUNITY.
NOW, STATS, I SAID I WOULD, I SAID, I WOULD SAY IT.
SO UP, UM, AT YOUR SEATS, YOU HAVE JUST A ROUGH DRAFT OF THE KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS, THAT LONG LEGAL SHEET OF PAPER SO THAT YOU CAN SEE OVERALLS.
THESE ARE MANY OF THE THINGS THAT WE TRACK.
AND THE BACK PAGE HAS SOME OF THE, THE HIGHLIGHTS OF THE YEAR.
I'M STILL WAITING FOR CERTAIN NUMBERS, BUT TO HAVE ALMOST EVERYTHING BY JANUARY 15TH, I'M PRETTY PLEASED.
UM, AND, AND YOU CAN SEE, UH, IN,
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IN YOUR OWN LITTLE PACKET.I'M LOVING SEEING ANYTHING WHERE IT'S 8% UP OR 7% UP AND 9% UP.
UM, MORE IMPORTANT, OF COURSE, IS THE IMPACT OF THE INDIVIDUAL PEOPLE, UH, IN THOSE BIG PERCENTAGES.
BUT CIRC IS UP, THE LIBRARY OF THINGS IS UP, GATE COUNT IS UP.
AND THE THING ABOUT THE GATE COUNT IS WE FEEL THAT PEOPLE ARE STAYING LONGER.
SO IF I WAS A RETAIL ORGANIZATION, IT'S ALL ABOUT GETTING PEOPLE IN MY DOOR OR IN MY WEBSITE.
AND HOW LONG DO THEY STAY? BECAUSE THE LONGER THEY STAY, THE MORE LIKELY I AM TO MAKE A SALE.
WELL, WE'RE NOT MAKING SALES, WE'RE MAKING CONNECTIONS.
SO I LOVE THE FACT THAT PEOPLE ARE COMING BACK, THEY'RE STAYING LONGER.
UM, OUR SPECIAL LITERACY PROJECTS, Y'ALL, THOUSAND BOOKS BEFORE KINDERGARTEN.
THE, THE KIDS THIS YEAR READ ALMOST 50,000 BOOKS.
NOW, OF COURSE, THEIR PARENTS DID THE WORK, BUT EVERYBODY BENEFITED.
SO I JUST LOVE SEEING THESE NUMBERS.
BEANS STACK, 53,000 STORY TIME ATTENDEES.
UH, INFORMATION AND ACCESS, STILL KIND OF HANGING STEADY AT UNDER 900,000.
REFERENCE AND INFORMATION QUESTIONS, LOTS OF LOGINS.
UM, THAT, THAT, THAT PERCENTAGE GAIN IS NOT A BIG NUMBER, BUT THAT'S A LOT OF PEOPLE USING WIFI.
AND THEY'RE USING IT FOR A LONG TIME.
UM, I WOULD SAY MORE THAN JUST FIVE MINUTES.
IT'S FOR AN HOUR HERE AND AN HOUR THERE.
THEY'RE MAKING GOOD USE OF WHAT THE LIBRARY'S OFFERING AT ALL 14 LOCATIONS.
WE HAD MORE THAN 300 PATRONS ACTUALLY PARTICIPATE IN THE SURVEY THAT BRYCE AND HIS PEOPLE PUT OUT ABOUT THE NEW WEBSITE.
IT'S SO IMPORTANT FOR US TO HEAR FROM THE PUBLIC WHAT THEY NEED IN THE WEBSITE.
UH, AND THEY WERE HAPPY TO TELL US THESE WERE POWER USERS.
I THINK THAT TOOK THE TIME TO ANSWER THE QUESTIONS.
AND ALL THEIR ANSWERS WILL BE, UH, PUT INTO THE MIX AS WE WORK WITH OUR CONSULTANTS FROM SYNERGY.
SO THIS IS JUST THE FIRST LAUNCH OF THE PROJECT TO REDEVELOP THE WEBSITE AND GET US INTO THE 21ST CENTURY.
NOW, I AM ROLLING OUT NEW CARDS FOR STUDENTS IN THE DELIVERY TOMORROW.
WE'VE TOLD YOU ABOUT THIS SINCE LAST AUGUST.
SO BECAUSE OF ACT 4 36, WE WERE REQUIRED TO HAVE NEW EXPANDED TIERS FOR OUR STUDENTS, OUR MI OUR MINOR CHILDREN FROM AGE ZERO THROUGH 17.
THE, THE KINDS OF CARDS THAT WE ALREADY HAD WERE PERFECTLY FINE, BUT THEY WANTED US TO DEVELOP OTHER SORTS OF CARDS.
SO I'M JUST SHOWING YOU A FEW OF THEM HERE.
BUT THOUSANDS OF CARDS CAME IN LAST WEEK.
THE NEW APPLICATIONS HAVE COME IN.
AND THE IMPORTANT THING FOR YOU TO REMEMBER IN CASE SOMEBODY ASKS YOU IF A PERSON IS PERFECTLY HAPPY WITH THEIR EXISTING CARD THAT THEIR CHILD HAS, THEY JUST NEED TO TELL US AND WE'LL MAKE IT.
SO, AND THAT WOULD BE THE REGULAR STANDARD CARD OR THE COMPUTER USE ONLY CARD.
UH, AND THAT IS GOING TO BE THE EASIEST KIND OF THING TO DO.
THERE'LL BE A WEBSITE FORM THAT THE PARENT CAN JUST SAY, YEP, I'M HAPPY WITH WHAT I HAVE, MAKE IT.
SO, AND THEN THEY DO NOT PASS GO.
THEY DON'T HAVE TO MAKE A SPECIAL TRIP INTO THE LIBRARY BECAUSE THEY'RE KEEPING THE SAME PIECE OF PLASTIC.
IF THEY WANNA GET A NEW DESIGN, SURE, FINE, BUT THAT STANDARD CARD IS STILL GOING TO BE A PERFECTLY GOOD CARD.
IT'S JUST, WE ALSO NOW HAVE TO HAVE A MORE RESTRICTED CARD.
AND WE ALSO HAVE TO HAVE AN UNRESTRICTED CARD BASED ON ACT 4 36.
AND THOSE ARE NEW PIECES OF PLASTIC.
SO IF A PARENT WANTS THOSE FOR THEIR CHILDREN, THEY'RE GONNA NEED TO COME IN PERSON.
AND SO THEY HAVE UNTIL JUNE TO GET THAT DONE.
AND AFTER THAT, WHATEVER KIND OF CARD THE CHILD HAS IS JUST NOT GOING TO WORK UNLESS THEY'VE ALREADY LET US KNOW THAT IT'S THAT IT'S A VALID OLD CARD, OR THEY'VE GOTTEN THEIR VALID NEW CARD AND THE PARENT'S GONNA HAVE TO SIGN THE CHILD SIGNS AND WE'LL ALL GET ON WITH OUR LIVES.
OKAY? IT'S JUST THE NEW WAY OF DOING BUSINESS.
SO THIS ROLLED OUT TO STAFF IN THE DELIVERY TOMORROW, AND IT'S GOING TO BE IN THE FEBRUARY NEWSLETTER.
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AND THE MINUTE THE BRANCHES GET THE APPLICATIONS AND THE CARDS, THEY CAN START ISSUING THESE.SO ORGANICALLY, ANY NEW CHILD IS GOING TO GET WHATEVER CARD THE PARENT WANTS THEM TO HAVE.
IT'S JUST THE 60,000, 70,000 120,000 CURRENT CARDS.
AND SO WE'LL WORK THROUGH THEM, UM, THROUGH JUNE.
AND THEN IF THEY HAVEN'T USED THEIR CARD BY JUNE, OBVIOUSLY IT'S NOT THAT IMPORTANT TO THEM.
UH, BECAUSE AS YOU KNOW, OFTEN THE FAMILY, MAYBE THEY ALL HAVE CARDS, BUT THEY REALLY JUST USE THE MOM'S CARD OR WHATEVER.
UM, TONIGHT IN THE ROOM RIGHT DOWN HERE, WE'RE GONNA FEATURE VICTORIA EDWARDS WITH LIFE IN TIMES OF A GOVERNOR'S DAUGHTER, WHICH IS HER NEW BOOK.
SHE'LL BE HERE AS OUR SPECIAL GUEST, UH, SPECIAL COLLECTIONS LECTURE SERIES.
UM, I WANTED TO ALSO, UM, UH, SHARE THE FACT THAT YOU'VE GOT AT YOUR DESKS.
THE VITA SUPER TAX DAY IS COMING UP.
THIS IS A VERY IMPORTANT EVENT WE DO WITH, UH, UNITED WAY EVERY YEAR.
AND VITA ENERGY IS A MAJOR SUPPORTER.
THE IRS OF COURSE, UH, AND OUR OWN REFERENCE STAFF AND OUR OWN COMPUTER STAFF.
THEY, IT'S A BIG SETUP, Y'ALL, BECAUSE THERE ARE COMPUTERS EVERYWHERE.
AND, UM, ONE YEAR, I SWEAR Y'ALL WERE HERE TILL TWO IN THE MORNING GETTING THINGS DOWN.
WE, WE HAVE OUR ACT A LITTLE BIT BETTER TOGETHER NOW.
UH, SO WE ARE PUSHING THAT OUT THIS COMING WEEKEND.
WE'RE PUSHING OUT MONEY MOVES BATON ROUGE AS, AS A WONDERFUL PROGRAM FOR THOSE WHO COULD BENEFIT FROM IT, WHICH IS PROBABLY ALL OF US.
AND WE ARE PUSHING YOUR NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTIONS.
OUR THEME FOR THE YEAR IS INVEST IN YOU, WHETHER YOU'RE AN ADULT, A BUSINESS PERSON, SOMEONE LOOKING FOR CONTINUING ED, UPSKILLING, LEISURE LEARNING, WE WANT YOU TO INVEST IN YOU AND LEAN IN TO WHAT THE LIBRARY HAS TO OFFER SO THAT YOU CAN DO THAT SO THAT YOU CAN BE A BETTER YOU.
AND WE'VE ALSO, IN THE NEWSLETTER AND IN OUR MESSAGING, BEEN SENDING OUT THE DIGITAL DEEP DIVE HAS TO DO WITH THAT VERY SAME TOPIC.
UM, INSTRUCTOR LED CLASSES, SOME LINKEDIN LEARNING CLASSES, UDEMY CLASSES, DIGITAL LEARNING CLASSES, HIVE CLASSES, LIBBY, INSPIRATIONAL EBOOKS.
JUST A REMINDER THAT THERE ARE SO MUCH FOR YOU TO CHOOSE FROM AND USE TO, TO BE A BETTER YOU.
SO, UH, THAT'S WHAT I HAVE FOR YOU.
DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS FOR ME? ALL RIGHT.
I'M GONNA GET, I, UM, WELL, I JUST WANNA SAY, I REALLY LIKE THE VIDEO YOU ALL CREATED, UM, FOR THE NEW SERIES.
LIKE, AS YOU STATED, THAT REALLY SHOWS THE IMPACT THE LIBRARY HAS VERSUS JUST LOOKING AT A PERCENTAGE OR A NUMBER, RIGHT? LIKE YOU WAS ABLE TO FEEL THAT STORY AND SEE THE IMPACT.
IT'S ALL ABOUT STORIES, BECAUSE YEAH, NUMBERS, NUMBERS MEAN NOTHING.
IT'S THAT INDIVIDUAL STORY, YOU KNOW, FOR ME TO TELL YOU, UM,
MM-HMM,
AND THAT IS REPLICATED AGAIN AND AGAIN, AND AGAIN.
SAME THING HAPPENS WITH SOME OF THE OTHER SERVICES AND PROGRAMS THAT WE PROVIDE.
SO I LOVE BEING ABLE TO TELL SOME OF THESE STORIES AND WE'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO IT.
MICKEY AND TAKIA ARE VERY EXCITED ABOUT, UH, WHAT THEY'RE GOING TO DO FOR THE NEXT COUPLE OF MONTHS.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? ANY OTHER QUESTIONS BY THE LIBRARY BOARD OF CONTROL? ANY PUBLIC COMMENT? ALL RIGHT.
WELL, I'M GONNA START OFF WITH THE EVENT OF THE WEEK, WHICH IS THE WINTER UPDATE, THE WINTER WEATHER.
UM, EVERYBODY KNOWS THE, THE TEMPERATURE DROPPED PRECIPITOUSLY EARLIER IN THIS WEEK, AND CITY PARISH SCHOOLS AND STATE OFFICES WERE CLOSED ON TUESDAY, JANUARY 16TH.
HOWEVER, AT THE MAYOR'S REQUEST, UH, THE REQUEST OF THE MAYOR'S OFFICE AND HOMELAND SECURITY LIBRARY LOCATIONS OPEN FOR REGULAR OPERATION HOURS, UH, THEY WERE DEEMED WE WERE DEEMED AN ESSENTIAL SERVICE TO SERVE THE COMMUNITY AS WARMING CENTERS FOR THOSE IN NEED.
AND I WANT TO, UM, SAY THAT WE HAD, WE HAD REALLY DEDICATED STAFF.
SOMEBODY CAME FROM PORT ALLEN AFTER THE BRIDGE OPENED
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TO GET TO WORK.UM, OUR FACILITY STAFF HAS BEEN WORKING TIRELESSLY TO KEEP THE BUILDINGS WARM.
AND WHEN WE OPENED TUESDAY, WE HAD HEATING ISSUES AT FIVE LOCATIONS AT BAKER, CARVER, DELMONT, EDEN PARK, AND PRIDE.
SO I'M JUST GONNA GIVE YOU A QUICK RUNDOWN OF THAT.
AT CARVER, WE DID HAVE TO CLOSE THE BUILDING AROUND 10:00 AM NO PATRONS HAD BEEN IN THE, THE BUILDING.
UM, THIS WAS AN ONGOING REPAIR THAT I MENTIONED A COUPLE OF MONTHS AGO ABOUT THE HEATING LINE, THE LINE, THE WATER LINE THAT HAD HAD LEAKED.
AND SO OUR CONTRACTOR WAS ON SITE MONDAY, BUT THE PROJECT IS GONNA TAKE SEVERAL DAYS TO COMPLETE.
SO WE JUST COULD NOT KEEP THE BUILDING WARM ENOUGH.
WE HAD SOME PORTABLE HEATERS, BUT, UH, THEY WEREN'T, THEY WEREN'T WARMING A 12,000 SQUARE FOOT BUILDING ADEQUATELY.
AND SOME OF THEM WERE A TRIP IN THE BREAKER.
SO WE HAD TO, WE ENDED UP CLOSING THE BUILDING.
THE BUILDING WILL REMAIN CLOSED UNTIL MONDAY WHEN THE WEATHER IS WARMING UP, EVEN THOUGH THE PROJECT ISN'T FINISHED, THE BUILDING SHOULD BE WARM ENOUGH, OR THE TEMPERATURE SHOULD BE WARM ENOUGH FOR US TO OPEN THE BUILDING.
SO THAT'S WHERE WE ARE AT CARVER, AT BAKER, THE FACILITY STAFF HAD TO GO OUT AND RESET THE SYSTEM TWICE.
AND EVENTUALLY THE FACILITY STAFF WERE ABLE TO DIAGNOSE THE PROBLEM, AND THEY PURCHASED PARTS, THEY REPAIRED THE SYSTEM.
WE DID CLOSE THE BUILDING AT 5:00 PM BECAUSE IT WAS REALLY COLD IN THERE.
AND, UH, BECAUSE THERE, THE TEMPERATURE WAS DROPPING.
BUT THE BUILDING REOPENED ON WEDNESDAY AND HAS BEEN OPEN SINCE, UH, AT DELMONT GARDENS.
UH, THE FACILITY STAFF AND A VENDOR WORKED MOST OF THE DAY TO RESTORE THE HEAT, BUT THEY WERE UNSUCCESSFUL.
THEY EVENTUALLY DETERMINED THAT A CIRCUIT BOARD WAS NEEDED TO BE REPE TO, TO BE REPLACED.
AND BECAUSE THE TEMPERATURE WAS, WAS DROPPING, WE CLOSED THE BUILDING AT FIVE ON TUESDAY.
ALL THESE STAFF WHERE WE CLOSED THE BUILDING STAFF WENT AND WORKED SOME OTHER LOCATION TO HELP OUT.
UM, WE HAVE A QUOTE, THE CIRCUS CIRCUIT BOARD WILL HAVE TO BE PROGRAMMED BEFORE IT CAN BE SHIPPED.
AND THAT'S, WE DON'T HAVE AN ACTUAL ETA FOR THE BOARD'S ARRIVAL.
HOWEVER, WE ARE GONNA BE OPEN SUNDAY.
SO THAT, UM, UH, BECAUSE THERE'S A MEETING GROUP THAT NEEDS TO MEET, AND THEN WE'LL CONTINUE OPENING MONDAY.
AND, AND WHAT WE'RE REALLY GONNA DO FOR BAKER, UH, FOR DELMONT AND CARVER IS MONITOR THE TEMPERATURE.
IF IT STARTS DROPPING PRECIPITOUSLY AND WE STILL HAVE NO HEAT, OBVIOUSLY WE'RE NOT GONNA BE ABLE TO REMAIN OPEN, BUT WE'RE GONNA STAY OPEN AS MUCH AS WE POSSIBLY CAN.
WE DO HAVE SOME SPACE HEATERS FOR, AT LEAST FOR THE STAFF.
SO, UM, AND THEN EDEN PARK, THE FACILITIES WERE ABLE TO RESTORE THE HEAT.
IT TOOK A LITTLE WHILE FOR THE BUILDING TO WARM UP, AND THEY'VE BEEN OPEN ALL WEEK.
AND THEN PRIDE, THE AT PRIDE, THE FACILITY STAFF WERE ABLE TO RE RESTORE HEAT BY MID-AFTERNOON.
THEY CLOSED AT THEIR NORMAL TIME OF 8:00 PM JUST LIKE EDEN PARK, AND THEY'VE BEEN OPEN ALL WEEK.
SO IT'S BEEN A REAL, UM, KIND OF AN UP AND DOWN THING.
UH, SOME OF THIS, LIKE, WE HAD NO IDEA THE CIRCUIT BOARD WAS GONNA GO OUT.
SO, UM, A LITTLE BIT OF UN UNEXPECTED, BUT WE'RE WORKING WITH PURCHASING TO EXPEDITE THAT PURCHASE.
SO, ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THAT? PATRICIA? I JUST WANNA SAY I HAD, UM, A, A PERSON THAT I KNOW WHOSE ELECTRICITY WENT OUT AND THEY WENT, I BELIEVE TO EDEN PARK.
SO, AND, AND SO THAT MORNING WHEN I SAW THE MAYOR ANNOUNCE THAT THE LIBRARIES WOULD BE OPEN, UM, AND THEN TO HEAR SOMEONE WHO, FROM THE COMMUNITY WHO BENEFITED FROM IT, YOU KNOW, I, I WAS TRULY APPRECIATIVE THAT THE LIBRARY SYSTEM WAS HERE FOR THE COMMUNITY I'LL, ALBEIT WITH SOME ISSUES WITH SOME OF OUR BRANCHES, BUT, UH, FOR THE BRANCHES THAT WERE THERE, FOR THE, YOU KNOW, FOR THE FOLKS WHO NEEDED IT, UH, TRULY APPRECIATIVE, UH, FOR OUR LIBRARY BEING THERE.
WELL, THANK YOU FOR THAT AND BEING PART OF THE COMMUNITY, UM, RESOURCES DURING THAT TIME.
I THINK MARY HAD THE SAME EXPERIENCE AT A BREAKFAST.
UM, YOU CARE TO SHARE, UH, REVEREND ALEXIS, OF COURSE, WAS THERE WITH PEOPLE GETTING READY TO GO, SO APPRECIATED.
BUT, UH, TWO MEMBERS OF THE GENERAL PUBLIC WHO DID NOT NEED TO USE US SAID HOW OUTSTANDING IT WAS THAT WE WERE OPEN FOR THE PUBLIC, FOR THEIR CONSTITUENTS IN THEIR OTHER JOBS BECAUSE THEY KNEW THAT THEIR, THAT THEIR COMMUNITY NEEDED US, AND THEY WERE JUST VERY EFFICIENT.
SO WE JUST WANTED TO SHARE THAT AND HOW WE WERE FARING.
AND, UM, OUR FACILITY STAFF ARE HERE AT LIKE SIX AND SEVEN IN THE MORNING.
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SO IT'S REALLY COLD WHEN THEY GET HERE AND THEY GO AND THEY WORK ON THOSE SYSTEMS AND THEY REPORT TO THOSE BRANCHES TO SEE THAT THEY CAN BE UP AND RUNNING.SO, PATRICIA AND OR MARY, UH, FOR STAFF MEMBERS WHO WERE NOT ABLE TO REPORT TO WORK BECAUSE OF ICE OR, OR OTHER CONDITIONS, UH, WERE THEY, DID THEY HAVE TO CHARGE LEAVE FOR TUESDAY? WE'RE, WE'RE WORKING ON HOW WE'RE GONNA ORGANIZE THAT AND, AND ADJUST FOR PAYROLL THERE.
SO, UM, I THINK RIGHT NOW, BECAUSE THE CITY WAS CLOSED, IF PEOPLE WEREN'T ABLE TO GET IN, UM, THEY'RE STILL GONNA BE PAID.
EVERYBODY, EVERYBODY IS GONNA BE COMPENSATED.
SO, UM, WILL THOSE WHO DID COME TO WORK RECEIVE COMP TIME OR TIME AND A HALF, OR WE'RE, WE'RE ALSO WORKING ON THAT, A WAY TO, TO COMPENSATE THOSE INDIVIDUALS WHO WERE ABLE TO MAKE IT IN AND WHO WORKED DESPITE THE FACT THE CITY WAS CLOSED.
AND THE LAST QUESTION IS, UH, DO WE HAVE ANY GATE COUNTS FROM TUESDAY? AND HOW DO THEY COMPARE TO A TYPICAL TUESDAY? WE, WE DON'T THINK IT WAS THAT, THAT BIG OF A DAY.
UM, BUT WE DON'T HAVE THOSE NUMBERS YET.
I HAVE, LIKE, ANECDOTALLY, WE KNOW IT WAS NOT A HUGE DAY.
SO FOR EXAMPLE, AT CARVER, BY THE TIME WE ENDED UP CLOSING, YOU KNOW, WE, WE DID OUR BEST.
WE TRIED TO OPEN AND IT WAS, IT WAS REALLY, UM, IN LOW FIFTIES, AND THE HEATERS WERE NOT KEEPING UP.
AND THERE WAS NOBODY IN THE BUILDING SO FAR THAT MORNING BAKER.
UM, I HAD STORIES OF ONE PERSON CAME IN THE MORNING AND A COUPLE OF PEOPLE CAME IN THE AFTERNOON.
I THINK A LOT OF PEOPLE WERE TRYING TO TAKE CARE OF THEIR PERSONAL THINGS AT HOME.
BUT, UM, FOR THOSE WHO NEEDED IT, WE WERE, WE WERE AVAILABLE.
ANY MORE QUESTIONS? OKAY, I'M GONNA MOVE TO THE MISCELLANEOUS, UH, PROJECTS THAT WE HAVE.
UH, THE ROOFING REPLACEMENT UPDATE, IT'S AT SEVERAL BRANCHES.
UM, ONE OF THE BRANCHES IS JONES CREEK, AND THE DELIVERY OF THE CUPOLA WINDOWS FOR JONES CREEK HAS BEEN DELAYED.
AND WE SHOULD GET AN UPDATE ON THE DELIVERY AT THE JANUARY MEETING, WHICH WILL BE LATER THIS MONTH.
UH, THE LIBRARY PROVIDED DATES WHEN WE WOULD BE CLOSED IN ORDER TO FACILITATE INSTALLATION.
SO, FOR EXAMPLE, UM, WE'LL BE CLOSED JAN, UH, FEBRUARY 12TH AND 13TH ONE FOR MARDI GRAS ONE DAY FOR TRAINING.
AND SO I WAS LIKE, HEY, Y'ALL, THIS IS THE TIME YOU CAN GET IN, DO THE WORK, GET OUT.
NOBODY BE BOTHERING YOU, SO LET'S GET THAT DELIVERY IN.
BUT THE DELIVERY IS REALLY, AS YOU ALL KNOW, WE'VE HAD, YOU'VE HEARD THIS BEFORE, DELIVERY DELAYS, DELIVERY DELAYS.
BUT WE'RE HOPING THAT THOSE WINDOWS WILL BE IN SO THAT THEY CAN GET IN, GET DONE AND, AND BE FINISHED.
WE STILL HAVE SOME CANOPIES THAT NEED TO BE INSTALLED.
ROOF FLASHING NEEDS TO BE INSTALLED OR REPLACED AT SEVERAL LOCATIONS.
UH, THE CONTRACTORS WORKING ON REPAIRING LEAKS THAT STAFF HAVE IDENTIFIED EITHER IN THE ROOFS OR ON THE GUT OR IN THE GUTTERS.
AND THEN WE'RE WAITING ON HANDRAILS TO BE DELIVERED TO BLUE BONNET.
THE GATE AT DELMONT GARDENS, UH, STILL NEEDS TO BE FIXED OR ADJUSTED RATHER.
AND WE REALLY DO APPRECIATE THE HELP WITH, OF ARCHITECTURAL SERVICES AS THEY WORK WITH US AND, AND, UM, OVERSEE THESE PROJECTS BECAUSE WE HAVE SEVERAL PROJECTS AND THEY'RE, THEY'RE LARGE PROJECTS THAT REQUIRE SOME EXPERTISE IN CONSTRUCTION.
AND WE ARE LIBRARIANS AFTER ALL.
WE HAVE THE MISCELLANEOUS MULTI-BRANCH IMPROVEMENTS UPDATES.
UM, IF YOU REMEMBER LAST MONTH I MENTIONED THAT THE, THE COUNTERTOP AT CARVER THAT HAD BEEN INSTALLED WAS SCRATCH.
SO WE'VE GOT ACROSS FROM THE PRO CONTRACTOR TO REPAIR THAT.
SO WE'RE GONNA BE MOVING FORWARD ON THAT.
UM, BUT THE ESTIMATE IS IN ARCHITECTURAL SERVICES FOR REVIEW.
UM, THE DELMONT GARDENS, WE HAVE CHANGE ORDER SUBMITTALS REGARDING WINDOW REPAIRS AND MEETING ROOM FLOORING AND COMPUTER AREA FLOORING HAVE BEEN UPDATED AND SENT TO ARCHITECTURAL SERVICES.
AND THEY'RE GONNA BE REVIEWING, AND THE CONTRACTOR WAS INITIALLY GOING TO INSTALL WEEPS IN THE SOUTH WALL, UH, NEAR THE WINDOWS THAT WE'RE REPAIRING.
BUT THEY, UM, THEY'VE DECIDED THAT THEY'RE NOT GONNA PURSUE THAT.
SO WE'LL, WE'LL GET ANOTHER COMPANY TO TAKE CARE OF THAT.
THAT WOULD'VE BEEN A CHANGE ORDER.
AND AT PRIDE, UH, I MENTIONED LAST TIME THAT WE WERE GONNA BE REPLACING THE LIGHTS.
OUR STAFF, UH, ALVIN GOT SOME COMPARISON FOR PRICING, UH, AND INSTALLATION FOR THE SAME NUMBER OF LIGHTS THAT THE CONTRACTOR DID.
WE COMPARED THE PRICING AND WE'LL SAVE APPROXIMATELY
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$10,000 IF THE, THE LIBRARY PURCHASES THEM AND WORKS WITH THE CITY CONTRACTOR TO INSTALL THEM.SO THAT'S WHAT WE'RE GONNA PURSUE.
UM, SO, UH, AND IF WE DO THIS, IT'LL RESULT IN A TINY CREDIT BECAUSE ONE OF THOSE LIGHTS WAS ALREADY IN THE SCOPE OF WORK.
AND THE REASON WE HAVE ALL THE LIGHTS REPLACING IS BECAUSE WE COULDN'T REPAIR, WE COULDN'T MAINTAIN THEM.
AND THAT PARTICULAR LIGHT HAD BECOME OBSOLETE.
AND IF YOU REMEMBER, PRIDE OPENED IN 2005.
SO IT'S, IT'S BEEN A, IT'S BEEN A MINUTE SINCE THEY'VE BEEN OPEN
AND THAT HAPPENS WITH, UH, WITH EQUIPMENT LIKE THAT FOR OUTREACH.
LIBRARY AND ARCHITECTURAL SERVICES ARE WORKING ON PROPOSED CHANGE ORDERS.
UH, THE CHANGE ORDER TO ADD PARKING SPOTS HAS BEEN REJECTED AS BEING COST PROHIBITIVE.
THE CHANGE ORDER FOR THE STOREFRONT DOORS, THE NEW ENTRANCES TO OUTREACH AND RECYCLED REEDS HAS BEEN APPROVED, AND THE DOORS HAVE A SIX TO EIGHT WEEK LEAD TIME.
YOU WILL HEAR THIS A LOT, SIX TO EIGHT WEEKS SOUNDS LIKE A LOT OF TIME, BUT IF YOU REMEMBER, THE HVAC UNITS HAVE LIKE A 40, 36 TO 42 WEEK LEAD TIME.
SO THAT'S BEEN, THAT'S BEEN SOMETHING WE HEAR A LOT.
UM, AND ARCHITECTURAL SERVICES HAS COMPILED A CHANGE ORDER LOG AND THE FINAL COST HAVE YET TO BE DETERMINED.
BUT ONCE WE'VE GOT THAT, GOT THAT NUMBER, UH, WE'LL GO TO COUNCIL FOR APPROVAL.
UM, AND THEN AT BLUE BONNET, WE HAD A CONTRACT AMENDMENT FOR THE ARCHITECT.
THAT AMENDMENT, REVIEW AMENDMENT IS IN THE, THE ARCHITECT'S OFFICE FOR HIM TO REVIEW.
AND ONCE WE HEAR BACK FROM THAT, WE'LL, WE'LL HAVE A, A, A WAY TO PROCEED ON THAT.
AND SO WE'LL END UP GOING OUT FOR BID.
YOU KNOW, THE DRILL FOR ALL OF THIS.
UM, ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT ANY OF THIS? MS. PATRICIA? THE, UM, $10,000 YOU MENTIONED, THAT'S GONNA COVER THE, THE, THAT'S THE FULL COST OF THE JOB.
NO, THAT'S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN WHAT THE CONTRACTOR SAID VERSUS IT WOULD COST AS OPPOSED TO WHAT WE DO OURSELVES.
THE PARKING WAS THAT SOMETHING SEVERAL MONTHS AGO, Y'ALL CAME UP WITH SOMETHING THAT WE WERE HAVING TO MOVE SOME PARKING SPACES BECAUSE OF, OF, OF, UH, SOME CONSTRUCTION ON THE CORNER, RIGHT? THERE'S A, THERE'S A PARKLET THAT'S GONNA BE INSTALLED, AND SO WE WERE GONNA LOSE A FEW PARKING SPACES.
AND THE CONTRACT, THE, THE ARCHITECT SAID, WELL, WE COULD, WE COULD ADD SOME PARKING SPACES IN THIS AREA BY MOVING, I THINK THE FENCE AND, AND THE, THE PRICE, THE NUMBERS WERE JUST ARCHITECTURAL SERVICES RECOMMENDATION WAS THAT IT WAS A LITTLE, LITTLE MORE COST PROHIBITIVE THAN WE ANTICIPATED.
ANY, UM, ANY ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS BY THE BOARD? ANY PUBLIC COMMENT? ALL RIGHT.
NO REPORTS, UM, BY ANY COMMITTEES.
WE'LL GO TO UNFINISHED BUSINESS UPDATE ON THE SOUTH BRANCH LIBRARY.
THROUGH NOVEMBER, THE CONTRACTOR CONTINUED WORKING ON THE SPREAD FOOTINGS.
AND THE SPREAD FOOTINGS ARE A TYPE OF SHALLOW FOUNDATION, WHICH TRANSMITS AND DELIVERS THE POINT LOAD FROM THE STRUCTURE TO THE SOIL.
I HAD TO LOOK UP SOME OF THE STUFF.
UM, THEY WERE ALSO WORKING ON ROUGH GRADINGS AND MECHANICAL ELECTRICAL, PLUM PLUMBING, DEEP SHA DEEP AND SHALLOW ROUGH ENDS.
WE HAD BEEN, IF YOU REMEMBER, WE WERE WAITING ON THE CITY TO ISSUE A PER ISSUE US A PERMIT.
THEY DID ISSUE US ONE ON NOVEMBER 5TH, BUT THIS IS WHAT THE FOOTERS LOOKED LIKE ON OUR NOVEMBER 28TH, 2023 FIELD REPORT.
UM, IN THE INTERIM, ON DECEMBER 4TH, BEFORE THE PERMIT WAS ISSUED, AND BEFORE THEY WERE ABLE TO POUR CONCRETE IN THESE FOOTERS, THE SITE EXPERIENCED A SIGNIFICANT RAIN EVENT.
AND THIS IS WHAT, AND THIS IS THE INITIAL FOOTERS.
AND THEN THIS IS WHAT HAPPENED AFTER THE RAIN WASHED THROUGH THE FOOTERS, WASHED OUT THE FOOTERS, UH, THERE WAS A LOT OF WATER.
OKAY? AND YOU SEE THIS SAYS DECEMBER 12TH.
THAT'S BECAUSE ON DECEMBER 10TH WE HAD ANOTHER RAIN.
SO, UM, THE FOOTINGS HAD TO BE REPAIRED, AND THE REPAIRS WILL BE PART OF A CHANGE ORDER.
IT WILL BE A TIME AND A MONEY CHANGE ORDER DUE TO THE FACT THAT THE PERMIT ISSUANCE WAS DELAYED.
UH, THE CONTRACTORS WORKING ON THE ESTIMATED COST TO REPAIR AND RESTORE THEM.
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A, A CONCEPT OF THIS, BECAUSE THE SECOND RAIN IN DECEMBER 10TH OF WATER STANDING IN SOME OF THE FOOTINGS, AND THEN ANOTHER RAIN IN THE, THE JAN IN JANUARY, UM, FLOODED THE AREA AS WELL.I'LL HAVE PICTURES OF THAT IN A MINUTE.
SO, UM, BASED ON THE ASSESSMENT BY THE STRUCTURAL ENGINEER, THE FOOTING REINFORCEMENTS HAD TO BE REMOVED.
THE CONTRACTOR HAS TO REES EXCAVATE DOWN TO THE DRY BOTTOMS, AND THE TESTING AGENCY WILL NEED TO REEVALUATE IT.
AND THEN ALL THE FOOT FOOTING REINFORCEMENTS HAVE TO BE STORED ON BLOCKING.
SO THEY HAD TO DO ALL OF THIS WORK TO AVOID, YOU KNOW, DAMAGE.
THEY COULDN'T LEAVE THE FOOTERS, THE, THE REBAR STANDING IN WATER.
AND, UM, IN ALL 17 OF THE 54 FOOTERS WERE ABLE TO BE SALVAGED.
THE MAJORITY OF THE FOOTERS HAD TO BE REPAIRED AS OF JANUARY 9TH.
ALL THE DAMAGED FOOTINGS HAD BEEN POURED.
THIS IS WHAT HAPPENED AFTER JANUARY 9TH.
IF YOU LOOK AT THIS, THIS BROWN LITTLE POOL HERE IS ONE OF THE FOOTERS.
AND THIS STICK HERE, UM, SHOWS THAT, UM, THIS IS THE STICK THAT HE PUT DOWN INTO THE BOTTOM OF THE FOOTER TO SHOW YOU THE DEPTH OF THE WATER.
IT WAS ABOUT, I DON'T KNOW, LOOKS LIKE IT'S ABOUT TWO AND A HALF FEET.
SO ALL THAT RAIN WE DIDN'T GET IN THE SUMMER, IT'S, IT'S HERE NOW.
AND SO THEY'RE WORKING ON THAT.
UM, THEY'VE STILL BEEN WORKING ON THINGS.
THEY'VE BEEN, UH, DIGGING THE GRADE BEAMS. AND THE GRADE BEAM IS A, A COMPONENT OF THE FOUNDATION OF THE STRUCTURE.
UM, THEY'RE WORKING ON THE DOMESTIC WATER LINE AND THE FIRE LINES, SO THAT SHOULD BE SOON.
BUT, UM, THE WORK WAS DELAYED BECAUSE OF RAIN, UH, WEATHER CONDITIONS.
THEY'RE DOING LAYOUTS OF THE MECHANICAL AND THE PAVEMENT, THE MECHANICAL YARD AND THE PAVEMENT.
THEY'RE INSTALLING THE AIR CHILLER LINES.
AND THIS IS AN INSTALLATION, A PICTURE OF AN INSTALLATION OF THE FOUR INCH CONDUIT THAT WAS EXTENDING TO THE DATA PEN, UH, PEDESTAL.
SO DESPITE THE FACT THAT WE'VE HAD A LOT OF RAIN AND A LOT OF, UM, INCLEMENT WEATHER, THEY ARE STILL CONTINUING TO WORK ON THIS.
UM, THE OTHER THING IS, IF YOU REMEMBER, I, I NOTED THAT THERE WAS A WATER LINE THAT WAS TOO NEAR THE, THE FOUNDATION OF THE BUILDING.
SO THEY WERE, THEY CUT IT AND THE WATER DEPARTMENT CUT IT AND CAPPED IT, BUT THEY HAVEN'T EXCAVATED YET IT YET.
SO, UM, IF NECESSARY, RATCLIFFE WILL DEMO THE REST OF THE PIPE.
THAT'S, THAT'S WHERE THE BUILDING WILL BE, WILL BE WHERE UNDER, UNDER THE BUILDING BINGERS, UH, POURED THE PRUNED THE TREE THE LAST WEEK IN NOVEMBER.
I GOT A QUOTE FROM THEM IN DECEMBER TO, UH, MAINTAIN THE TREE FOR 2024.
AND WE'VE SUBMITTED THAT TO MUNIS SO WE CAN GET A PO SO THAT WE CAN CONTINUE WITH THE MAINTENANCE.
THERE'LL BE SPRING AND FALL FERTILIZATION AND PRUNING AND, AND TRIMMING AS NECESSARY.
UM, LIBRARY STAFF CONTINUE TO WORK ON THE FURNITURE PACKAGE, AND WE'RE MUCH CLOSER TO FINALIZING IT.
AND THEN IN PREPARATION FOR LAYING THE CONDUIT AND POURING THE SLAB, LIBRARY STAFF HAVE VERIFIED LOCATIONS OF THE FLOOR BOXES, UH, AND PLACEMENT OF THE CONDUIT FOR FEWER FUTURE USE.
SO IN OUR BUILDING, UM, AT FAIRWOOD AND HERE AT MAINE WHERE WE HAD NEW BUILDINGS, WE PLANNED FOR EXTRA CONDUIT IN PLACES WHERE WE MIGHT NEED FUTURE CONDUIT.
ONCE SOME OF THE, THE PHYSICAL MEDIA LIKE AV AND DVDS AND BLU-RAYS AND THINGS GO AWAY, WE WANNA BE ABLE TO REPURPOSE THAT.
SO WE TYPICALLY HAVE PUT IN ADDITIONAL CONDUIT WITH PULL STRINGS SO THAT WE DON'T HAVE TO GO AND JACKHAMMER UP THE CONCRETE BECAUSE WE'VE GOT SOME ADDITIONAL CONDUIT THAT WE CAN, WE CAN CONVERT.
SO, UM, AND THEN OF COURSE, WE WANNA MAKE SURE THE PLACEMENT OF THE FLOOR BOXES AND THE CONDUIT IS CORRECT, BECAUSE ONCE WE POUR THE SLAB, THEN THAT'S WHERE THEY'RE GONNA STAY.
SO THAT'S WHY WE HAD TO LOOK THROUGH THAT.
UM, THERE IS A NEW ESTIMATED COMPLETION DATE.
I GOT THIS FOR YOU, KATHY, 'CAUSE I KNEW YOU WOULD WANT IT
UH, THE NEW ESTIMATED COMPLETION DATE RIGHT NOW IS DECEMBER, 2024.
AND THAT'S PRIMARILY DUE TO ALL OF THESE DIFFERENT WEATHER EVENTS THAT HAVE CAUSED SOME SLIGHT SETBACKS.
AND THIS IS NOT THE ONLY TIME WE'VE HAD THIS, WHEN, WHEN WE WERE TRYING TO PUT IN THE PARKING LOT HERE FOR MAINE, BUT EVERY OTHER DAY IT WOULD RAIN AND THEY'D HAVE TO STOP, AND THEN THEY'D GET STARTED AGAIN AND IT WOULD RAIN AND THEY'D HAVE TO STOP.
AND IT TOOK SEVERAL WEEKS LONGER THAN WE ANTICIPATED.
WE GOT SO TIRED OF LOOKING AT MUD, AND WE GOT SO TIRED OF LOOKING AT A CON A PARKING LOT THAT WAS JUST
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A, JUST SLUSH AND MUD.BUT, UM, WE WILL GET THROUGH THIS AND IT WILL BE FINE.
UH, ANY QUESTIONS? OKAY, UPDATE ON SOUTH, UM, WELL, ON SCOTLANDVILLE BRANCH LIBRARY.
PARDON? UPDATE ON THE SCOTLANDVILLE BRANCH LIBRARY.
OH, CAN I, UH, ASK QUICK AS A STRUCTURAL ENGINEER ACTUALLY REVIEWED? YES, HE'S BEEN DOING THAT THE WHOLE TIME.
ONCE, ONCE THOSE FOOTERS KIND OF WASHED OUT.
I'VE BEEN GETTING REPORTS, UH, EVERY WEEK FROM THE STRUCTURAL ENGINEER WHO, WHO COMES AND VISITS AND, AND INSPECTS AND SAYS, OKAY, YOU NEED TO DO THIS AND YOU NEED TO DO THAT.
UM, I DID NOT, I DID NOT WANT TO BORE YOU WITH ALL THE DETAILS.
THERE'S A LOT OF DETAILS, BUT, BUT THE BASIC, THE GENERAL IDEA IS THAT WE HAVE THESE FOOTERS.
THEY ARE INTEGRAL TO THE FOUNDATION, UH, TO SUPPORT THE BUILDING AND ON WHICH THE GRADE BEAMS WILL GO TO SUPPORT THE BUILDING.
AND SO NOW THEY'RE REPAIRING IT.
AND THEY DO HAVE THE STRUCTURAL ENGINEERS ON SITE.
THEY DOUBLE CHECK THE MATH
OKAY, WE'RE GONNA GO TO SCOTLANDVILLE.
OVER THE PAST TWO MONTHS, THE CONTRACTOR HAS COMPLETED THE FOLLOWING WORK.
THEY'VE REMOVED GRASS FROM THE ARCHIVE, FUTURE PARKING AREA.
SO THIS IS THE, THE BUILDING, THE BUILDING PAD AREA, THE ONE ON THE RIGHT.
AND THE ONE ON THE LEFT IS WHERE THERE WERE EXCAVATING THE DETENTION POND.
IF YOU REMEMBER, THE DETENTION POND IS SOUTH OF THE NEW ARCHIVES BUILDING.
THEY'VE REMOVED GRASS AND STARTED REMOVING DIRT FROM THE DETENTION POND AREA.
THEY'VE INSTALLED TEMPORARY FENCING FOR THE JOB SITE AND INSTALLED THE SILT FENCE.
AND THEN THEY'VE REMOVED CERTAIN TREES FROM THE JOB SITE.
THEY'VE CONTINUED THE SITE LAYOUT.
THEY ARE, UM, THEY'VE REMOVED SOME EXISTING DRAIN BOXES.
THEY'RE BUILDING UP THE PARKING LOT AREA AND, AND THE BUILDING PAD TO ELEVATION.
THEY BEGAN UNDERGROUND, ROUGH, ROUGH ENDS TO THE BACKFLOW AREA.
AND HERE THEY'RE TRENCHING FOR CONDUIT.
AND THEY INSTALL CONDUIT FOR NEW SERVICES.
AND THEY'VE INSTALLED THE BUILDING PAD.
YOU CAN SEE, UM, THE WOOD FRAME RIGHT UP HERE, RIGHT HERE IN THE MIDDLE.
SO THIS PILE, WHAT IS THIS BIG PILE O STUFF? UM, IN THE PROCESS OF EXCAVATING THE AREA WHERE THE NEW PARKING LOT WILL BE LOCATED, THE CONTRACTOR, WE HAD ALREADY IDENTIFIED CONCRETE SLABS, BECAUSE REMEMBER, THIS HAD BEEN AN OLD CONCRETE PLANT.
SO WE HAD IDENTIFIED CONCRETE SLABS THAT NEEDED TO BE REMOVED, AND THE CONTRACTOR HAD BID ON THAT.
WELL, IN THE PROCESS OF EXCAVATING THAT, UM, THEY UNEARTHED ANOTHER CONCRETE SLAB THAT WAS NOT INITIALLY NOTED ON THE SITE PLAN.
AND THAT CONCRETE SLAB WAS 12 INCHES THICK.
SO A LITTLE BIT BIGGER THAN THIS, A LITTLE BIT DEEPER THAN THIS.
SO WE DID A CHANGE ORDER TO REMOVE ALL OF THAT.
AND THEY SUBSEQUENTLY REMOVED 20 TRUCKLOADS OF CONCRETE.
IN THE PROCESS OF DOING FURTHER EXCAVATION, THEY UNEARTHED ANOTHER CONCRETE SLAB UNDER THIS.
SO THERE WAS THE, LET ME GIVE YOU A VISUAL.
THERE WAS THE 12 INCH CONCRETE SLAB, AND THEN THERE WAS SOME DIRT, AND THEN THERE WAS AN EIGHT INCH CONCRETE SLAB.
SO THEY'RE GONNA HAVE TO EXCAVATE THAT.
THEY ESTIMATE THAT'S GONNA BE ANOTHER 20 TRUCKLOADS OF CONCRETE TO BE REMOVED.
WHY DO THEY NEED TO DO THIS? BECAUSE THEY NEED TO HAVE 24 INCHES OF PACKED DIRT OVER WHICH THEY'LL POUR THE PARKING LOT.
UM, SO THAT WILL BE ANOTHER CHANGE ORDER.
THERE'LL PROB, I DON'T KNOW THAT THERE'S GONNA BE A DELAY OF TIME BECAUSE THEY MAY BE ABLE TO DO OTHER THINGS CONCURRENTLY WITH THAT.
UM, AND THEN WE HAD AN E EVENT IN THE BUILDING TUESDAY ON DECEMBER.
ON TUESDAY DECEMBER 5TH, RADCLIFFE CONSTRUCTION HIT A WATERLINE BECAUSE IT WAS, THE WATERLINE HAD AN UNDOCUMENTED BAND IN IT.
IT'S UNFORTUNATE THAT IT HAD AN UNDOCUMENTED BAND BECAUSE, UM, THAT'S WHY THE CONTRACTOR HIT IT.
THE WATER WAS TURNED OFF, THE CONTRACTOR CONTACT IS A PLUMBER TO RESOLVE THE ISSUE.
FIXING THE ISSUE TOOK LONGER THAN WE THOUGHT, AND IT EXTENDED INTO THE NEXT WEEK.
UH, IN THE PROCESS, THE LINE GOT DIRT AND ROCKS IN IT.
AND SO WE HAD TROUBLE RESTORING PRESSURE AND RESTORING FUNCTIONALITY OF THE, THE TOILETS, UM, AND THE LABORATORIES.
SO THE PLUMBER HAD TO CLEAN THE DIRT AND ROCK OUT OF THE LINES.
AND THEN ON DECEMBER 13TH, THE ELECTRICAL
[00:55:01]
CONTRACTOR HIT ANOTHER AREA OF THE WATERLINE.SO, UH, IT WAS KINDA LIKE A CAN'T WIN FOR LOSING THING.
AND WITH THE EXCEPTION OF ONE STALL IN THE WOMEN'S RESTROOM, ALL THE FAUCETS AND THE LABORATORIES AND THE URINALS IN THE TOILETS, THEY'VE ALL BEEN REPAIRED WITH THE EXCEPTION OF ONE IN THE WOMEN'S RESTROOM.
UH, BECAUSE WE HAD RESULTING LOW WATER PRESSURE FOR SO LONG, I REQUESTED THAT WE GET THE WATER TESTED.
AND SO ONCE ALL THE REPAIRS WERE AFFECTED, UH, THE, THE, THE WATER TEST WAS, UH, DONE AND IT REVEALED THAT THE WATER WAS SAFE TO DRINK.
SO AS OF JANUARY 9TH, WHEN I WENT TO A MEETING LAST WEEK, ONLY ONE STALL WAS NOT WORKING, AND THE CONTRACTOR WAS GONNA TRY AND GET A, A, A COMPRESSOR TO COME IN AND BLOW OUT THAT LINE SO WE COULD HAVE THAT FUNCTIONING.
SO BECAUSE OF THAT WATER ISSUE, EXCUSE ME, WE HAD TO CLOSE A HALF HOUR EARLY ON DECEMBER 5TH AND THREE HOURS EARLY ON DECEMBER 6TH.
AND THEN WE OPENED LATER ON DECEMBER 7TH, WE OPENED HER AT THREE O'CLOCK ON DECEMBER 7TH.
UM, SO THAT'S KIND OF BEEN A LITTLE EXCITEMENT AT THE SCOTLANDVILLE BRANCH.
UM, AT THE MEETING THAT WE WENT, I WENT TO ON JANUARY 9TH, THE CONTRACTOR, THE ARCHITECT AND THE ENGINEER WERE WORKING ON RELOCATING SOME OF THE STORM DRAINS SO THAT THEY COULD AVOID A POSSIBLE CONFLICT WITH THE NEW WATER LINES.
SO LET'S SEE IF I HAVE ANY MORE PICTURES FOR YOU.
SO THERE'S ELECTRICAL AND PLUMBING, ROUGH INS AND THE INSTALLATION OF, OF THE DRAINS.
AND THAT'S PRETTY MUCH IT FOR RIGHT NOW.
BUT IT'S A MUCH DRIER LOOKING SITE.
WE HAVEN'T HAD THE, NEARLY THE WATER ISSUES WE'VE HAD AT SOUTH.
DON'T KNOW WHY, BUT I'M HAPPY THAT THAT'S THE CASE.
UM, THE BRICK SAMPLES HAVE ARRIVED IN THE LIBRARY AND ARCHITECTURAL SERVICES.
WE'LL REVIEW THOSE WITH THE METAL PANEL COVERS TO MAKE A FINAL SELECTION AT OUR NEXT, UM, MONTHLY MEETING.
AND THEN WE'LL BE UPSIDE SIZING TWO, TWO, WHAT THEY CALL CRACK UNITS.
AND WHAT THAT STANDS FOR IS COMPUTER ROOM AIR CONDITIONING UNITS.
WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT? UM, THIS IS BECAUSE WE INITIALLY HAD THREE HVAC UNITS, AND BECAUSE WHEN WE VEED WE DOWNSIZED THE BUILDING, WE NEEDED TO GO TO TWO, BUT WE NEEDED TO HAVE THE TWO BE A LITTLE BIT LARGER.
SO WE GOT A CREDIT FOR THE ONE CRACK, UH, ONE CRACK UNIT, AND WE'RE GONNA HAVE A LITTLE UPSIZE ON THE TWO REMAINING ONES.
UM, THE NEW ESTIMATED COMPLETION DATE FROM THE ARCHITECT THIS MORNING IS SEPTEMBER, 2024.
INITIALLY, IT WAS THE END OF JULY, SO NOT AS MUCH OF A DELAY.
DOES ANYBODY HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? YEAH, I DO.
UM, HOW BIG IS THE DETENTION POND? DO YOU KNOW? IS IT AN ACRE OR TWO ACRES OR IS IT SMALLER? I THINK IT'S SMALLER THAN AN ACRE, BUT I DON'T HAVE THAT SQUARE FOOTAGE FOR YOU.
I JUST ASKED BECAUSE IS IT, IS IT SOMETHING THAT'S GONNA BE VISIBLE TO THE PUBLIC ONCE IT FILLS UP WITH WATER? OR IS IT GOING GONNA BE ONE THAT DRIES OUT AND THEN, UH, FILLS BACK UP? IS I THINK MY UNDERSTANDING, AND CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG, MARY, MY UNDERSTANDING IS THAT IT'S GONNA BE MORE OF A SWALE THAT'S GONNA DESIGN TO CATCH THE DRAINAGE FROM, UM, FROM THE AREA, FROM THE ARCHIVES AREA, AND THEN EVENTUALLY DRY OUT.
AND I CAN GET YOU THAT APPROXIMATELY.
SO SOME OF 'EM RETAIN WATER FOR LONG PERIODS, BUT THEY HAVE LEVELS TO GROW MAYBE FIVE MORE FEET IN, IN AN EVENT OF A STORM.
AND, UH, I'VE SEEN IT IN NEIGHBORHOODS BEFORE.
AND SO I, THEY KIND OF DOUBLE AS LIKE, ALMOST LIKE A NEIGHBORHOOD POND.
AND SO I WAS JUST WANTING TO SEE IF IT WAS A PARTNERSHIP POTENTIALLY WITH WILDLIFE AND FISHERIES TO CREATE A ANOTHER RESOURCE AT THE LIBRARY FOR, UM, THE PEOPLE OF THE COMMUNITY.
BUT THAT WON'T WORK IF IT'S GONNA DRY OUT.
YEAH, IT'S, IT'S JUST A NARROW, IT'S, IT'S A SHALLOW SWELL.
THEY, THEY ALWAYS CALLED IT A SWELL.
IF SO, NOT TO GET AHEAD OF OURSELVES, BUT WHEN THIS, UH, STORAGE FACILITY IS COMPLETED, THAT'S WHEN WE WILL VACATE THE RENTED SPACE WE HAVE RIGHT NOW.
WE ARE GOING TO USE THAT AS A TEMPORARY LIBRARY FACILITY WHILE WE'RE RENOVATING THE NEW SCOTLANDVILLE LIBRARY, THE RENOVATING, THE SCOTLANDVILLE LIBRARY.
SO WHAT WE WANNA DO IS WE, WE WANT, WE'VE DONE IT BOTH WAYS.
WE'VE MOVED OUT COMPLETELY OR WE'VE, WE'VE DONE IT IN PHASES WHERE WE OCCUPY ONE PART WHILE THEY'RE RENOVATING IN THE OTHER PART, AND THEN WE MOVE INTO THAT FIRST PART, AND THEN THEY RENOVATE THE SECOND PART.
IN THIS PARTICULAR INSTANCE, WE'RE GOING TO HAVE, UM, ENOUGH SPACE TO HAVE A SMALL LIBRARY WITH A POPULAR COLLECTION AND SOME COMPUTERS.
AND, UM, THAT WAY WE DON'T HAVE TO INTERRUPT SERVICE AND PATRONS.
WE DON'T HAVE TO WALL OFF AN AREA.
[01:00:01]
IT.IT'LL, YOU KNOW, WALK IN THE AREA AND THEY'LL BE ABLE TO RENOVATE.
I THINK THE TIMELINE WILL MAKE IT A LITTLE MORE EASY BECAUSE THE CONTRACTOR DOESN'T HAVE TO WORK AROUND THE STAFF OR THE PATRONS.
ANY PUBLIC COMMENT UNDER UNFINISHED BUSINESS? ALL RIGHT.
NEXT IS THE INTRODUCTION OF OUR NEW LIBRARY BOARD OF CONTROL MEMBERS.
WE HAVE MR. RONNIE PIERCE AND DAR HUR.
WOULD YOU ALL LIKE TO INTRODUCE YOURSELVES? THANK YOU.
UM, I SPENT 16 YEARS HERE AT THE LIBRARY.
UH, THE, I THINK IT WAS THE LAST 10.
I WAS RHONDA'S ASSISTANT BUSINESS MANAGER.
UM, I'M JUST, UH, I ENJOYED MY TIME HERE AND SO I'M HAPPY TO BE ABLE TO TRY TO DO A LITTLE TO GIVE BACK.
HEY, I, UH, MY NAME IS DARRYL HURST.
I'M ALSO A METROPOLITAN COUNCIL MEMBER FOR DISTRICT FIVE.
AND JUST BEING IN THE COMMUNITY AND SEEING THE LACK, UM, IN TERMS OF LITERACY, SEEING THE OPPORTUNITY WHERE THE LIBRARY CAN BE THAT PARTNER TO CLOSE THAT GAP, UH, AND UNDERSTANDING HOW IMPORTANT LITERACY IS AT THE THIRD AND FOURTH GRADE LEVELS TO DETERMINE OUR PRISON CELLS ARE BUILT, UM, HAS REALLY GROWN MY, MY HEART TO BE A PART OF THIS BOARD.
TO WANNA EXPAND THE RESOURCES OUTSIDE THE FOUR WALLS OF EACH FACILITY AND TRY TO REACH INTO THE DEPTHS OF THE COMMUNITY WHERE YOU ALL ALONG WITH MYSELF, CAN BE PART OF THAT CHANGE TO MAKE BATON ROUGE A BETTER PLACE TO LIVE, WORK, AND PLAY.
SO I WANNA THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO BE ON THE BOARD AND LOOK FORWARD TO SERVING WITH EVERYONE.
AT THIS TIME, I'D LIKE TO, UH, MAKE A MOTION TO ELECT OFFICERS FOR THE LIBRARY BOARD OF CONTROL.
AND UM, AND THIS IS FOR 2024 FOR THE PRESIDENT, MS. UH, CANDACE TEMPLE VICE PRESIDENT, MR. DONALD LUTHER, AND FOR OUR TREASURER MS. KATHY COMB.
WELL WE HAVE A MOTION ON THE TABLE.
UM, AND THEN I WOULD LIKE TO COMMENT ON THE, UM, UNDER NEW BUSINESS FOR OUR NEW BOARD MEMBERS TO SAY WE ARE GLAD TO SERVE WITH YOU ALL.
UH, WE REALLY APPRECIATE YOU ALL DOING THIS AND SERVING THE COMMUNITY.
WE ALL HAVE A PASSION TO SEE THE LIBRARY IN OUR COMMUNITY GROW.
AND SO IT'S AN HONOR TO SERVE ALONG WITH YOU WITH THE EXPERIENCE THAT YOU ALL BRING.
LIKE WE THINK THAT WE CAN CONTINUE TO MAKE THIS LIBRARY ONE OF THE BEST.
ANY OTHER COMMENTS? BY THE ADDITIONAL COMMENTS BY THE LIBRARY BOARD OF CONTROL? I'D LIKE TO, UM, CONGRATULATE ALL OF THE, UH, NEW OFFICERS, UH, IN YOUR POSITIONS.
I'M GONNA MISS YOU ON MY LEFT SIDE, MY BACK DOOR.
I CALL AND, UM, MISS, UH, TEMPLE AS OUR PRESIDENT, WE LOOK FOR GREAT THINGS.
WELL, YOU WERE WELL TRAINED BY MR. JASON.
UM, AND OUR TREASURER, WE KNOW YOU MANAGE THE MONEY WELL, THANK YOU.
SO TO THE NEW GUYS, WELCOME ABOARD AND YOU ALL ARE WITH A STRONG BUT A GOOD TEAM OF, UH, COHORTS.
AND I'D JUST LIKE TO ECHO THAT AS WELL.
I LOOK FORWARD TO SERVING WITH RONNIE.
ANY, ANY ADDITIONAL COMMENTS BY THE BOARD UNDER NEW BUSINESS? ANY PUBLIC COMMENT? SEEING NONE.
DO I HAVE A MOTION TO ADJOURN? I MOTION I SECOND.