* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting. [00:00:09] GOOD [EBR Library Board of Control on February 19, 2026.] EVENING. WELCOME TO THE EAST BAT ROUGE PARISH LIBRARY BOARD OF CONTROL. FEBRUARY 19TH, 2026 MEETING, UM, LINE KING LEE IS IN THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE, PLEASE, I PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND TO THE REPUBLIC FOR WHICH IT STANDS. NATION ONE NATION UNDER GOD, INDIVISIBLE, LIBERTY, JUSTICE FOR ALL. THANK YOU. MS. ANTOINETTE. ROLL CALL PLEASE. MS. CANICE TEMPLE. HERE, MR. BROWN JR. HERE. MS. KATHY COMB. HERE. MRS. DO WATTS. MRS. NICOLE OLIVER . MR. DARRELL HURST. MR. RONNIE PIERCE HERE, LET THE RECORD REFLECT. WE DO HAVE A QUORUM. MOVING ON TO APPROVE OF THE MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF JANUARY 15TH, 2026. ARE THERE ANY CORRECTIONS TO THE MINUTES? NO ONE HAS ANY CORRECTIONS ON THAT. WE OKAY HERE? NONE. THERE'S NO OBJECTIONS. HERE ARE NO OBJECTIONS. THE MINUTES ARE APPROVED. MOVING ON TO SPECIAL ORDERS. WE DO NOT HAVE ANY SPECIAL ORDERS AT THIS TIME. NEXT ON THE AGENDA REPORTS BY THE DIRECTOR, THE FINANCIAL REPORT FINANCIAL REPORT WILL BE READ BY RHONDA FOR 2025. OPERATING EXPENDITURES THROUGH DECEMBER 31ST ARE $49,487,461 AND 51 CENTS, OR 89.96% OF THE OPERATING BUDGET. THESE NUMBERS WILL CONTINUE TO CHANGE OVER THE NEXT COUPLE OF MONTHS WHILE EXPENDITURES FOR THE 2025 FISCAL YEAR ARE FINALIZED. CLEANUP TRANSFERS ARE PROCESSED AND INTEREST EARNINGS ARE POSTED. FOURTH QUARTER INTEREST EARNINGS HAVE NOT YET BEEN POSTED FOR 2026. OPERATING EXPENDITURES THROUGH JANUARY 31ST ARE $2,425,249 AND 18 CENTS, OR 4.5 PER 6% OF THE OPERATING BUDGET THROUGH JANUARY. WE SHOULD HAVE SPENT NO MORE THAN EIGHT POINT 33% OF THE BUDGET. CASH COLLECTIONS FROM PROPERTY TAXES FOR 2026 ARE AHEAD OF THOSE COLLECTED IN 2025 AS WE ARE APPROXIMATELY $1.9 MILLION AND 3.6% AHEAD OF THE SAME PERIOD LAST YEAR IN QUESTIONS. NO, THANK YOU. MOVING ON TO ASSISTANT REPORTS. A SYSTEM REPORTS WILL BE READ BY ASSISTANT DIRECTOR MARY STEIN. ALRIGHT, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, UM, BEFORE WE GET STARTED, I'M HAPPY TO SHARE WITH YOU IT TAKES TWO HANDS. UM, WE'RE THE PROUD RECIPIENT OF READER'S CHOICE FROM BATON ROUGE PARENTS MAGAZINE. UM, LAST YEAR, THIS WAS THE THING HIT THE MOST ONLINE, PING, PING, PING, PING, PING. UM, SO IT RESULTED IN THIS LOVELY PLAQUE, WHICH WE WILL HANG PROBABLY ON THE THIRD FLOOR. AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, IT RESULTED IN A LOT OF ACTIVITY FOR THE LIBRARY. THAT'S WHY WE DO IT. YOU'LL ALSO SEE THAT THE LIBRARY'S BEEN FEATURED IN FACES AND PLACES, UH, WHICH IS A NEW, UH, FACES AND PLACES OF GREATER BATON ROUGE. UM, RIGHT THERE ON THE BACK AND AGAIN AND INSIDE TALKING ABOUT OUR PRESS START, READY, SET, READ PROGRAM FOR THE CHILDREN. UM, AGAIN, ANOTHER WAY TO REACH PEOPLE WHERE THEY ARE. ALRIGHT, WE WERE PRIVILEGED TO HOST SHELTON BERRY LAST NIGHT HERE IN THE MAIN LIBRARY AS PART OF THE BATON ROUGE ROOM LECTURE SERIES, THE HISTORY OF ENSLAVED PEOPLE OF WEST BATON ROUGE, AND THAT WAS A WONDERFUL PROGRAM. DR. CHARLES VINCENT WILL DO HIS ANNUAL LECTURE AT THE BAKER BRANCH LIBRARY NEXT WEEK. HEROES IN AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY, OUR FIRST BLACK ELECTED OFFICIALS. SO THAT'S, UM, A DIFFERENT, DIFFERENT, UH, VIEW, UH, AGAIN, PART OF ONGOING PROGRAMS AND SERIES, NOT JUST AT THE MAIN LIBRARY, BUT ALL OVER. I WILL ALSO INVITE YOU TO GET REGISTERED FOR POETRY IN THE NATURAL WORLD. START WRITING YOUR POEMS. WE'RE STILL ACCEPTING THEM. WE ARE ACCEPTING POEMS FROM CHILDREN, TEENS, ADULTS, [00:05:02] SO THAT YOU CAN SHARE HOW YOU ARE HERE IN THE NATURAL WORLD. AND AT EACH ONE OF YOUR SEATS, SEE A, UH, THE BEGINNING LIST OF PROGRAMS THAT WE'LL BE OFFERING. UH, WE ARE OF COURSE ON THE COVER OF THE MARCH SOURCE WITH ONE BOOK, ONE COMMUNITY. YOU ARE HERE, POETRY IN THE NATURAL WORLD. AND THEN WE HAVE A NICE BROAD RANGE OF PROGRAMS PLANNED THROUGHOUT THE PARISH. UH, IT'S ALWAYS A RISK WITH POETRY BECAUSE SO MANY PEOPLE JUST SAY, OH, I DON'T READ POETRY. IT'S LIKE YOU DO. YOU LISTEN TO MUSIC, DON'T YOU? YOU'RE ALWAYS HEARING POETRY AND YOU CAN PROBABLY WRITE IT TOO. UM, NOW, TANGENTIAL POEM, UH, PROGRAMS FEATURE THE NATURAL WORLD BECAUSE WE'RE GONNA, AS YOU KNOW, WITH ONE BOOK, ONE COMMUNITY, WHATEVER THE THEME IS, WE ARE GONNA HIT ALL THE POSSIBLE TANGENT POINTS. SO WE STARTED WITH A NATURAL WORLD AND I'M SO THRILLED TO SHOW YOU THE FIRST MEETING OF THE SPROUT SCOUTS AT THE BLUE BONNET REGIONAL BRANCH LIBRARY. THIS IS A BRAINCHILD OF THEIR CHILDREN'S LIBRARIAN, AND SHE IS LOOKING AT THE RESEARCH THAT SAYS CHILDREN NEED TO BE CONNECTED TO THE NATURAL WORLD AND THEY CAN LEARN ABOUT PLANTS AND GROWING AS EARLY AS THREE YEARS OLD. AND SO SHE WANTED PERMISSION TO PLAN AN ORGANIZED SERIES, NOT JUST A ONE-OFF, BUT A SERIES. AND SHE EVEN FOUND SOMEONE TO GIVE A GRANT TO OUR FRIENDS GROUP TO PAY FOR ALL THE SUPPLIES. UH, SO I LOVE IT WHEN SOMEONE NOT ONLY HAS AN IDEA, BUT HAS THE SOLUTION TO MAKE THE IDEA A REALITY. SO SHE'S GOT THAT STARTED. AND LOOK AT THOSE FACES. THERE WERE ALL DIFFERENT AGES. UH, THEY WERE MAKING THEIR OWN LITTLE SEED POTS, THEY WERE PLANTING, THEY WERE TOUCHING. UM, THEY, THEY WERE NOT EATING THE DIRT. Y'ALL DON'T WORRY ABOUT THAT. BUT THIS IS CONNECTED WITH THE CHILDREN'S SEED LIBRARY. AND SO THEY'RE DOING RAISED BED GARDEN RIGHT OUTSIDE THE CHILDREN'S ROOM ON THE PA ON THE PATIO IN THE BACK, UM, MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE NOT PLANTING ANYTHING THAT WILL ATTRACT BEES TO STING THE CHILDREN. BUT, UH, SMILES ALL AROUND. I'M VERY EXCITED ABOUT THIS. AND SO IN A WAY, THIS IS KIND OF A PILOT AND IT JIVES NICELY WITH ONE BOOK, ONE COMMUNITY. SO WE'RE JUST GONNA SEE WHERE IT GROWS. ANOTHER ASPECT, OF COURSE, AS I MENTIONED, MUSIC, POETRY, SONG LYRICS. AND WE'RE GONNA WELCOME TANK FROM TANK AND NAAS HERE ON FRIDAY, MARCH 13TH FOR AN AFTER HOUR EVENT. SHE IS WEARING AN OUTFIT MADE OF FLOWERS. IF YOU CAN SEE THAT CLOSELY IS PHENOMENAL. SHE SHOULD HAVE BEEN AT THE SURREAL SALON AS WELL. SO THAT'S AN EXAMPLE OF ONE OF THE KINDS OF PROGRAMS THAT WE'LL BE OFFERING. AND OUR KIND OF HEADLINE PROGRAM WILL BE A GATHERING OF POETS AT THE END OF MARCH. SO YOU'LL HEAR A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT THAT NEXT MONTH. BUT I'M REALLY LOOKING FORWARD TO THIS BECAUSE WE'LL BE CELEBRATING NATURE. WE'LL BE CELEBRATING THE WRITTEN, WOR WRITTEN WORD, THE SPOKEN WORD, AND ALL THE WORDS IN BETWEEN. NOW, THIS COMING WEEKEND, I'M GONNA WELCOME YOU TO MID-CITY MICROCON IS BEEN YEARS WE'VE BEEN DOING THIS, AND WE HAVE A FULL DAY OF FAMILY FUN PLANNED. UH, ONE OF OUR SPECIAL EVENTS WILL BE A DRAWING WORKSHOP WITH KEITH CARTOON MAN DOUGLAS, WE LOVE HIM SO MUCH. HE IS SO PATIENT AND KIND. AND EVEN IF YOU THINK YOU COULD NEVER DRAW EVEN A STICK FIGURE BY THE END OF HIS WORKSHOP, YOU WILL LEAVE EMPOWERED TO, UH, MAKE YOUR SELF SEEN IN YOUR, IN NOT THE WRITTEN WORD, BUT THE DRAWN WORD. SO LOOKING FORWARD TO THAT SUPER TAX DAY IS COMING UP. SO THAT TAKES YOU FROM THE RIDICULOUS TO THE SUBLIME. UH, WITH OUR FRIENDS FROM CAPITAL AREA, UNITED WAY, VITA, THEY'LL BE ALL OVER THE PLACE ON THE LAST SATURDAY OF FEBRUARY. EACH YEAR, HUNDREDS OF RETURNS ARE DONE AND OTHER INFORMS AND RESEARCH WORKSHOPS ARE HELD. UH, THERE'S INCENTIVES, BUT I'M GONNA ALSO REMIND YOU THAT WE ARE OFFERING TAX HELP ON A REGULAR BASIS EVERY WEEK AT THE BLUE BONNET, CENTRAL JONES CREEK AND SOUTH BRANCH LIBRARIES FROM EITHER [00:10:02] VITA OR A A RP. NOW, PLEASE NOTE, THIS IS THE FIRST YEAR IN 20 YEARS PLUS THAT A A RP HAS NOT BEEN ABLE TO STAND UP A PROGRAM HERE AT THE MAIN LIBRARY. THEY LOST VOLUNTEERS AND THEY JUST DID NOT HAVE ENOUGH VOLUNTEERS TO MAN OR TO STAND THE PROGRAM UP HERE AT THE MAIN LIBRARY. THEY KNEW THEY HAD SOME VOLUNTEERS RIGHT DOWN THE STREET ON GOODWOOD AT THE BROADMOOR PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. SO OUR RESIDENT, THE PEOPLE WHO NORMALLY JUST SHOW UP HERE AND THEY WILL JUST SHOW UP AND START LOOKING FOR A SIGNUP SHEET, WE WILL DIRECT THEM DOWN THE STREET. BUT, UM, WE'RE JUST SO APPRECIATIVE OF THESE VOLUNTEERS. AND I WILL TELL YOU THAT A A RP IS GONNA BE VISITING SUPER TAX DAY TO SEE IF THEY CAN SCOUT OUT SOME POTENTIAL VOLUNTEERS TO HELP US BRING THE PROGRAM BACK TO THE MAIN LIBRARY FOR TAX SEASON 2027. UH, WE HAVE WHATEVER FORMS EXIST ARE HERE, FEWER AND FEWER FORMS ARE PRINTED, BUT THEY'RE ALL AVAILABLE ONLINE AND OUR STAFF IS PRIMED AND READY TO HELP PEOPLE TO HELP OUR PATRONS PRINT THEM OUT, WHAT THEY NEED. ALSO ENCOURAGING YOU TO SAVE THE DATE FOR ADDICT TREASURES. IT'S MOVED BACK TO THE SPRING. UH, WE HAD SCHEDULING DIFFICULTIES IN THE FALL WITH THE STATE BOOK, UH, BOOK FESTIVAL AND OTHER THINGS. SO WE'VE PLANNED IT FOR MARCH 7TH. I AM LOOKING FORWARD TO SEEING WHAT PEOPLE BRING. YOU KNOW, THAT'S ONE OF MY FAVORITE PROGRAMS. I LOVE TO WALK THE LINES AND SEE WHAT PEOPLE BROUGHT OUT OF THEIR CLOSETS. OF COURSE, STRICTLY BUSINESS STILL COMING DOWN THE PIKE, THE VIRTUAL AUTHOR SERIES, WE'RE GOING TO HAVE A SPECIAL GUEST NEXT MONTH. JASON REYNOLDS. WE SCORED JASON REYNOLDS FOR VIRTUAL TALK. HE IS ONE OF THE STANDOUT AUTHORS OF TEEN FICTION. HE HAS BEEN HERE BEFORE. WE LOVED HIM. AND SO WE'RE GONNA HAVE HIM VIRTUALLY AND THE TEENS ARE GOING TO PUSH THAT OUT SEPARATELY FOR THEIR AUDIENCES FOR THE TEEN LIBRARIANS, THE TEACHERS, AND THE TEENS THEMSELVES. NOW I KNOW YOU SAW SUCH THINGS AS THIS IN THE NEWSPAPER. I DON'T HAVE TO GO INTO TOO MUCH DETAIL HERE OTHER THAN THE FACT THAT WE'RE READY TO MOVE ON IN THE NEXT PAGE OF WRITING OUR NEXT CHAPTER WITH THE MILLAGE CONTINUATION PLAN FOR JUNE 27TH. HERE'S JUST A FEW PICTURES FROM THE PUBLIC HEARING. UH, AS YOU REMEMBER, THERE WERE PEOPLE ON THE EIGHTH FLOOR, PEOPLE ON THE THIRD FLOOR, PEOPLE IN THE CHAMBERS, PEOPLE ON THE STREET. AND YOU WERE THERE AND THERE WAS A LOT OF LIBRARY BLUE AND THERE WERE BOOK HATS. BUT I WANT TO DRAW YOUR SPECIAL ATTENTION TO THIS. THE FLAMINGOS GETTING READY FOR SPANISH TOWN. UH, I LOVE THAT. SO BOOK HATS AND BOOK LOVE. MY LIBRARY YARD SIGNS ARE EVERYWHERE AND I EXPECT TO SEE EVEN MORE OF THEM OVER THE NEXT COUPLE OF MONTHS. UM, AND I THINK THAT IS ALL I HAVE FOR YOU UNLESS YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS FOR ME. OKAY, THANK YOU MA. MOVING ON TO OTHER REPORTS, MAINTENANCE AND ADDITIONAL CAPITAL PROJECTS MAINTENANCE AND ADDITIONAL CAPITAL PROJECTS WILL BE READ BY ASSISTANT DIRECTOR LAURIE JEWISH. OKAY, SO FOR THE MONTH OF FEBRUARY, UM, AT THE DELMARK GARDENS BRANCH LIBRARY ON JANUARY 29TH, THE BRANCH TEMPORARILY CLOSED FOR WHILE REPAIRS WERE MADE AFTER FINDING LEAKS IN THE UNDERGROUND HOT WATER LINES FOR THE BOILER. UM, AND YESTERDAY, UNFORTUNATELY, THEY FOUND A NEW LEAK AND REPAIRS WERE MADE TO THE UNDERGROUND HOT WATER LINES THAT RUNS IN THE BOILER ROOM TO THE UNITS IN THE MEZZANINE AT THE EDEN PARK BRANCH LIBRARY ON JANUARY 27TH. THE BRANCH HAD TO CLOSE FOR THE DAY WHILE TEMPORARY REPAIRS WERE MADE TO THE BOILER. AND IN ADDITION, SEVERAL DEAD TREES WERE REMOVED, UH, AT GREENWOOD SPRINGS REGIONAL BRANCH LIBRARY. THE EXTERIOR WAS PRESSURE WASHED AT THE JONES CREEK REGIONAL BRANCH LIBRARY. THE VENDOR HAS BEGUN TO WORK TO REPLACE THE HVAC CONTROL SYSTEMS. AND LASTLY, THE REPAIRS AND MAINTENANCE WORK ON THE MEETING ROOM. PARTITION WALLS AT THE BLUE BARN AT CENTRAL GREENWELL SPRINGS AND SOUTH LIBRARY BRANCHES HAS BEEN COMPLETED FOR THE MISCELLANEOUS IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS FOR THE ROOFING [00:15:01] PROJECT. THE CONTRACTOR IS STILL ADDRESSING ISSUES AT JONES CREEK AND BLUE BARN AT REGIONAL BRANCHES AS WELL AS AT DELMA GARDENS BRANCH. AND THEY'VE MADE REPAIRS AT THE ZACHARY BRANCH LIBRARY FOR THE BOILERS PROJECTS FOR EDEN PARK AND GREENWOOD SPRINGS. UH, ARCHITECTURAL SERVICES IS MAKING A RECOMMENDATION FOR ACCEPTANCE OF THE LOWEST BID ON THE EDEN PARK BOILER PROJECT AND IT WILL GO TO THE METRO COUNCIL FOR APPROVAL. IN ADDITION, ARCHITECTURAL SERVICES IS WORKING ON THE BID DOCUMENTS FOR THE GREENWELL SPRINGS REGIONAL BRANCH LIBRARY BOILER PROJECT AND THEY EXPECT IT TO GO OUT FOR BID SOON FOR THE CHILLER PROJECT. WE'RE WAITING ON FI UH, FINAL ACCEPTANCE. AND THAT IS IT. ANY QUESTIONS? ALL? THANK YOU. THANK YOU. MOVING ON TO MISCELLANEOUS REPORTS. GOOD AFTERNOON. JUST HAVE A COUPLE OF THINGS. WE ARE IN THE BEGINNING STAGES OF REVIEWING OUR CURRENT POLICIES. FOR EXAMPLE, CONSIDERING THE RECENT FIRST AMENDMENT AUDITOR DISRUPTION, WE ARE TAKING A CLOSER LOOK AT THE PATRON CODE OF CONDUCT. THIS IS JUST ONE EXAMPLE. WE ARE LISTENING TO STAFF FEEDBACK. WE ARE RESEARCHING POLICIES FROM OTHER LIBRARIES, AND OF COURSE WE WILL CONSULT WITH THE PARISH ATTORNEY'S OFFICE BEFORE WE BRING ANY, UH, CHANGES TO OUR POLICIES, TO YOU, THE BOARD FOR APPROVAL. UM, SO ANY QUESTIONS WITH REGARDS WHAT I JUST SAID? NO. OKAY, . SO REALLY THE ONLY OTHER THING I HAVE IS, UH, JUST TO, UM, JUST TO REITERATE WHAT MARY SAID A FEW MOMENTS AGO, UH, SINCE OUR LAST BOARD MEETING, THE METRO COUNCIL HAS MET AND APPROVED TO SEND OUR PROPOSITION OF A 10 YEAR DEDICATED MILLAGE TAX OF 9.5 TO THE BALLOT ON JUNE 27TH, 2026. THERE WAS MUCH WORK AND PLANNING WENT INTO THIS PROPOSITION TO GET IT TO THE METRO COUNCIL BEFORE THE DEADLINE. AND WE ACHIEVED THAT. UH, WOULD LIKE TO FORMALLY THANK THE LIBRARY BOARD OF CONTROL, THE METRO COUNCIL MEMBERS MAYOR EDWARDS, OUR STAFF AND THE MEMBERS OF OUR COMMUNITY FOR YOUR CONTINUED SUPPORT AND ADVOCACY. BUT THE WORK, OF COURSE, IS NOT FINISHED YET. WE WILL BEGIN OUR INFORMATION CAMPAIGN IN ORDER TO GET THE FACTS TO THE PUBLIC. ANY QUESTIONS? THANK YOU. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. ALRIGHT, MOVING ON TO REPORTS OF COMMITTEES. WE DO NOT HAVE ANY COMMITTEE REPORTS AT THIS TIME. NEXT ON THE AGENDA, UNFINISHED BUSINESS UPDATE ON THE SCOTT MILL BRANCH LIBRARY. OKAY, SO FOR THE LAST MONTH AT THE SCOTLANDVILLE BRANCH LIBRARY, PHASE TWO, UM, METAL CANOPIES HAVE BEEN INSTALLED AT THE MAIN ENTRANCE. ROOFING SHINGLES HAVE BEEN INSTALLED. THE STOREFRONT WINDOWS ARE BEING INSTALLED AND THE BRICK VENEER WORK IS ONGOING. WATERPROOFING IS ONGOING. INSTALLATION OF GYPSUM WALLS IS ONGOING. FIRE ALARM PANELS HAVE BEEN INSTALLED. UH, THE METAL DOORFRAMES ARE BEING INSTALLED. PLUMBING FIXTURES ARE BEING INSTALLED IN THE RESTROOMS. WATER FOUNTAINS ARE BEING INSTALLED. MECHANICAL AND ELECTRICAL WORK ARE ONGOING. AND THE PROJECT IS NOW EXPECTED TO BE COMPLETED BY MID MAY, THOUGH THIS COULD CHANGE. AND I DO HAVE A FEW IMAGES THAT KIND OF TOUCH ON THESE THINGS. SO LET'S SEE IF I CAN GET TO THAT. ALRIGHT, SO HERE WE GO. SHOWING THE NEW ENTRANCE, UM, METAL OVERHANGS THAT WERE INSTALLED. UH, THE SECOND IMAGE SHOWS, UM, THE OUTSIDE OF THE MEETING ROOMS, THE STOREFRONT WINDOWS HAVE BEEN INSTALLED. AND THE THIRD IMAGE SHOWS THE FRONT OUTSIDE OF THE CHILDREN'S AREA SHOWING THE STOREFRONT WINDOWS INSTALLED. WHAT IS THE HEIGHT OF THE OVERHANG? HMM? WHAT IS THE HEIGHT OF THAT OVERHANG? DO YOU REMEMBER THE WHAT I'M SORRY? HEIGHT. THE HEIGHT OF THE OVER. OH YEAH. I'M NOT SURE. I I CAN LOOK THAT UP, UH, LATER ON AND GET THAT INFORMATION TO YOU. WE DID MAKE SOME CHANGES SO THAT THE UH YEAH. BUSES WERE A BUS CAN. YEAH. YEAH, WE DID. ALL RIGHT. AND HERE'S A, A CUTE IMAGE OF THE CUPOLA AND THE ROOFING SHINGLES THAT WERE INSTALLED. LOOKS SO CLEAN. YEAH. AND THE NEW BIKE RACKS THAT WERE INSTALLED OUT FRONT, THE EXTERIOR BOOK DROPPED THAT WAS INSTALLED. YES. THE METAL FRAMEWORK FOR THE DOORS INSTALLED IN THE MEETING ROOMS. THE INTERIOR OF THE MEETING ROOM FACING THE KITCHEN NET AREA. AND HERE WE HAVE A FRAMEWORK INSTALLED FOR THE GLASS AREAS OF THE STUDY AND PROGRAM ROOMS. YOU SEE THAT NICE DARK FRAMEWORK THERE. I LOVE IT. IT'S LOOKING SO NICE. UM, THEN WE HAVE THE WINDOW INSTALLATION [00:20:01] VIEW FROM INSIDE OF ONE OF THE STUDY ROOMS. THEN WE HAVE THE RESTROOM, PLUMBING AND FIXTURES BEING INSTALLED, THE WATER FOUNTAINS BEING INSTALLED AND THE INTERIOR OF THE CHILDREN'S AREA WITH THE WINDOWS NOW INSTALLED. AND LASTLY, THE INTERIOR OF THE TEAM ROOM WITH THE WINDOWS INSTALLED AND THE BLOCKING, YOU CAN SEE IN THAT CORNER FOR THE PROGRAM ROOM TECHNOLOGY THAT WILL BE IN PLACE. NICE. SO IT'S COMING TOGETHER. YOU CAN SEE THAT THERE IS STILL A LOT OF WORK TO BE DONE. SO, UM, WE'RE STILL HOPING FOR ME THAT THEY'LL HAVE ALL OF THIS DONE. ANY QUESTIONS? OKAY. THANK YOU. OKAY. ALRIGHT, MOVING ON TO THE UPDATE ON THE BAKER BRANCH LIBRARY. OKAY. YES. SO FOR THE BAKER BRANCH LIBRARY, THE CONTRACT WITH GFP WAS INTRODUCED, UM, AT THE FEBRUARY 11TH METRO COUNCIL MEETING. IT WILL BE VOTED ON AT THE FEBRUARY 25TH METRO COUNCIL MEETING FOR ACCEPTANCE. AND THE CONTRACT WILL THEN BE SIGNED BY THE MAYOR. PRESIDENT ARCHITECTURAL SERVICES STAFF ARE WORKING WITH US TO SET UP A PRE-DESIGNED MEETING SOON AND WE EXPECT DESIGN DEVELOPMENT TO PROCEED SHORTLY AFTER THAT PRE-DESIGNED MEETING. ANY QUESTIONS? ALRIGHT, THANK YOU. THANK YOU. MOVING ON TO NEW BUSINESS, THE INTRODUCTION OF THE NEW BRANCH MANAGER, RYAN CARTER OR CARVER BRANCH. YES, I AM VERY HAPPY TO ANNOUNCE WE HAVE A NEW MANAGER OF OUR CARVER BRANCH LIBRARY. MR. RYAN CARTER. GOOD AFTERNOON. AFTERNOON. SO, UH, YEAH, MY NAME IS RYAN. UM, I HAVE BEEN WITH EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH LIBRARY SYSTEM SINCE 2005. UH, I STARTED OFF WHEN I WAS IN COLLEGE AS A PAGE AND THEN A FEW YEARS LATER I DECIDED TO GO FULL ON PART, UH, FULL-TIME WITH THE LIBRARY. AND THEN A FEW YEARS LATER I DECIDED TO BECOME A LIBRARIAN AND GET MY MLIS, WHICH I DID FROM LOUISIANA STATE UNIVERSITY IN 2018. AND, UH, RIGHT AFTER THAT I MOVED TO THE CARVER BRANCH WHERE I WAS THE TEAM LIBRARIAN FOR ABOUT THREE TO FOUR YEARS TILL OCTOBER OF 2022. AND THEN I MOVED TO THE RIVER CENTER BRANCH WHERE I WAS ALSO A TEEN LIBRARIAN AS WELL AS THE QUOTE UNQUOTE MAKERSPACE LIBRARY THERE. UM, AND THEN NOW I'M BACK AT CARVER AND I'M REALLY EXCITED TO BE BACK AT CARVER. I HAVE TONS OF EXPERIENCE WITH THE COMMUNITY THERE. UM, I KNOW ALL THE PROGRAMS, UH, I KNOW ALL THE RELATIONSHIPS THAT MY PREDECESSOR HAD WITH THE COMMUNITY. AND I LOOK FORWARD ON BUILDING WITH THOSE AND HOPEFULLY ACTUALLY BRINGING SOME OF THE CONNECTIONS THAT I HAVE FROM THE MAKERSPACE INTO THE CARVER COMMUNITY. AND SO I'M REALLY LOOKING FORWARD TO THAT. THAT'S NICE. I'LL TELL THAT. UH, THE CARVER LIBRARY IS SO IMPORTANT TO THAT COMMUNITY THERE. IT'S ONE OF OUR, UH, BRANCHES THAT IS, UM, YOU KNOW, EXTREMELY, UM, IMPORTANT TO THE AREA. IT'S COHESIVE TO THE AREA IS WHAT I'M TRYING TO SAY. SO THANK YOU FOR BEING THERE. IT'S LIKE A TIGHT KNIT FAMILY OVER THERE. IT REALLY IS. CONGRATULATIONS. THANK Y'ALL. YES, CONGRATULATIONS. THE FOOD CLOSET, THE WALK AND BREATHE. WHEN YOU WALK AROUND, YOU GO TO DIFFERENT SITES. IT'S A FUN LITTLE LIBRARY. YES. I'D INVITE Y'ALL TO GO MOVING ON TO COMMENTS BY THE BOARD OF CONTROL COMMENTS. I DO HAVE A COMMENT, MORE OF A QUESTION WHY TOM USED TO COME TO THESE MEETING. DOES HE NOT LOOK LIKE US ANYMORE? SINCE WE'RE NOT DOING ANY, UH, AGENDA ITEMS RELATED TO TECHNOLOGY CONSTANTLY CHANGING. WE GAVE HIM A PASS. OKAY. PLEASE LET HIM KNOW HE IS MISSED . BUT, UH, ONCE THE ILS GETS THROUGH THE NEXT PHASE OF RFP ACCEPTANCE, WE MAY HAVE SEEN HIM. EXCELLENT. WHAT HE'S MISSED. AND I JUST WANNA SAY THANK YOU ALL FOR THE HARD WORK ON GETTING EVERYTHING TO THE COUNCIL AND SHOWING UP THERE AND GIVING THEM ALL THE INFORMATION THEY NEEDED TO MAKE IT AN EASY PASS. SO I KNOW THAT'S A LOT OF, SEEMS LIKE A, WELL IT IS A LOT OF WORK, A LOT OF ADDITIONAL WORK AND TIME, SO WE APPRECIATE IT. YEAH. RHONDA, THANK YOU FOR ALL HOURS. YOU PUT IN CRUNCHING NUMBERS. YEAH. MIDDLE OF THE DAY. MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT, UH, THE REST OF THE STAFF FOR EVERYTHING Y'ALL HAVE DONE. UH, NOW THEN LET'S, LET'S SEE IF WE CAN CONVINCE, UH, THE VOTERS TO, UH, CONTINUE TO SUPPORT US THAT WE CAN MOVE FORWARD WITH OUR MISSION AND, AND CONTINUE TO MAKE THIS THE BEST LIBRARY SYSTEM IN THE COUNTRY. ANY OTHER COMMENTS? OKAY. IS THERE ANY OTHER FURTHER BUSINESS [00:25:01] HEARING? THERE'S NO OBJECTION. ADJOURN HEARING ADJOURNED. WOW. * This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.