MINUTES

Draft

South Central Library System Board of Trustees Minutes
4/22/2021, 12:15 p.m.
4610 S. Biltmore Lane, Suite 101, Madison, WI 53718

Meeting held remotely via BlueJeans

Action Items:

Approved the 2020 Management Discussion & Analysis (audit)

Approved the board meeting dates for November and December 2021

Approved an increase to new building project budget

Approved the Rio Community Library Technology Services Agreement

Present: B. Clendenning, S. Elwell, N. Foth, M. Furgal, J. Healy-Plotkin, J. Honl, N. Long, M. Nelson, R. Nelson, T. Peterson, G. Poulson, T. Walske

Absent: N. Brien, P. Cox

Excused: F. Cherney, K. Williams

Recorder: H. Moe

SCLS Staff Present: M. Van Pelt, K. Goeden

Call to Order: 12: 15 p.m. J. Healy-Plotkin, President

a. Introduction of guests/visitors: Devin Flanigan, Keller, Inc., David Odahl, Wegner CPAs

b. Changes/additions to the agenda: None

c. Requests to address the Board: J. Healy- Plotkin noted Rob Nelson has been elected Mayor of Baraboo. B. Clendenning inquired about the purpose of “changes/additions to the agenda” and if any changes would be “legal”. M. Van Pelt noted changes to the agenda could include an action item that needed to be removed and added at another meeting. An action item cannot be added, but it can be removed. M. Nelson noted it can also be used to rearrange the order of the agenda to accommodate guests/speakers.

Approval of previous meeting minutes: 3/25/2021

a. Motion: B. Clendenning moved approval. T. Walske seconded.
b. Changes or corrections: None

c. Vote: Motion carried.

Bills for Payments: The payment amount is $125,211.20

a. Motion. G. Poulson moved approval of the bills for payment. N. Long seconded.

b. Discussion: A question was raised regarding the Skill Path and Darcy Louma invoice. Skill Path is a subscription for all SCLS staff who would like to participate in unlimited virtual seminars and webinars on many different topics. Darcy Louma is a company that was hired to present training to SCLS staff on helpfulness, which is one of the SCLS quality standards.

c. Vote: Motion carried.

Financial Statements: K. Goeden provided an overview of the financial statements.

Presentation: Audit Report – David Odahl of Wegner CPAs provided an overview of the 2020 Management Discussion & Analysis. A question was raised whether he felt SCLS needed to continue the process of having a trustee examine the bills for payment monthly. D. Odahl noted that if the board feels they are receiving all the information needed, they do not need to review them. SCLS has three people internally reviewing the bills for payment prior to the financials being presented to the board so there are checks and balances in place.

Committee Reports:

a. Advocacy – The joint finance committee has been traveling throughout the state and moving forward on the budget process. DPI and WLA are looking out for libraries. B. Clendenning attended the joint finance committee in Rhinelander and noted there was a speaker representing WLA. M. Van Pelt noted LD&L sent out a call to attend these meetings and all of the slots were filled.

b. Strategic Plan: S. Elwell, N. Long, N. Foth, J. Healy-Plotkin, M. Van Pelt. The first strategic plan meeting will be held May 19 at 10:00 am. J. Healy-Plotkin requested G. Poulson schedule a Bylaws Committee meeting since Marathon County has delayed its decision to join SCLS.

Action Items:

a. Approve 2020 Management Discussion & Analysis (audit)

i. Motion: M. Furgal moved approval of the 2020 Management Discussion & Analysis. N. Foth seconded.

ii. Discussion: None
iii. Vote: Motion Carried

b. Approve board meeting dates for November and December 2021

Friday, November 19

Friday, December 17

i. Motion: M. Furgal moved approval to hold the SCLS board meetings on November 19^th and December 17^th. B. Clendenning seconded.

ii. Discussion: None
iii. Vote: Motion Carried

c. Approve increase to new building project budget – Devin Flanigan, Keller Inc. noted the demand for building materials is not meeting supply, which is increasing the cost of materials. Manufacturers were quarantined for a large amount of time and inventories depleted but demand is ramping up and supply costs are 5 to 10% higher comparable to last year. The BNAW discussed the issue of increased costs of supply and with the advice from Keller Inc., determined they needed to request additional funds of $500,000 to accommodate the increases. The work group also looked into whether the size of the building could be decreased, but in doing so, the conference rooms, huddle rooms, and up to 20 offices would need to be removed, which defeats the purpose of a building that can accommodate all staff. In two years’ time, it has been determined that SCLS will be paying approximately $33,000 in rent (due to increases by the landlords), which would be the equivalent of a monthly mortgage payment with the additional $500,000 added to the building budget.
i. Motion: M. Furgal moved to increase the new building project budget by $500,000.I ii. Clendenning seconded.

iii. Discussion: G. Poulson inquired about contingency fund use. The goal is not to dip into contingency and in two years’ time, the amount in contingency may be higher. SCLS is borrowing $5.5 million from the Board of Commissioners of Public Land at a 4% fixed interest rate for 20 years with no down payment. This lending program is only available to public entities. M. Nelson inquired if there was any consideration given to simply pausing further development for a year to see if prices reduce and if so, what would be the ramification. K. Goeden noted the BNAW did not consider that option since our lease ends in May of 2023 and that is the target date to complete the project.
iv. Vote: Motion Carried

d. Approve Rio Community Library Technology Services Agreement

i. Motion: N. Long moved approval of the Rio Community Library Technology Services Agreement. M. Furgal seconded.

ii. Discussion: None
iii. Vote: Motion Carried

SCLS Foundation Report: M. Van Pelt noted $6,000 has been received for the Cornerstone event this year.

System Director's Report:

You may view the System Director report online. M. Van Pelt noted Rio will be joining LINKcat in June. Marathon County has postposed making a decision to join SCLS. M. Nelson inquired how this decision will affect the northern delivery hub. PLSR is moving forward on their statewide delivery plan with the southern hub to be completed first and the northern hub later. SCLS is interested in having the northern delivery hub at Marathon County and we can pursue it independently of PLSR.

Discussion:
a. Do we want to resume the examination of bills by trustees?

The following ideas were shared:
Continue to have a trustee review the bills in person. Should this start now or when in person meetings can take place?

Is there a difference between reviewing the bills in person versus the information that is provided monthly to the board? Yes.

Could the board treasurer be the person responsible to review the bills for payment monthly instead of rotating through the board members? This is a possibility but if it were to occur, it would happen in 2022 so the elected treasurer would be aware of the additional duties required of the position.

Would it be possible to scan the documents and send an electronic version for the trustees to review? It would be very time consuming and additional work.

It was decided to table the conversation until September.

Administrative Council (AC) Report: 4/15/2021. You may view the minutes online.

Other Business: None

Information Sharing: F. Cherney is not feeling well. SCLS will send a card on behalf of the board.

Adjournment: 1:47 p.m.

For more information about the Board of Trustees, contact Martha Van Pelt

BOT/Minutes/4-22-2021