Delivery Committee Minutes

March 9, 10:00 am

Virtual Meeting via BlueJeans

(Replacement Meeting for February 9 cancellation – Weather and Staffing)

 

Action Items: None


Present: Marek Penner (MAD), Amanda Wakeman (CIA), Jen Foster (FCH), Renee Daley (ROM), Lisa Renier (SKC), Janet Schroeder (POCO), Amy Trumble (NGL)

Excused:  Eric Norton (MCM), Leah Fritsche (DEE), Todd Cox (DCL)

Recorder: Corey Baumann

SCLS staff present: Martha Van Pelt

 

1.      Call to order time 10:00am

a.      Introduction of guests/visitors

                                                              i.      No guests

b.      Changes/Additions to the Agenda

                                                              i.      Changes: None

c.       Requests to address the Committee:  None

 

2.      Approval of previous meeting minutes:  

a.      Minutes for December meeting were unanimously approved.

                                                              i.      Motion:  Jen Foster

                                                             ii.      Second:  Mark Penner

 

3.      Action items : 

a.      No action items

 

 

4.      Discussion items:

a.      Staffing Update:  Delivery has recently added a FTE (Bob) and a PT staff member (Monica) in the last two weeks.  This effectively plugs two significant gaps that have been stretching things very thinly, especially when long-term health conditions, COVID, vacations, and injuries have created openings in the schedule that need to be filled by our management group to run the base routes each day.  Both new staff members are in their training periods and have gotten off to a good start.

b.      Budget preparation is taking into consideration a number of efforts that we employed last year:  route configurations, truck capacity levels, and holiday response.  In each of these areas, we sought to provide the most impactful service of volume movement while also mitigating costs of travel and labor. 

c.       A question was raised in response to the above from a cluster member:  “How do you make snow/weather decisions where one library (perhaps a larger location) receives service and a close neighbor (perhaps a smaller location) is cancelled?”

                                                              i.      We do our best to make as many stops as we can in a shrinking service window when snow falls.

1.      I attempt to plot out when a snowstorm is going to move out (up to two or three hours ahead of time). 

2.      How much snow has fallen and will the road crews keep up?

3.      Is our own location relatively clear (Madison streets and highways)?

4.      Is ice a factor?

                                                             ii.      Any snowfall slows our process down significantly as the amounts grow.  When our routes are delayed by 30 minutes or more for the full completion, I seek to make adjustments where needed.  That may mean cancelling a stop that is as close as 10 minutes further on the normal route.  That cancellation can get a driver back up to 30 minutes sooner for the breakdown of their route and provide for more materials sorted and shipped the next day.

                                                           iii.      We target larger locations in order to maintain efficiency in moving our volume and maintain an opportunity to recover quickly the next day.

                                                           iv.      It is a conflicting decision to make and it pulls in both directions when I have to make that.  I absolutely want to make sure that we can use our resources as effectively as possible while casting the widest net on such days.  Our staff needs to know that we are monitoring the weather for their safety, but they also understand that what does not get accomplished during a cancellation comes back heavy the next day along with effort to catch back up.

d.      Fuel continues to be a stressor on our monthly bill paying.  Our bills throughout 2022 and early 2023 have run between 25 and 50% above the invoicing from late 2021.  Those amounts equate to between $2,500 and $5,000 a month. 

e.      Corey updated the committee on the MLK holiday response.   Similar to the Friday after Thanksgiving, the day was completed with volunteers in an effort to provide depth of service and maintain a recovery from the holiday volume bump that this tends to cause. 

f.        Corey and Marty updated the committee on the progress of the new building activity.  They shared that the project is moving forward in the final phases of obtaining bids for construction and remodel of the space.  The bids will go before the March Board of Trustees for final approval. 

                                                              i.      The Admin and HQ teams will have move-in formally underway in May with Delivery to join them in December or January upon completion of the addition.

                                                             ii.      SCLS has a “move” team that is working through numerous topics and logistics of moving staff members over to the new space.

 

5.      Committee Orientation.

a.      Marty reviewed the committee members on their roles and responsibilities as committee members which is held annually for each governance committee staffed with member representatives.

+         

 

 

6.      Reports (for Committees only)

a.      No Reports

 

7.      Items from clusters (for Committees only)

a.      No Items from clusters

 

8.      Plan for next meeting:

a.      Thursday, April 13, 2023

 

9.      Adjournment:  11:05am

 

10.  For more information about the Delivery Committee, contact Corey Baumann cbaumann@sclsdelivery.info  or 608-266-4695

 

SCLS staff are available to attend cluster meetings to share information and answer questions pertaining to this committee meeting and other departmental projects.

Delivery Committee/Minutes/03-09-2023