In attendance were Nina North-Murphy, President, presiding; and Vince Volpe, Vice President; John Dubinsky, Alison Ferring, Jacque Land, Janet Rainford, Keith Savage, Tom Schlafly, and David Sweeney.
Also present were Chief Executive Officer Waller McGuire and staff members Maryann Brickey; Tiffany Davis, Jon Drakesmith, Cathy Heimberger, Mary Meyer, Daisy Porter-Reynolds, Anna Strackeljahn, Joe Monahan; Justin Struttmann, Jen Wiese, Liz Reeves, and Lisa Stump, Lashly & Baer.
The meeting was called to order at 5:30 p.m, by President North-Murphy.
Minutes:
Ms. Ferring's motion, seconded by Mr. Land, to approve the minutes of the January 10, 2022 meeting was approved.
Public Comment:
No public comment was received for the February 2022 meeting,
Chief Executive Officer's Report:
The Library was closed for three days last week due to weather. The financial reports were sent out this morning. Revenue is tracking ahead of last year in terms of timing - it is too early to determine whether Library revenue will be higher than budgeted. The budget report is tracking entirely as expected at this point. This morning CFO William Jackson received the draft 2022 audit, which he has already reviewed and commented upon a number of times. The draft will be distributed to the Fiscal Affairs committee tomorrow for Board review. A Fiscal Affairs committee meeting will be scheduled as soon as is convenient so the committee can meet with the auditors and go through the audit. All Board members are invited to that meeting. Ms. Porter-Remolds summarized current public services activity. The Library is not currently holding in-person programming, but may be able to resume doing so in April. Covid tests are being conducted at Walnut Park, and two locations are providing Covid vaccinations to the public. The Library is getting ready to be a distribution point for diapers and period supplies through an agreement with The Diaper Bank. 3069 of the 4000 Emergency Connectivity hotspots have been checked out. The massive integrated library software project continues on time and on track, thanks to a great deal of work from departments throughout the Library Human Resources reported that pandemic-related work is still taking a great deal of time but is slowing, which is a relief. The Board had asked for turnover statistics which are supplied this month in the Board HR report. Mr. Dubinsky asked for the general condition of the labor markets in which the Library is searching. Staff responded that the Library was having good response in numbers and quality of applications for many job openings, and job fill times had remained consistent with prior year. Some openings, including maintenance and custodial and the new accountant position, are proving difficult to fill. Liz Reeves summarized the Foundation report that was sent out last week. She stated that the Foundation was speaking with possible donors to cover costs of the diaper program mentioned in the public services report. Mr. McGuire mentioned that the CEO Monthly Report is a compilation of reports that come from every corner of the organization, and Ms. Porter-Reynolds has been asking her staff to participate in compiling and editing the draft report. The December 2021 report included in this month's Board packet is a particularly good descriptive balance of the wide variety and scope of work that goes into Library services, and was largely authored by the Regional Manager at Julia Davis Library, John Newcomer.
New Business:
Mr. McGuire stated that he had overlooked the 2021 Board Resolution for the Old Post Office lease and that it needed to be ratified. This resolution simply states that the Library has budgeted funds for the payment of the lease, which was paid in full in 2021. The Board has already approved the 2022 Resolution.
Mr. Schlafly's motion for the approval of the Resolution Ratifying and Authorizing the Lease
Extension for Old Post Office Building (2021), seconded by Mr. Dubinsky, was approved.
Mr. McGuire stated that he would work with the Missouri Ethics Commission to check that all Board members have filed Conflict of Interest statements, since several Board members file for multiple organizations.
Executive Session:
President North-Murphy called for a motion to go into Executive Session to discuss legal issues. Mr. Dubinsky moved to go into executive session, seconded by Mr. Savage. Nina North-Murphy, Vince Volpe, John Dubinsky, Alison Ferring, Jacque Land, Janet Rainford, Keith Savage, Tom Schlafly, and David Sweeney unanimously approved the motion to go into Executive Session.
At 6:25 p.m. the Board came out of Executive Session and Mr. Schafly moved the meeting be adjourned, seconded by Mr. Dubinsky. The motion was approved unanimously.
At the regular meeting of the Board of Directors of the St. Louis Public Library on February 7, 2021, the following actions were taken:
| Ms. Ferring moved: | that the Board approve the minutes of the January 10, 2022 meeting. MOTION APPROVED In favor Ms. North-Murphy, Mr. Volpe, Mr. Dubinsky, Ms. Ferring, Mr. Land, Ms. Rainford, Mr. Savage, Mr. Schlafly, and Mr. Sweeney. |
| Mr. Schlafly moved: | that the Resolution Ratifying and Authorizing the Lease Extension for Old Post Office Building (2021) be approved. MOTION APPROVED In favor Ms. North-Murphy, Mr. Volpe, Mr. Dubinsky, Ms. Ferring, Mr. Land, Ms. Rainford, Mr. Savage, Mr. Schlafly, and Mr. Sweeney. |
| Mr. Dubinsky moved: | that the Board go into Executive Session to discuss legal matters. MOTION APPROVED BY ROLL-CALL VOTE In favor Ms. North-Murphy, Mr. Volpe, Mr. Dubinsky, Ms. Ferring, Mr. Land, Ms. Rainford, Mr. Savage, Mr. Schlafly, and Mr. Sweeney. |
| Mr. Schlafly moved: | that be meeting be adjourned. MOTION APPROVED In favor Ms. North-Murphy, Mr. Volpe, Mr. Dubinsky, Ms. Ferring, Mr. Land, Ms. Rainford, Mr. Savage, Mr. Schlafly, and Mr. Sweeney. |
