In attendance were Vince Volpe, President, presiding; and Keith Savage, Vice President arrived 5:40); John Dubinsky (arrived at 5:35), Alison Ferring, Jacque Land (arrived 5:35), Nina North-Murphy, Janet Rainford, Tom Schlafly, and David Sweeney.
Also present were Chief Operating Officer Justin Struttmann and staff members Maryann Brickey, Jon Drakesmith, Amanda Endicott, Cathy Heimberger, Liz McArthur, Mary Meyer, Joe Monahan, Liz Reeves, Jim Slattery, Jen Wiese, and Counsel Lisa Stump from Lashly & Baer.
The meeting was called to order at 5:30 p.m. by President Volpe.
Minutes:
Mr. Schlafly's motion, seconded by Ms. North-Murphy, to approve the minutes of the October 7, 2024 meeting was approved.
There was no public comment.
Chief Executive Officer's Report:
Mr. McGuire noted the mention in the September monthly report of Schlafly Library manager Lisa Wolfe and staff member Jeff Wright traveled to Children's Hospital to help issue documentation for St. Louis residents whose baby had been born in emergency circumstances out of the country and been flown back by ambulance before the embassy could issue a passport. The baby is now an official US citizen and the parents are grateful for the extraordinary service. Mr. McGuire noted the remarkable volume of passport assistance being provided by St. Louis Public Library staff throughout the system.
Mr. McGuire reported on early voting for the Presidential election which has been extremely busy at Library locations, which constituted nearly the entire early voting site for St. Louis. Staff worked hard to make the process and occasional long lines as easy as possible for everyone, and Mr. Struttmann has been working closely with election officials to facilitate operations. Eight SLPL locations will be polling sites and election day.
Mr. McGuire mentioned the resignation of the CEO of the St. Charles City County Library system, who will be taking over the much larger Metropolitan Library System in Oklahoma. Mr. McGuire thanked the Board for supporting Staff Day, which took place on October 14th, is an enormous effort, and was particularly well planned and successful in 2024. Mr. Slattery presented the financial report. The Business Office is near closing out the last budget year and the auditors will begin work tomorrow. He reiterated how he accounts for the difference between reserves and working capital, and pointed out that the 3 accounts that make up reserves are up $1.6 million for the year. When the 2023/2024 fiscal year is closed, it will be very close to the forecast given the Board at the outset. We have exceeded projections for income and underspent the budget in some key areas, and some of the large capital projects have been funded out of additional investment income. Instead of the $5 million deficit budget forecast, we will end the fiscal year at approximately a $1 million deficit. The 2024/2525 fiscal year is one month underway and there is little to report at this point.
Mr. Struttmann presented a capital projects update, including the projects at Schlafly Library, Buder Library, and Julia Davis Library. He showed plans and photographs of the lighting, HVAC, and solar installations in these projects and went through the schedules, budgets, and MBE figures for the projects. Mr. Struttmann reported on the massive project underway at Carpenter Library, including our first geothermal project, showing pictures, budget, and schedule. He outlined planning work on upcoming projects at Divoll, Machacek, and Walnut Park libraries.
Ms. Weise reported on the complexities brought about by the announcement that the Library's health insurance provider that Anthem would stop working with Mercy. Ms. Weise stated that all parties hoped the schism would be resolved before the contract expiration, but that Human Resources had reopened the open enrollment period to give employees the ability to change their plan based on the new information.
New Business:
Mr. McGuire encouraged the Board to take home and look through the report led by Mary Meyer and Joe Monahan and carried out by a department of the University of Missouri, surveying the public about the Library's services through a series of surveys and focus groups. This effort is part of the Library's strategic planning process. There is a great deal of information in the report, interesting and helpful in the process, and overwhelmingly positive.
Mr. Schalfly moved, seconded by Ms. Rainford, that the 2025 Holiday Schedule be approved. The motion was unanimously approved.
Ms North-Murphy moved the meeting be adjourned, seconded by Mr. Schlafly. The motion was unanimously approved. The meeting was adjourned at 6:25.
At the regular meeting of the Board of Directors of the St. Louis Public Library on November 4, 2024, the following actions were taken:
| Mr. Schlafly moved: |
that the Board approve the minutes of the October 7, 2024 meeting. MOTION APPROVED (In favor Mr. Volpe, Ms. Ferring, Ms. North-Murphy, Ms. Rainford, Mr. Schlafly and Mr. Sweeney.) |
| Mr. Schlafly moved: |
that the 2025 Holiday Schedule be approved. MOTION APPROVED (In favor Mr. Volpe, Mr. Savage, Mr. Dubinsky, Ms. Ferring, Mr. Land, Ms. North-Murphy, Ms. Rainford, Mr. Schlafly and Mr. Sweeney.) |
| Ms North-Murphy moved: |
that the meeting be adjourned. MOTION APPROVED (In favor Mr. Volpe, Mr. Savage, Mr. Dubinsky, Ms. Ferring, Mr. Land, Ms. North-Murphy, Ms. Rainford, Mr. Schlafly and Mr. Sweeney.) |
