Board of Directors Meeting Minutes – April 1, 2019

In attendance were Nina North-Murphy, President, presiding; John Dubinsky, Tom Schlafly, Jacque Land, Keith Savage, and Vince Volpe after 6:00 p.m.

Also present were Chief Executive Officer Waller McGuire and staff members Tiffany Davis, Jon Drakesmith, William Jackson, Brenda McDonald, Jen Ohzourk, Daisy Porter-Reynolds, Justin Struttmann, and Jen Wiese; and Lisa Stump, Lashly & Baer.

The meeting was called to order at 5:35 p.m. by Ms. North-Murphy.

Minutes:

Mr. Schlafly's motion to approve the minutes of the February 4th, 2019 Board Meeting, amended by changing the word "asked" to "suggested" in the sentence "The Foundation has asked that Julia Davis and Buder have expanded class-type tech centers" was seconded by Mr. Savage and unanimously approved.

Fiscal Affairs Committee Report:

Mr. Savage presented the Fiscal Affairs Committee report. He described the Committee's meeting and discussion with the auditor and stated that the Library has received a clean audit. There was a discussion of how the sale of the Confluence condominium had been reflected in the audit. Mr. Dubinsky moved acceptance of the 2017/2018 Fiscal Year audit, which was seconded by Mr. Schlafly and unanimously approved.

Chief Executive Officer's Report:

• McGuire reported that staff is continuing to review policies with the goal of modernizing and simplifying them, beginning with patron policies. He intends to bring three policies to the Board in May in order to give the Library's new Chief Public Services Officer, Daisy Porter-Reynolds, the opportunity to revise them. Mr. Dubinsky reminded staff that the Board had worked to make Library policy flexible, and asked attention be paid to continuing to do so in these revisions.
• McGuire has signed a contract to expand the Library's G-Suite licensing to cover all staff. G-Suite is an alternative to our current Microsoft systems, so this represents a major change for the Library. The contract does not represent an immediate cost savings: Microsoft products will still be necessary in many staff applications and customer computers. Advantages will include much easier maintenance and updating for

Technology staff; cloud storage; better collaboration and availability; and better security.  Mr. Jackson reported that the budget is tracking as expected. Personnel costs are up 15% because of last year's salary increases. Mr. Struttmann noted that Salary and Wages were tracking on budget.

• Struttmann and Ms. Wiese reported that the Library has implemented a simplified five-point performance evaluation scale tied to merit increases. The Library is establishing a cost of living increase in 2019 of 1.5% based on Missouri CPI figures. Additional merit increases will range from 0 to 2.0% depending on individual performance rating. The overall budget impact is a 2.5% increase, which is budgeted. Pay bands remain as they were established during the 2018 salary study.
• Reeves reported that two new trustees had been nominated to the Foundation Board, and that additional interviews were taking place because a number of Foundation member's terms are expiring. Over 70% of the annual fund goal has been met. April 10th is National Library Giving Day, and a Friends & Foundation reception is scheduled in the Great Hall to celebrate the opening of the new exhibit sponsored by the Foundation, and RSVP's have been very strong.
• Heimberger reported that the Print to Pixels exhibit is installed, and the reaction has already been very positive. Firecracker Press is moving in this week to operate in the Great Hall as part of the exhibit. NPR devoted a segment to the exhibit, and, by coincidence, Mr. McGuire was newscaster Don Marsh's last interview.

Mr. Dubinsky's motion, seconded by Mr. Savage, to go into Executive Session was approved by a roll-call vote at 6:25 p.m.

Executive Session ended at 6:50 p.m. and the Board meeting reconvened at 6:51. Mr. McGuire made a brief announcement that his first day at work for the St. Louis Public Library had been April 1, 1989, which meant that today was his 30th anniversary at the Library. He expressed his appreciation to the Board, to past Board members, and to the staff for the privilege.

Mr. Savage made the motion to adjourn the meeting, seconded by Mr. Dubinsky, which was unanimously approved at 7:55.

At the regular meeting of the Board of Directors of the St. Louis Public Library on April l, 2019, the following actions were taken: