Swanton Public Library
Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes
April 11, 2018
Attendees: Becky Rupp, Paul Foisy, Kathy Messier, Bob Bessette, Michelle Beaulieu
- Meeting was called to order at 7 PM.
- Judy Paxman discussed the 7 Deadly Sins art exhibit, spearheaded by Tanya Caswell, to take place in the King’s Daughters Room on October 5-6. It was agreed, given potential adult themes, that cautionary signs to posted informing attendees that the exhibit may not be appropriate for young children.
- All genres of art are welcome for the exhibit. Becky will convey this to the Swanton Writers’ Group and will contact Nicole Draper about a possible food-themed project.
- Judy also asked about future art exhibits at the library, to which the board gave its support.
- Hank Lambert discussed the Swanton Beautification Committee’s grant, providing money for trees and other plantings in the village. The library offered the area to the left of the side door, site of a current small garden, to the committee. Hank will bring a garden consultant to survey the library property and will give us a proposal.
- Judy suggested a weaving project to enhance the chain-link fence at the rear of the library. No decision made; we may also consider replacing the fence with cedar panels.
- The minutes from the March 21, 2018 meeting were approved. Motion by Kathy Messier, second by Paul Foisy. It was agreed that in the future Michelle will be responsible for posting the meeting minutes on the library website.
- The warrants for March 2018 were presented by Kathy Messier and approved. Motion by Paul Foisy, second by Bob Bessette.
- Kathy reported that she transferred $20,000 from the library Money Market account to the checking account to compensate for temporary shortfalls.
- Bob proposed that Michelle be made a voting member of the board, though this was deemed unworkable, since the board is responsible for hiring and firing the library director. The possibility of expanding board membership to 7 was discussed. No conclusion was reached. If pursued, the question will have to be referred to the select board.
- Bob, due to health problems, tendered his resignation to the board. He will continue to serve until a replacement trustee is located and will continue to attend meetings when possible as a member of the public. Many thanks to Bob for his past help and dedication to the library.
- Michelle reviewed the director’s report, noting that the Tuesday and Thursday after-school programs are increasingly well-attended.
- Plans are in place to clean and re-organize the King’s Daughters Room, adding new shelves behind the piano. More shelves will also be installed in the Community Room to accommodate the book sale books.
- Based on past successful genealogy programs and patron interest, Michelle will look into acquiring an Ancestry.com membership for the library.
- It was agreed to implement the first step of a proposal from SunRay which, at a cost of about $900, will install three panic buttons, repair the upstairs security camera, and install a new control panel and keypad. There will be an additional charge of $20/month for monitoring.
- Future library programs include the summer reading program, a children’s Zumba program to complement adult Zumba, an art camp headed by Nicole Gadous, History Camp headed by Becky Rupp, and a campfire storytelling series at the Depot Museum.
- The library will also participate in the Memorial Day parade with a decorated bicycle-and-stroller project and in the Swanton Arts Council’s Art Spectacular on August 25.
- The meeting was adjourned at 8:30 PM.
Submitted by Becky Rupp
4/12/2018