Lone Cone Library District Board Meeting Minutes

A regular meeting of the Lone Cone Library District Board was held on August 9, 2021, at 6:30 p.m., located at 1455 Pinion Street and also via Zoom. Said meeting was posted and included the link and password in accordance with the Sunshine Law. 

PRESENT: Emily Haight, Laurel Henderson, Sara Lopez, Carrie Andrew, Kim Schooley, Laura Anthon, Rhonda Oliver

GUESTS: Rebecca Mogg

CALL TO ORDER

Library Director Carrie Andrew called the meeting to order at 6:37 p.m.

APPROVAL OF AGENDA

A motion was made by Emily, seconded by Sara, to approve the agenda as proposed. All voted yes. Motion passed.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES

The Library Board considered the minutes of the June 14, 2021, regular Library Board meeting for approval. 

A motion was made by Sara, seconded by Laurel, to approve the minutes from the June 14, 2021, regular Library Board meeting as presented. All voted yes. Motion passed.

The Library Board considered the minutes of the July 20, 2021, special Library Board meeting for approval. 

A motion was made by Sara, seconded by Laurel, to approve the minutes from the July 20, 2021, special Library Board meeting as presented. All voted yes. Motion passed.

CALL FOR PUBLIC COMMENT

Guest Rebecca Mogg attended the regular board meeting as a potential new library board member. She is originally from the Denver area, has extensive experience in corporate auditing, and is thankful for the library and feels it is a lifeline to the community. 

MONTHLY BUDGET REVIEWS

Carrie commented that Paradox Oil & Gas is not paying their taxes and they owe the library approximately $58,000. The county attorney and treasurer are currently working on getting those taxes collected. The hope is that Paradox Oil & Gas will commit to a payment plan or will pay their balance in full. There is still approximately $15,000 outstanding from 2021 property taxes from past due residents. The library has enough funds in its Colotrust account to finish out the year and it also has approximately $40,000 in the Foundation account. Carrie will work on bringing additional revenue from donors and Laura will work on writing grants to help ease the burden from uncollected tax revenue.

The staffing costs for June were higher than other months due to the Summer Reading Program, but the library is on still budget this year. The library has posted a part-time position to help with programming activities. This new position is budgeted at 10 hours per week.

Emily noted that the board meals line item was over budget and she questioned whether the library needs to adjust the budget next year or perhaps stop serving meals during the board meetings. Carrie feels that meals are a positive addition to the meeting’s progress and the line item will need to be increased on next year’s budget.

MONTHLY REPORTS Q&A

No comments were made at this time.

DIRECTOR’S REPORT

Carrie noted that in the Upcoming Events section, she and Beverly will be attending the annual Colorado Association of Libraries Conference (CALCON) September 9-11 in Westminster, CO. The theme this year is “Building a Bridge to Tomorrow”.

BOARD MEMBER REPORTS

No reports were presented at this time. 

UNFINISHED BUSINESS

No unfinished business was presented at this time. 

NEW BUSINESS

The Colorado Department of Education published a Public Library Board & Trustees Pocket Handbook that was distributed to the library board members. There are extras for those unable to attend this meeting.

A room fee waiver for the San Miguel Resource Center was presented to the board. The board approved to waive the fee.

The Post Occupancy Survey that was distributed to the community during the month of May was reviewed by the board. Results of note include the staff being the “Coolest Thing About the Library” and building related issues being the least liked thing. Lessons learned from the survey include the library being a community destination and patrons want experiential opportunities incorporating all skill levels. Overall, the survey had positive results and will be used as a benchmark moving forward.

The potential ballot Initiative 27, if approved, would reduce the annual library budget by approximately $33,000 and the library intends to place a resolution on the November ballot to counter the decrease in revenues if Initiative 27 passes. Per Library Law (CRS § 24-90-112) the Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) must approve the library’s proposed resolution before it can officially go on the ballot. A resolution asking to increase taxes by $0.00 (zero) was created by the library’s attorneys and Carrie read aloud the proposed resolution. The board had a quorum so Emily moved to approve the resolution and it was seconded by Laurel. The document was signed by Emily Haight, Trustee, attested by Laurel Henderson, Trustee, and witnessed by Sara Lopez, Trustee. The document will be scanned and forwarded to the library’s attorneys the next day. The BOCC will hold their next regular board meeting August 18th.

Carrie noted that in addition to the Lone Cone Library District, the Town of Norwood, the Norwood Sanitation District, the Norwood Parks & Rec District, the Norwood Fire District, and Norwood Public School District would all be affected if this initiative passes so each district intends to propose their own ballot resolution asking voters to freeze the current rate that each district receives from property taxes. As taxing districts, each organization may encourage voters to register or update their voter registration but they cannot persuade a voter in any direction. The library board feels a unified front between all affected districts is best for messaging, rather than specific details for each district.

To help with messaging, as well as grant writing, it is important for board members to show investment in and support of the library.The board members were given a handout with a variety of board related questions and some professional background information on each member and asked to answer the questions and update/add to their background information.

Moving on, the board reviewed the results of the Ground Design Survey that was distributed to the community in June/July. Of the amenities offered in the survey, the most preferred include sun shades and night sky observatories.

A private donor is proposing to commission a very large (60” x 60”) painting of the Lone Cone mountain to be hung above the fireplace in the library. The donor plans to gift the painting and sponsor an unveiling event at the library in the fall of 2022. The board is in favor of moving forward with this project. There was a motion to approve by Sara and seconded by Emily. All approved.

Finally, the board discussed a possible collaboration between the library and Norwood Public Schools (NPS). As background, the school librarian retired at the end of the 2020-2021 school year and the school is looking to partner with the Lone Cone Library for advice and oversight of their library. The proposal included three levels of collaboration: 1. The library will help organize and inventory the NPS library and only help when needed going forward; 2. The library would provide a staff person to be onsite at NPS to help with guidance on a more regular basis but NPS would still do a majority of the work; 3. The library would provide a staff person to be onsite at NPS and do the majority of the work. NPS would benefit by getting the library expertise and the library would benefit by creating positive collaboration between the two organizations and showing the community that it is willing to partner and work together for the greater good. More discussion needs to take place and no decisions will be made before the students return to school this fall. The board feels this would be a positive opportunity for the community. Rebecca stated this fits into the library’s mission statement beautifully and the library is positioning itself to be a pillar and provide services that children in the community really need.

ADDITIONAL BOARD ITEMS

No additional board items were presented at this time.

MOTION TO ADJOURN

At 8:32 p.m., a motion was made by Emily, seconded by Sara, to adjourn the meeting with no further action taken. All voted yes. Motion passed.