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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMin - LB - 2003.02.04 BURLINGAME PUBLIC LIBRARY Burlingame Public Library Board of Trustees Minutes February 4, 2003 I. Call to Order President Andrew Gurthet called the meeting to order at 6:00pm stating that this special meeting of the Board of Trustees was convened for the purpose of discussing the future of the Easton Branch with regard to the current budget crisis. II. Roll Call Trustees Present: Cecile Coar, Andrew Gurthet, Catherine McCormack, Mary Herman and Carol Rossi Staff Present: Al Escoffier, City Librarian, Pat Harding, Library Services Manager, Sue Reiterman, Easton Branch Librarian, Sidney Poland, Recorder City Councilman: Joe Galligan City Manager: Jim Nantell Public Present: Jane Dunbar, President, Library Foundation, Kris Cannon, Burlingame Resident III. Easton - Options and Implications of Closure - Al Escoffier At the request of President Gurthet, the City Librarian reviewed his recommendation to the Trustees in which he asked for the Trustees, as well as the Council, to delay the closure of Easton for one year. This would give all parties time to sufficiently determine service levels and the viability of the operation. A. Options for Branch: The following were identified as possible options for the Easton situation: 1) Remain open and proceed with renovation, (2) Remain open and delay renovation, (3) Close Easton as of July 1St 2003, (4) Close Easton only if Tier 11 budget reductions are implemented, (5) Close building for a year and then decide on course of action. There would be some maintenance costs with this last plan. 48o Primrose Road-Burlingame•CA 94010-4o83 Phone (650) 558-7474'Fax(650) 342-6295 B. Renovation Schedule: Design will be completed in March 2003; the project is scheduled to go out to bid in May 2003. Completion of renovation is anticipated to be approximately 9 months from the start date. C. Operation Cost - Easton yearly operation cost is $100,000 which is 3% of the Library budget. IV. Discussion and Comments of Trustees A. Schools: Consideration should be given to the schools that use Easton on a regular basis: Roosevelt, Lincoln, McKinley, OLA and Burlingame Intermediate. B. Place in Community: Easton has become an institution in the Community. Many parents feel more comfortable taking their children to Easton due to the smaller size of the facility. C. Hillsborough Contract - City should try to increase the Hillsborough contract in order to increase income. D. Approval of Budget Cuts at Main Library - The Trustees have already approved reduction of hours by 7 which will result in the equivalent of 2 FTE hourly staff effective July 1, 2003. Increased fees for the Lane Community Room and interlibrary loans have been implemented. Trustees have already begun to do their part to respond to the budget crisis. E. Easton Monies: 1. City monies budgeted for the Easton Branch for the design phase will be expended by March of 2003. The Marshall Trust monies will be used to begin the renovation and will be supplemented by the donations made to the Foundation through the Easton Branch Campaign, Newsletter and the Elegant Affair Branches Out Event. 2. The Foundation is confident that it can raise further contributions to reach its goal of$200,000. Four Hundred and fifty donors have given approximately $160,000 to renovate Easton. F. Closure: If Easton is closed in July, it could be permanent. Since budget cuts have already been made at the Main library, wait and see how the budget fares and if the situation becomes worse next year, then consider closing Easton. Library Board of Trustee Minutes 2 February 4, 2003 V. Comments and Recommendations by Mr. Galligan: A. Councilman Galligan stated that if Tier II cuts have to be made, he would advocate removing Easton from Tier II and considering its future on a separate basis. Proceeding with Tier II cuts depends on the employees in the bargaining units. Mr. Galligan will be willing to use the reserves if the bargaining units agree to freeze salaries. This action would pull the City away from Tier II and save jobs. B. Councilman Galligan recommended to the Trustees that they proceed with the renovation. Easton will be closed for renovation for at least 9 months which would result in an approximate savings of$75,000. C. Councilman Galligan indicated some optimism in the future budget noting that the hotel tax has picked up slightly and all auto dealerships are occupied. VI. Comments from Jim Nantell, City Manager A. Trustees need to determine where the impact of the cuts is going to occur in the library and communicate this decision to the City Council. A distinction needs to made between Easton and Main library. 1. Mr. Nantell feels that a determination has to be made between convenience and scope of service. In his view, Easton is a convenience and has to be considered in light of where it stands in comparison to library services at the main library. The main library has a better selection of material for all ages. 2. Selling Easton property is not on the table at the present time. 3. Council needs to hear that the Trustees are willing to spend the money from the Marshall Trust Fund on what is termed as "brick and mortar" rather than ongoing operational expenses. VII. Public Comments A. Jane Dunbar, Foundation President: President Dunbar expressed the following concerns in regard to delaying the renovation and/or closing Easton permanently. 1. All donors would receive a written explanation for the delay in the renovation and be given an option of having their contribution returned or having it placed in a Certificate of Deposit. President Dunbar feels most donors would be understanding of the necessity to delay the renovation. 2. Closure of Easton could damage the credibility of the `.. Foundation for future fund raising projects. Library Board of Trustee Minutes 3 February 4, 2003 3. Donors who request that their money be returned may not be interested or able to contribute again. Contributions could be less than the original amount. Momentum and interest in the project could be lost. B. Kris Cannon, Burlingame Resident: Kris Cannon emphasized that closing Easton could be the end of public giving to the Foundation and even the end of the Foundation, as its credibility would be lost. Kris noted the significance of the 450 donors who gave approximately $160,000 to the Easton project. Kris encouraged the City Council, represented by Councilman Galligan, and Mr. Nantell to find a way to keep Easton open. VII. Concluding Comments on the Easton Branch A. Mr. Nantell felt that the Trustees have reached the decision that they are willing to take reductions at the Main Library to save Easton. Mr. Nantell personally feels that it is not a good use of Easton to keep it open only 23 hours a week. B. Trustee Gurthet stated that it is difficult, as a Librarian, to separate convenience and scope of service. In his view, they are one and he sensed that the Trustees felt the same way. C. City Librarian, Al Escoffier, advised the Trustees that there may be a time when the services and goals of the main library cannot be compromised and the Branch would have to be closed. VIII. Easton Branch - Conclusion of Special Meeting A. Trustee Herman made a motion to proceed with the Easton Branch renovation which passed unanimously. M/S/C (Herman/Coar) B. Trustee Rossi made a motion to form a sub-committee of two Trustees, President Gurthet and Katie McCormack, to draft a letter to Council advising them of the Trustees recommendation to proceed with the Easton Branch renovation. IX. Announcements - The Trustees want to agendize the topic of options for building support for Easton Branch for the February 18, 2003 meeting. X. Adjournment - The meeting was adjourned at 7:45pm. M/S/C (Coar/Rossi) Respectfully Submitted, Alfred H. Escoffier `-- City Librarian Library Board of Trustee Minutes 4 February 4, 2003