In attendance were Vince Volpe, President, presiding; and Keith Savage, Vice President; John Dubinsky, Nina North-Murphy, and David Sweeney. Alison Ferring, Jacque Land, and Tom Schlafly attended virtually. Lisa Stump attended from Lashly & Baer.
Also present were Chief Executive Officer Waller McGuire and staff members Maryann Brickey, Jon Drakesmith, Amanda Endicott, Cathy Heimberger, Mary Meyer, Joe Monahan, Tiffany Peck, Liz Reeves, Jim Slattery, Laura Stallings, Justin Struttmann, and Jen Wiese.
The meeting was called to order at 5:33 p.m. by President Volpe.
Minutes:
Mr. Schlafly's motion, seconded by Ms. North-Murphy, to approve the minutes of the January 12, 2026 meeting was approved.
There was no public comment.
Chief Executive Officer's Report:
Mr. McGuire pointed out a selection of notable programs in the monthly report: the ongoing success of the Library's Film Festival, managed by Creative Experience staff and Director Mary Meyer; the ongoing partnership with EyeThrive providing clear eyesight to children throughout the city, managed by Youth Services and Director; two new December Excel High School graduates in that program managed by Director Maryann Brickey and Adult Outreach Supervisor Patrick Ploch; and an instance in which a musician and researcher in Washington D.C. had located a rare musical score in Central's Special Collections using online search tools created by that department, and was very grateful to be able to be sent a digitized copy, the only complete score he had been able to find.
Mr. Slattery reported on the financial statements through December 31, 2025 which had been sent to the Board.
Cash and Investments: Total Cash and Investments as of December 31, 2025 was $31.5M which was $3.1M lower than December 2024, but $303k higher than November 2025. The primary reason for this year over year decrease was the timing of the $3.3M November payment from the City of St Louis that was not sent to the Library until the beginning of January. In December, we liquidated some of the reserves at Commerce reserves to pay the Library's expenses. In December, the Library received a check from
Chubb for over $1.0M for Julia Davis and transferred the Foundation's grant of approximately $1.24M.
Revenue: Gross Tax Revenue for Real Estate, Personal Property and Surtax for the month was $18.6M, which was about $1.3M higher than December 2024. Through three months this fiscal year, those sources of funding are $750k higher than last year at this time. Although not reflected in this month's statements, the Library has received notice from the City that the January 2026 tax payments will be $210k higher than last January. We are still awaiting notice for the Machinery and Equipment quarterly tax for the period ending December 31. Last year that amount was over $1.3M Interest Income is down $95k year to date but that was budgeted to be less than last year due to the impact of lower interest rates. Also, the Library received a check from Chubb for just over $1.0M in December, which is reflected in the Other Income line.
Mr. Slattery noted that the Library had bid out proposals for the remaining major repairs at Julia Davis and received responses in January. Staff are in final negotiations with the lowest bidder to get that work underway as soon as possible.
And finally, that the modifications to the retirement program for part-time workers meant to improve their benefits, which Mr. Struttmann had proposed and the Board approved in June, 2024 is now operational, after extensive negotiations with various city departments. The new program has been very well received.
Mr. Volpe asked about progress towards reopening Barr Library after the damage done in a burglary attempt in January. Mr. Struttmann reported that major specialized cleaning had been completed and a rush order on carpet replacement had been contracted. The Library expects to have the main floor at Barr reopened in approximately one week. Replacement of damaged doors and windows will take longer, but the library can function in the meantime.
Further, Mr. Struttmann reported that a detailed scope of work had been put out to bid to complete the remaining final work at Julia Davis, and all bidders had been informed of the need to reopen the library as quickly as possible. The bids have been examined and there appears to be a clear winner with good pricing. Once final contract issues have been settled, work will get underway as quickly as possible and should be on target for a May reopening date.
Ms. North-Murphy asked about services that had been moved to other locations while Julia Davis was closed and whether any benefits had resulted. Ms. Peck responded that it was beneficial for staff to work in and experience operations in different locations, and that moving Creative Experience operations to other locations had broadened customer knowledge of this powerful resource. Nevertheless, regular Julia Davis customers are eager to get back into "their" library.
Mr. McGuire noted that the Library's energy conservation projects have received notice, including a St. Louis Green Business Challenge Champion award made by the Missouri Botanical Garden, and Mr. Struttmann being featured in a panel discussion at the OneSTL Climate Summit held at Washington University.
Jen Wiese presented the Human Resources report, stating that HR activities slow down in the winter and staff are preparing for the evaluation process.
Liz Reeves presented the Foundation report, highlighting excellent progress against the annual goals and work on the major Foundation fundraising gala that will take place on March 7th.
New Business:
Tiffany Peck reported on the reasons staff was requesting a minor update to the Circulation Policy, brought about by the decision to use a collection agency to contact customers with $250.00 in outstanding charges, and to limit valuable "collection of things" items to full status cardholders.
Ms. Ferring's motion and Mr. Dubinsky's second that the updated Circulation Policy be approved as proposed was unanimously approved.
At 6:45 Mr. Sweeney's motion and Mr. Savage's second that the Board go into executive session to discuss individually identifiable personnel records was unanimously approved by roll call vote.
At 7:10 the Board came out of Executive Session and Ms. North-Murphy moved the meeting be adjourned, seconded by Mr. Schlafly. The motion was approved unanimously.
At the regular meeting of the Board of Directors of the St. Louis Public Library on February 2, 2026, the following actions were taken:
| Ms. North-Murphy moved: |
that the Board approve the minutes of the June 3, 2024 meeting. MOTION APPROVED (In favor Mr. Volpe, Mr. Savage, Mr. Dubinsky, Mr. Land, Ms. North-Murphy, Ms. Rainford, Mr. Schlafly, and Mr. Sweeney.) |
| Ms. Ferring moved: |
that the proposed Circulation Policy be approved. MOTION APPROVED (In favor Mr. Volpe, Mr. Savage, Mr. Dubinsky, Mr. Land, Ms. North-Murphy, Ms. Rainford, Mr. Schlafly, and Mr. Sweeney.) |
| Mr. Sweeney moved: |
that the Board go into Executive Session to discuss personnel matters. MOTION APPROVED by unanimous roll call vote (In favor Mr. Volpe, Mr. Savage, Mr. Dubinsky, Mr. Land, Ms. North-Murphy, Ms. Rainford, Mr. Schlafly, and Mr. Sweeney.) |
| Ms. North-Murphy moved: |
that be meeting be adjourned. MOTION APPROVED (In favor Mr. Volpe, Mr. Savage, Mr. Dubinsky, Ms. Ferring, Mr. Land, Ms. North-Murphy, Ms. Rainford, Mr. Schlafly.) |