Board of Directors Meeting – July 10, 2023

In attendance were Vincent Volpe, President, presiding; and Keith Savage, Vice President, and David Sweeney; John Dubinsky, Nina North-Murphy and Tom Schlafly attended virtually. 

Also present were Chief Executive Officer Waller McGuire and staff members Maryann Brickey, Tiffany Davis, Jon Drakesmith, Amanda Endicott, Cathy Heimberger, Mary Meyer, Daisy Porter-Reynolds, Justin Struttmann, Liz Reeves, Jim Slattery, Joe Monahan, and Lisa Stump, Lashly & Baer. 

The meeting was called to order at 5:30 p.m. by President Volpe. 

Minutes:
Mr. Sweeney's motion, seconded by Ms. North-Murphy, to approve the minutes of the June 5, 2023 meeting was approved. 

Chief Executive Officer's Report: 
Mr. McGuire reported on a series of public services milestones: during May staff notarized 707 documents for customers; the Library had over 10,000 unique customers use Overdrive, the largest of our downloadable vendors; and customers scheduled over 350 hours of use in the Library's three recording studios. 

Maryann Brickey reported on the Library's outreach effort and department which regularly takes staff throughout the city. Examples include the Annie Malone parade and multiple Juneteenth celebrations; the downtown Pride event, which brought over 2000 visitors to the Library's booth; Play Day in the Park, which brought 400 visitors to the Library's booth; and a variety of other cultural events. This is all in addition to the regular, daily activities of the outreach staff in schools, daycares, nursing homes, retirement communities, and other sites. Mr. Slattery summarized the financial reports for the month ended May 2023. The Library is spending roughly $2.2 to $2.3 million a month. With monthly tax revenue from the City of St. Louis low this time of year, bank balances have decreased over the last few months to cover those monthly expenses. The Library is running slightly ahead of budgeted revenue for the year. The largest contributor to the "other revenue" category is E-rate funds which we anticipate receiving in July or August. The current report represents 66.7% of the Library's budget year, and we have spent 66.2% of the expense budget. In July the pension rate increased from 15.36% to 16.97%, an annual increase of approximately $225,000. Utilities have been high in recent months, and we anticipate that water rates will increase substantially. Capital expenditures do not include the work on the North garage project and a new van that was purchased in June. Mr. Slattery presented a summary of all the short-term investments, excluding cash accounts, which are returning great rates for the Library's invested funds. At UMB and MOSIP, Mr. Slattery has been laddering our investments to maintain income but provide liquidity when needed. Mr. Dubinsky recommended the Library continue to consider T-bills which can be converted to cash in one day. The Board congratulated Mr. Slattery on his good work. 

Mr. Struttmann discussed capital expenditures and planning in 2023 and 2024: the Library is working to be more proactive with its building maintenance program instead of waiting for building systems to fail. The Library is working with a contractor, Veregy, to replace, upgrade, and improve HVAC, lighting, and building controls equipment. The first completed project was at Julia Davis, and we are moving forward with projects at Schlafly and Buder. These projects not only replace and improve aging equipment but are designed to substantially reduce energy costs and usage: we are investigating the possibility of solar panels, which are supported at the federal level. The bid for this work is $3.2 million, which will be split between the 2023 and 2024 budgets. Equipment remains difficult to procure in this market and has caused some delays in receiving bids since the initially specified equipment has an unacceptably long lead time. Two firms are doing most of the work: 70% of the work is expected to be completed by a minority-owned business and 30% by a woman-owned business. 

The three policies that required changes to meet the requirements of the new rule put in place by the Missouri Secretary of State and keep the Library eligible for state funding were introduced. Mr. Dubinsky stated that the Board had reviewed the policies multiple times and were ready to vote on them without further discussion. 

Ms. North-Murphy's motion, seconded by Mr. Savage, to approve the revised Circulation Policy was approved. 

Ms. Ferring's motion, seconded by Mr. Schlafly, to approve the revised Collection Development policy was approved. 

Ms. North-Murphy's motion, seconded by Mr. Schlafly, to approve the revised Meeting Room Policy was approved. 

Mr. Schlafly, who was participating virtually from the east coast where he had investigated some early Carnegie libraries, had been surprised to learn that several had been built with gymnasiums attached for public use. He asked whether any of the St. Louis Carnegie libraries had originally contained this feature. Mr. McGuire responded that no, by the time the St. Louis Carnegie libraries were being planned, that feature had fallen out of favor: the Pittsburgh Library actually had a large indoor swimming pool. The closest thing St. Louis Public Library had to a gymnasium was the original basketball court on the roof of Machacek, and that was closed when the public tired of the constant sound of dribbling overhead. 

There being no further business, Mr. Sweeney moved, seconded by Ms. Ferring, that the meeting be adjourned. The motion carried, and the meeting was adjourned at 6:22. 

At the regular meeting of the Board of Directors of the St. Louis Public Library on July 11, 2023, the following actions were taken: