MINUTES

South Central Library System Board of Trustees Minutes
4/28/2022, 12:15 p.m.

Chester Room
4610 S. Biltmore Lane, Suite 101, Madison, WI 53718

Meeting held via BlueJeans & in person

Action Items:
Approved acceptance of the 2021 Management Discussion & Analysis (audit)

Approved board meeting dates for November and December 2022

Friday, November 18

Friday, December 16

Approved SCLS staff to move forward with working with Baird to refinance building loans

Approved acceptance of the Easement Agreement with the City of Madison

Present B. Clendenning, P. Cox, S. Elwell, S. Feith, N. Foth, M. Furgal, J. Healy-Plotkin, J. Honl, M. Nelson, G. Poulson, T. Walske, K. Williams

Excused: N. Brien, J. Chrisler

Absent: R. Nelson

Recorder: H. Moe

SCLS Staff Present: M. Van Pelt, K. Goeden

Guests: Paul Frantz, Baker Tilly

Call to Order: 12:15 p.m. G. Poulson, President, thanked S. Elwell for chairing the March meeting.

a. Introduction of guests/visitors: Paul Frantz, Baker Tilly

b. Requests to address the Board: None

Approval of previous meeting minutes: 3/24/2022

a. Motion: K. Williams moved approval of the 3/24/2022 minutes. S. Elwell seconded.
b. Changes or corrections: M. Nelson was present at the March meeting.

c. Vote: Motion carried.

Financial Statements: K. Goeden provided an overview of the financial statements.

Bills for Payments: The payment amount is $330,164.66

a. Motion: M. Nelson moved approval of the bills for payment. M. Furgal seconded.

b. Discussion: None.

c. Vote: Motion carried.

Presentation: Audit Report by Baker Tilly was provided to the board.

Committee Reports

a. Advocacy: S. Elwell noted she would like to get a presentation together regarding refinancing building loans with Baird for the Dane County Supervisors.

Action Items

a. Approve 2021 Management Discussion & Analysis (audit)

i. Motion: M. Furgal moved acceptance of the 2021 Management Discussion & Analysis (audit).

P. Cox seconded.
ii. Discussion: None
iii. Vote: Motion carried.

b. Approve board meeting dates for November 18^th and December 16^th 2022:

i. Motion: J. Honl moved approval of the board meeting date for November 18, 2022. K. Williams seconded. J. Honl moved approval of the December 16, 2022 meeting date. K. Williams seconded.
ii. Discussion: There is flexibility on the December date, but the board determined 12/16/22 will work.

iii. Vote: Motion carried.

c. Approve SCLS staff to move forward with working with Baird to refinance building loans

i. Motion: M. Furgal moved approval of SCLS staff to move forward with working with Baird to refinance building loans. S. Feith seconded.

ii. Discussion: SCLS will identify the Dane County supervisors and reach out to determine if the refinancing plan could be presented to the Dane County Finance Committee. There were questions about reporting and auditing concerns. Baird is not charging anything unless they secure a loan.
iii. Vote: Motion carried.

d. Approval of Easement Agreement with the City of Madison

i. Motion: M. Furgal moved acceptance of the Easement Agreement with the City of Madison. N. Foth seconded.
ii. Discussion: M. Van Pelt noted SCLS will maintain the easement.
iii. Vote: Motion carried.

SCLS Foundation Report: M. Van Pelt noted the board is meeting today. A fundraising event, Paint it Forward, will be held at Wine & Design on May 23^rd from 6:30 – 8:30.

System Director's Report: You may view the System Director report online. The BNAW received notice that SCLS will receive a $9,000 rebate through focus on energy due to the use of a certain type of glass and insulation in the new building. The rebate check will be provided after the building is complete. Director updates include Brian Cole, Mazomanie; Wendy Wilson, Vesper; and Darrell Fehd, Wyocena. Amherst is interviewing and New Glarus has one application who is an employee. SCLS received the second state aid payment.

Discussion: None

Administrative Council (AC) Report: Met 4/21/2022. You may view the minutes online

Other Business: A groundbreaking event will occur 7/13/22 at the new building location. A “save the date” email was sent to staff, libraries, and the board. An invite will also be sent to the local representatives who have been involved with the project. Beverages, cake, and ice cream will be served and a staff celebration will follow with music and a party. The event will be hosted by Keller. J. Honl inquired if SCLS is experiencing any feedback about book banning and public meetings that are being held across the state to withdraw books. M. Van Pelt noted it’s a growing concern and SCLS has been proactive about it. An Intellectual Freedom webinar, hosted by Tracie Miller and Shawn Brommer, addressed the nationwide challenges to materials and provided information about how library staff might respond to the materials challenges. Round tables have been held at WLA addressing this issue and SCLS is training and re- training library staff about what resources are available to help. There is also new SCLS website pages available dealing with this issue. S. Elwell inquired if anyone is writing to legislators or senators to help promote with this initiative. M. Van Pelt will follow up with S. Brommer and T. Miller to see if that would be helpful. S. Feith also inquired if library boards have a policy in place to ensure correct procedures to address the issue. M. Van Pelt noted it is a standard policy in support of the ALA Bill of Rights and intellectual freedom which includes steps and procedures. If a patron has a concern about an item, there is a process.

Information sharing: G. Poulson noted the Baraboo library held a groundbreaking for their expansion project. Mark Jochem represented SCLS at the groundbreaking.
P. Cox shared his concern about library director vacancies as well as wanting more men to attend book clubs for non-fiction and historical discussions.

Adjournment: 1:24 p.m.

For more information about the Board of Trustees, contact Martha Van Pelt

BOT/Minutes/4/28/2022