Library News
Renovation Update
With the payment of this month’s pay application to Lo Destro, we can now officially call our YTS renovation project complete! Dan Eallonardo will be on hand to discuss the project and answer any final questions that you might have. With the key coring and floor repairs last month, all work has been completed. Congratulations to Tina and her staff for all of the work that went into creating this space. I also want to congratulate them along with Matt and our Public Services Department for doing such an admirable job of figuring out how to keep things running on one floor while construction was going on. Finally, congratulations to all of you for your leadership and oversight which helped bring this amazing space to life.
Committee Meeting Schedule
Trustee Jankowski is going to be out of town in March, so I have swapped the March and April committee meetings. Fundraising will now meet in March with Long Range Planning meeting in April. I also added Fundraising to November as that committee begins its inaugural year of work.
Other Building & Grounds News
Even though the YTS renovation is finished, I’m continuing to work with Dan Eallonardo to consult on our building and grounds needs. His expertise and connections will continue to serve us well in future projects.
Budget News
Our finances continue to hold steady. We received another small distribution in late January which brings our FY2021 tax collections up to 98% of expected. We also received the largest PPRT payment in my time here at just under $30,000. So we are almost exactly where we hoped to be at this point in the year. We have funds on hand to repay our loan and get us through the next few months, when we expect funds for the first half of FY2022 to be paid and disbursed. Those tax bills are now available online and will be mailed out any time now with a due date of April 3. Assuming disbursement patterns hold true to past form, we should see large portions of those funds come in during the month of March with the remainder to follow in April and perhaps into May. I plan to cut a check for $431,250.00 to repay the City in March. Hopefully, this will put an end to our financial surprises for a while.
FY22 Audit
Our annual audit is underway. Representatives from Lauterbach & Amen were on site on February 8th to do the fieldwork portion. While they schedule three days for fieldwork, they were finished in one due in no small part to Terry’s excellent record-keeping. The final report will be ready in time for our May meeting.
Staff In-Service
We had the first of our two annual staff in-service days on Friday, February 10th. Topics of the day included our state-mandated annual sexual harassment training, an autism awareness presentation by Key Autism Services, and various department-specific training topics.
Other News
Programs and Events
Our Youth and Teen Services staff have started an exciting new program for teens. Teen book boxes will kick off in March. Upon registering, a teen will fill out a short questionnaire about their interests. Our librarians will pick out a book for them to read and package it with a treat and other fun things. The teen will pick up their surprise box, hopefully love the book, then return it with the box for another go round. The cost of this program is minimal (a box and a few small treats) and will be paid out of our regular programming budget. I think this is a great idea to engage our teen patrons, and I’m really excited to see how it goes!
State of the City
The Mayor’s annual State of the City luncheon is on March 14 at noon. As in years past, I plan to attend along with a few key staff members. Please let me know if you would like to attend, and I will get you registered.
Upcoming Events
- February 16: Building & Grounds Committee Meeting at 6:30pm
- February 16: Regular Board Meeting at 7pm
- March 14: State of the City Luncheon at 12pm, Recreation Center
- March 16: Fundraising Committee Meeting at 6:30pm
- March 16: Regular Board Meeting at 7pm
Respectfully submitted,
Jesse Blazek
Library Director