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Minutes of Meeting of the Board of Trustees
Highland Public Library
14 Elting Place; Highland, NY  12528


Date: December 7, 2023


Attending: Elaine Rivera, President; Melissa Burdash, 1st Vice President; Laura Finch, Secretary; Milena Barrett, Trustee; Patrick Mason; Finance Officer , Julie Dempsey, Library Director


Absent: Jacqueline Burke, 2nd Vice President, 


The meeting was called to order at  5:36 p.m.


The members recited the Pledge of Allegiance.


Melissa moved to accept the minutes of the November 9, 2023 meeting.   Milena seconded.  All were in favor.




Financial Report:
Melissa moved as follows: Be it resolved to approve the warrants attached for operating expenses for November 30, 2023. Milena seconded. All were in favor.


Milena moved as follows:  Be it resolved to accept the October 2023 financial report as prepared by Rose Woodworth, Accountant.  Melissa seconded. All were in favor.


Agenda Items:


Oath of Office (Mark McPeck):  Mark took the oath of office to assume a position on the Board.


Director’s Report:


Toy Drive: Lloyd police work with Methodist church.  Toys will be dropped off on 18th.  


Coat Drive:  Starts on December 17th and runs through January.  Men’s clothing and coats are in need.  Donations will go to Ascencion Holy Trinity church.


Updated Online Catalog: Class to introduce new catalog will take place on the 13th.   Bugs are being worked out (i.e. uploading ‘read history’). Old and new catalogs will run concurrently for 30 days.  New site is DISCOVER.midhudsonlibraries.org (old is SEARCH.midhudsonlibraries.org).


HS Jazz and a Capella Group: Thursday the 21st at 1:00pm in the community room the HS Jazz and a Capella group will perform.


Cops and Coffee:  Tuesday the 12th at 10:00am the Lloyd Police will host Coffee with Cops in the Community Room.


Trustee Education: Be sure to complete 2 hours of training before the EOY!


Handbooks:  Book clubs through MHLS do count towards above credits.  New handbooks were distributed.


Old Business:


Confirmation of Updated Officer Positions: Updated board will be: President, Elaine Rivera; 1st VP, Melissa Burdash; 2nd VP, Jacqueline Burke. Mark McPeck, Trustee (Facility Committee). All other positions remain the same.


Staff Holiday: Party will be on Tuesday and Wednesday throughout the day.


New Business:
Personnel Action:  Appointment of Nancy D’Elia
Personnel Action


Recommended by: Library Director, Julie Dempsey
The Board of Trustees is the appointing authority for all personnel appointments, whether as a staff hire or as a contract employee. Resignations must also be received and acted upon by the Board of Trustees on the recommendation of the Library Director.


Pending Personnel Actions:
Approve the appointment of Nancy D’Elia to MTHT Clerk position at a rate of $17.00 per hour, up to 27 hours per week, with a probationary period starting November 28, 2023.


Action Requested: 
MOVED that the Board of Trustees of the Highland Public Library approve the personnel actions listed above.


Motion:
Moved by: Melissa
Seconded by: Patrick


Result of Action:
In Favor: all
Against: none
Abstaining: none


POS (Review for 2024): An online community survey will identify topics of interest for any updates to the POS.


Committees:


Facilities: n/a


Finance: Patrick reviewed timeline for reserve fund increase.  We’d like to create a 3-4 month buffer.  (In Fall, the balance got down to a one month balance.) A large lump sum removed from the reserve fund taken out the year after the bond was passed has not yet been restored.  This increase is in line with what other libraries carry.  In the January election votes, local libraries passed budgets of 5-10%.


Personnel: n/a


Other:
Friends:  Meeting on Saturday will be canceled.


Public Comment:


Melissa moved to adjourn. Patrick seconded.  The meeting adjourned at 5:57 p.m.


Next Meeting: January 25, 2024 at 5:30pm


Respectfully Submitted,
Laura Finch, Secretary