Minutes of Regular Meeting

December 19, 2001

Call to Order

The regular monthly meeting of the Library Board of Trustees was called to order at 7:08 p.m. In attendance were Board President Hope Furth, Trustees Betsy DeSoye, Janet Elmiger, Campbell Geeslin, P. Lynn Oliva, Nancy Smith, Library Director Sandra Miranda, Assistant Library Director Charlotte Szabó, and Head of Public Services Patricia Thorsen. Absent with notice were Trustees Cox-Burns, Simmons and Yanofsky. Trustee Elmiger was appointed Secretary Pro-Tem on a motion by Trustee Furth, seconded by Trustee Geeslin.

Minutes of Regular Meeting of the Library Board of Trustees

The minutes of the regular meeting of November 14, 2001 were approved on a motion by Trustee Geeslin, seconded by Trustee Elmiger.

City Revenue & Expenditure Budget Reports

City Revenue & Expenditure Budget Reports 2001/02 as of 11/30/01 were reviewed by the Board.

Bills: 2001/02 Budget: #7 & #8

The payment of bill vouchers #7 and #8 were approved on a motion by Trustee DeSoye, seconded by Trustee Smith.

Report of Library Administration

Department reports for November were reviewed by the Board. Mrs. Miranda reported that both Charlotte Szabó, Assistant Library Director, and Carol Heller, Public Relations Director will be retiring in the new year. She thanked Ms. Szabó for her dedication to the Library and commented, we don’t know what we will do without you. Assistant Library Director Szabó noted it has been a pleasure to work with Mrs. Miranda, a true visionary and the wonderful Library Board staff of the White Plains Public Library.

The Board reviewed E. Schonberger’s 12/18 note to Mrs. Miranda regarding the Sculpture Garden; it did not seen that this matter should be pursued further at this time. Library Director Miranda reported that another meeting is planned for January on the "One Book" project, however, it needs to be determined how the Library will fit into the project without taking a leadership role. Mrs. Miranda noted it is a wonderful project which she hopes goes forward. She invited any interested Trustees to join the planning group.

Board President Furth reported she is meeting with Mayor Delfino on Friday, December 21, 2001, and will report back to Board at next meeting.

WLS

The Board reviewed Library Director Miranda’s 12/17/01 memo to Executive Officer, George Gretsas. Mrs. Miranda explained that she had notified the Mayor’s Office and the Budget Director that White Plains would not receive funds this year from WLS for nonresident use, and this memo was written subsequently to answer specific questions and provide context. Trustee Elmiger complimented Mrs. Miranda on the comprehensive memo.

Foundation

Library Director Miranda reported that December 14, 2001 was the last day of work for the Foundation’s Development Director. Mrs. Miranda reported the Foundation was in the midst of an annual campaign which was doing quite well.

She said that Board members would will soon receive invitations to the Business Leaders Breakfast to be held at the Library on January 29. She invited the Board to attend the Library Foundation’s meeting on January 18, 2002 at which time the program for the breakfast would be discussed.

Outreach

Trustee Oliva reported on a successful visit by members of the Council of Neighborhood Associations on December 4, and she thanked Mrs. Miranda and Mrs. Thorsen for addressing the group on library services and giving them a tour. There was considerable interest and concern regarding the status of the Library Garage, and Trustee Oliva noted that the CNA subsequently wrote a letter to the City regarding this.

After some discussion, the Board decided to schedule a joint meeting with the Foundation Board, Friends Board, Mayor and Common Council on March 20, 2002 at 6:00 p.m. As in the past, the meeting will be held to provide a general update on Library projects and Foundation activities.

Board Terms Expiring

Mrs. Miranda reported that Trustee DeSoye graciously agreed to serve for a few more until a successor is appointed. Further discussion of this vacancy was postponed until the January meeting.

Member Library Statistics - Year 2000

The Board reviewed and discussed WLS Member Library Statistics 2000.

Parking Garage Update

The Board reviewed the many signed petitions and some letters which were collected to date from Library patrons and City residents in support of opening the garage. The Board reviewed The Journal News article, "Westchester to Reopen White Plains Library Garage," dated 12/19/01, and agreed that letters expressing gratitude should be sent from Board President Hope Furth and Mrs. Miranda to the County Executive, Mayor Delfino, and various government officials. Various trustees accepted assignments to send thank you letters on the Board’s behalf. The Board also agreed that a thank you display should be set up in the Library lobby.

City of White Plains Environmental Education Initiative

The Library Board welcomed Susan Habel, Deputy Commissioner of Planning, Arne Abramowitz, Deputy Commissioner of Recreation & Parks, and Maia Steward, Technical Intern. A copy of the Draft City of White Plains Recreation & Parks Master Plan, October 2001 was distributed to the Board. Susan Habel noted it is the first plan for the City since 1961, and since that time the City has gone through a transformation due to socio-economic and demographic changes. She stated that the City has never had an inventory of parks and open spaces including physical condition and mapping. Ms. Habel noted the Library is discussed as a major provider of services. She thanked Library Director Miranda for contributing to the document and librarian Tim Baird for researching and ordering materials relating to the educational initiative. Ms Steward noted she visited each park and open space to inventory and describe it. She described how the Education Initiative workbook was developed and how it would be used. Trustee Oliva asked if the inventory of open spaces included the Library Plaza, and Ms. Steward responded that the emphasis was mainly on green areas. Ms. Habel noted that the Plaza is interjurisdictional (owned by City and County). Mrs. Miranda said that various ideas had been advanced in recent years for use of the Plaza, and it has been difficult to assess merit without a plan to guide decision-making. She said that in considering the most recent request in September, the Board asked whether the Planning Department could help develop a plan for the Plaza, and what would be the right venue to make such a request. Mrs. Habel responded that the Mayor and Common Council would like to get feedback on the Draft Recreation plan by February or March. Mrs. Thorsen noted Ms. Steward was a delight to work with, and the Board thanked Ms. Habel, Ms. Steward, and Mr. Abramowitz for their wonderful presentation. Mr. Abramowitz distributed flyers for the City’s New Year’s Eve Gala.

Personnel

On a motion by Trustee Elmiger, seconded by Trustee Geeslin, the Board went into Executive Session. The Executive Session was called to an end on a motion by Trustee Elmiger, seconded by Trustee Geeslin. On a motion by Trustee Furth, seconded by Trustee Geeslin, the Board agreed: 1) Library Administration will evaluate the impact of Library vacancies and make recommendations; 2) In light of the significant impending changes in leadership positions at the Library, the Library Board advocates annual performance evaluations for key management positions such as the Library Director and Assistant Director and will begin by re-instituting the evaluation process for the Library Director position; 3) The Board endorsed promotion of Patricia Thorsen to Assistant Library Director. Mrs. Miranda was asked to provide standard guidelines for evaluation of Library Director so that the Board could complete this evaluation in January. Trustee Geeslin agreed to write a first draft, and date of January 23 was set for Board to meet in Executive Session to review and finalize. Trustee Furth agreed to notify board members not present regarding this meeting.

Request by WP Outdoor Arts Festival Committee to serve alcoholic beverage at meeting

The Board approved the request of the WP Outdoor Festival Committee to serve wine at its annual holiday gathering at the Library on December 20, 2001.

2002 Meeting

On a motion by Trustee DeSoye, seconded by Trustee Geeslin, the Board decided that start time of its meetings would remain 7:00 p.m. and moved date of the February meeting to February 13, 2002 in order to approve FY2002-03 budget request for submission to City.

Adjournment

There being no more business before the Board, the meeting was adjourned at 9:50 p.m. on a motion by Trustee DeSoye, seconded by Trustee Geeslin.

Janet Elmiger, Secretary Pro-Tem

Library Board of Trustees