GREENWICH FREE LIBRARY
BOARD MEETING MINUTES
WED. APRIL 13, 2016
The meeting opened at 7:10 PM. Present: Jim Nolan, Annie Miller, Naomi Meyer, Cliff Oliver, Claudia Blackler, Walter Grom, Paul Thurston, Chris Ruland and Terry Pendergast.
March minutes were approved with no changes. The Gill Room was read and accepted: 120 volunteer hours and 8.25 patron use. We receive a number of e-mail requests and will start reporting these statistics. Sandy presented a power point for the annual Greenwich-Easton Historical Association. She did then-and-now photos of buildings in Greenwich. The Friends have raised $849.00 to date from book sales.
BOARD SUBCOMMITTEE REPORTS:
1. Building – members are Mitch Throop, Annie Miller and Sandy McReynolds. They are contacting contracting companies for the construction grant to get quotes on the heating system and possibly gas hookup. A work order has to be completed for the heating system. Quotes will be gotten for the back porch construction, roof drainage and basement water problem.
2. Events – All programs and events for families will be free. Adult centered fund raising programs considered on a ¼ event schedule: Square Dancing event at St. Joseph’s Hall , Paint & Sip, Art Programs, join with historical groups, author programs, join with Battenkill Books in Cambridge, Whipple City parade theme Fairy Tales which if the children are involved parent releases will be required. Dave Weaver has offered the use of his antique tractor for this event. An open mike program, Halloween cider, donuts and free books, and a volunteer appreciation event. Possibly a Friday evening program in conjunction with the Youth Center. Chili sale at the Tractor Parade, and book sale at the Whipple City event. A wine, cheese and book talk will take place immediately before the Hubbard Hall Shakespeare event in The Commons. In Oct. a craft/beer event and talk on brewing.
3. Public Relations – Pat and Annie will develop a better logo for the library. The one we have is too busy. They will try to get one that will be easy to recognize and not slick.
4. Fund Raising – In May, Gordon Elmer, bird photographer will have a display of photos that patrons can bid on. This was very popular last year. In June a Paint & Sip program at 6:30 will be held and maybe again in the fall since they are so popular. Art related programs and possibly donations of art supplies for these programs. The annual fund raising hoped to raise $2,000.00 but actually raised $3,500.00. Each board member submitted ten names to send letters to…they will receive a list of the people that donated and then they can decide to either eliminate or add more names for this year. Thank you letters have been sent to the donors.
5. Treasurer’s Report – Paul presented the financial status for the first quarter. Revenue and expenses are in line with the budget. The detailed report is attached.
New board member welcomed: Terry Pendergast, e-mail ptpenderg@gmail.com. The new website is up and running. Trustee meeting in Plattsburgh on May 7th. The tax proposition letter was approved.
Submitted by Claudia Blackler
Treasurer’s Report for Jan 1 through March 31, 2016
The attachment summarizes income and expenses for the first quarter of 2016 in relation to the budget.
● On the income side: fundraising and donations are lagging; all other categories are ahead of schedule. Kudos to Annie and her team for exceeding the entire year’s grant target in the first quarter.
● Total expenses of $40,796 were slightly less than expected (22%). The only line item of possible concern is the custodial contact where we have used 34% of the budget. It looks like we’ve re-solved the problem with signing Annie’s checks — thanks Claudia.
● The construction account has a balance of 87,722, the general operating account has a balance of $152,772; the book account has a balance of $11,285, the librarian debit account has a balance of $804 and the endowment is currently at 154,335. We have requested a transfer of $20,000 from the general operating account to the endowment. Our eventual goal for the endowment is to maintain a balance sufficient to operate the library without external support for a year.
Respectfully submitted this 13th day of April, 2016,
Paul Thurston
Greenwich Library, Treasurer