Minutes of the Ramsey County Library Board
January 17, 2007
Administrative Offi ces υ 4 57 0 North Victoria Street υ Sh orevi ew, Minnesota 5 5 12 6- 58 6 3 υ (65 1) 48 6- 22 0 0 υ FA X ( 65 1) 48 6- 22 2 0
L IB R A R Y B O A R D P R E S E N T :
Matthew Anderson, V i c tori a Cox , R ob ert L amb , D av i d N orrg ard, B u rton N y g ren, R ob erta W el tz i n
L IB R A R Y B O A R D A B S E N T :
L ori -Anne W i l l i ams
S T A F F P R E S E N T :
S u san N emi tz , L i b rary D i rec tor; Mary L arson, L i b rary B oard Coordi nator; J u l i e N ev i l l e, B u i l di ng S erv i c es
Manag er; L y nn W y man, Assi stant D i rec tor; S andy W al sh, Assi stant D i rec tor; B i l l Mi c hel , R osev i l l e
Assi stant L i b rary Manag er
O T H E R S P R E S E N T :
Carol Morp hew, R amsey Cou nty P rop erty Manag ement; J ac k P ol i ng , L y nn B arnhou se, J oshu a
S towers, Mey er, S c herer & R oc k c astl e L td.; L i sa H arrel d, F ri ends of the S u b u rb an R amsey Cou nty
L i b rari es; J o Ann J ohnson, D av e L enander, L i b rary p atrons
C A L L T O O R D E R :
N orrg ard c al l ed the meeti ng to order at 7:0 0 p .m. i n the Conf erenc e R oom of the R amsey Cou nty
L i b rary Admi ni strati v e O f f i c es, 4 5 70 N orth V i c tori a S treet. N orrg ard wel c omed R ob ert L amb of F al c on
H ei g hts as the newest L i b rary B oard T ru stee.
P U B L IC C O M M E N T :
N one.
A P P R O V A L O F A G E N D A A N D M IN U T E S :
N y g ren made a moti on to ap p rov e the ag enda f or J anu ary 1 7, 2 0 0 7 and the mi nu tes of N ov emb er
1 5 , 2 0 0 6, as p resented. Anderson sec onded the moti on, whi c h was ap p rov ed b y u nani mou s v ote.
A N N U A L M E E T IN G :
E l ec ti on of Chai r: Anderson nomi nated W el tz i n, and mov ed her el ec ti on as Chai r of the R amsey
Cou nty L i b rary B oard f or 2 0 0 7. Cox sec onded the moti on, whi c h was ap p rov ed b y u nani mou s v ote.
E l ec ti on of V i c e-Chai r: Cox nomi nated Anderson, and mov ed hi s el ec ti on as V i c e Chai r of the
R amsey Cou nty L i b rary B oard f or 2 0 0 7. N y g ren sec onded the moti on, whi c h was ap p rov ed b y
u nani mou s v ote.
E l ec ti on of S ec retary : Cox nomi nated W i l l i ams, and mov ed her re-el ec ti on as S ec retary of the
R amsey Cou nty L i b rary B oard f or 2 0 0 7. Anderson sec onded the moti on, whi c h was u nani mou sl y
ap p rov ed.
L i b rary B oard B y -L aws: Anderson made a moti on, sec onded b y Cox , to ap p rov e the L i b rary B oard
B y -l aws as p resented. T he moti on was u nani mou sl y ap p rov ed.
L i b rary B oard P ol i c i es: Cox made a moti on, sec onded b y N y g ren, to ap p rov e the L i b rary B oard
P ol i c i es as p resented. T he moti on was ap p rov ed u nani mou sl y .
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L i ai son and Commi ttee Ap p oi ntments: Memb ers of the P ersonnel S u b c ommi ttee c oordi nate the
L i b rary D i rec tor’ s annu al p erf ormanc e rev i ew, and may meet oc c asi onal l y to di sc u ss staf f p ersonnel
i ssu es. As dec i ded i n a L i b rary B oard moti on ap p rov ed i n Ap ri l 2 0 0 6, the P ersonnel S u b c ommi ttee
shal l b e c omp ri sed of the L i b rary B oard Chai r, V i c e Chai r and S ec retary . F or 2 0 0 7, the S u b c ommi ttee
i s W el tz i n, Anderson, and W i l l i ams.
E ac h y ear the L i b rary B oard al so ap p oi nts a l i ai son to the F ri ends of the S u b u rb an R amsey Cou nty
L i b rari es, a rol e that Cox v ol u nteered to serv e f or 2 0 0 7. W el tz i n made a moti on to ap p oi nt Cox as the
L i b rary B oard l i ai son to the F ri ends of the S u b u rb an R amsey Cou nty L i b rari es f or 2 0 0 7. Anderson
sec onded the moti on, whi c h was u nani mou sl y ap p rov ed.
Annu al S c hedu l e of Meeti ng s: F ol l owi ng a su g g esti on to swi tc h the Ap ri l meeti ng to Map l ewood,
and the May meeti ng to R osev i l l e, Cox made a moti on to ap p rov e the amended 2 0 0 7 sc hedu l e of
meeti ng s. Anderson sec onded the moti on, whi c h was ap p rov ed b y u nani mou s v ote.
R esp onsi b l e Au thori ty D esi g nati on: Anderson made a moti on to ap p oi nt S u san N emi tz , L i b rary
D i rec tor, as the ‘ R esp onsi b l e Au thori ty and Comp l i anc e O f f i c er’ f or the c ol l ec ti on, u se and
di ssemi nati on of data on i ndi v i du al s f or the R amsey Cou nty L i b rary , as req u i red b y the G ov ernment
D ata P rac ti c es Ac t, Mi nnesota S tatu tes, Chap ter 1 3 . Cox sec onded the moti on, whi c h was
ap p rov ed u nani mou sl y b y the L i b rary B oard.
D U N N B R O S . C O F F E E S H O P L E A S E E X T E N S IO N :
S i nc e the D u nn B ros. c of f ee shop op ened i n Ap ri l 1 9 9 7, the c ol l ab orati on b etween D u nn B ros. and
R amsey Cou nty L i b rary has b een an u nq u al i f i ed su c c ess. Ci rc u l ati on stati sti c s and c u stomers
enteri ng the l i b rary hav e i nc reased steadi l y si nc e 1 9 9 7. D amag e to b ook s and c arp eti ng f rom
c of f ee sp i l l s has b een mi ni mal . R ev enu e f rom the l ease has b een u sed to p u rc hase b ook s f or the
enti re R amsey Cou nty L i b rary sy stem, whi l e sati sf y i ng the Cou nty B oard’ s di rec ti v e to i nc rease
rev enu es. R osev i l l e b ec ame k nown throu g hou t Mi nnesota as “ the l i b rary wi th the c of f ee shop ,”
sp ark i ng a trend to i nc l u de c of f ee shop s i n new l i b rari es ac ross the state.
I n 2 0 0 1 , the f ranc hi se was sol d b y owner E d D u nn to Ceef ay , I nc ., who sol d the f ranc hi se i n 2 0 0 5 to J B
Cof f ee Comp ani es. I n 2 0 0 6, J B Cof f ee sol d the f ranc hi se to E mi amac as, I nc ., the c u rrent owner.
W i th eac h sal e, the terms of the ori g i nal l ease were assu med b y the new owner.
T he ori g i nal l ease had a f i v e-y ear term, wi th a f i v e-y ear renewal term, and ex p i res on J anu ary 3 1 ,
2 0 0 7. G ary D av i s, Assi stant Cou nty Attorney , adv i sed that the L i b rary i ssu e a new R F P f or the c of f ee
shop at R osev i l l e. H owev er, du e to the ti mi ng of the c ap i tal p l anni ng f or R osev i l l e, and the
u nc ertai nty reg ardi ng the i mp ac t on the D u nn B ros. sp ac e, D av i s has ag reed that the L i b rary may
enter i nto a one-y ear l ease ex tensi on u nti l p l ans are c omp l eted. Al l the terms of the ori g i nal
ag reement, i nc l u di ng the 2 0 0 6 monthl y l ease rate, wi l l remai n i n p l ac e f or the p eri od of the l ease
ex tensi on. T he c u rrent l ease rate i s $ 5 ,3 5 2 .1 1 p er month, or $ 64 ,2 2 5 p er y ear.
Anderson made a moti on to ap p rov e the l ease addendu m b etween the R amsey Cou nty L i b rary
B oard and E mi amac as, I nc . f or a one-y ear term b eg i nni ng F eb ru ary 1 , 2 0 0 7, and endi ng J anu ary 3 1 ,
2 0 0 8 ; su b j ec t to the ap p rov al of the R amsey Cou nty Attorney ’ s O f f i c e. Cox sec onded the moti on,
whi c h was ap p rov ed b y u nani mou s v ote.
R E S O L U T IO N IN S U P P O R T O F R E G IO N A L P U B L IC L IB R A R Y S Y S T E M S U P P O R T :
T he S tate ap p rop ri ati on f or reg i onal p u b l i c l i b rary sy stems has remai ned b asi c al l y f l at f rom 1 9 9 3
( $ 8 ,4 0 4 ,5 9 6) to 2 0 0 6 ( $ 8 ,5 70 ,0 0 0 ) . O f thi s amou nt, ME L S A rec ei v es $ 2 ,73 5 ,2 0 1 , whi c h i s di stri b u ted
b ased on three f ac tors: b asi c g rant, p op u l ati on, area, and eq u al i z ati on. R amsey Cou nty rec ei v ed
$ 1 0 6,1 73 of these dol l ars f rom ME L S A i n 2 0 0 6.
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W i th no i nc rease i n S tate su p p ort, i nf l ati on has eroded su p p ort l ev el s f or reg i onal l i b rari es si nc e 1 9 9 3 .
W hi l e ME L S A c onti nu es to b e a f ai rl y f l at org ani z ati on, f u nds needed to mai ntai n the of f i c e and staf f
l ev el s dec rease the di rec t dol l ars di stri b u ted to l oc al memb ers. ME L S A’ s rol e i n p u rc hasi ng
datab ases, p rov i di ng metro-wi de c ommu ni ty rel ati ons ( e.g . the Mu seu m Adv entu re P ass) wi l l
c onti nu e to req u i re i nv estment f or b etter c oop erati on.
ME L S A i s ask i ng the metro l i b rary sy stems to su p p ort a req u est f or a $ 5 mi l l i on state-wi de i nc rease i n
the R eg i onal L i b rary S y stem B asi c S u p p ort ap p rop ri ati on du ri ng the 2 0 0 7 l eg i sl ati v e sessi on. ME L S A
wou l d rec ei v e ap p rox i matel y $ 1 .7 mi l l i on addi ti onal dol l ars i n the S tate’ s di stri b u ti on. I f the c u rrent
ME L S A di stri b u ti on f ormu l a were mai ntai ned, 75 % of the new dol l ars wou l d b e di rec tl y ap p orti oned to
the memb er l i b rari es, wi th ap p rox i matel y $ 1 5 4 ,2 75 addi ti onal dol l ars f or R amsey Cou nty . T he ME L S A
Adv i sory and G ov erni ng B oards wou l d determi ne the f i nal di stri b u ti on of the f u ndi ng .
I n addi ti on to su p p ort f rom the l oc al l i b rary sy stems, ME L S A i s ask i ng the Assoc i ati on of Mi nnesota
Cou nti es ( AMC) to j oi n the Mi nnesota L i b rary Assoc i ati on ( ML A) i n l ob b y i ng the L eg i sl atu re f or thi s
i nc rease i n 2 0 0 7.
Cox made a moti on to ap p rov e the R esol u ti on i n S u p p ort of R eg i onal P u b l i c L i b rary S y stem S u p p ort
as p resented, and to au thori z e the si g natu res of the L i b rary B oard Chai r and L i b rary D i rec tor on the
doc u ment. W el tz i n sec onded the moti on, whi c h was u nani mou sl y ap p rov ed.
S E L F C H E C K O U T E Q U IP M E N T :
R amsey Cou nty L i b rary has rec ei v ed a g i f t throu g h the F ri ends of the S u b u rb an R amsey Cou nty
L i b rari es, f or two 3 M B CS S el f Chec k u ni ts to b e i nstal l ed at the new Map l ewood l i b rary . T hese two
u ni ts rep resent a v al u e of ap p rox i matel y $ 2 2 ,0 0 0 . T he Map l ewood b u i l di ng p rog ram c al l ed f or f ou r
sel f serv i c e c hec k ou t u ni ts, to p rov i de the f astest and most c onv eni ent serv i c e to c u stomers. T o
sati sf y thi s g oal , and to k eep serv i c e op ti ons u ni f orm wi thi n the b u i l di ng , and to av oi d c onf u si on f or
ou r c u stomers, 3 M B CS S el f Chec k u ni ts wi l l b e p u rc hased wi th desi g nated Map l ewood b u i l di ng f u nds.
T he c u rrent sel f c hec k ou t eq u i p ment owned b y R amsey Cou nty L i b rary was p u rc hased f rom
Codec o. Al thou g h the eq u i p ment at Map l ewood i s f rom a di f f erent manu f ac tu rer, the f u nc ti onal i ty
wi l l b e si mi l ar. P ri or to ac c ep ti ng the g i f t f rom 3 M, staf f ev al u ated the c ost sav i ng s c omp ared to
b u y i ng f ou r new u ni ts to matc h the ex i sti ng eq u i p ment i n other b ranc hes, and determi ned that
sev eral thou sand dol l ars wi l l b e sav ed. T he R amsey Cou nty Attorney ’ s O f f i c e was al so c onsu l ted to
ensu re c omp l i anc e wi th Mi nnesota g ov ernment c ontrac ti ng g u i del i nes. N o L i b rary B oard ac ti on was
req u ested.
R O S E V IL L E P R E L IM IN A R Y D E S IG N P R E S E N T A T IO N :
Memb ers of the R osev i l l e desi g n team were p resent to u p date the L i b rary B oard on the two
ex p ansi on op ti ons dev el op ed b y the team. F ol l owi ng the award of the c ontrac t i n N ov emb er, the
arc hi tec ts of Mey er, S c herer & R oc k c astl e, L td. ( MS & R ) dev el op ed ei g ht p otenti al si te sc hemes f or
the desi g n team to c onsi der. T he ei g ht p ossi b i l i ti es were narrowed down to two op ti ons: a two-story
l i b rary wi th amp l e g reen sp ac e i nc l u ded i n the si te p l an, or a one-story l i b rary wi th a p ark i ng dec k to
the north. T he si z e of the b u i l di ng , di c tated b y the b u i l di ng p rog ram, and the req u i red p ark i ng l ot
si z e, mak e a p ark i ng dec k the onl y op ti on i f the one-story op ti on i s sel ec ted.
T he arc hi tec ts rev i ewed p rel i mi nary drawi ng showi ng how b oth op ti ons c ou l d b e si ted on the
p rop erty , and ask ed the L i b rary B oard memb ers to c aref u l l y c onsi der b oth op ti ons. T he p ark i ng dec k
wou l d add si g ni f i c antl y to the c ost of the p roj ec t, whi l e staf f i ng i ssu es wou l d need to b e c onsi dered
wi th the two-story b u i l di ng . P rel i mi nary p l anni ng f or the two-story b u i l di ng wou l d p l ac e the c i rc u l ati on
desk , c hi l dren’ s area, and p op u l ar materi al s on the mai n f l oor, wi th the ref erenc e desk staf f and
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adu l t materi al s on the sec ond f l oor. U nder thi s sc enari o, addi ti onal staf f wou l d not b e req u i red f or
the two-story op ti on.
T he arc hi tec ts al so rec ommended that the L i b rary b e c l osed du ri ng the c onstru c ti on p eri od.
Al thou g h i t i s p ossi b l e to p hase the c onstru c ti on to al l ow the b u i l di ng to remai n op en, i t c reates many
p rob l ems and i s hi g hl y di sc ou rag ed. F eedb ac k f rom other l i b rari es that hav e ex p anded or
renov ated thei r f ac i l i ti es whi l e remai ni ng op en i s resou ndi ng l y neg ati v e. E sti mated c l osi ng ti me
wou l d b e 6-1 8 months, wi th the hi g her esti mate more l i k el y . I f R osev i l l e were c l osed du ri ng the
ex p ansi on, a temp orary l oc ati on wou l d b e an op ti on to c onsi der.
L amb q
the Ci ty
c ontac
T he arc
u esti oned i f a di f f erent, l arg er si te wou l d b e a b etter op ti on. H e su g g ested a l and swap wi th
of R osev i l l e f or p ark p rop erty on L ex i ng ton Av enu e. N emi tz i ndi c ated that she wou l d
t the Ci ty to determi ne the si z e of the p rop erty .
hi tec ts wi l l retu rn i n F eb ru ary and Marc h to u p date the L i b rary B oard on thei r p rog ress.
2 0 0 6 F O U R T H Q U A R T E R R E P O R T S :
T he L i b rary B oard rev i ewed the f ou rth q u arter work p l an, f i nanc i al rep ort, and stati sti c s as su b mi tted.
N emi tz noted that she was c onserv ati v e wi th her sp endi ng du ri ng the y ear, whi c h she attri b u ted to
her l earni ng c u rv e. I nternet c l asses f or the p u b l i c and the v ol u nteer p rog ram were hi g hl i g hted as
su c c ess stori es f or the y ear.
2 0 0 7 W O R K P L A N :
N emi tz ’ s 2 0 0 7 work p l an was i nc l u ded f or L i b rary B oard rev i ew and c omments. Q u arterl y g oal s f or
2 0 0 7 wi l l b e i denti f i ed wi th the f i rst q u arter rep orts.
D IR E C T O R ’S R E P O R T :
N emi tz ’ s J anu ary rep ort to the L i b rary B oard was mai l ed p ri or to the meeti ng .
M E L S A R E P O R T :
T he p ossi b l e merg er b etween Mi nneap ol i s P u b l i c L i b rary and H ennep i n Cou nty L i b rary has b een
di sc u ssed.
F R IE N D S R E P O R T :
L i sa H arrel d, F ri ends’ B oard memb er, rep orted that the F ri ends hav e hi red J oe S k el l y of S horev i ew to
serv e as thei r E x ec u ti v e D i rec tor and F u ndrai ser.
L IB R A R Y D IR E C T O R ’S P E R F O R M A N C E A P P R A IS A L A N D S A L A R Y R E V IE W :
T he L i b rary B oard went i nto E x ec u ti v e S essi on at 9 :4 5 p .m. to di sc u ss the 2 0 0 6 p erf ormanc e ap p rai sal
and sal ary rev i ew f or L i b rary D i rec tor S u san N emi tz .
U p on retu rni ng f rom E x ec u ti v e S essi on, Cox made a moti on to i nc rease N emi tz ’ s sal ary to $ 1 0 1 ,5 0 0
annu al l y ef f ec ti v e J anu ary 1 , 2 0 0 7. Anderson sec onded the moti on, whi c h was ap p rov ed b y
u nani mou s v ote of the L i b rary B oard. T he c ost-of -l i v i ng sal ary adj u stment awarded to al l Cou nty staf f
i s i nc l u ded i n N emi tz ’ s emp l oy ment ag reement, and wi l l remai n i n ef f ec t.
N orrg ard noted that the L i b rary B oard as a whol e was wel l -sati sf i ed wi th her ov eral l p erf ormanc e, an
op i ni on su p p orted b y the i ndi v i du al B oard memb er ev al u ati ons, and her p ay i nc reased was
awarded ac c ordi ng l y .
N E X T M E E T I N G : F e b r u a r y 2 1 , 2 0 0 7 , A d m i n i s t r a t i v e O f f i c e , 4 5 7 0 N o r t h V i c t o r i a S t r e e t , 7 :0 0 p . m .
M E E T IN G
A D J O U R N E D 1 0 :3 2 p . m .
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R esp ec tf u l l y S u b mi tted,
Mary L arson
L i b rary B oard Coordi nator
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