LIBRARY TRUSTEE MINUTES OF DECEMBER 18, 2019
The meeting was called to order in the Selectmen’s Chamber at Town Hall at 10:01 am.
In attendance: Trustees Gloria Parkinson, chairwoman; Wendy Neil, vice chairwoman; Tracy Colangione, Angela DeVivo, E. Russell Grady, and Karen Nugent, secretary; and Library Director Marie Letarte.
- APPROVAL OF MINUTES: The minutes of the Nov. 26, 2019 minutes were unanimously approved with two amendments: Under Personnel/Subcommittee Updates: The sentence “Gabby Turcotte has been hired to weed out the old collection in the stacks,” was changed to “Gabby Turcotte has been hired to tag the old collection in the stacks.” Also, the date of Library Day at the Statehouse was corrected to April 2, 2020, not April 12.
SUBCOMMITTEE MINUTES: Minutes the Dec. 6, 2019, meeting of the RFP (Request For Proposals) Subcommittee were unanimously approved with one spelling change: from “envelop” to “envelope.”
Minutes from the Dec. 13, 2019, meeting of the RFP Subcommittee were unanimously approved.
Minutes from the Community Room Subcommittee meeting of Dec. 11, 2019 were approved with the following changes in a sentence at the bottom of page one: “Karen with follow up with Mr. Mayou” was changed to “Karen will follow up with Mr. Mayou.”
NEW BUSINESS
2. DIRECTOR’S REPORT:
A. FACILITIES: Problems with the elevator are being addressed. The annual inspection is scheduled for Dec. 31, 2019.
An RFP draft for the building assessment has been generated.
The Russ Karlstad, facilities director, and Ms. Letarte met with James Mayou, contractor, on Dec. 12 to discuss upcoming projects, including doors for the Community Room. Mr. Mayou is expected to submit estimates on the doors and door hardware to Mr. Karlstad and cc Ms. Letarte.
B. BUDGET: We received $600 from the Cultural Council; and three performers also received grants for performances at the library in 2020. A $5,000 grant application was sent to Clinton Hospital. A letter of intent was sent to the MBLC for a LSTA grant for “At The Table.”
SUBCOMMITTEE UPDATES: RFP SUBCOMMITTEE: Met with the Town Administrator about clarifying the RFP process. Met with the town Economic Development Director for feedback.
COMMUNITY ROOM SUBCOMMITTEE: Met with the contractor, Jim Mayou about door replacement.
3. PERSONNEL/COMMITTEE UPDATES:
The last day for Donna Andreason, new head of adult services, is Dec. 31, 2019. She is leaving for personal reasons. The position has been re-advertised. Bibliotemp will fill in until someone is hired. Three interviews are pending.
4. SUBCOMMITTEE UPDATES:
RFP SUBCOMMITTEE: See minutes. The Trustees thank Town Administrator Michael Ward, Economic Director Phil Duffy, and Facilities Director Russ Karlstad for helping with the draft RFP. Ms. Parkinson said Mr. Ward was especially generous with his time.
Ms. Letarte said the subcommittee was told to include a maximum price ($40,000) in the RFP for the building assessment. The bidding process was discussed. Ms. Letarte will ask Mr. Ward about a range rather than one amount. A boiler plate RFP is in progress. Ms. Letarte will send updates to the subcommittee via email. Ms. Parkinson pointed out that the legal entity on the bid is the town, not the library trustees. When a draft is completed, it will be circulated among the subcommittee members and the final draft will be presented to the full board of trustees.
COMMUNITY ROOM SUBCOMMITTEE:
Ms. Neil, a member of the subcommittee, contacted the town solicitor to ask if trustees can be held personally liable if something goes wrong with contractors’ work. The answer is no. Ms. Neil read the response from Town Solicitor Robert Gibbons.
5. POLICIES:
FIRST AMENDMENT AUDITS: Ms. Letarte and Ms. Parkinson said we need to create a draft generic privacy policy to address issues such as the video recording in the building. They will follow up at a later meeting.
OLD BUSINESS:
6. PUBLIC COMMENT: None.
Mr. Grady spoke about a telephone voice mail he received anonymously. He said the person recounted a conversation among Ms. Parkinson, Ms. Letarte and Ms. DeVivo which tool place after the Nov. 13 morning trustee meeting in which the three were allegedly developing a plan to oust him.
Ms. Parkinson said she went into the director’s office extremely upset because she believed she had been personally attacked by Mr. Grady in the preceding meeting. She said Mr. Grady addressed her in a violent manner.
Ms. Parkinson said Ms. DeVivo and Ms. Letarte were in the office discussing the RFP subcommittee and there was no talk of ousting Mr. Grady. Ms. DeVivo acknowledged that she called him a bully.
Mr. Grady and Ms. Parkinson said they both felt attacked by one another.
The meeting was adjourned at 11:57 am. The next meeting is scheduled for 6 pm on Jan. 28, 2020.
Minutes submitted by Karen Nugent, secretary.