Library Board of Trustees - Minutes - 09/12/2023

Waterford Public Library 
Board of Trustees 
 
 
Minutes of Meeting of September 12, 2023 
 
 
President A. Rosenberg called the meeting to order at 6 p.m. with a quorum. 
Trustees present: C. Giordano, E. Boyce, G. Ritter, J. Merrill, M. Furey-Wagner (Zoom), A. Roberge, N. Dragoli, 
A. Simpson, R. Kyne.  Also present: C. Johnson, Library Director. 
Not present: L. Couture, J. Lehet 
 
Consent Agenda 
Motion made by J. Merrill to accept the Minutes from July 11, 2023 meeting, including the Treasurer’s Report 
and the Financial Report. All in favor. 
 
President’s Report 
• A. Rosenberg posed two questions to the Trustees. What books have you taken out of the library 
recently?  Have you ever bought a book from the sale table at the library? Lively and informative 
discussion ensued. The answers were diverse, representing individual tastes and interests of the Board. 
 
Committee Reports 
 
Finance- Grant Ritter 
• Market continues to yoyo a bit with recession still a conversation point. Total Liabilities & Equity 
currently stand at 3,369,515.00. Library’s endowment remains unchanged, with slight variation within 
a small range. 
• Asset allocation is currently 80/20, slightly top heavy in Equity versus Bond and Money Market.  The 
Committee will look at changes for closer to 60/40 allocation in the future. 
 
Development and Fundraising- M. Fury-Wagner 
• Update on current fundraising shows net $2576.95. Centennial Donor Drive realized an additional 
$470, and the annual drive $1627.59. Bequests brought $100 and Charter Oak Match contributed 
$400.  
• The committee will meet in the next month to discuss Fall mailing and annual fundraising drive effort. 
 
Director’s Report - C. Johnson 
 
Meetings and Staff Training Highlights 
• Zoom meeting with Jenna Bivona and Waterford Rise to finalize collaborative book display. The library 
is also collaborating with Senior Services for an Older Adults display. Bibliographies will be available in 
print and posted online.  
• Staff-led Strategic Planning webinar, Roadmap to Success, took place on August 9.  It highlighted an 
exemplar library’s changes influenced by Covid. 
 
HVAC project  
• Town funding needs to be transferred from Capital Non-Recurring to Current Year Capital. 
•  RZ Design Associates was awarded the HVAC project contract by the Town at a cost of $120,000 

• No further progress on securing an emergency replacement for the defunct rooftop chiller unit. 
• Town will move forward on construction of external oil tank and then removal of two existing 
underground oil tanks. 
Grants 
• Chris wrote a grant request for $9,900 to the Dominion Energy Charitable Foundation to fund a 
permanent Story Walk installation on the side lawn of the library. Display will change four times a year. 
 
Personnel Updates 
• Two pages have joined the staff. Currently there are three pages in total. 
• A new PT custodian now covers Saturday morning (7am-10am) and upcoming Sunday hours (11am-
1pm) 
 
Strategic Plan updates 
• Planning team in place that includes, C. Johnson, Jenna Bivona, Jill Adams, Laura Erickson, and two 
board members, Eileen Boyce and Mim Furey-Wagner. 
• Organizational meetings began in July for Library directors and will continue, to include state meetings 
in Berlin and on Zoom for the Waterford Library planning team. The Board and community 
participation meetings are planned for October.  
• The committee is undertaking an environmental scan of town demographics and existing town 
department’s mission and strategic initiatives. 
• 190 Survey responses were returned from the August patron survey, mostly from library users. 
Responses were overwhelmingly positive. 
• Chris will continue to explore ways to include greater community participation. Harvest Fest and 
meetings to Quaker Hill are planned. 
 
Program Highlights 
• The new Auto renewal service went live on July 10. Response has been favorable. 
• Ashlee Myers, youth services info/ref assistant has already made a significant impact with her energy 
and creative flair. She introduced a new monthly Toddler Art program. There is also her monthly teen 
craft night and teen drop-in crafts and DIY instruments for ages 6-11. 
• Waterford Rotary gave a $500 donation that allowed the library to offer a series of both in-person ad 
take-home STEM projects created by the 4H. 
• Saturday, September 30, the Library will host a celebration of Hispanic heritage month. 
• Sunday hours begin October 15. 
 
Outreach 
• Jenna Bivona attended open house events at Waterford Football and Cheer, Great Neck Elementary 
and Quaker Hill Elementary Schools. Rashmi Sharma attended the Oswegatchie Elementary School. 
 
Old Business 
• Review and Revision of Collection Development Policy & Materials Reconsideration Form discussed. 
Library staff worked collaboratively to update the policy in response to the request from the CSLIB for 
all libraries to present their policy and form to the state in order to be eligible for state grants. 
• Freedom to Read document and First Amendment were additional references added to the document. 
• Grant Ritter made a motion to accept/ adopt policy with new references and A. Simpson seconded the 
motion. All in favor. 
 
 

New Business 
• There will be a meeting for the Board at 6pm., October 17, to participate in the strategic planning 
work. Following the meeting at 7pm, there is a community meeting to engage the town’s participation. 
• Town Board of Finance meeting is reviewing security measures for several town facilities regarding 
updates. The Library is on their funding list for 20 security cameras. More information on the security 
updates to the library will be known in future meetings. 
 
Adjournment 
 
A motion was made 6:55pm. by Grant Ritter seconded by Bob Kyne. All in favor. 
 
Respectfully submitted 14 September 2023, 
 
Eileen Boyce, Co-Secretary