Library Board of Trustees - Minutes - 07/11/2023

Waterford Public Library 
 
Board of Trustees 
 
Minutes of Meeting of 11 July 2023 
 
President Aaron Rosenberg called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. with a quorum. 
Trustees present:  C. Giordano, E. Boyce, J. Lehet, G. Ritter, J. Merrill, M. Furey-Wagner, A. 
Robarge, L. Couture.  Also present C. Johnson, Library Director.    
Not present:  N. Dragoli, J. Mullen 
 
1.  Nominating Committee 
• C. Giordano reported two excellent candidates were interviewed; A. Simpson and B. Kyne.  A 
brief background on each was provided.  A. Rosenberg asked for a vote to approve them as 
Trustees.  All in favor. 
• They are Annie Simpson, a retired geriatrician, is new to the area.  As a child a Public Library 
with access to one and all made a difference.  It is just as important today. 
• And Bob Kyne, originally from Waterford, has returned to his hometown after graduate school.  
He used the library as a child and is now enjoying it again with his 4 year old son. 
 
2.  Consent Agenda 
• Motion made by M. Furey-Wagner, seconded by C. Giordano, to accept the Consent Agenda 
including the Minutes from 9 May, the Treasurer’s Report, and the Financial Report.  All in 
favor. 
 
3.  President’s Report 
• J. Lehet introduced him to a book BiblioTech: Why Libraries Matter more than ever in the Age 
of Google by John Palfrey.  And the book was written before A.I. 
• There were libraries 2000 years ago.  The first Public Library, free to all, was Boston Public 
Library.  Andrew Carnegie endowed 1,679 libraries.  In the 1900s programs were added to the 
collections of books.   
• With the transition to Google and Amazon making meaningful decisions is crucial to making 
libraries for all.  Skills in the 21st century requires use of the internet.  San Antonio has made 
their library collection fully digital.  The Melinda and Bill Gates Foundation is the 21st century 
equivalent of Andrew Carnegie. 
• Libraries are now more than a book collection, they also have museum passes, classes, 
programming, etc. 
• To quote Walter Cronkite, “Whatever the cost of our libraries, the price is cheap compared to 
an ignorant nation”. 
 
4.  Committee Reports 
 
Finance - Grant Ritter 
• It has been a good year, thanks to B. Pisacich’s direction to invest in Bonds. 
• Until the news that recession is moot, the market will continue to yoyo. 

 
Waterford Public Library 
 
Board of Trustees 
• Our endowment remains at approximately $3.2 M with no change in the allocation of 
investments.  
• We are breaking even with income of $120,000 from the Endowment which continues to fund 
programs, materials, and conferences for the library personnel. 
• The asset allocation of 77.61% in Equity and 16.39% in Bond and Money Market will be 
addressed by the Finance Committee prior to the next BOT meeting in September. 
• The Town has picked up some of fringe costs with personnel.  And there are now 14 FTE as 
compared to 21 FTE several years ago which has kept the annual budget request flat. 
 
 
Nominating - C. Giordano 
• Three Trustees with terms ending have elected to remain on the Board; N. Dragoli, J. Lehet, 
and C. Giordano. 
• M. Furey-Wagner made a motion to reappoint those three Trustees for an additional three 
years.  G. Ritter seconded.  All in favor. 
• Slate of officers for the year are:  A. Rosenberg, President, C. Giordano, Vice President, G. 
Ritter, Treasurer, and E. Boyce and J. Merrill, Co-Secretaries. 
 
100th Anniversary Celebration - M. Furey-Wagner 
• Although the weather didn’t cooperate, there were over 600 attendees at the 100th 
Anniversary Family Fun Fair on 20 May.   
• The Petting Zoo, cotton candy (thank you J. Lehet), and popcorn (thank you C. Johnson) were 
all big hits. 
• The book sale resulted in $600 and the remaining books were given to Salem for their library 
sale. 
 
5.  Director’s Report - C. Johnson 
 
Meetings 
• Various library staff met with or about the following: Senior Center collection, Automatic 
Renewals Launch, Waterford RISE to discuss young adult/youth displays, CSLIB Webinars on 
Fostering an Inclusive Environment, Rethinking Strategy Planning, What your Library Board 
needs to know, and a CLC Strategic Planning cohort information. 
 
Items for Discussion: 
1.  Town Budget 
• RTM approved the revised library budget request of $1,006,837 for FY24 on 10 May. 
• The final budget included Sunday Hours from mid-October through mid-March. 
• BOS approved several line item transfers to cover costs. 
2.  Building and Facilities 
• HVAC Project   
• Town purchasing agent released the RFP for HVAC system design quotes.  Bids are due 3 
August. 

 
Waterford Public Library 
 
Board of Trustees 
• Town Facilities Coordinator arranged for two temporary cooling units in the children’s room. 
• DPW is working on getting an emergency replacement for the defunct rooftop chilling unit. 
• Mystic Air Quality performed mold testing in 5 areas of the library where there had been 
leaks.  They determined there is no mold. 
• The Quaker Hill book drop was damaged by water and human error.  Items were not 
salvageable and the replacement cost of materials was $340. 
3.  Grants 
• WPL was not selected for the CSLIB/CT office of the Arts and Lifetime Arts, Creative Aging 
pilot program. 
4.  Personnel 
• Five staff members attended the CT Library Association conference. 
• Two of the four pages have resigned.  Hiring of replacements in underway. 
• A part time custodian position has been posted to cover Saturday morning and upcoming 
Sunday hours. 
5.  Strategic Planning 
• WPL was selected to participate in the first cohort of the CT Library Consortium new strategic 
planning initiative with Maureen Sullivan.  First meeting is scheduled for 19 July and cost of 
participation is $5,000. 
6.  Service and Program Highlights 
• Town Historian Bob Nye presented an illustrated lecture on the WPL first 100 years on 18 
May.   
• LibCal calendar went live the end of May. 
• Autorenewals feature of the system went live on 10 July. 
7.  Outreach 
• EarthFest CT, Annual Art in Waterford, Jordan Park Historical Society, Senior Center 
quarterly Book Group, Farmers Market at the Community Center, and the Youth and Family 
Services Health Fair all had library representatives participating in events during May and 
June. 
8.  Town Initiatives 
• Planning for the Annual Waterford parade on 12 August is underway. 
9.  Other 
• Director C. Johnson has been elected to serve on the CT Library Consortium BOT for FY24. 
10.  Annual Highlights 
• Full staffing all year. 
• WPL staff continues to partner in the community with outreach. 
• State Grant of $250,000 for construction was formally approved by the bond commission. 
• New website is faster for updates and new Calendar program has also been upgraded. 
 
6.  Old Business  
• Pay equity issue resolved and increase was 2.75%. 
 

 
Waterford Public Library 
 
Board of Trustees 
7.  New Business 
• Holiday schedule for FY24 set and distributed. 
• The CT State Library has announced a policy of Statutory Requirements for Public Library 
Incentive Grant monies.   
• To be eligible each library must have an Updated Collection Development Policy.   
• The WPL Collection Policy is from 2011 and will be updated.  Library staff will compare with 
other libraries and present to the BOT. 
• C. Giordano asked about the venue for the annual BOT dinner.  Possible Waterford restaurants 
will be reviewed. 
 
8.  Adjournment 
A motion was made at 7:25 by M. Furey-Wagner and seconded by L. Couture to adjourn.  All in 
favor.  
 
Respectfully submitted 16 July 2023 
 
Joy S. Merrill, Co-Secretary