The Regular Meeting of the Eisenhower Public Library District Board of Trustees November 21, 2024.

CALL TO ORDER

President Braun called the meeting to order at 7:40 P.M.

ROLL CALL

Present:  Magnelli, Magnuson, Ross, Ringelstein, Braun, Parent, Krebs. 
Absent:  
Also Present: Wittmann, Bacarella, Blubaugh, Furfori, Lewis, Sciaccotta, Stam, Tomzik.
Present Electronically: Clark.

RECOGNITION OF VISITORS

There were no visitors.

PUBLIC COMMENT

There were no comments from the public.

APPROVAL OF MINUTES

Trustee Parent moved, seconded by Trustee Krebs, THAT THE MINUTES OF THE ISLAND WITHIN A CITY COMMITTEE MEETING HELD OCTOBER 17, 2024 BE APPROVED. A voice vote was taken and the motion carried. Trustee Ross moved, seconded by Trustee Ringelstein, THAT THE MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING HELD OCTOBER 17, 2024 BE APPROVED. A voice vote was taken and the motion carried.

FINANCIAL REPORT

Director Wittmann reported that the financials are looking good; we are at or under where we should be in nearly all categories at this point. We received a little over $124,000 in tax money this month. Building Equipment maintenance was a bit higher than last year since there were a few more sprinkler invoices. We moved some items over to the building and maintenance fund.

APPROVAL OF CURRENT BILLS

Trustee Ross moved, seconded by Trustee Parent TO APPROVE REGULAR PARKWAY CHECKS 31440 THROUGH 31508 TOTALING $169,175.24 FOR THE MONTH OF NOVEMBER; MANUAL PAYMENTS TOTALING $10,000.82 FOR THE MONTH OF OCTOBER; VOIDED CHECKS 30149 30750 30870 31347 31365 31391 31396; OCTOBER NET WAGES TOTALING $127,780.56; OCTOBER PAYROLL TAXES IN THE AMOUNT OF $53,048.46; OCTOBER IMRF GOV ONE DEBIT IN THE AMOUNT OF $20,993.34.. A Roll Call Vote on the Motion was taken and the results were as follows: AYES Magnelli, Magnuson, Ross, Ringelstein, Krebs, Braun, Parent. NAYS None. ABSENT None. The motion carried.

COMMITTEE REPORTS

Island Within A City Committee—
The Island Within a City Book Committee will meet prior to the December Board meeting.

UNFINISHED BUSINESS

FY 2023-2024 Annual Audit—
Director Wittmann discussed the deficiency that was in the management letter. There was a deficiency due to the GASB 34, our accountants will comply with the auditor’s recommendation to add the GASB 34 fund in their account software. Trustee Magnuson moved, seconded by Trustee Ringelstein, TO APPROVE THE AUDIT FOR THE 2023-2024 FISCAL YEAR AND TO AUTHORIZE THE LIBRARY DIRECTOR TO SIGN THE LIBRARY’S REPRESENTATION LETTER. A Roll Call Vote on the Motion was taken and the results were as follows: AYES Magnuson, Magnelli, Ringelstein, Ross, Parent, Krebs, Braun. NAYS None. ABSENT None. The motion carried.

April 1, 2025 Consolidated Election—
Trustee Ringelstein and Trustee Parent both submitted their filing papers. Trustee Ringelstein will be first on the ballot and Trustee Parent will be second. There were no other candidates.

NEW BUSINESS

Ordinance 2024-4 Levy Ordinance—“Ordinance Levying and Assessing Taxes of Eisenhower Public Library District, Cook County, Illinois for the Fiscal Year Beginning July 1, 2024 and Ending June 30, 2025”—
Trustee Krebs moved, seconded by Trustee Magnelli, TO ADOPT ORDINANCE 2024-4, “ORDINANCE LEVYING AND ASSESSING TAXES OF EISENHOWER PUBLIC LIBRARY DISTRICT COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS, FOR THE FISCAL YEAR BEGINNING JULY 1, 2024 AND ENDING JUNE 30, 2025.” A Roll Call Vote on the Motion was taken and the results were as follows: AYES Magnelli, Magnuson, Ross, Ringelstein, Krebs, Braun, Parent. NAYS None. ABSENT None. The motion carried.

Appointment, employment, compensation, discipline, performance, or dismissal of specific employees of the public body.—Closed Session—
A motion was made by Trustee Parent, seconded by Trustee Ringelstein, TO CONVENE CLOSED (EXECUTIVE) SESSION 5 ILCS 120/2 (c) (1) AT 7:49 P.M. TO DISCUSS THE APPOINTMENT, EMPLOYMENT, COMPENSATION, DISCIPLINE, PERFORMANCE, OR DISMISSAL OF SPECIFIC EMPLOYEES OF THE PUBLIC BODY. A Roll Call Vote on the Motion was taken and the results were as follows: AYES Magnelli, Magnuson, Ross, Ringelstein, Krebs, Braun, Parent. NAYS None. ABSENT None. The motion carried. A motion was made by Trustee Ross and, seconded by Trustee Krebs, TO RECONVENE THE REGULAR MEETING AT 8:24 P.M. A voice vote was taken and the motion carried.

Per Capita Grant FY2025— 
Just a reminder that the Per Capita Grant for FY2025 is coming up. The Library Director and the Board of Trustees should review the entirety of Serving Our Public 4.0: Standards for Illinois Public Libraries. The application is due January 30, 2025.

Employee Handbook—Personal Cell Phone Use Policy—
Director Wittmann advised that she would like to add this policy to the employee handbook. She asked the Board to review this policy for potential approval at the December Board meeting. Trustee Krebs recommended that we should describe what is excessive. Employee Handbook-AirBuds, Headphones, and

Other Personal Technology Use Policy—
Director Wittmann advised that this has to be tabled for a while.

Close Library on Friday, May 16, 2025 for a Staff In-Service Day—
Director Wittmann would like to close the library in order for staff to receive safety and security training and crisis intervention training. Trustee Parent brought up the restructuring for safety and if we had an idea what the safety feature plan would be and if it would be available by the in-service day. Director Wittmann advised that the first year they will focus on the Library Services area. She hopes that there will be a plan in place by the May 16 meeting. Trustee Parent moved, seconded by Trustee Magnuson, TO APPROVE TO CLOSE THE LIBRARY ON FRIDAY, May 16, 2025 FOR A STAFF IN-SERVICE DAY. A voice vote was taken and the motion carried.

Fish Tank Proposal-Scott’s Aquarium Solutions—
Trustee Magnelli moved, seconded by Trustee Ross, TO APPROVE THE FISH TANK PROPOSAL FROM SCOTT’S AQUARIUM SOLUTIONS. A voice vote was taken and the motion carried.

Disposal of Surplus Library Personal Property—
Trustee Krebs moved, seconded by Trustee Ross, TO APPROVE THE DISPOSAL OF SURPLUS LIBRARY PERSONAL PROPERTY. A voice vote was taken and the motion carried.

Annual Director Review—
Each Trustee received a clean copy of the Director’s evaluation form and the 2024 goals. The evaluation is also available via google form. Please return the evaluations to Ellen Bacarella by Wednesday, December 11.

Employee Six Month Raise—
Trustee Magnuson moved, seconded by Trustee Parent, VALERIE PAZOS’ SALARY BE INCREASED FROM $31,200 TO $32,136 EFFECTIVE DECEMBER 1, 2024. A voice vote was taken and the motion carried.

Personnel Changes—
Jason VonGerichten was hired as the new Technical Services Librarian, effective November 4, 2024. He was previously the Technical Services Assistant.

Any Other Business—
The Trustees agreed to take a picture in front of the fireplace before the December Board meeting. Trustee Magnuson will not be at the December meeting.

LIBRARY DIRECTOR’S REPORT

Director Wittmann’s Librarian report was discussed as items occurred on the agenda. She discussed the new staff evaluation tool that is being revamped. She reported that the management team looked at the core values they wanted to focus on. They narrowed them down to four values and they settled on three goals. HR Source will review the evaluation. She reported the security issue that took place. She advised that the door was replaced going into the Library Services area.

COMMUNICATIONS

FOIA request was received on November 12, 2024 from Smart Procure requesting any all purchasing records from 8/15/2024 to current.

Thank you note from the family of Mary Stam.

Thank you note The Petrokis Family.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Happy Thanksgiving.

ADJOURNMENT

Trustee Ross moved, seconded by Trustee Parent, THAT THE MEETING BE ADJOURNED. A voice vote was taken and the motion carried. The meeting was adjourned at 8:34 P.M.