South Cook News

Blue Island Public Library Board of Trustees met June 14.

Here are the minutes provided by the board:

I. Call to Order at 7:02pm by President Orozco 

II. Roll Call 

1. Present in Person: Trustees  

a. Brown 

b. Martin 

c. Nunez 

d. Orozco 

e. Peters 

f. Rauch 

g. Sinde 

b. Also present: Director Anna Wassenaar and guest Ed Tracy of Selden Fox 

c. Absent: Trustees Esparza, Kinney, and Meyer 

III. Public Comment: Kenisha Holloway, a Blue Island resident and library patron interested in ways to participate in our community and see who is volunteering here. 

IV. The library Board, employees, and Director Wassenaar would like to thank Mrs. Rita Brown for her years of dedication to the Blue Island Public Library. She has served as a Trustee for eight years, overseeing numerous improvements to our institution. Her tenure as a Trustee has come to an end and she will be greatly missed. She wishes that we continue to improve and grow the library for all to enjoy. 

V. Guests: Ed Tracy from Selden Fox-Presentation of the 2022 Audit 

a. Selden Fox prepares the library’s audit annually; it is then submitted to the city for their city-wide audit. Within the audit for 2022 there were a few uncommon adjustments due to the unusual tax payments and Cook County loan for late  property taxes in August of 2022. The current fund balance puts the library at 50%, meaning currently the library has six months of expenses available. 

VI. Swearing in of new Trustee Sinde 

a. Mr. Sinde is a lifelong Blue Island resident, previously serving on the Park  District Board. He is excited to work with the library and help our community. 

VII. Reading of May 2023 Meeting Minutes 

a. Trustee Peters motioned to accept the May 2023 meeting minutes; Trustee Rauch  seconded the motion. 

i. All in favor: 7:30pm 

VIII. Financial Report  

a. Revenue & Expense >Report reviewed.  

b. Balance sheet > Reviewed. 

c. Trustee Peters motioned to approve the balance sheet and payables of $87,496.29 Trustee Nunez seconded the motion.  

i. Roll Call: 7:35pm 

a. Martin-aye 

b. Nunez-aye 

c. Orozco-aye 

d. Peters-aye

e. Rauch-aye 

f. Sinde-aye 

IX. Director’s Report > Reviewed. 

a. Programming- Summer programming is underway, thus far the Summer Reading sign up has surpassed last year’s participation.

b. Mr. Brian Moreno has accepted the position of Tech Annex manager, replacing Mr. Ocampo. His previous part time position is currently posted, and applications are being accepted.

X. Old Business

a. Review of IL Standards Chapter 6 (Standards for Safety)

i. Staff continued education for emergency preparedness, a new phone tree is to be created. First aid and CPR training will once again be offered during the in-service day in December.

XI. New Business

a. Review of Policy for Public Comment- no changes will be made at this time, guests have up to five minutes to speak. A sign-in form will now be available for all speakers.

b. Compensation Philosophy Statement is newly written by Director Wassenaar, due to inflation increasing pay scale.

i. Trustee Nunez made a motion to approve the new Compensation Philosophy Statement; Trustee Peters seconded.

a. All in favor: 8:02pm

c. Enberg Anderson Carpet Proposal for Lower Level

i. Still looking to collect additional bids, no action at this moment.

d. Recording of Board Meetings September 2020 through October 2021 

i. Trustee Nunez motioned to destroy the verbal recording of meetings from September 2020 through October 2021; Trustee Orozco seconded.

a. All in favor: 8:08pm

XII. Legislative

a. State Budget passes as proposed with funding available.

b. HB 2779 New written policy against book banning in Illinois, Blue Island Library is already in compliance with this policy.

XIII. General Communication:

a. Staff are attending the LAL Conference June 22nd-27th

b. Friends of the Library will be fundraising at the June 17th Yard Sale, donations are welcome ahead of the event.

c. July 19th is an Board’s annual meeting, voting will be held for all positions. 

XIV. Trustee Nunez motioned to adjourn; Trustee Orozco seconded.

a. All in Favor: 8:11pm.

XV. The next board meeting will be held on July 19, 2023 at 7:00pm

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1qHi5YFT7wjcT-bUNyov7qdbrghcQbRT6