2022-01-12 LB MinutesBoard of Trustees Michelle Brown, Library Director
Christine Gay, President
Kathy Redmond, Vice President
Cheryl Gowing, Secretary
Laura Farley
Nancy Frehling
MEETING OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES
Wednesday, January 12, 2022 at 8:30am
Brockway Memorial Library Reference Room
10021 NE Second Avenue
Miami Shores, Florida 33138
Minutes
The meeting was called to order at 8:30 a.m. Present were Michelle Brown, Library Director; Christine Gay,
President; Kathy Redmond, Vice-President; Nancy Frehling, and Cheryl Gowing, Secretary. Excused: Laura
Farley,
PUBLIC COMMENT: None
PRESENTATION: None
GUESTS: None
1. Approval of the minutes of the November 10, 2021, meeting: Motion to approved by Nancy Frehling;
seconded by Christine Gay. Motion Passed. Approval of the minutest of the December 8, 2021,
meeting: Motion to approve as revised by Kathy Redmond; seconded by Nancy Frehling. Motion
passed.
2. Community Alliance Report – Nancy Frehling attended the Alliance meeting via zoom, reporting that
most events are being cancelled or postponed. The Plaza event on Dec. 11th was a success and could
serve as a model for future events. The Community Alliance Grant season is in question due to the
limited ability to fundraise. For the time being, there will be no hosting of Alliance breakfasts at the
meetings.
3. Financial Report: Ms. Brown reviewed the financial report through Dec. 31, 2021. The Library is at
29% for expenses, an appropriate level for the first quarter. The library received $47.50 from the
December yoga program. Motion to approve the financial report by Kathy Redmond; seconded by
Cheryl Gowing. Motion passed.
FY23 Capital Plan & Facilities updates:
Ms. Brown was asked to start working on the FY23 Capital Plan, including a 4-year projection.
Ms. Brown met with the new Public Works Assistant Director Frank Ruiz to review capital
projects. He mentioned there may be funds that could be targeted towards proposed capital
projects now. These include:
Front doors – It’s been about 15-20 years since they were refinished. They are worn at
the bottom and need varnishing.
When the construction handicap ramp is removed there may be some damage to the
front porch. Broken tiled may be fixed by Stobs Construction, but we may want to
retile the porch and steps, trying to save the original coral.
FY23-27 Capital plan
Update the windows facing 2nd Ave to impact windows with matching blinds.
The roof is over 20 years old. The flat areas are repairable, but the barrel tile for the main
portion has had leaks in Children’s area and needs to be redone.
Women’s & men’s restroom update
Send any other ideas for theFY23-27 Capital Plan to Ms. Brown.
The Village identified the need for a library generator after the last major hurricane and is
investigating a purchase/installation.
The Main AC system, replaced seven years ago, is out of warranty and continues to malfunction
and need repair. The Village wants to replace the system; estimated cost of approximately
$20k.
Once the new carpet is laid and the new Children’s wing completed, the rest of the library
interiors will need to be repainted. The Library will repaint this year if there are sufficient
funds remaining at the end of the fiscal year.
The Library will consider a furniture refresh for the pieces in front of the fireplace to match the
new carpet.
Village painters were hired to do exterior painting. They will pressure clean the roof and trim
work and repainted sometime in the next couple of weeks.
Motion to approve the preliminary list of items on the FY23-27 Capital Plan by Nancy Frehling;
seconded by Cheryl Gowing. Motion passed.
4. Circulation Report: There were 2151 circulations of library materials in December and 67 holds. Copies
added: 97 adult titles, 63 youth, and 16 media. Fifteen donations were accepted and 20 titles weeded.
Seventeen new patrons were added in December: 4 Adult residents, 5 child residents, 2 adult non-
resident, and 6 child non-resident. There are currently 6703 registered library patrons.
Volunteer Ms. Hynes spent 15 hours doing research for archival requests and completed a
copyright course. She has completed the volunteers hours require for the SEFLIN digitization
grant.
Social media counts for December are not available as the Village’s Social
Media/Communications Specialist resigned. Ms. Brown is closely monitoring social media
activity to ensure library programs are posted on the Village sites. The Board indicated they
would like to continue to receive statistics on library social media activity when available.
Digital collections: 258 checkouts on Overdrive; 44 digital magazine checkouts; no searches on
Ancestry; 12 searches on Mango Languages. A Patron has requested the library subscribe to
Newspapers.com. Ms. Brown is investigating the subscription cost for next FY, as well as costs
for online access to Ancestry.com.
In-person service: 1668 patrons
5. Old Business
Construction Update – NTP Issued for South Ramp
o The Village has issued a formal notice to proceed with the South Ramp. Mr. Stobs noted he
is not receiving emails – an issue the Village is addressing. The Village is waiting for cost
estimates from Stobs before starting architectural drawings and permitting for the ramp.
Construction is otherwise going well. The dry wall, ceilings, and coral façade are all in place.
The furnishings are expected to arrive on time. The Village is checking if the project can
leave temporary front ramp in place in order to obtain a temporary Certificate of Occupancy
before the south ramp is completed.
o As per request to Senator Frederica Wilson on behalf of the Biscayne Chapter of the
National Society of Daughters of the American Revolution, Cheryl Gowing received a flag
flown over the US Capitol to be donated for the opening of the Children’s Wing.
Ms. Brown is looking for a large photo of donor Johnny Winters to put in the exhibit case honoring
his life and many contributions to the community.
The Library received a wood and glass display case donated by MTC. Janet Perez’s husband re-
varnished and waxed it prior to placing it in the Archives Room. Library staff are reorganizing the
layout of the Archives Room to better showcase the collection highlights.
6. Other Items
Departmental Strategic Plans: as part of the Village’s Master Strategic Plan, each Village department
has been asked to develop plans for their unit. Ms. Brown shared a library overview and draft goals
and future initiatives, including:
o A brief history of the library, staffing; mission statement; recent accomplishments; fun facts
o Overarching goals as noted in the Brockway Library Policies
o Future initiatives, such as expanding awareness and access to Library programs and services;
introduce intergenerational programming; continue the digitization and cataloging of the
Village Archives; identifying educational/enrichment needs in the community for future
programming, utilizing local experts where possible; update the library website to improve
access to services and use of the library catalog; refurbish aging areas of the main library as
budget allows.
o Other potential initiatives: Ms. Gowing proposed an ILS [integrate library system/catalog]
migration, should be considered in the future once the Libraries physical plan needs have
been addressed.
Ms. Brown and Ms. C. Gay are preparing a letter to the Village Council regarding the Library’s
extended Saturday hours pilot and a recommendation to formalize Saturday hours from 9am – 3 pm,
noting the highest use of the library continues to be from 9am-1pm. President Gay will present the
letter at the next Village Council meeting.
Library Carpet: The new wing will use a leaf pattern combined w/ laminate wood flooring. Ms.
Brown is considering whether to use the same carpet pattern or a complimentary design, and
whether laminate flooring might be introduced in selected areas in the main building, such as in the
entry/main desk area, the hallway to the restrooms, area in front of the fireplace, etc. The Board
decided to have a quick special meeting on Jan. 20th to finalize the selection of carpet design and
where to place wood laminate flooring.
7. Announcements and Special Events
Author Event January 20 at 6:30pm – Dirty Gold by Jay Weaver >>>> TBD postponed
Virtual Composting Workshop – Bound by Beauty January 22 at 10:30am
Storytime with MSVPD – Officer Buckle and Gloria January 26 at 3:30pm
Next scheduled Board Meeting: February 9, 2022 at 8:30am.
PUBLIC COMMENT: None
ADJOURNMENT: Motion to adjourn by Nancy Frehling; seconded by Kathy Redmond. Meeting adjourned at
9:39 a.m.