document #5.1 - november 19, 2014 board meeting minutes

Document #5.1 Board of Library Trustees Meeting January 28, 2015

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The Public Library of the District of Columbia Board of Library Trustees Meeting

Minutes Tenley Neighborhood Library

Wednesday, November 19, 2014

The regular meeting of the Board of Library Trustees was held at 6:00 p.m., Wednesday, November 19, 2014 at the Tenley Neighborhood Library, 4450 Wisconsin Ave NW, Gregory McCarthy, President, presiding. Present: Gregory McCarthy, President, Neil Albert, Vice-President, Valerie Mallett, Brenda Richardson, Karma Cottman, Vincent Morris, Richard Reyes-Gavilan, Executive Director and Secretary-Treasurer. Not in attendance: Donald Richardson and Faith Gibson Hubbard. Guests at the Board Table: Susan Haight, President, Federation of Friends and Linnea Hegarty, Executive Director, DC Public Library Foundation. The meeting was called to order at 6:05 p.m. Introduction of Attendees Attendees stated their names and association. Public Comments Mr. Gregory McCarthy stated the practice of the Board of Library Trustees to entertain public comments. He explained that people who signed their names to the sign-in sheet would have three minutes to address the Board. There were no public comments. Roll Call Mr. McCarthy requested roll call. Quorum was reached. Adoption of the Agenda The motion to adopt the agenda was approved. Approval of Minutes The motion to approve the minutes of the September 17, 2014 Board Meeting was approved. The motion to approve the minutes of the November 6, 2014 Special Board Meeting was approved President’s Report Mr. McCarthy acknowledged the work of former Board President Mr. John Hill, Jr. and former Vice President, Ms. Bonnie Cohen. Mr. McCarthy noted that the Board has begun working with newly elected Mayor, Muriel Bowser, and the Council Elect on the transition process. He also noted that he will be making new Board Committee assignments. He then welcomed Mr. Neil


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Albert who was elected to serve as Vice President to the Board of Library Trustees. Lastly, he introduced new Board members, Ms. Karma Cottman, Executive Director of DC Coalition against Domestic Violence (DCCADV) and Mr. Vincent Morris, Capitol Hill staffer and active member of the Friends of Northeast Neighborhood Library. Executive Director’s Report Mr. McCarthy introduced Mr. Richard Reyes-Gavilan, DC Public Library Executive Director, to deliver his Executive Director’s report. Mr. Reyes-Gavilan shared highlights from his report beginning with the selection of architecture firm Perkins and Will for the Interim Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library (MLK Interim Library). Next, he noted that there will be a Request for Proposal (RFP) issued for the design and build out of the Cleveland Park Neighborhood Library. Additionally, three local Director of Strategic Planning candidates will be interviewed in the coming weeks. Mr. Reyes-Gavilan then introduced a resolution to change the name of the Program Committee. He stated that the Program committee has been inactive for many years and the committee is being revitalized under the leadership of Ms. Valerie Mallett. He requested the Board change the name to the Performance Oversight Committee. This new name is more indicative of what the committee will actually do, for example the committee will be responsible for analyzing statistics and performance indicators among other things. Mr. Reyes-Gavilan asked Mr. McCarthy for a motion to approve the resolution. Mr. McCarthy then read the resolution into the record. The motion to approve the resolution was passed and the Program Committee was renamed the Performance Oversight Committee. Finally, Mr. Reyes-Gavilan introduced Ms. Karen Blackman-Mills, Tenley Neighborhood Library Branch Manager, and shared her credentials before inviting her to address the group. Ms. Blackman-Mills shared a brief history of the Tenley Neighborhood Library and information regarding its renovation. She continued with statistics and demographics regarding the Tenley neighborhood. Finally, she mentioned several popular library programs and acknowledged the Friends of the Tenley Neighborhood Library. Mr. Morris asked about special programming for teens. Ms. Blackman-Mills shared that Teen Librarian Brandon Digwood is working on special programming for teens. Mr. Reyes-Gavilan then concluded his report. Finance Committee Report In the absence of the Finance Committee Chair, Mr. McCarthy introduced Ms. Tammie Robinson, Agency Fiscal Officer, to present the Finance Committee report. Ms. Robinson began by presenting the FY15 Operating Budget Report. She stated that the FY15 DCPL Operating Budget of $57,728,308 represents a 7.9% increase over the FY14 Approved Operating Budget of $53,480,009. The Local Budget is $56,284,836, an increase of 8.0% over the FY14 Approved Beginning Year Local Budget of $52,099,941. Ms. Robinson discussed a comparison of the FY15 Operating Budget and the FY14 approved Operating Budget by Fund. She noted that excluded from the FY14 Approved Operating Budget


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is the $175,282 carry forward from the FY13 Library Collections Account, the $275,000 received from the District’s contingency reserve for the STAR (Sing, Talk and Read) program and the $1,000,000 in FY14 supplemental budget authority for books and electronic materials. For FY15, the District is again under a Continuing Resolution (CR) (PL 113-76). This year’s CR is effective through September 30, 2015, providing spending authorization through the end of the fiscal year, thus avoiding the possibility of a government shutdown. Ms. Robinson concluded by noting that Personal Services (PS) expenditures-to-date are minimal, at 8.2% of the Local and Gross budgets. Non-Personal Services (NPS) obligations are at 36.5% of the Local budget and 35.6% of the Gross budget and represent the Library’s obligation of full year contractual commitments to those vendors procured to date. Mr. McCarthy asked what percentage of the FY14 Operating Budget was obligated prior to the end of the FY14 fiscal year. Ms. Robinson said that to date, DCPL has expended 99.3% of the FY14 budget. Mr. Albert asked what it means to be operating under continuing resolution. Ms. Robinson explained that during a continuing resolution, anything that was not part of the prior fiscal years base budget was placed on hold. A few years prior, it was determined that as long as funding was District based (not a federal payment) the District could go forward. For example, because the DC Jail Initiative is District funded, it can proceed even through a continuing resolution. Facilities Committee Report Mr. McCarthy introduced Mr. Jeffrey Bonvechio, Director of Capital Projects and Facilities Management, to present the Capital Budget Report and the Capital Projects and Facilities Management Report. Mr. Bonvechio began by discussing the Capital Budget Report, FY15-20 allotment. The overall budget for the current fiscal year is $36,300,000, primarily representing the additional money allotted for the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library (MLK Library) project in FY15 as well as design money for Cleveland Park, Palisades and Capitol View Neighborhood Libraries. The Cleveland Park RFP in scheduled for release in December. The FY16-FY21 budget cycle has started, and DCPL has begun the formulation process and will meet with Mayor’s Budget Review Team and Capital Budget Transition team in December. Mr. Albert, Facilities Committee Chair, provided opening remarks before asking Mr. Bonvechio to present the Capital Projects and Facilities Management Report. Mr. Bonvechio stated that since the last Board meeting, a series of public meetings were conducted to share MLK Library design and program ideas with the Francis Gregory, Bellevue, and West End communities. In turn, the meetings, sponsored by advisory panel members, allowed the community to give feedback on their hopes for a new central library.


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Mr. Bonvechio stated that two parts of the review and regulatory process have been conducted. On October 7, a National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) Scoping Meeting was held to address the overall purpose and need of the MLK Library modernization during the design process. On November 19, the second part of the review process was conducted through a consulting party meeting focused on the historic preservation elements of the modernization. On December 4, an informational presentation to the full National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC) commission on the MLK Library is scheduled to solicit more feedback on the direction of the architectural approach to the renovation. Ms. Brenda Richardson asked if the meetings are geared toward the community. Mr. Bonvechio explained that the meetings are open to the public. Ms. Richardson asked who the consulting party members are and how they are chosen. Mr. Bonvechio clarified that consulting party members are identified to represent a particular agency or organization that could be affected by the project. The meetings focus of the treatment of the MLK Library as a historic landmark and how the new design may affect the public. The meetings do not focus on programmatic aspects of the design, for example location of a service area such as the children’s room or what happens in that space. Next, Mr. Bonvechio discussed the MLK Library Interim process and restated that the architecture firm of Perkins and Will was hired. First, in the beginning of December, there will be an initial round of meetings between the architectural team and DCPL staff to identify key program elements that should continue during interim service. Then, community input on interim services will be solicited. Determining interim services will take approximately ten weeks. In the Spring, once services have been determined, the search for interim space will commence. Mr. Albert asked if DCPL will use an existing DC Government building to provide interim spaces. Mr. Bonvechio noted that it is being considered as an option. Mr. Albert asked if there will be zoning requirements imposed on the interim library. Mr. Bonvechio noted that zoning will be factored in when choosing an interim space. Mr. Bonvechio then discussed the West End Neighborhood Library and noted that the official groundbreaking will occur in December. Finally, he noted the success of the Woodridge Neighborhood community meeting sponsored by the Friends of the Woodridge Library. Performance Oversight Committee Report Mr. McCarthy introduced Ms. Mallett, Performance Oversight Committee Chair. Ms. Mallett noted that while visiting a majority of the neighborhood libraries she has noticed consistent and exceptional service being provided across the District. Mr. McCarthy then introduced Mr. Reyes-Gavilan’s presentation on the conceptual MLK Library. Mr. McCarthy prefaced the presentation by highlighting the importance of collectively determining how the new MLK Library will become an educational, cultural and entertainment


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mecca for the District. He then introduced Mr. Reyes-Gavilan to deliver his presentation on the conceptual MLK Library. Mr. Reyes-Gavilan began his presentation by showing a video clip of the Library of Birmingham, UK which was designed by Mecanoo Architecten. He stated that the library has become one of the most popular destinations in Birmingham and believes the District can create a similarly fantastic destination through its modernization of the MLK Library. Next, Mr. Reyes-Gavilan delivered a presentation of images and concepts from libraries around the world, to give the audience an idea of what a day in the life of the renovated MLK Library might be from a programmatic perspective. Mr. Reyes-Gavilan concluded the presentation by sharing his excitement and intention to involve as many stakeholders as possible in the modernization process. Mr. McCarthy then introduced a Building Program Resolution. The Board of Library Trustees on May 28, 2014 adopted renovation principles regarding the historic landmarked MLK Library building. To expand upon those principles, the Board of Library Trustees directs DCPL to move forward with the direction of the programmatic and service priorities and space allocation for the renovated central library as outlined in the MLK Library Renovation Draft Library Building Program developed in October 2014 and presented at the regular meeting of the Board on November 19. Mr. McCarthy then read the resolution into the record. Mr. McCarthy motioned to approve the building program resolution. The motion was approved. Ms. Mallett introduced Ms. Manya Shorr, Director of Public Services, to present the Public Services Performance Report. Ms. Shorr discussed foot traffic/gate counts, and explained how this data can inform staffing levels. Next, she highlighted Parklands Turner Neighborhood Library, a 7,000 square foot space that attracted more visitors in FY14 Q4 than larger 3-story branches such as Georgetown, and Bellevue Neighborhood Libraries. Next, she noted that in FY15, DCPL will break the 4 million circulation mark. Ms. Shorr then highlighted some of the impactful ways District residents are using libraries. For example, during the November elections, almost four thousand people voted at five branches. Ms. Shorr noted the importance of identifying ways to more deeply engage all library visitors. Library Foundation Report Ms. Linnea Hegarty, Executive Director, DC Public Library Foundation, delivered her report on the DCPL Foundation. She introduced Love DCPL? Give!, a new Foundation giving campaign that will receive 50% donation matches from the Foundation Board. She then announced a new yearlong Maker in Residence Program made possible by the Friends of the Tenley Library. The maker will be stationed at MLK Library, create a large scale project, network with the creative community in DC, and advertise the services DCPL offers to creative professionals.


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Federation of Friends’ Report Ms. Susan Haight, President of the Federation of Friends, gave her report on Friends activities since the last Board of Library Trustees meeting. She shared that the Friends first meeting of 2015 will be held in the Washingtoniana division of Special Collections and will include a tour of the collection. By learning about the specialized services the MLK Library has to offer, Ms. Haight hopes the Federation of Friends will become better stewards and advocates of the MLK Library’s modernization. New Business There being no more new business, the meeting was adjourned at 8:02 p.m.

document #5.1 - november 19, 2014 board meeting minutes

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