St. Elmo Public Library District
311 Cumberland Road
St. Elmo, IL 62458
Board Meeting Minutes
February 9, 2023
Present: President T. Koberlein, B. Koberlein, C. Arnold, S. Hord, C Kamnick, Director Karnes, C. Hough
No guests present
The Board Meeting was held at the St. Elmo Public Library and was called to order at 6:01 pm by President Koberlein.
Minutes of the January 19, 2023 meeting were approved as read.
Review of the Financial Statement
Review of the financial statement was given by Connie Kamnick. Discussion was had about the Arab bill, Connie K stating that the bill had been paid and the same statement had been received again. She was going to get in touch with the company to clear things up. There were three outstanding checks that employees had yet to cash. Kim was going to follow up on that. The cost of utilities bills at the libraries was discussed. A motion to accept the treasurer’s report and pay the bills was made by S. Hord and seconded by C. Hough. The motion was unanimously approved.
The Librarian’s Report
Patron use went up a little bit, but computer use is down. January was a good month for issuing more library cards. A question was raised on how long the cards are good for and Kim said, if they were a resident, it is for three years and non-resident is one year, from when they first receive the card. Several new patrons are coming in to select books that formerly purchased their books prior to the cost of books escalating. Discussion was held about the use of Libby e-books and the problem in the wait time due to the fact that our libraries are part of a consortium and its first come, first served.
Director’s Communication
Kim asked if the board had heard anything further on the Beecher City plumbing situation. Tony mention that no one has contacted him, personally, but he read in the paper that currently there is only one lift station and they are supposed to have three. The question was brought up as to whether Beecher City Library is in city limits. If the building is not in city limits, the board could look into putting in our own septic system. Cathy was asked to check into whether or not the building is in the city limits. Kim stated that she had contacted Justin Wilhour about cleaning the carpet and the tile floor in the back room, but as of the meeting, he had not gotten back to her. She was going to check with another company in Effingham called ESS to see if they do carpet cleaning. Other places were mentioned, also, to check with. The St. Elmo Library is having trouble with the backroom furnace and Kim has made two calls, recently, for someone to come out and check it. Culbertson’s suggested that we pay an annual fee for service and mentioned that would probably save some money. The lady that Kim talked to hadn’t gotten back to her yet about the cost. Kim was interested in talking with a company called, A Couple Guys Lawn Care and Power Washing to find out the cost of trimming up the undergrowth back by the stream going through the property at the St. Elmo Library. Also, to check with them on a price of power washing the awnings. And, perhaps, using them to power wash both buildings at the Beecher City Library. Since staff no longer has a paid lunch half-hour, the staff was wondering if they could get paid for 15 minutes of travel time for taking the books from the St. Elmo Library to the Beecher City Library.
Old Business
None
New Business
Kim stated that JD is going to try and do the cleaning of the Beecher City Library monthly. Kim will keep track of his time while he is cleaning at Beecher City and turn in those hours for him. Bids will be taken for mowing at the Beecher City Library.
A motion was made by C. Arnold to adjourn the meeting at 6:55 p.m. and seconded by S.Hord. The board immediately went into closed session. Closed session ended at 7:22 p.m.