2023-12-08 Executive Meeting Agenda - Draft

Meeting Agenda- Executive Committee Meeting

Meeting Information

This meeting is in-person with an online option for those who cannot travel and the public.

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Agenda in FULL

Date: December 8, 2023
Location: Elk Point

Attendees:Jen Anheliger (Chair), Dwayne Spicer (Vice-Chair), Larry Tiedemann (Treasurer), Barbara Smith, Maxine Fodness, Vicky Lefebvre, Leslie Cusack, Matthew McLennan, Josh Crick, Kelly Chamzuk

Regrets: 

Guests: Jodi Dahlgren (LMC Chair), Julianne Merta

Staff: James MacDonald, Terri Hampson

Land Acknowledgment 

Northern Lights Library System respectfully acknowledges that the land on which we gather is Treaty 6 territory and a traditional meeting ground and home for many Indigenous Peoples, including Cree, Saulteaux, Niitsitapi (Blackfoot), Métis, and Nakota Sioux Peoples.

Call to order by Jenn A at 10:01am

1. Approval of the agenda

M1- Leslie C motions to approve the agenda as amended, all in favor, motion carried.

2. Approval of previous minutes of October 13, 2023

M2- Kelly C motions to approve the Minutes of October 13, 2023, all in favor, motion carried.

Decisions

Myrnam Library Board
Briefing Note: We have received a letter from the Village of Myrnam. Notice was provided to the library employee in Myrnam that her employment will end on December 22nd. The village is actively recruiting for a library board and working with the province. I met with the County of Two Hills on November 22nd to discuss the situation in Myrnam. They have also requested an extension to NLLS's operation of the library service point. They've suggested that the end of the school year would be appropriate. I spoke with the principal of the school on November 22nd. The school would support public library hours in conjunction with school hours.


M3- Dwayne S motions to go into closed session, all in favor, motion carried.

3. Closed Session - Personnel

M4- Barb S motions to come out of closed session10:21am, all in favor, motion carried.

M5- Dwayne S motions for the Executive Director to proceed as directed, all in favour, motion carried.

4. Letter to Minister on changes to legislation
Briefing Note: At our last Executive meeting, the ED was tasked with drafting a letter to the minister regarding the status of consultations conducted by the Public Library Services Branch (PLSB) in 2019 and again in 2021 in conjunction with the Red Tape Reduction initiative. In preparing the letter, the ED contacted Diana Davidson of the PLSB for an update. She was unable to provide any further information.

The draft letter to the Minister.

M6- Leslie C motions for the Executive Director make edits and send to Executive Committee for final review before sending letter to the Minister of Municipal Affairs, all in favour, motion carried.

5. Building Vestibule - Proposal
Briefing Note: In October 2022, the Executive approved $8,000 to construct a vestibule at the front entry of NLLS. We've worked for a year to find builders who can navigate the permitting process and provide a quality product. Our first contractor with a low bid was unable to complete the process. We've received a quote from Mountain Ridge Builders (an independent Red Seal journeyman carpenter from Myrnam). The quote [link to quote] exceeds the approved budget but includes features that greatly increase the structure's utility (lights, bollards, tin, etc.). The structure is a preventative building maintenance measure. The south-facing doors expand and contract in the heat and cold. The door locks become frozen with blowing snow and rain. We may still need to replace the doors but the vestibule should be added to protect any future replacements and extend the life of the current doors. Door replacements are estimated to be upwards of $10,000. We have a fully funded building reserve.

Truss plan. Vestibule concept.

M7- Maxine F motions to enter into an agreement with Mountain Ridge Builders up to the amount of $30,000 funds to come out of the building reserve fund, motion carried with one opposed.

Discussion

6. Pelican Narrows.
Briefing Note: An email was received from the CAO of the Summer Village of Pelican Narrows, Shirley Yuschyshyn, On November 12th. "The Summer Village of Pelican Narrows here by give you are notifying that we are opting out of 2024 Northern Lights Library system due to budget constrain. Notice is effective November 8 2023." We responded on November 14th to acknowledge the receipt of their intention, informed them of the requirement of 1-year notice, and invited them to a discussion. 

M8- Vicky L motion for Jenn A to draft up a reply and the Executive Director to schedule a presentation if accepted, all in favor, motion carried.

Action: James to discuss with other Systems what and how they deal with municipalities such as Summer Villages when they give notice to leave the system.

7. Financial Report, Budget Vs. Actuals
Briefing note: All things considered, we appear to be tracking well against the budget this year.

6083 OROS Exp offsets 5.60	This is a planned overage drawing on the OROS reserve
6114 Computer Software (TSI)	Deepfreeze implementation
6121 Network Security (TSI)	Office 2021 implementation
6169 Internet Services (TSI)	Change to bandwidth allocation was more than anticipated
6502 Committee Meetings	Plan of Service Committee - covered by other governance lines
6522 NLLS Social Club	Income from committee not yet added here
6612 Bookkeeping/Banking	First year of this service was underestimated. Actual is better reflected in next year's budget
6702 Building Maintenance	Unplanned building maintenance needs (i.e. new security alarm)

M9- Larry T motions to accept the financial report as presented, all in favor, motion carried.

8. Elk Run (Elk Point Ultra Marathon)
Briefing Note: The Elk Point Chamber of Commerce has approached NLLS for assistance with an annual event. They are considering starting a 60k ultra marathon in conjunction with the Iron Horse Ultra that passes through Elk Point. This would be a good way to give back to Elk Point and participate in the community. We would assist by allowing up to 5 staff members to volunteer with the event on the Saturday it runs. These staff would work with their managers to take time for time in lieu where operations would be least affected. Because the ED is an ultra runner and will likely compete in the Iron Horse Ultra we are bringing this operational concern to the Executive. 

M10: Larry T motions for James to develop a policy for review by the policy committee for NLLS staff and volunteer for community events to promote NLLS motion carried with one opposed.

9. Next Meetings

General Board

• February 23^th (Friday) 10 am (online)
• May 24^th (AGM Friday) 10 am (In person with online option)
• August 23^rd (Friday) 10 am (In person with online option)
• November 29^th (Friday) 10 am (online)

Executive Committee

• February 9^th (Friday) 10 am - Paradise Valley
• April 12^th (Friday) 10 am - Bonnyville
• June 14th (Friday) 10 am - Newbrook
• August 9^th (Friday) 10 am - Gibbons
• October 11th (Friday) 10 am - Wainwright
• December 13th (Friday) 9 am - Elk Point, Headquarters

Policy Committee

• February 2nd (Friday) 8 am
• April 5^th (Friday) 8 am 
• May 31st (Friday) 8 am 
• October 4th (Friday) 8 am

Closed Session

M11- Josh C motions to go into closed session 11:31, all in favor, motion carried.

10.  Personnel – standing performance evaluation discussion.

M12- Vicky L motions to come out of closed session 11:58, all in favor, motion carried.

Adjournment by Josh C at 11:59am.