February 2024 Board Meeting Minutes
Conant Public Library Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes
Meeting Date: February 12, 2024
Attendance:
Present: Jennifer Bennett, Ann Goodrich-Bazan, Jenn Howe, Kristin Landry, Thea Marsh, Mitty
Johnson, Jeny Levisee, and Library Director Barry Deitz; Excused absences: Mary Gannon;
Unexcused absences: Barb Depew
Public Meeting convened: 6:35 p.m. meeting called to order by Ann.
Reports
Secretary’s Report
Jenn made a motion to approve the 1/8/23 minutes, Kristin seconded. No discussion; 5 yes, 1
abstention. Motion carries.
Treasurer’s Report
We will be a little over budget for the year because we hadn’t budgeted for the additional
costs for the new bookkeeper (he has been doing a phenomenal job!), we hadn’t budgeted
for refinishing the Meeting Room table, the purchase of books was little over, and the
heating oil was more than expected. Mitty made a motion to approve the Treasurer Report
and place it on file for audit, Kristin seconded. No discussion; 7 yes, no abstentions. Motion
carries. Jenn recommended that we send a letter to Bar Harbor to pull money from the Edith
Atkins fund to cover the expense of the new shades as well as the table refinishing. Thea
made a motion to request the amount of $5,000 from the Edith Atkins Fund, Jenn seconded.
No discussion; 7 yes, no abstentions. Motion carries. Jenn will send the request this week.
Director’s Report
See attached report. Discussion re: Burns Night. Barry will contact Kim for a debriefing session.
Barry is going to contact Dave Olmstead to set a date in mid-March for his bird photography
display and “Meet the Artist” reception.
Committees
Policy/Bylaws Committee - Pending legislation re: library collection development policies. Ann
reached out to a Representative for more explanation and the Rep said it was dropped. Ann
would like to still work toward this goal, but no longer feels the pressure of it being mandated
by law.
Finance Committee - See attached reports.
Museum Committee - Annalise has organized upstairs, got stuff up off the floor, and has begun
the accessioning process of books upstairs. She taught Thea, Jeny, and Jennifer how to do the
accessioning. Once all is accessioned, then they will be entered into the catalog. Annalise said
that unfortunately the Currier & Ives print is not up to standards to be insured, but the
instruments will be appraised. She also said there aren’t any books valuable enough to be
insured. Conversation re: the possibility of asking Keene State College students to come
volunteer for accessioning. Ann spoke about connecting with an appraiser and he came this
past Friday. He said that nothing we own is worth over $10k, however we are all thinking that
the Pratt organ must be worth more because it is one of 4-6 that exists and ours is the very first
one in existence. Mitty suggested contacting the Sturbridge Village to ask how much theirs was
insurance for. Jeny is going to call them and Annalise is going to use her software to look up
information about the organ. Jennifer spoke about the ADA laws regarding libraries and
Reasonable Accommodations that allow libraries to run programs without being held to the
ADA standard. We are not required to install an elevator before we open the second floor
museum to the public, because it would create an undue financial burden and would alter the
historic quality of our building. We are required to provide reasonable accommodations such
as: bringing portable items downstairs, live-streaming events upstairs, photographing items and
putting them on the website, etc. It is up to the library’s discretion on what we consider undue
burden and what accommodations we find reasonable enough.
Building Committee - Thea got a quote from New England Fabric for shades in the meeting
room and it was more than Monadnock Shutter & Shade. The samples have come in from
MS&S and we chose which one we wanted (Honeycomb-B). They will have a tight fit around the
window frame, a continuous cord, and will help retain the heat in the winter and block the
sun/heat in the summer. Thea made a motion to purchase the Honeycomb blinds from
Monadnock Shutter & Shade; Jenn seconded. No discussion; 7 yes, no abstentions. Motion
carries. Activity in the basement: Ann (custodian) found a puddle where there has not usually
been water issues. Henry said that we need to get someone to look at it. Barry and Monica
from the Town Hall looked around and found a lot of water. They looked up at the ceiling and
there was water streaming along the ceiling and there is mold along one column. The lights
have also been flickering and have stopped coming on in the Children’s room. An electrician
came and said the water is causing the electric problems. They’re still waiting to hear back from
him. A serviceman came to look at the furnace and discovered that the water issue is due to
steam pouring out. A regulator piece blew out and was filling the furnace with too much hot
water which was then being burned off as steam. He worked on it, but couldn’t fix it entirely.
He will be back with a part that he needs to fix it. He emptied the water and refilled it. So, now
the next step is to dry everything out downstairs and fix the mold issue. Mitty said that the
sump pump is present and accounted for and plugged in. There is no light saying it’s functional.
The reason we couldn’t find it was because it is behind the furnace with gravel spread across
the top (and no light!). We don’t actually know if the outlet works there, so this needs to get
looked into. Amy agreed with Mitty that we need to change the lock/handle on the back door
because it is incredibly difficult to turn the key to lock it. Mitty will ask Amy if the Town is going
to cover the cost.
New Business
Upcoming budget for staff salaries - No decisions were made about salary changes during
Barry’s annual review because we had previously made the decision to make salary
adjustments annually on July 1st.
Town Deliberative - Article 1 re: the Ballot. There are four on the ballot for three seats on the
BoT of Conant Public Library: Jennifer Bennett, Jenn Howe, Kathy Morehouse, and Aaron
Bittner.
Old Business
Art Appraisal - We will find out about the Pratt organ appraisal before getting back to Amy
Bond.
Meeting adjourned: 9:07 p.m. Mitty made a motion to adjourn. Jenn seconded. No discussion;
6 yes; no abstentions. Motion carries.
Next meeting is Monday March 11, 2024
Submitted by,
Secretary
Jennifer Bennett
January 2024 Board Meeting Minutes
Conant Public Library Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes
Meeting Date: January 8, 2024
Attendance:
Present: Jennifer Bennett, Ann Goodrich-Bazan, Jenn Howe, Kristin Landry, Thea Marsh, Mitty
Johnson, and Library Director Barry Deitz; Excused absences: Barb Depew, Mary Gannon, and
Jeny Levisee
Public Meeting convened: 6:37 p.m. meeting called to order by Ann.
Reports
Secretary’s Report
Jenn made a motion to approve the 12/11/23 minutes, Kristin seconded. No discussion; 5
yes, (1 absent at this point), no abstentions. Motion carries.
Treasurer’s Report
There was a variance in the bank reconciliations of $41.60 (prior period adjustments) that the
bookkeeper has not accounted for yet. Kristin made a motion to approve the Treasurer’s
report as written and place it up for audit, Thea seconded. No discussion; 5 yes, 1
abstentions. Motion carries.
Director’s Report
See attached report.
Committees
Policy/Bylaws Committee - Did not meet. Ann learned about a new state bill regarding
Collection Development Policy (why we have the items we do and how we came to that
decision) which will be something that is going to be required from libraries. Barry will look
online to find a template of the policy to work with.
Finance Committee - Did not meet. Will meet this Thursday, January 11.
Museum Committee - Did not meet. Annalise will contact committee members ASAP because
she is going to be working up in the museum all day on Wednesdays.
Building Committee - Mitty did not have time to meet with Amy Bond about the sump pump,
so she will next month. Mitty wants to talk to the Town Hall about getting the slate roof
inspected, probably by Marvin Smart, in the spring. She will find out whether that goes to the
selectboard or not. Mitty and Barry met with Matt DeGrosky from Monadnock Shutter &
Shade. He gives a discount to government buildings. He sent quotes for two different types of
shades. He is going to send a third estimate for quilted shades. When the samples come in from
Monadnock Shutter & Shade, Barry will send out an email to the Board so members can come
in during the day to see which one they like back. Mitty said another place to get a quote is
from New England Fabrics in Keene. The Board agreed that we should do our due diligence with
a quote from another company. Thea will be the one to call New England Fabrics to set this up.
Old Business
Art Exhibits - Jennifer sent a message to the curator of the Sheridan House to see if she can
recommend an insurance appraiser. Barry and Annalise will also search for one.
Non-Public Session
8:02 p.m. Mitty made a motion to go into non-public session in accordance with RSA 91-A:3 II
(a-e). Mitty seconded. Roll call vote “yes” 6, no opposed, no abstentions.
Mitty made a motion to leave the non-public session and move back into public. Thea
seconded. Roll call vote “yes” 6, no opposed, no abstentions. Non-public ended at 9:27 pm.
Meeting adjourned: 9:27 p.m. Mitty made a motion to adjourn. Kristin seconded. No
discussion; 6 yes; no abstentions. Motion carries.
Next meeting is Monday February 12, 2023
Submitted by,
Secretary
Jennifer Bennett
December 2023 Board Meeting Minutes
Conant Public Library Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes
Meeting Date: December 11, 2023
Attendance:
Present: Jennifer Bennett, Ann Goodrich-Bazan, Jenn Howe, Mitty Johnson,Barb Depew, Kristin
Landry, Mary Gannon, Jeny Levisee, and Library Director Barry Deitz; Excused absences: Thea
Marsh
Public Meeting convened: 6:31 p.m. meeting called to order by Ann.
Reports
Secretary’s Report
Jenn made a motion to approve the 12/11/23 minutes, Kristin seconded. No discussion; 5
yes, 2 abstentions. Motion carries.
Treasurer’s Report
Mitty made a motion to approve the Treasurer’s report as written and place it up for audit,
Jennifer seconded. No discussion; 7 yes, no abstentions. Motion carries.
Director’s Report
See attached report. Library will be closed December 23rd and 25th.
Committees
Policy/Bylaws Committee - Did not meet or review new policies. Ann wants to get login onfo
for the website to start putting the policies and bylaws on there.
Finance Committee - Did not meet. Meeting on January 14.
Museum Committee - Did not meet. Will try to pin down Annalise to meet in the beginning of
January to meet with Annalise because we need to identify the items upstairs that need to be
insured. That needs to be done by July 2024. We may need to discuss upping Annalise’s hours
so that she can get upstairs more often. Annalise did find Edith Atkins acquisition book, so that
should speed things along to cross-reference etc. Mitty said that the United Church is looking
for missing documents and she thinks they may be upstairs. Jennifer offered to meet upstairs
with Mitty to look for them.
Building Committee - Mitty went downstairs today to check since it’s been raining and did find
one wet spot on the floor near the furnace. The two windows leak, though it is not a puddle.
They looked for the sump pump that they’ve been told (by Amy at the Town Hall) was installed
and they cannot find any. So she will talk to Amy to straighten out this misunderstanding. She
said that Jack has spoken to the DPW about the draining pipe that collapsed across the parking
lot that causes the water to then leak through our window frames. They said they had installed
new storm sewers, but will not be able to see how effective they are until the spring. Mitty said
that the window frames are something we need to keep an eye on and we should wait until the
drainage is solved to replace the window frames. Mitty talked with Kim Berk who does the
scheduling for her father’s business, Monadnock Shutter and Shade, for insulated shades or
curtains for the two front rooms and then UV film for the windows above the stacks. He will be
coming to check out the library windows the first week in January.
Old Business
New Bookkeeper - Dan Berger got access to the bank account today. Barry got him receipts, so
he got it all up and running, including most of the budget into Quickbooks. Jenn mailed the
check for the elevator, but then received confirmation that it’s actually a Town expense, so the
next payments should go to the Town.
Budget Presentation - Ann said that the Budget Committee meeting was well-received. They
wanted to reduce the amount we ask from the Town by $3k. There was discussion about the
trust funds, and Amy spoke up on our behalf to explain that we account for it in our budget.
They thought we budgeted too much on electricity, so that was reduced. (Budget attached;
everything highlighted in red are the items that they requested to be lower.) Barb made a
motion to accept the newly revised budget for 2024-2025; Jeny seconded. No discussion; 7 yes,
no abstentions. Motion carries.
New Business
Barry’s Evaluation - In the works and will not be able to present until the January meeting.
** Tabling discussion about Trust Funds until next month.
Meeting adjourned: 7:31 p.m. Barb made a motion to adjourn. Mitty seconded. No discussion;
7 yes; no abstentions. Motion carries.
Next meeting is Monday January 8, 2023
Submitted by,
Secretary
Jennifer Bennett
November 2023 Board Meeting Minutes
Conant Public Library Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes
Meeting Date: November 13, 2023
Attendance:
Present: Jennifer Bennett, Ann Goodrich-Bazan, Jenn Howe, Mitty Johnson, Thea Marsh, Mary
Gannon, Jeny Levisee, and Library Director Barry Deitz; Excused absences: Barb Depew and
Kristin Landry
Public Meeting convened: 6:46 p.m. meeting called to order by Ann.
Reports
Secretary’s Report
Jenn made a motion to approve the 10/09/23 minutes, Mitty seconded. No discussion; 7 yes,
no abstentions. Motion carries.
Treasurer’s Report
Mitty made a motion to approve the Treasurer’s report as written and place it up for audit,
Thea seconded. No discussion; 7 yes, no abstentions. Motion carries.
Director’s Report
See attached report
Committees
Policy/Bylaws Committee & Finance Committee - Reviewed updated Investment Policy. Thea
made a motion to accept the Investment Policy as written, Mitty seconded. No discussion; 7
yes, no abstentions. Motion carries. Reviewed the Debit/Credit Card Reconciliation Policy,
Procedure, and Form. Jenn made a motion to accept the Debit/Credit Reconciliation Policy,
Mary seconded. No discussion; 7 yes, no abstentions. Motion carries.
Museum Committee - Did not meet.
Building Committee - Meeting tomorrow. Mitty send an email to Jack Marsh to talk to the
Department of Public Works about the collapsed drain. He can do that this week or next week.
The electrician that Amy said she would send over has not come yet. Barry will call Karey about
an electrician.
Old Business
Budget Presentation - Tomorrow at 6 p.m. at the Town Hall. Jenn will provide a budget that
specifies the percentage of increase, as well as showing the percentage that the Town
contributes year over year. Barry will pull together statistics about loans, patrons, programs,
usage of computer, fax, printer, etc. Jenn, Ann, and Barry will be there.
New Business
Art Exhibits - Mitty reminded the Board that we had previously asked David Olmstead to
display his bird photography. He needs a lot of lead time, so this may be a good spring project.
Barry will get in touch with him. There was also talk about having a high school art show.
Non-Public Session
7:57 p.m. Jennifer made a motion to go into non-public session (including
Barry Deitz) in accordance with RSA 91-A:3 II (a-e). Jenn seconded. Roll call vote “yes” 7,
no opposed, no abstentions. Mitty made a motion to leave non-public session and move back
into public. Thea seconded. Roll call vote “yes” 7, no opposed, no abstentions. Non-public
ended at 8:23 pm.
** Tabling discussion about Trust Funds until next month.
Meeting adjourned: 8:38 p.m. Jenn made a motion to adjourn. Mitty seconded. No discussion;
7 yes; no abstentions. Motion carries.
Next meeting is Monday December 11, 2023
Submitted by,
Secretary
Jennifer Bennett