Library Board Minutes 2023 08-28-23 - special APPROVED 9/11/23
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Yorkville Public Library
Special Meeting of Board of Trustees
Monday, August 28, 2023 7:00pm
902 Game Farm Road – Michelle Pfister Meeting Room
The Board of Trustees meeting was called to order at 7:00pm by President Theron Garcia, roll was called and a
quorum was established.
Roll Call:
Jason Hedman-yes, Keri Pesola-yes, Jackie Milschewski-yes, Ryan Forristall-yes, Theron Garcia-yes, Rosie
Millen-yes, Bret Reifsteck-yes
Absent: Tara Schumacher
Staff Present:
Library Director Shelley Augustine
Others Present:
Mayor John Purcell (arr. 7:03pm), City Administrator Bart Olson
Recognition of Visitors:
President Garcia recognized staff and guests.
Public Comment: None
New Business:
Future Library Planning Discussion/Action
At the previous Library Board of Trustees meeting, Director Augustine brought several building issues forward
to the Board. Subsequently, she also met with Mr. Olson to discuss those needs.
Mr. Olson compiled a memo which lists library capital projects, ranked in the order of priority, as well as the
estimated cost. He asked the Board to review the document and he will take it to a future budget meeting. A
May 1st budget proposal is done in early spring and many staff level meetings are held as early as
September/October/November in the prior year, said Mr. Olson. The top four needs discussed were: 1) The
chiller is the number one priority on the list. It cannot be repaired further and the Facilities Manager said it
needs to be replaced. So far, $250,000 has been budgeted and a computer system also goes with this. Mr. Olson
said the city will help with the RFQ and procurement of the chiller and the engineering should be started now. 2)
Insulation was next on the list and is a direct result of the freezing pipe this winter. 3) LED lighting--the electric
power is from the city's franchise agreement and the library does not pay for it. All of the electric bills for
Yorkville have a line item that pays for the city's power. Mr. Olson said the city wishes to be energy efficient to
save the taxpayers money, which is why the LED system is important. It is estimated it would cost $60,000 for
LED lighting and grants/loans are available to defray costs. 4) The VAV replacement will be about $200,000 in
addition to the chiller.
The City Finance Director Rob Fredrickson compiled capital and operational budgets. Mr. Olson said the library
has a healthy fund balance and the operational fund has $793,000. None is earmarked and some could be spent
on operational issues, said Mr. Olson. He made some suggestions about how the money could be spent from the
various funds. He said Ms. Augustine can make some recommendations and then come back to the Board with a
5-year budget proposal. He said he appreciates Ms. Augustine's openness about the library concerns and he said
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much staff time has been spent to provide answers.
Ms. Augustine said the chiller is the first priority and must be kept running since it will take some time to obtain
a new one. Ted Milschewski said he hopes the library can get 2 more years from it. Mr. Reifsteck asked about
the steps for the chiller, which are: RFQ, engineering, design bid specs, go out to bid.
The Director got a quote from Trico to balance the building air and they would check the boilers and all other
equipment. Mr. Forristall said when the VAV's are replaced, the building would be balanced. He said the BAS
was upgraded 2 years ago.
Mr. Hedman asked about the status of the boilers since there were problems two years ago. Ms. Augustine said
they were put on the list, but taken off since they are not at end-of-life. She also said the main panel was
replaced before the flood. Mr. Olson will request the Facilities Manager to put together an explanation of the
boilers.
It was also requested by Mr. Hedman to have the technology person compile a capital projection plan for the
technology side. Ms. Augustine has a capital list to be filled out for the server, including switches, firewall, etc.
There is currently $25,000 budgeted for computer equipment and a 5-year replacement plan should be made.
Trustee Millen asked if we have dates for addressing all listed items. Mr. Olson will ask Ted Milschewski and
the Facilities Manager for a list of end-of-life dates. She also had concern if the chiller will realistically last 2
more years since it has had problems each time the Board meets. Ms. Augustine added that if the chiller
completely fails before a new one is received, renting a chiller is extremely expensive.
Ms. Milschewski asked if the library is a cooling center and if so, is there possible funding for that? It will be
researched.
With the outlay of $250,000 for the chiller and $200,00 for the VAV replacement, Mr. Hedman stated that the
library will go into deficit. Mr. Olson said the city will make the 5-year budget tighter because of the outlay.
He also said impact fees received must be spent within 10 years. Mayor Purcell discussed impact fees and Ms.
Augustine noted that this year's fees have already surpassed the library budget. He also asked the Board to
prioritize the rest of the items in Mr. Olson's memos. The Board said the cost of the chiller will likely surpass
the estimate of $400,000 due to the time it will take to actually receive it. Then they will rank the rest of the
projects. The Mayor said perhaps the Board should authorize more than one project per year even though it may
nearly deplete the funds.
The library bonds were also briefly discussed. Ms. Milschewski asked if the residents will see a tax decrease
when the bonds are paid. They will decrease and the tax authorization will be gone when paid in 2024.
Ms. Garcia thanked the city for their collaboration on these important matters. Mayor Purcell assured the Board
that the city would help them obtain the chiller. Mr. Olson will ask the Facilities Manager about the next step,
whether it be RFQ or design work. No vote will be needed on the RFQ and Mr. Olson will try to get it prior to
the next meeting. Engineering is thought to be $5,000 or $7,000.
The Board further discussed the LED and Mr. Hedman inquired if there are other available programs. It was
noted an LED rep presented information a couple years ago and also said the light fixtures could not be
converted to LED. Mr. Olson said $30,000 was refunded to the city after their project was complete. Much
time is spent in the library, replacing light bulbs and ballast and that power outages exacerbate this. The Board
questioned the estimated $10,000 to replace light switches. The estimate is from Public Works and includes
needed upgrades in conduit and the electrical panel since it is a safety issue. They also discussed the electrical
work for the server room. If a “mini split” could be used instead of a rooftop unit, it would result in considerable
savings. Mr. Hedman said the lighting controls which are now based in California, need to be brought back in-
house and put on the BAS.
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Summary:
The Board decided the 4 most important items to address are:
1. RFQ for chiller--Mr. Olson will also get estimate for repairing the light to the flagpole which would
require digging up the parking lot.
2. Electrical panel should be done while waiting on chiller--it will be determined if the work can be done
in-house.
3. HVAC for server room.
4. LED lighting control panel.
Other comments: Ms. Millen asked about insulation for the roof based on the frozen pipes last winter. Mr.
Olson will report to the library on a monthly basis and Ms. Augustine will contribute. Mr. Hedman noted that as
maintenance costs decrease, the library can buy other equipment as discussed as part of the Strategic Plan. A
space study would be needed prior to any purchase.
Executive Session: None
Adjournment:
There was no further business and the meeting adjourned at 7:46pm.
Minutes respectfully submitted by
Marlys Young, Minute Taker