OZARK-DALE COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY

Regular Meeting of the Board of Trustees

September 21, 2016
Members Present:

Earl Hyers, Chairman

Imogene Mixson
Beverly Raley
Marian Jenkins

Also Present: Sandra Holmes, Library Director

Donna Snell, Bookkeeper
Mr. Hyers called the meeting to order.
Remarks by Chairman. The meeting with the Consultants and the Dale County Commission
went very well. Also, the first session of Dialogues on the Experience of War was held on
September 15th and went extremely well. This is a six-part community discussion on the
experiences of soldiers in WWI and the Vietnam War. Books, short stories and movies have
been selected for the veterans to review and discuss. Thirteen veterans participated in the
discussion of the book Scarlet Fields: The Combat Memoir of a WWI Medal of Honor Hero
by John Lewis Barkley. The next session will be on October 20, 2016. Sandra Holmes said that
Mr. Hyers had done an excellent job as Facilitator of the discussions and also that more veterans
will join the discussion that were part of the audience for the first session. Also, Mark Wilson of
Auburn University suggested that we may want to come up with the same type of discussion
groups for veterans of WWII and the Gulf war.
Mr. Hyers stated that his term as Chairman of the Library Board will expire in October, and
he has talked with the Mayor and asked that he not be reappointed. Everyone expressed their
regret that he was leaving the Board, but he said that after careful consideration his decision was
to not be reappointed. Mr. Hyers stated that he had met with Mayor Blackwell and discussed the
appointment of Anthony Hill as Chairman. Mr. Hills term on the City Council will expire on
November 17th, 2016, and if necessary, Mr. Hyers will remain until he is able to take over.
Minutes. On motion of Beverly Raley, seconded by Imogene Mixson, the August minutes were
approved as presented.
Circulation/Financial Reports. Per the Directors reports, circulation of materials this month is
still down, but attendance is up. The use of our computers out-weighs circulation. Overall use
of the library is very high and Marian Jenkins added that the social media sites are also well
used.
Regarding finances, Sandra Holmes said that our budget for the year is right where it should
be for the end of the fiscal year. We seem to have done a good job of calculating and staying
within our budget. The General Fund balance is very good for the remainder of the year. Mr.
Hyers asked if we had heard from the City or the County regarding appropriations from their

funds. Sandra stated that we had not heard anything yet. Looking for additional sources of
income from the Community and fund raising was also discussed
Sandra Holmes related that the campaign for United Way donations is going well. We have
collected $2,600 to date. The United Way will not allow donations to be designated to certain
recipients unless the amount given is over $50.00. Mr. Hyers said that undesignated donations to
the United Way are distributed according to need as determined by focus group decisions.
Collections are at 94.6% of the goal and may exceed 100%.
The Employee Appreciation Luncheon held recently was enjoyed by everyone. All of the
Library employees were there. It was agreed that this is a good way to share new ideas for
improving the services the library offers. It was suggested at the luncheon that the library
purchase a TV screen for use as a continuous bulletin board and this has been done. Imogene
Mixson moved that the Employee Appreciation Luncheon be held as an annual event. Marian
Jenkins seconded the motion with all voting in favor.
Sandra said the she is still working on filling the Administrative Assistant position. One
candidate could not work because of her allergic reaction to mold and mildew in the building.
Discussion of advertising the position and including the requirements for the job was held.
Consulting Firm. Mr. Hyers stated that LibraryMax had concluded the briefings to the City
Council and the Dale County Commission. Their findings were that 76% of those contacted
want and believe that a new or refurbished library building is needed. Phase I of the process is
now complete. Phase II is already in place, we have a five-year plan for the future. Phase III
will be to determine whether to build a new library or refurbish an existing building, what our
needs are, and how to get funding.
Mr. Hyers suggested that we get a cost proposal from LibraryMax on the amount needed for
them to complete Phase III. We would need to apply for a grant from the Wiregrass Foundation
to help pay the consultants to plan the next phase. The other option would be to work on our
own with officials and the public to determine what type of building is needed and then look for
funding sources. The Dothan library spent $25,000 for consultation on Phase I-III. Mr. Hyers
stated that Ron Steensland of LibraryMax is concerned that we have proper documentation to
insure that the Wiregrass Foundation and other agencies will consider funding in the future. Mr.
Hyers also stated that the architectural plans to refurbish the vacant WalMart building that were
drawn up prior to the Consultants report by J. Michael Lee, did a very good job in addressing
the needs and concerns that were brought out in the focus groups. Imogene Mixson stated that it
would be very important to use the peoples wants and needs as stated in the focus groups as a
basis for planning versus plans that were drawn up prior to those meetings. Mrs. Mixson also
asked what the advantage would be of using the consulting group for Phase III. Marian Jenkins
asked if Phase III would cost more or less than the amount paid for Phase I. Imogene Mixson
expressed the opinion that the Wiregrass Foundation would look more favorably at any proposal
having used a consulting group for its findings and she would welcome their advice. Beverly
Raley said that we would need to ask the Wiregrass Foundation to fund the next phase of the
consulting proposal.
Motion was made by Marian Jenkins to contact the LibraryMax Consulting Firm to get a
proposal of the cost to the library for them to complete Phase III of the original contract. This is

to include what is needed in a library building and the estimated costs and funding sources.
Motion seconded by Imogene Mixson; all voted in favor. Mr. Hyers said that Phase I showed
that 76% of the population want to get the library out of this building, and now we will go
forward with the next step. Phase III will determine our objective and how we will reach it.
Marian Jenkins asked if we are now accepting donations toward a new library. We need to
list them in our newsletter separately to advertise that we are collecting and setting aside funds
for a new building. Mrs. Mixson said that we need to be very careful of the wording on the
proposed use of this money.
The next Board meeting will be held on October 19, 2016. The meeting was then adjourned.

Respectfully submitted by __________________________

Approved by Secretary ____________________________