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Library Board minutes 01132025Pittsylvania County Public Library Board of Trustees Jan 13, 2025 Chatham Branch Library The Library Board of Trustees met on January 13, 2025 at the Chatham Library. Library board members present included Karen Eades, Sandy Mitchell, Alice Shelton, Portia Fitzgerald, Shelby Buffington, David Law, Rhonda Griffin, and York Pilson. Karen Eades, Chair, called the Library Board meeting to order at 4:05 pm. The consent agenda containing the minutes of the November and December, 2024 Library Board meeting, the agenda without amendment and the financial and operations reports for November and December 2025 were approved on a motion by Portia Fitzgerald, seconded by Sandy Mitchell. Passed unanimously. Action Items: Rhonda Griffin presented a Laminating Policy for a first reading. A vote on the Laminating Policy will be held at the February meeting. Information Items: Rhonda Griffin updated the Board on the progress on the bookmobile. She announced the receipt of a $41,707.50 grant from the Community Foundation and the award of $100,000 grant from the Lion’s Club, which will be awarded later in January. The library is still waiting on the final quote from Matthews Specialty Vehicle, but estimate the final cost to be around $400,000. The current bookmobile had another leak. This time in the radiator on the generator. The part is no longer made, but the mechanic was able to locate one in Italy, but it is on backorder. In the meantime, the mechanic soldered the cracked piece back together in hopes that it will last and the Bookmobile staff are carrying jugs of antifreeze with them. Brosville renovations were discussed. Rhonda informed the Board that the carpet and paint were completed, leaving enough money to purchase a new circulation desk. The desk has been ordered and should be delivered in February. Rhonda updated the Board on the budget process, letting them know that the library would have a capital needs meeting the following Wednesday. The Bookmobile, updates at the Chatham Branch, and the possibility of a new branch in the Dan River District are being discussed at the meeting. An update was giving regarding a potential library branch in the Dan River District: Rhonda presented to the School Board in October. The Maintenance Director for the school system was there and identified three potential locations for a public library branch on school property. In November, Rhonda was able to meet with Chris Adcock, Public Works Director. We took a trip to the schools to look at the three possible sites. • The first site had a large utility pole with several ground lines that took up most of the space. • The second site was between Dan River Middle and Kentuck Elementary. The school board had some concern about the buses that go between the schools. It also had a large road water drain right where the building would be, so Chris and I didn't think it would be the best site. • The third site has potential! It is where the playground is at Dan River Middle. The suggestion was to move the playground back and open that area up for a library building and parking lot. Chris and I both liked this site. Chris, the school Maintenance Director (Mike), and I had an email exchange going to discuss the idea. Mike's concern was the water and sewage. He and Chris discussed the need to update permits and reconfigure the septic system to allow for the additional usage, since this location would mean that we would be connecting to the school's water and septic systems. He explained that he believes that the water has plenty of capacity and would only need a permit update, but he is concerned about the septic system. Their septic system is pumped up the hill to the large drain fill and would need not only a permit change, but also an engineer to look into it and sign off on the current system or see if a larger system would be required or even possible. I have spoken with Chris about that issue. He directed me to call an engineer out of Lynchburg. I spoke to one person and gave them the information, but I'm waiting on a call back from the engineer that handles this area. In the meantime, I called Danville Regional Foundation to see if the engineer is something they would be willing to fund with a community connection grant. They informed me that it is possible, but I need more information from the engineer - amount, scope, etc. Then I could make a request to the committee requesting that funding. The meeting adjourned at 4:35 pm. Next Joint PPL Foundation and Library Board Meeting is scheduled for Feb 10, 2025 at 3:00 pm at the Chatham Library.