ANN ARBOR DISTRICT LIBRARY BOARD
MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING
MONDAY, JUNE 20, 2005
05-199 I. CALL TO ORDER
President Surovell called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m.
05-200 II. ATTENDANCE
Present: Cahill, Greene, Head, Kincaid, Leary, Murphy, Surovell
Absent: None
Staff: Neiburger, Nieman, Parker, Soave (Recorder)
Others: Jim Greene, Dykema Gossett, Tim Smith, Christopher Billick, and Jessica Wynn, Skidmore, Inc.
05-201 III. RECESS TO EXECUTIVE SESSION FOR OPINION OF COUNSEL AND LABOR NEGOTIATION PREPARATION
05-202 IV. RECONVENE REGULAR MEETING
President Surovell reconvened the regular meeting at 6:38 p.m.
05-203 V. APPROVAL OF AGENDA
Secretary Cahill, supported by Trustee Head, moved to approve the Agenda.
Trustee Head, supported by Secretary Cahill, moved to amend the agenda to add under New Business: Discussion of Architect Selection.
AYES: Cahill, Greene, Head, Kincaid, Leary, Murphy, Surovell
NAYS: None
Motion passed: 7-0.
The original motion was brought to a vote.
AYES: Cahill, Greene, Head, Kincaid, Leary, Murphy, Surovell
NAYS: None
Motion passed: 7-0.
05-204 VI. APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF MAY 16, 2005
Vice President Murphy, supported by Trustee Greene, moved to approve the Minutes of May 16, 2005.
Vice President Murphy, supported by Secretary Cahill, moved to strike the term “line-item” from the Financial Report.
Vice President Murphy also noted that there were a couple of typographical errors. Those errors have been corrected administratively.
AYES: Cahill, Greene, Head, Kincaid, Leary, Murphy, Surovell
NAYS: None
Motion to approve the Minutes with amendments passed: 7-0.
The original motion was brought to a vote.
AYES: Cahill, Greene, Head, Kincaid, Leary, Murphy, Surovell
NAYS: None
Motion passed: 7-0.
05-205 VII. APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF JUNE 10, 2005
Trustee Head, supported by Trustee Kincaid, moved to approve the Minutes of June 10, 2005.
AYES: Cahill, Greene, Head, Kincaid, Leary, Murphy, Surovell
NAYS: None
Motion passed: 7-0.
05-206 VIII. CITIZENS’ COMMENTS
There were no citizens’ comments.
05-207 IX. FINANCIAL REPORT
Associate Director Nieman took the floor and reported the following:
Through May 31st we have received 102% of the budgeted amount of tax receipts.
There are currently five items over budget, and as previously discussed there will be two areas that will remain over budget for the year. Those two areas are “Legal” and “Utilities”.
It is also possible that “Purchased Services” will be over budget for the year. This is due to expenses related to branch expansion.
Tax revenue is now being recognized at what we expect the actual to be through the remainder of the year.
05-208 X. DIRECTOR’S REPORT
In addition to her written report Director Parker also reported the following:
Tuesday is the Summer Reading kick-off at the Ark at 6:30 p.m. In addition, there will be a kick-off for young children at the Downtown Library on Wednesday morning.
05-209 XI. COMMITTEE REPORTS
A. TECHNOLOGY ADVISORY
IAS Manager Eli Neiburger reported the Technology Advisory Committee met to review and discuss the new AADL website design and branding, which the Board will review and discuss as an item under New Business on the Agenda.
B. DEVELOPMENT
Director Parker reported the Development Committee met with community committee members Norm Herbert and Sandra White to discuss the following:
The first item the committee discussed was the establishment of a development program to determine how to set up funds for donations of $10,000-$15,000 or more. Mr. Herbert advised us on how we might possibly do that.
The second item the committee discussed was a gift policy. When would managing a gift eliminate its benefit and how do you make those determinations and when?
The third item the committee talked about was how do we manage gifts that come to us unsolicited and of significant amounts? We’ve received two undesignated cash donations from estates in the last couple of years that were each in excess of $30,000. Mr. Herbert spoke with us about how other organizations of our size and type handle these types of donations.
The committee also discussed when an organization of our size and budget should consider establishing a formal development department.
05-210 XII. OLD BUSINESS
04-207 A. UPDATE ON PITTSFIELD BRANCH
Associate Director Nieman reviewed the monthly progress report provided by Skanska, USA.
Currently the schedule is showing the branch to open towards the end of February 2006.
During the month of May, earthwork continued, more concrete foundation and site utilities such as the water main were installed. In addition, much of the structural steel, plumbing, and electrical are now in place.
The first paving of the parking lot is scheduled for the first week in July.
The budget has not changed from just over $5.7 million, 99% of which has been bid-out. We will execute the guaranteed maximum price document within the next couple of months as part of the contract with Skanska.
The contingency is set at 5.3% of the unbilled amount, which is a good sign keeping in mind that it started at 5%.
05-211 XIII. NEW BUSINESS
05-212 A. RESOLUTION TO ACCEPT CIRCULATION POLICY CHANGES DUE TO MIGRATION TO INNOVATIVE INTERFACES, INC.
Trustee Head, supported by Secretary Cahill, moved to approve the Resolution to Accept Circulation Policy Changes Due to the Migration to Innovative Interfaces, Inc.
Director Parker reviewed that a draft of expected policy changes had been brought to the Board last month with the understanding that additions may occur. Additions were added and described.
Director Parker stated that from her perspective, there are few policy changes to make for a migration of this nature.
Director Parker continued by reviewing the specific policy changes as set forth in the documentation included in the Board packet.
AYES: Cahill, Greene, Head, Kincaid, Leary, Murphy, Surovell
NAYS: None
Motion passed: 7-0.
05-213 B. PRESENTATION ON NEW AADL.ORG WEBSITE DESIGN
IAS Manager Eli Neiburger took the floor and reported the following:
In addition to the new automation system features reported on at last month’s Board meeting, a new website design will also be launched July 5th. The catalog, which is being looked at as a function of the website, will be launched July 6th.
The Technology Advisory Committee met to review the new website design and additionally, one-on-one focus groups were facilitated by Skidmore, Inc. the firm contracted to design the site. The purpose of both sets of meetings was to get a feel for how typical library patrons look for information on the library’s website. Both sets of meetings resulted in useful information that has been incorporated into the functionality of the site.
Eli Neiburger introduced Tim Smith, Christopher Billick, and Jessica Wynn of Skidmore, Inc. who took the floor providing a visual presentation with an explanation of the new website design.
05-214 C. DISCUSSION OF ARCHITECT SELECTION
Trustee Head opened the discussion by expressing her concern over the length of time the Board is taking to move toward a final choice or at the very least, whittling down the selection to two choices. Part of her concern has to do with the process. In her view, she saw inconsistencies with each team save one. She would like there to be established a clear plan as to how the Board will proceed toward making a final decision.
Secretary Cahill clarified that Luckenbach | Ziegelman, the architect chosen for both the Malletts Creek and Pittsfield branches is a firm and not a team. The V-Team is a team that’s never worked together before. We have no idea whether or not they’ll actually be able to
work together, especially since many of members of the Board believe that the chief attraction on that team is the Van Tine|Guthrie firm and not the Veazey firm, and yet the Veazey firm would be the architect of record. His concern is that if we go with the V-Team, even if we manage to renegotiate a contract that says that Van Tine|Guthrie will do most of the design work, the Veazey people will be insulted and unable to work productively. He is not confident that the two firms of the V-Team would be able to work productively without the need for the Library to act as referee.
Treasurer Leary expressed that it might be a mistake to assume a particular response to our relatively minor requests for modifications to roles and responsibilities. The V-Team, if they’re interested in the job, will be responsive to our concerns about who’s doing what. It is the Board’s job to articulate what those concerns are and how they want those responsibilities allocated among the various players. It is extremely common in architecture today to have collaborations like this. It is common for firms to work together who have never worked together before. Treasurer Leary feels it would be leaping to an unjustified conclusion to expect to be confronted by problems. Based on what she’s seen, there’s very strong design talent at the Van Tine|Guthrie firm that would be great for us to take advantage of. She is happy to take the risk to get a different design than what we’ve gotten with the past two branches.
Trustee Kincaid supported Treasurer Leary’s comments to a large extent. He expressed that he thinks Van Tine|Guthrie’s designs are exceptional and he is impressed with their enthusiasm and their ability to provide more than what the client asks for.
Vice President Murphy agreed with both Treasurer Leary and Trustee Kincaid’s comments while adding a few comments of her own. Any questions she had with regard to Van Tine|Guthrie were addressed by the site visit she participated in. She was particularly impressed with their ability to learn quickly about the requirements of the client, the visual appeal of their work, and their ability to act as contractors as well as designers. She is confident that they are capable of working on a project of our scope. In addition, Van Tine|Guthrie made it quite clear that they are very interested in working with Veazey because Veazey is a large firm with a lot of experience with libraries and other public buildings, while Veazey is interested in working with Van Tine|Guthrie because of Van Tine |Guthrie’s exceptional design abilities. The two firms have huge incentive to work together. She does not feel it will be a situation that the Library would need to referee.
Trustee Head reiterated the need to move ahead towards making a final decision. The question as she sees it is choosing a known vs. an unknown, with one not necessarily being better than the other.
Trustee Kincaid stated that what would come out of this, from his point of view, is that they [the V-Team] could really work well together; the total could very well be greater than the sum of its parts. Imagination would be what Van Tine|Guthrie would bring to the table and if Veazey can realize that, we would be way ahead of the curve.
Director Parker updated the Board on where they stood at that point with each of the firms. Another tour with Van Tine|Guthrie has been scheduled, and in addition, Director Parker has arranged a meeting with Mike Guthrie of Van Tine|Guthrie and Bill Brown of Veazey, Parrot, Durkin and Shoulders to clarify their roles.
The other team that we’ve been talking to is Mitchell Mouat and Engberg Anderson, which no one has addressed.
President Surovell suggested that either the Board take Mitchell Mouat’s responsiveness to their requests for further information seriously and visit more of their sites quickly, or else tell them that we’ve eliminated them as a candidate.
Trustee Kincaid and Treasurer Leary concurred with President Surovell.
At this point, Vice President Murphy suggested they narrow the selection to two choices.
Based on what they saw of Engberg Anderson’s work while in Evansville, Secretary Cahill supported Vice President Murphy’s suggestion.
Treasurer Leary added that the site visits in combination with the presentations by all four teams has left them with what she feels are two superior choices, Luckenbach | Ziegelman and the V-Team.
President Surovell asked for a motion to narrow the choice down to two firms.
Secretary Cahill, supported by Vice President Murphy, moved to narrow the selection to two candidates, Luckenbach | Ziegelman and the V-team.
AYES: Cahill, Greene, Head, Kincaid, Leary, Murphy, Surovell
NAYS: None
Motion passed 7-0.
05-215 C. VOTE FOR EXECUTIVE SESSION AT THE JULY 25, 2005 BOARD MEETING FOR OPINION OF COUNSEL AND LABOR NEGOTIATION PREPARATION
Trustee Head, supported by Secretary Cahill, moved to approve the Vote for Executive Session at the July 25th Board Meeting.
A roll call vote was taken:
AYES: Cahill, Greene, Head, Kincaid, Leary, Murphy, Surovell
NAYS: None
Motion passed: 7-0.
05-216 XIV. ADJOURNMENT
President Surovell adjourned