##VIDEO ID:UamKS71nlCA## e e e e e the FL of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all I can do the roll call call sorry um member boura here member Holmes here member newoff here member Perkins here we have a quorum okay the um first item on the agenda is a motion to the approve the agenda is this where if you wanted to add something you okay um I'm not sure where the best place to put it would be but I just have one discussion item that I wanted to add and the topic is um the library and the library advisory committee items that were mentioned at the September 9th commission meeting okay if that's agreeable to everybody sure sure yes so I we're would um discussion items okay we'll do that as d d okay so that will be 5D okay so could I have a motion to approve the agenda as amended I motion I'll second it we have a roll call member Holmes yes member newoff yes member boura yes member Perkins yes motion carries okay our first um our next item is action item 4A which is is the election of officers for 2024 to 20 25 I think we have approval of minutes before that am I oh we do I'm sorry skip right over that okay oh and yeah do we have any audience comments okay okay sorry next is number three the approval of the minutes from the March 21st 2024 meeting and make a motion to approve them I'll second it okay can we have a roll call member newoff yes member boura yes member Holmes yes member Perkins yes motion carries now we have number four action items election of officers for the 20 2425 um year is this if I read it correctly so this is just for this meeting and then because I I know that um that it would be this is a little different because there's only two meetings a year right so if there's no change of you know appointments if the same Commissioners stay in place and the same people stay whoever is the chair or vice chair can continue the following year so it doesn't have to you know change every year but it would be just for this year and then theoretically again next year okay just well um I I'll make a motion to uh appoint Janette Perkins as the chair I would be willing to do it anybody okay that' be great we have a Woll call please member boura yes member Holmes yes member newoff yes chair yes motion carries and we also need to appoint a committee Vice chair for the same charm who would like to like to volunteer I can Vice chair okay so we just need a motion in a second I'll make a motion to appoint Wendy Holmes as Vice chair a second okay um member Holmes yes member newoff yes member boura yes chair Perkins yes motion carries okay on to item five um there's still a b under there under action item oh I'm sorry um the 2025 meeting schedule see March 20th um 2025 and I guess it would be the also September whatever the third Tuesday is in September 18th do I have a motion to approve the March 20th 2025 and September 18th 2025 meeting schedule a motion to approve a second you said did you just tell me one more time the dates again March March 20th 20th uhhuh and September 18th and September 18th thank you very much can we have a w please member newoff yes member bour yes member Holmes yes J Perkins yes motion carries okay number five discussion items um welcome to new members and I think the new members are Shelley newoff Shelley newoff and um that would be Maggie Milton she couldn't make it today and then member Perkinson boura are relatively new as well so we thank all of you including member homes for volunteer your time for the city I'd like this is from BET Senda she wrote me a script by the way um I'd like to bet Cinda would like to thank and myself uh departing members Kennedy and Cohen for their years of service in this capacity including a special thank you to member Cohen who has been on the committee for 15 years since March of 2009 so thank you all for for service um to the community we appreciate it okay item 5 b Pass Program prrams including summer reading and I have a little summary and I'll I'll refer to Alexa if you guys have questions or to expand on it but um from March through August of this year the library hosted 203 active programs and had close to 3,000 people in attendance those programs included musicians professors and Poets um they also had 47 passive programs which included take-home crafts scavenger hunts reading challenges and more I've seen those projects and um Alexa does a great job um putting those together so congrats on that um these programs have engaged people um 3,12 times past program highlights included the Smithsonian museum display I hope you guys were able to see that that was displayed throughout the library exploring human origins in a very robust summer reading program during the summer reading program they offered um programs featuring a sled dog musher M magicians did I read that right a sled dog musher mush musher okay uh magicians princesses authors and birds as always they partnered um to offer reading with the Rays and promoted over a thousand books for their before kindergarten program so very busy that's great do you guys have questions about that do you want to expand any of that or toot your own horn okay okay next we have discussion item 5B I mean uh 5c upcoming programs um so due to some staffing shortage um we're currently looking for a librarian too um um since March I think um Matthew was in that position we we filled it um that individual has since left the city but we um have been doing interviews to replace that um but because of some staffing shortage October through December starting next month the library is going to be closing two hours earlier on Monday and Wednesday so instead of closing at 8:00 P.M they'll be closing at 6: um and then we'll start back up with later hours once you know we kind of hit season and the snowbirds and and the amount of activity kind of increases during that time um but besides just Library being open there's many other Library Services ebooks e audio books newspapers are available to the website through um sbbl [Music] library.com we've also talked about um lending lockers and some other with with bets into some other items it's kind of work testing to see what the effects would be with closing a little earlier on those two nights a week it's only four hours a week but um sometimes when you take some things away you might get people that notice and so we're kind of seeing that but there's opportunities to see um if we're we have staff shortage which I think we all did through covid is what other things can we do to still have these things available we do have the the um the little libraries like at the community center they're down in passig gril and a couple of the neighborhoods um but we're looking at o um lockers are that's what they're called holds lockers to pick up to be able to pick up certain items and you put in a code and um be able to get those things so you don't need a staff there present for the items that you're coming to the library for so um we're kind of in a testing phase with that so I have a question yeah so the little libraries are part of the St Pete Beach Library system so we get certified so you go through correct me if I'm wrong because I did it to get it at the community center we you go through the library um there's a National Registry could you get a number that's assigned to your I'm I'm not sure how where associated with littlee libraries I don't I don't know if the friends do it or might but like for the community center itself we ended up paying for it the city did out of the wreck and to the actual box so it's a um um kind of like a kit that you purchase online through little library.com maybe um and then they assign you a number so if you go to that website it'll tell you where all the little libraries are and then we use the library to fill up the first couple months the actual little library boxes with books and then once you kind of establish and what have I've seen even at the community center is once people know it's there then they you know they take the books so there's there's a good couple months where we need books people take them but they don't necessarily know how that kind of works once you're used to being able to go and pick a book out and get on the treadmill then you you sometimes put it back and then if you read and you didn't take it out of the little Library you bring it there so you don't keep it on your shelves and your house um so I've noticed that the Community Center once we got past the first 6 months and but Sinda just kept an eye on it and would fill it up if we needed it but then after that it's it's it it becomes a second nature to people that are using it and to bring back books and keep it loaded so um sometimes there's some great books in there so I know I I have always my stack of books and I wait till I get four or five of them and I bring them and I put them in there and um to do them that way so I don't know how many we have throughout the city I know there's one by the museum down in pagil there's one by the Warren Webster one at the community center one by the Women's Center yeah so it's and I don't know if you've notice that it pretty much becomes routine for anybody who's using it to take and then put back so yeah they're never empty yeah yeah so it works but it we we've used the library to get us like up and moving and help promote it so I have a question too so um the one thing that comes to mind like the mayor's office will that be shifted to earlier in the day because I know he usually has that at 6 o'clock on on the Mondays or every other Monday I think I don't know if there's any other recurring um evening programs that are affected so the mayor's open office I emailed the mayor and he was okay with moving up the Open Office to 5:00 to 5:45 from October through December is that the that the only recurring thing that's going to be affected that's the only thing other than um some of the programs that we might have done later we're just bumping up to earlier in the afternoon um so that's the only thing it really affected consistently okay thank you and Lisa commissioner Robinson is what day and what time it's going to vary through the months but in October she will be Monday October 14th from 5: to 6:00 p.m. pleas so opposite of the mayor's days yes okay but she's only coming that one day the mayor's going to be there okay um some other upcoming programs September this month that or more than halfway through you can believe it is library card sign up month and they started um the month with successful sign up event on September 4th they had 34 attendees at the suggestion of the member from member boura um they hosted an author Showcase with 12 authors affiliated with novelist Incorporated whose annual conference was held at tradewins which um I think we talked about last going on meeting yeah yeah um is it going on currently right they just started yesterday today okay uh they continue to partner with the Sunco seabird Sanctuary to inform and entertain us with their rescue birds and they've welcomed back two popular lecturers David Bush and Elizabeth Britt um the library continues to have craft and game programs to combat loneliness along with their doughnut happy hour each month which I believe the Sheriff's Office the cpos still come Alexa they do when they're available okay um so we have our community police office officers join when that happens so not that police officers are associated with donuts none of us were thinking that um the library is a ballot drop off location during elections they partner with the supervisor election for voter registration events um October's always a fun program month and we will have scary movies a blood drive a lecture about witches pumpkin decorating and as part of the friends of the Library annual meeting there will be bats in the library what does that mean live bats live bats there's going to be a lecture um on the myths about bats and the realities of bats by the Flor bat Conservancy so they will have live in a cage usually they come in a cage but they'll take them outen [Laughter] they're actually unique I was in Austin you know how they have where they yeah I was there the time of year whenever they do their at Sunset fly where there's thousands of them tens of thousands from under this bridge yeah it's pretty it's a unique thing but when you look at they're just little rats with wings I'm sure they're very cute but they eat bugs they they they do good things so do snakes and some other mhm reptiles but well that's good they'll eat whatever is in the library that's not good we have them on the beach like in the Beach Garden yeah you'll see them flying around sometimes at night so you'll never be back in the Beach Garden at night with you well that's interesting what day is that that is October 24th it's a Thursday the friend meetings start around 2:30 and the bat presentation will be around 4:30 um side note to that we're doing um we'll have to talk about this but we're there's a trick-or treat on Corey Avenue on that same night it'd be cool to partner and have people go see bats and then trick-or treat MH cuz the trick-or-treating starts at 5: okay and then I thought about the library having a table on the on Corey but that's a side note we can talk but that would be cool that would be neat right definitely we could bat theme the whole thing I'm getting excited now you have a theme song playing to that yeah Batman could come mhm okay um shine will be back to offer Medicare information and counseling and November will begin their winter program reading program which is geared towards adults than children um it is very popular last year and they hope to replicate that engagement will start with a local author showcase all these programs are created um by Alexa who is a rock star and she always helps promote setup take down and gather statistics also speaking of our Rockstar Alexa did you not just get um honored by an award I did James Patterson yes James Patterson gave 250 um bonuses to Ala accredited Librarians um and Library staff members and I was selected to receive a James Patterson bonus nice congratulations congratulations isn't that great that's fantastic out of how many that applied I bet sind mentioned it I sure how many applied but 250 people W it nationwide Nation that's we've got a little gem right here yes congrats well deserved very nice maybe we can have Jame Patterson come and be the author oh that would be great [Laughter] I don't know I think that's pretty cool um okay so that's what I have for upcoming PR programs unless Alexa do you have anything else to add that I that's in a inscript for me I did meet the AARP yesterday and in November we will resume um safe driver courses which I think were popular in the past um and we've also continued our partnership with creative clay um which is uh program out of St Petersburg where we partner with um individuals who are artists with intellectual disabilities they come out to the library and we create art together um and so that's been really successful too I think that's that's it thank you both for the updates uh the next item is the one I added 5D um I'm mainly bringing these up for information for the committee um I don't go normally go to commission meetings but I always watch them within a few days and Jennifer please correct me if I misspeak on any of of the things I'm in to say um at the the September 9th meeting the library and the library um advisory committee in particular were mentioned which was kind of shocking to me because I never here the library mentioned at the commission meetings unless it's someone getting an Accolade for the great job they do but um during the discussion on the millage rate one of the Commissioners um proposed reducing it and the mayor said in order to do that we would need to come up with a $400,000 cut in the budget and the first item that the commissioner who proposed this uh brought up was the free who has I think a $700,000 budget and the second item that he brought up was the library so I just wanted to make you all aware that I I I know we don't do the budget I think probably the director and you know the other departments but that that that was mentioned you know as a possible place that this uh commissioner was looking to make cuts so I just wanted to bring that up and I hope well I will just say that out of all the Departments the library's budget is the smallest so a $400,000 cut is uh cutting off limbs it's half so to me uh it's not the place necessarily to Target um I think it's a little bit from everywhere but I just wanted to mention there's not a lot of extra in that in the library's budget yeah I looked at it and yeah and i' I've been in the library there's like there's and I've been to many of your programs and there's not like a lot of extra like overthe toop it's what's needed to perform you know the the program or the function or whatever so but I just want everybody to be aware of one person mentioning you know targeting the library possibly I think what people don't understand is the friends of the library and their contribution to a lot of the programs and the program supplies and like the ice cream social that was last month they bought all the ice cream they're the ones that manned it so it wasn't staff that had to be there um so a lot of the extra things that are happening in the library are funded well in the new I don't want to call it a light bright what's it called everbrite yeah Bri you know that was all raised money it wasn't coming out of city funding so I don't know if there's a misconception out there I think there is maybe we need to do a better you know of of job of letting people know that the library really is a a hodg podge of different funds well with the friends anyways so if there's I don't know if there's a misconception out there but just knowing that I did a few Department's budgets this year the library has I don't even know where I would cut even a couple hundred dollars yeah and that kind of brings me to the second time it was mentioned and this uh what they were are proposing the commission is to have a future workshop and look at each of the boards and committees and how often they meet and their responsibilities and their interaction with the commission and see if there need to be any changes made and one of the Commissioners said um mentioned the library advisory committee if it was needed and she wasn't quite sure of how we interact with the friends of the library or if there's a conflict of interest between the two so I think at some point um I don't know if uh the director or someone from us may be called to say something at a commission Workshop about the advisor committee going forward and the value to to the library as they mentioned something about it being a conflict of interest if you were on advisory committee and Friends of librar I was like I don't also if you have bouse that works at the library the conflict is also to be on this committee my suggestion would be that whomever appointed you whichever Commission or mayor appointed you to have that discussion and just um tell them how important you think this committee is and what it serves and how it differs from the friends um because I think the friends is more of programming support um and you guys are more in like policies or changes and things that should come to you all where the friends is more on the support end on Evan or programming more on the programming side I would say and I think the role for you all is the education of the library what the library serves in this community and how we promote that and if there's policies that need to change or things and and this was a very intrical um committee when we were were fundraising yeah 10 years ago to get a new library I mean this this was um years um of trying to push and Advocate that the library that was existing needed we needed a new one and it was going to move locations it was going to be City Hall was going to become the library at one point the old police station was going to be looked at so um that's the kind of thing that this needs to be doing the friends of the library can be that that donor support and trying to achieve what it is you guys said and that's how I see it but I think you each should probably talk to who whoever appointed you and express where you think the value is and that the two should not merge and that's probably said too much but I I think I see them as two separate things and know what your guys's thoughts are well in friends of Library had has um a yearly dues which you know this is more of a voluntary committee like independent of the library and the friends and um yeah I see them as different so you would suggest just making sure they know that and then if you want them to bring it up at a commission meeting I just wanted everybody to be aware that they were going to look at I think that was the intent in the future to look at all the boards boards and committees and do any adjustments that they needed so we should be prepared to to to our value and you know I think a good start is to email each of the people who appointed us and let us let them know our feelings yeah yeah and refer them to watch this meeting even as well I mean it I think it took but Cinda by surprise too that that was mentioned so um yeah I was yeah I was surprised that's why I just thought I'd bring it up because not some of the meetings as Jennifer knows are very long and it's hard for people to attend them or even watch them at a later time but I I usually try to on doing whatever sleeping the floor whatever and put it on my computer and listen and sometimes you you hear something you weren't expecting so well I'll tell you one other I think I think a crucial thing so the parks and rec board meets twice a year as well so they're very similar um but where also the differences of the friends of the library and and and this board is um if the city was to write a grant for something uh let's say for um the Eventbrite what's it called let's say we everbrite I almost got it that time um and let's say we're going to write a grant to get that um a lot of times grants you have to do it in a public meeting the friends doesn't have they do not have public meetings so the like where I use our parks and wck board is um to talk about the things that I may be asking for things later or let's say um um I feel like we need to budget an extra $10,000 in our budget for digital initiatives initiatives something along those lines or the or the lockers and then you as a committee have that recommendation for commission so when it goes to budget so that's to me the difference is this is going to guide and is a recommendation to your commission as they make decisions whether it's by budget or if there's a grant and so then we do the minutes and the minutes get put into the Grant application so that's where both the library advisor and I think the parks and recck board serve this community to be able to have that connection to City staff and to your decision makers that are serving on the commission I think it's also important to note I don't know if anyone knows what's going on in Tasco County right now in their libraries and freedom to read and books of supression but that's another reason it's important to have you guys as the library Advisory Board because I don't want to go too much into what's going on in Pasco but you can look it up and see why librarys are so for do you think that because we only meet twice a year it's viewed as you know not as important and I I I know it just went from three or four to two I don't know the reason but um do you think that because we only meet every six months and they might feel like it's I don't speak for anybody else but it's depends on how you um manage the agenda and what it is the items that you talk about and forecasting so if you're able to do that I don't see it is um that it's an invaluable board but um it does take more foresight to plan ahead um I believe Jenny when did that change a few years ago when they went from four to two I think maybe two yeah um and I haven't seen it an issue and I haven't seen it I parks and W did I think at the same time whenever they changed that and I don't think it's been um you might just talk about more things than you would if you met four times a year in two meetings but um I guess I don't view it that way but I don't know what others view it as okay uh is there anything anyone else would like to say no okay if there's nothing further then we are adjourned very ni