Union County Library

Union County Library District Project
MINUTES
January 11, 2006

The meeting was called to order by Steering Committee member Shirley Roberts in Jerry Young’s absence.

In attendance:  Shirley Roberts, John Van Schoonhoven, Sharon Porter, Donna Patterson, Diane Walker, Kat Davis, Danae Yurgel, Aletha Bonebrake.

Steering Committee Summary:  Shirley and John provided information from the Steering Committee meeting relating to modifications in the LSTA Grant period extending the contract to April 30, 2006.  This was done at the request of the State Library to enable the peer evaluation component of the grant to take place.  Terri Washburn, Director of the St. Helen’s Public Library will serve as our evaluator.

Director’s Update:  Much of Kat’s time has been directed towards following through on the Children’s Services demonstration projects.  She is currently presenting booktalks in all schools in the six school districts within Union County.  Bev White, Coordinator for the Union County Literacy Center, is also volunteering on this project.  Kat is also providing technical support to the Elgin Public Library in its effort to secure grant funding for a new library.  As part of this effort she is assisting with a community involvement process planning for use of the new facility that will dovetail with identified, high priority community needs such as adult literacy and GED preparation.  Elgin has received grant funds from the Collins Foundation and Meyer Memorial Trust.  

Friendly Visitor’s Update:  Using the service projections created at the outset of the project, Danae Yurgel informed the committee that she is slightly ahead in numbers of trained volunteers and slightly under the number of anticipated clients.  Feedback from clients and volunteers is helping her continuously improve the program to meet client needs.  Meyer Memorial Trust has just approved a modification to extend services to any homebound individual over the age of 18.

FOUCL Update:  The next FOUCL meeting will be on January 26th at 5:30pm at the UCLDP office.  Diane Walker reported that governance committee members have been working to establish a slate of officers.  They still need someone for the position of Vice President. [NOTE:  The FOUCL meeting has been moved to 1001 4th St. in the Meisner Room at the County Office Building]

Discussion of comparative benefits of pursuing the library district election in November 2006 vs. May 2008:  The committee reviewed a chart prepared by Kat listing pros and cons of each option.  Other issues added to the chart included election costs.  Jennie Tucker reminded the group (via email, she was not in attendance) that substantial costs can be associated with use of the news media and producing signs.  Kat checked with various sources and came up with a number between $10,000 and $18,000.  FOUCL would need to take a lead role in raising this amount of money as no grant funds may be used for campaign purposes.

Donna and Aletha commented that the cost need not be that high if individuals are willing to make signs.  Aletha uses “homemade” signs in her campaigns and finds them to be very effective.

There is still a need for a stronger level of coordination for the FOUCL group to be successful in raising these funds.  There was discussion about the difficulty of putting together FOUCL’s organizational structure at the same time it is organizing its membership and non-profit status.

As three of the four officers from FOUCL were present, the discussion leaned towards advantages of waiting until the 2008 election.  The additional 18 months would give time for solidifying the organization.  Diane Walker indicated that if the group could first complete the incorporation process and get permanent officers in place, it would then be possible to focus on enjoyable, library service projects that are more likely to get members involved (e.g.: parades, a presence at community events, children’s activities).  Sharon Porter concurred that “fun” activities are needed to build relationships between members around the county.  Donna Patterson, Treasurer for FOUCL, stated that although she believes FOUCL could successfully collect petition signatures now, that waiting until 2008 would give the group time to develop a better advocacy plan and raise funds.

Following feedback from the FOUCL members, Shirley asked for Kat’s perspective as Project Director and from Aletha in her role as Mentor.  Kat observed that momentum is building for support of the district both inside La Grande and in the outlying communities. She has concern for the viability of the smaller libraries if we delay.  Aletha noted that because of the distraction of the new La Grande Library, the time may not be right for people to see the value of the district proposal.

Shirley asked each Feasibility Committee member for their position on moving forward or delaying the vote until May 2008.  She reminded those present that we had agreed to move forward with the petition gathering process for the November 2006 election based on the positive trend in the community survey, with final decision to be made on March 8th.  By consensus, in deference to the fact that FOUCL now holds primary responsibility for organizing the signature gathering and fundraising for the project, the committee agreed to revise the timeline to reflect a vote in 2008.

Kat outlined the consequences of making this decision including the need to revise the proposed district budget based on new projections for county-wide assessed value; recalculating the rate; obtaining new city resolutions updated with any needed changes; and re-completing the prospective petition process.  The benefits would include having the opportunity to make revisions to the proposed budget based upon actual operational costs of the new La Grande Library as well as allowing FOUCL to proceed on a timeline that will meet their needs.

Additionally, extending the timeline to May 2008 will require that a modification and extension to the LSTA grant be prepared and submitted prior to the April deadline.

As well as reaching consensus on extending the District Project until 2008, each committee member in attendance expressed their commitment to remaining active in the process.  John voiced his opinion that the extension will also allow the opportunity for bringing in additional members to the Feasibility Committee from local government as well as “informal” community leaders.  Committee members will continue to plan on organizing and leading community information meetings as assigned at the November 2005 meeting.

Kat agreed to draft a modified timeline for review.  She will contact each city, the county and the media with the Committee’s decision.

Diane and other FOUCL members will contact those volunteers who have been trained as Petition Captains and notify them of the change of timeline.  FOUCL will continue to pursue 501c3 non-profit status.  Their next meeting will focus on planning library advocacy activities for the coming year.

Adjourned at 4:30.

Submitted by Kat Davis
Project Director