Board Meeting Minutes 07/28/2026 (html)

Tuesday, July 28, 2026
LIBRARY BOARD MEETING
SILVER FALLS LIBRARY DISTRICTSilver Falls Library Program Room
410 S. Water St., Silverton, Oregon
 
            Board Members Present:                                         Staff Present:
            Ingrid Donnerstag                                                       Christy Davis, Director
            Dmitry White                                                              Stacy Higby
            Nancy Miller                                                  
            Michelle Sanguinetti                                                   Public Present:
            Megan Smith                                                  
                                                                                   
            Board Members Absent:
            None
           
CALL TO ORDER
Chair White called the meeting to order at 5:30 p.m.
 
REVIEW OF AGENDA
 
No changes    
 
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
  • Page 3 – add paragraph
  • Page 3 – switch period to comma last sentence of #3
  • Page 3 add paragraph
 
Motion: To approve the June 23, 2026 Board Meeting minutes as corrected
            (Motion by: Dmitry White.  Second by: Ingrid Donnerstag).
            Vote: Unanimously in favor.
 
FINANCIAL REPORT, JUNE 2026
The Board received and reviewed the following reports:
  1. Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Fund Balances (as of June 30, 2026)
  2. General Fund Statement of Cash Receipts (as of June 30, 2026)
  3. General Fund Statement of Cash Disbursements (as of June 30, 2026)
  4. Check Register – Citizen’s Bank (June 1-30, 2026)
  5. LGIP Account Statement (as of June 30, 2026)
  6. Purchase Order – Visa (closing date May 21, 2026)
  7. Purchase Order – Visa (closing date June 18, 2026
  8. Journal Entries (as of June 30, 2026)
 
Statement of Cash Receipts:
We did not receive the Bank Transfer Report with our monthly property tax turnover from Marion County. When Stacy emailed to find out why, she was told that we have a negative receipt for the State Timberlands fund for the quarter preceding June 2026 which was more than our revenue for that June. The negative was approximately $5800, and the revenue was approximately $5600, leaving us about $200 in deficit. Marion County held out revenue and will hold the additional $200 from our July revenue. The county had no plans to inform us, or other districts who were also affected, but said that a letter or email might be a good idea.
Statement of Cash Disbursements
We ended the fiscal year at 104% of our budgeted income and 95% of our budgeted expenses, which leaves the district at $13,098 more in expenses than income. Our LGIP account is $15,000 less than at the beginning of the last fiscal year vs this one.
 
Check Register
  • What is the payment to DJC? It’s the Daily Journal of Commerce, where we were required to post the RFP for the solar construction project.
  • Has our service with Garden City Landscape ended? Yes, June was the last month and Silver Falls Yard Care started in July.
  • What is the payment to Woodburn Sew and Vac? It was to repair the big vacuum.
  • What is the payment to Rite Way? Several can light ballasts and an exterior light were replaced.
  • Are the dues for Silverton Chamber of Commerce and League of Oregon Cities annual? Yes.
 
The vote to approve the June 2026 financial report was tabled until next month, when Stacy comes back with more information about the total actual income and expenses.
OLD BUSINESS
 
  1. Community Renewable Energy Project (C-REP) Updates
Of the 9 firms that attended the mandatory site visit, 6 submitted proposals. Megan, Nancy, Stacy, Christy and community member Harold Wood scored the proposals, with Randall Feldhaus attending to answer technical questions and offer advice. The proposal from Power Northwest scored the highest, and no one challenged the results. Two firms asked to see the other proposals, so Christy combined all proposals and the scoring into one document and sent it to those firms. The contract with Power Northwest hasn’t been signed yet but should be done by the end of the week.
Randall called about the battery storage equipment from Solark, which is in the feasibility study and the winning proposal. He said the equipment has been having software glitches in three of the recent projects he’s installed, and that customer service has been slow to respond and correct the issues. The software is mistakenly detecting an arc, which then shuts the system down and technicians are dispatched to trouble shoot, leading to extra work and cost. The company has continued to patch bugs in the software.
Heath Kerns from Power Northwest and Randall are visiting the library Thursday for another walkthrough and looking at the planned site of the battery storage to make sure there is enough space for the necessary clearance between the battery storage and the building, and also the nearby vegetation. Christy contacted Jerry Nelzen, Director of Public Works for the City of Silverton, who came out and said they will remove the vegetation in question, including a few volunteer plants and two dead or dying trees, at no cost to the library. Alternate sites for the battery storage could be behind the building where a large Daphne bush was removed or using a parking space. Christy and the board do not want to use one of our parking spaces because we have fewer spaces than we need already.
 
 
  1. Keizer library application to CCRLS
Keizer Community Library has now applied for membership to CCRLS.  CCRLS director, Doug Yancey, responded to Keizer that neither Council nor Polk Yamhill Marion (PYM) Directors meet over the summer, and that we have other priority projects that are already underway. Doug is still working on an impact statement and figures to show what this would do to the CCRLS monetary distributions. The board would like Christy to take their concerns to Doug, including the need for reciprocity and a funding plan.
 
  1. Cooling shelter usage
We have had two days that were over 95 degrees when the library was already open. Sheltering Silverton created a social media announcement that we shared on our own Facebook page. If we have another hot day on a Sunday or Monday, when the library isn’t open, Sheltering Silverton staff will be here with Christy or another salaried employee. It’s unlikely for the library to be needed as a cooling shelter very often. Members of the larger EMAC group, including a Lions Club member and Keith from the Fire Department seemed glad and relieved that the local group is meeting.
NEW BUSINESS
 
  1. Sometimes the board doesn’t meet in August, but we will have solar project updates and budget questions to answer. Does the board want to meet in August or get updates by email? Yes, the board would like to meet on August 25th.
 
  1. Are board members available to meet on the 5th Tuesday in September, the 29th? Christy has travel plans the 4th Tuesday. Yes, the board will meet on September 29th.
 
LIBRARY DIRECTOR’S REPORT
Director Davis reported on the following:
 
Good things:
  • We had a great day at Silverton Pride and really appreciated the help of several of our board members. Despite the cold and rain, we connected with over 65 individuals, made many buttons, and asserted ourselves as a welcoming place in the community.
  • Summer Reading statistics: In Youth Services, Dena shared that 572 kids aged 0-18 have signed up. They can earn brag tags weekly, and we’ve handed out 297 tags so far. Hi Ho Cherry-o has been played by 352 kids. We’ve handed out 120 family journals, 200 craft kits, and 60 teen crafts. 200 people attended the last story time at the Oregon Garden. Adult services is having numbers we’ve haven’t seen since pre-COVID. So far, 122 adults have signed up for our reading incentive program.
  • We plan on applying for a collection development grant from the Roundhouse Foundation. The grant can be for up to $2500 and if received, would be used to grow manga collections in teen and adult.  Now that we have moved adult graphic novels and manga to their own section, we have room to grow this high-demand collection.
  • We had our front door repaired successfully. We got a new piece for our door handle, and it turns out that there is nothing currently wrong with our door hydraulics.
Challenges:
  • During the storm last week, the very brief power outages throughout the county caused major issues for many CCRLS computers, including all but two of our networked staff computers. It took over half the day to get most staff computers back online.  The outage caused the switch to not recognize multiple computers on the network.  There was nothing said about what might be done to mitigate this in the future. We were not the only library impacted.
  • When we went to add circulation supervisor Tina Pennington to the list of people who can sign checks for the District, we ran into some issues at the bank. It turns out that when we created our accounts, not all of the documentation that is now required was gathered at that time. This led us to discover that we could not locate the Registered Agent document that Christy signed her first month on the job in January of 2018. It also led us to review the MUNI (municipal) registration that we have with the State. Christy has ordered a copy of the Registered Agent document from the state archives. This has delayed the process but the bank will accept the documentation we’ve provided for them.
Changes:
  • Our current longest-serving employee, Spring Quick, Adult Services Librarian and department head gave us her resignation notice this past week. Her last day at the library will be October 30.  Ron Drake, part-time assistant in Adult Services has given us a tentative, verbal notice for his departure in the spring of 2027 when he will move to another part of the state to be with his family.
  • We will start the process of migrating to a new, solidly ADA compliant website, hosted by Streamline. As soon as the solar contract is signed, Christy will contact them to begin the process.
Miscellaneous:
  • The director used 4.5 hours of vacation and 11 hours of sick leave in June
  • If you get a chance, I highly recommend checking out the new East County Library branch of the Multnomah County system. It is in Gresham and has many amazing architectural features and patron amenities.
 
ITEMS NOT ON AGENDA OPEN TO PUBLIC, BOARD AND STAFF PARTICIPATION
  • Auditors will be here for field work on Friday, August 21, 2026.
  • Question- What happens to volunteer applications? A person they know has applied and has not heard back. Applications are held until there’s a volunteer opening or need. Currently, there are volunteers for circulation every morning and afternoon, and we get many requests. Responding to applicants with “we’re full but we’ll keep your application on file” might be a good idea. Christy will ask Tina, Becky and Dena about the current process, as these are the departments that utilize volunteers.
 
ADJOURNMENT
Motion:  To adjourn the meeting at 6:47 p.m.
            (Motion by: Dmitry White.     Second by: Nancy Miller).
            Vote: Unanimously in favor.
____________________________________________________________
 
The next Library Board meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, August 25, 2026 at 5:30 p.m. in the library program room.
 
            Approved: __________________________ (date)
 
            __________________________________________
            Dmitry White
            Chair, Library Board of Directors
Silver Falls Library District