Board Meeting Minutes 2/24/2026 (html)

Tuesday, February 24, 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                                                               Shawna Pantzke
                                                                                   
            Board Members Absent:
            None
           
CALL TO ORDER
Chair White called the meeting to order at 5:32 p.m.
 
REVIEW OF AGENDA
 
Additions under New Business:

• Approval of budget committee member application

 
 
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
On Page 5 under Challenges, change “countries” to “country’s”.
On Page 5 under Challenges, change “mostly” to “most”.
 
Motion: To approve the January 27, 2026, Board Meeting minutes as corrected.
            (Motion by: Dmitry White.  Second by: Megan Smith).
            Vote: Unanimously in favor.
 
 
FINANCIAL REPORT, JANUARY 2026
The Board received and reviewed the following reports:

1. Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Fund Balances (as of January 31, 2026)
2. General Fund Statement of Cash Receipts (as of January 31, 2026)
3. General Fund Statement of Cash Disbursements (as of January 31, 2026)
4. Check Register – Citizen’s Bank (January 1-31, 2026)
5. LGIP Account Statement (as of January 31, 2026)
6. Purchase Order – Visa (closing date December 18, 2025)
7. Journal Entries (as of January 31, 2026)

 
Statement of Cash Receipts:

• What is the Donation of $400? An annual gift from the estate of Robert Trapp.

 
Statement of Cash Disbursements

• Most of the Personnel Services are about 50% of budget, but why is Workers Comp so much lower? We put $500 in that line every year as a placeholder, but the actual cost is usually much lower.
• The $150,000 in Contingency is meant to be used as carryover between the start of fiscal year and when property tax revenue for the current year starts being received. It is in the budget every year.
• Why has nothing been spent in Youth AV Spanish? Dena is ordering now for that line.
• Is the $43,000 spent in Miscellaneous for parking lot paving? Yes.

 
Motion: To approve the JANUARY 2026 Financial Report as presented, including checks #18305 through and including #18336, and all EFTs, for a total of $170,173.04.
            (Motion by: Ingrid Donnerstag.  Second by: Michelle Sanguinetti).
            Vote: Unanimously in favor.
 
 
PUBLIC PRESENTATIONS
None
 
OLD BUSINESS
 

1. Parking Lot and City of Silverton Updates

We have sent requests to two companies for custom signage, but neither has replied. Amazon has what we need for under $200, so we will order them there. Jason Gottgetreu had not seen the minutes, memos, and joint title paperwork between the Library District and the City, regarding ownership of the Community Center parking lot. This may have been what was holding up the land transfer, so Christy copied many of our files for him.
 

1. Oregon Department of Energy, C-REP progress report

We have not received the Department of Justice certification for our entity and hope that the land transfer is completed before then. We are still waiting for C-REP to send us the performance agreement. C-REP has sent a preliminary contact information request, which Christy completed and returned. C-REP has also sent a request for some technical information that Randy Feldhaus from Sunbreak Energy completed and returned. The performance agreement needs to be signed within 30 days of receipt, and the project needs to be completed within 18 months of that. Randy Feldhaus anticipates the project will be completed by September or October.
Christy sent information to Our Town with drone photos of the south roof. She included names and contact information for all the community partners like Rotary, Lions Club, Silverton Emergency Management Advisory Committee (EMAC), Sustainable Silverton, Sheltering Silverton, Marion County Environmental Services, Climate and Health Adaptation Plan (CHAP), etc. She could reach out to the Statesman Journal or send them a press release for more media coverage. Jeremy from Curry County Library also applied for and received a C-REP Solar Construction Grant, so Christy co-wrote a release with him for the SDAO newsletter.
 
NEW BUSINESS
 

1. Library Foundation formation process

Christy, Dmitry, Ingrid, and Stacy met with Kate Van Ummerson, former executive director of Salem Public Library Foundation earlier this month. She was very generous, sharing her time and knowledge to help start a library foundation. She shared SPLF documents including by-laws in accordance with Oregon Secretary of State guidelines, board member job descriptions and commitment expectations, board member application with a list of what the foundation board is looking for, matrix for recruitment of board members, conflict of interest information, fundamentals of board service, and more. There is at least an 18-month process to get started, which includes getting non-profit status approved by the IRS. Fundraising goals, stages, and timelines would need to be decided. Kate said that hiring a consultant would be beneficial in the initial visioning and fundraising stages.
Library foundations often fundraise for capital improvement projects and long-range goals, while Friends raise funds for programs and materials. The Library Board should be involved in selecting members for the foundation board. An intermediary project for the foundation could be a book drop or book locker for Scotts Mills. A book locker could cost from $20,000-$60,000, but a book drop would be less and could potentially be purchased without foundation funds.
 
 

1. Discussion: Oregon Library Association Public Library Standards Chapter 7: Facilities Standards

The library meets all essential standards. The Board asked what we do well and what we could do better. We currently have adequate custodial and maintenance services, with a very dedicated custodian, but as we add things, we also add maintenance requirements, such as the parking lot.
Christy feels we don’t have enough storage, and we also have areas that take up space but are underutilized (like the reference area), which could be better used as study space or for the Library of Things. Christy and Spring halved the reference collection a few years ago, but based on its usage, it could be halved again. Christy has been weeding constantly, making more space on the shelves, so we have room for print materials, but we are short on space for programs, study areas, and the Library of Things. According to the OLA Public Library Standards, 17,000 square feet is on the low end of the recommended square feet of space per capita. The Board sees programming space as the biggest need. 
 

1. Approval of budget committee member application

Last spring we received a Budget Committee application from Mercy Hansen, who also attended last year’s Budget Committee Meeting. Two committee members have terms that ended last year. Stacy has reached out to ask if they would serve another 3-year term. One more committee member will be needed due to the retirement of Doug Tedrow after last year’s Budget Committee Meeting. If they agree to serve another term, the Board will vote to approve Chris Childs and Terra Chapek at the next meeting.
 
Motion: To approve Mercy Hansen’s application to serve on the Budget Committee.
(Motion by: Megan Smith. Second by: Ingrid Donnerstag).
Vote: Unanimously in favor.
 
AGENDA SUGGESTIONS FOR FUTURE MEETINGS
 
1.    Internet Usage Policy Updates – After an incident in southern Oregon involving a patron viewing content on public internet station that resulted in a library director being let go, we need to add policy language that would buy time to respond appropriately in case of a similar incident.
2.    Reminder that April 28th is the Annual Budget Meeting, followed by a Regular Board Meeting.
 
LIBRARY DIRECTOR’S REPORT
 
Director Davis reported on the following:
 
Good things:

• The Friends of the Library are hosting two events in the coming weeks. The first is a book swap taking place this Thursday, February 26th from 4-5. People bring 1-2 books to share with others and have refreshments.  The Friends Spring Book Sale, which is only slightly smaller than their Fall Book Sale, will be held on Saturday, April 11th, from 10-4.
• We’ve hired a new youth services assistant!  Charaley Macias started work with us today. She recently moved to Oregon from San Antonio, Texas with her husband and three children. She has a school library degree and several years of experience.
• A hearing for plea/sentence was held today in Marion County for the person who broke into the basement of the library.
• Christy went to City of Silverton tourism workshop meeting last week and listened to tourism consultants hired by the City. She heard lots of demographic information about the City and surrounding areas as well as a need for improved infrastructure for tourism, better transportation for outdoor recreation, and more lodging. The meeting participants were asked to generate ideas and rank them.
• This Friday, Christy is meeting with the new director of City of Silverton’s Public Works Department, Jerry Nelzen, to assess the space for a weather-proof bench for the Silver Trolley pickup spot on the library’s north side.
• Also, this Friday, Christy is meeting with Brad Atkins from Oregon Corrections Enterprises (OCE) to see if they would be able to create benches for us between the library’s entryway columns.
• Pace/Lauren’s HVAC came back and did another application of sealant around a rooftop HVAC unit.
• The City came to inspect the HVAC unit because it was a rooftop installation as opposed to an interior installation. All went well.

Challenges:

• The interest rate from the Local Government Investment Pool (LGIP) was lowered once again, this time from 4.1% to 4%.
• We may continue to have some staffing challenges with medical leave in the coming months but think we can cover it with existing subs and regular staff.

Changes:

• We’re moving our local history sections and graphic novels in the coming months.  We’ve realized that our Graphic Novels for adults will be better utilized if they have their own section, just as they do in the young adult section.  The local history section has been moved to the end of the circulating non-fiction section, and slowly, there will be a migration of call number 741.5 graphic novels to the short wall that held the local history.  Adult manga will also have a section alongside the graphic novels. This move will also allow more shelf space in the higher Dewey ranges of the adult non-fiction section.
• Attorney Eileen Eakins moved to a different firm, still doing local government legal advising. She’ll be one of the first people to talk to as soon as Christy and Randy Feldhaus start drafting the RFP for the solar project construction.

Miscellaneous:

• The City of Silverton just issued its annual Urban Renewal Agency fiscal report for the 2024-2025 year.  For the reported year, the Silver Falls Library District forewent a little over $44K. The Urban Renewal District is hoping to complete its work and sunset at the conclusion of the 2026-2027 fiscal year.  By that time the Main Street renovation and Downtown Plaza projects should be completed, as well as some trail and path infrastructure projects to better connect the City’s recreational areas.
• The director used a combined number of 3.5 hours of vacation leave, and 4 hours of sick leave in January.

 
 
 
 
ITEMS NOT ON AGENDA OPEN TO PUBLIC, BOARD AND STAFF PARTICIPATION
There were 982 library cards made in 2025, and 1100 the previous year.
Any progress on extending the Walk Your Wheels? No. Dmitry will talk to Stacy Palmer at the Chamber.
What about the Challenger bench? We’re waiting to see what Brad from OCE says.
 
 
ADJOURNMENT
 
Motion: To adjourn the meeting at 7:00 p.m.
            (Motion by: Ingrid Donnerstag. Second by: Dmitry White).
            Vote: Unanimously in favor.
 
____________________________________________________________
 
The next Library Board meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, March 31, 2026, at 5:30 p.m. in the library program room. Please note this is the fifth Tuesday of the month and not the fourth.
 
 
            Approved: __________________________ (date)
 
 
            __________________________________________
            Dmitry White
            Chair, Library Board of Directors
Silver Falls Library District