GCPL Discusses Contingency Plans in Anticipation of Library Funding Cuts in Ohio;
Geauga Libraries Closed on Sundays, June Through Labor Day
Geauga County Public Library (GCPL) - May 20, 2025
Meeting: The GCPL Board met on Tuesday, May 20th at 4:00 pm at the Chardon Branch. This Board Meeting was in-person with a virtual attendance option. To access the virtual option see information here. The meeting was not recorded. Minutes of this meeting will be posted on the GCPL website after they are approved at the June 17, 2025 meeting.
Observer Note: Each member of the GCPL Board and Staff receives a copy of the meeting packet, as does this Observer. It is available upon request in accordance with Ohio public records law (ORC 149.43). The board discusses and votes on the information in the packet. This Observer Report is made up of discussions held at the board meeting and information taken from the board packet.
Public Comment: Permitted and included in the regular order of business per GCPL bylaws. Further clarified in Policy 215 - Public Participation at Board Meetings.
Board Attendance: President Karen Delano, Board Vice President Kristen Brickman (arrived 4:10), Secretary Crist Miller and Board Trustees Joshua Hutchinson, Paul Newman, Kate Pitrone and Jake Yanchar.
Staff Attendance:
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Kris Carroll - Director
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Lisa Havlin - Fiscal Officer
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Nicole Burnside - Human Resources
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Deborah Schrock - Development Coordinator (Recording Secretary for this meeting)
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Erika Noark - Geauga West Branch Manager
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Mary Balog -Thompson Branch Manager
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Jo Groh - Outreach
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Rachael Hartman - Middlefield Branch Manager
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Mike Pope - IT Manager
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John Johnson - Facilities Manager
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Judy Lasco - Chardon Branch Manager
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Danielle Hollar - Bainbridge Branch Manager
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Marlene Pelyhes - Tech Services Manager
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Denise Javins - Marketing Manager
Public: This Observer attended in person.
President Karen Delano called the meeting to order at 4:00 pm and roll call was taken.
Minutes: Minutes of the April 15, 2025 Board Meeting were approved as presented. Board minutes are available online. Scroll down to the bottom of the page to access minutes. The minutes are posted as soon as they are approved at the following month’s Board meeting.
Communications: Ms. Carroll
Ms. Carroll shared a letter from a Books by a Mail patron thanking GCPL and offering support and suggestions. Observer Note: Books by Mail is one of the outreach programs of GCPL and is located at the Geauga West Branch. Other services in the program are Care Facility Delivery, Homebound Services and Talking Books. More information and forms can be found at geaugalibrary.net/outreach.
Agenda: The agenda presented in the Board packet was approved with one amendment concerning an appropriations transfer.
Fiscal Officer’s Report - Ms. Havlin
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The Board approved the Fiscal Officer’s Report as presented in the board packet.
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The Board approved an appropriations transfer of $10,000 from the General Contingency account to the General Funds Refunds and Reimbursement account. This transfer allows a repayment of a reimbursement check from the Illuminating Company that was received and deposited in error to the wrong account.
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Ms. Carroll, Ms. Farrell and Ms. Havlin met with a representative from Stiefel (the library’s underwriter firm) to discuss the library’s financing options for the new Chardon Branch. Reviewer Note: Please click the link for more information about Stiefel. The original plan was to borrow against the Public Library Fund. Currently, this is still an option and has the lowest cost of financing. Another possible option is Lease/Certificate of Participation funding. This financing is also unvoted debt that could have a slightly higher interest rate. These options will be discussed in detail at the May Finance Committee meeting (held prior to the May Board meeting). A more detailed comparison of options will be given in June during the library budget hearing. Reviewer Note: Current budget bill passed by the Ohio General Assembly budget legislation (HB 96) eliminates Ohio’s Public Library Fund. Unvoted debt refers to obligations or debts that are not approved or voted by the public, as opposed to voted debt, which is approved by the voters.
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No financing decisions can be made until the state budget is finalized.
Director’s Report - Ms. Carroll
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The board approved tuition reimbursement requests as presented in the board packet.
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Ms. Carroll met with the Development Coordinator to discuss launching a capital campaign for library projects through the Library Foundation.
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Ms. Carroll, the Fiscal Officer and the Assistant Director are developing contingency plans in response to uncertainty in state funding.
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The America 250 grant-funded “Voices of Geauga” kiosk continues to rotate through the library branches.
Assistant Director’s Report - Ms. Carroll in the absence of Katy Farrell
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928 people came to the library to have taxes prepared.
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The Volunteer Fair held at the Chardon Branch was well attended and connected people to local agencies.
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An Amish history program at the West Geauga branch was well attended.
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Mary Balog was introduced as the new Thompson Branch manager.
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April 2025 statistics:
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42,120 patrons served at the branches
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18,999 computer and wi-fi uses
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225 programs presented for 4,535 patrons
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11,826 reference interactions
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Total circulation of items: 243,764
Observer Note: The board packet contains a report of activities from all branches and departments. This is under the heading of the Assistant Director’s Report. The host/local branch manager gives an oral report at the board meeting. This month’s branch was Chardon, whose manager is Judy Lasco.
Ms. Lasco described Chardon’s summer reading program “Color Our World” and the materials provided by the state library. A flyer for the program was developed in-house. She also presented various Rascal Raccoon dolls dressed as characters from books and explained the exhibits in the Bostwick meeting room. One display was from the America 250 project and honored veterans; another showed graduation photos from the late 1800s and early 1900s.
Human Resources - Ms. Burnside
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The board approved the HR actions as presented in the board packet. 1-hire, 2 promotions, 4 terminations)
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Ms. Burnside attended the Ohio Safety Congress held April 16-18. The event was organized through the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation, and GCPL earned its annual required safety training as well as 2 extra attendance credits for the Geauga Safety Council.
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The Human Resources team developed and shared with the staff an Animals in the Library procedure guide to go with the updated Animal in the Library operating policy.
Committee Reports - none
Unfinished Business - none
New Business - Ms. Carroll
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Approval of Updates to Operating Policy 120 Hours of Service. Ms. Carroll discussed with the board the possibility of closing the branches on Sundays due to the state funding uncertainty and the possible elimination of property taxes. Reviewer Note: Ohio House Bill 335 proposes eliminating inside millage, allowing voters to fully decide property tax rates. The bill aims to provide $3.5 billion in property tax relief, but concerns exist regarding funding for essential services. A group of Ohioans is seeking a statewide vote this November to eliminate property taxes statewide, which would greatly impact funding for schools and other public services. The Library Administration is trying to proactively reduce spending to prepare for a drop in revenue. The branches are only open for 4 hours on Sundays while staffing costs are greater than other days since the library pays 1 1⁄2 x the regular hourly wage for part-time employees, and full-time employees are not scheduled for 8 hours during the week if they work on a Sunday.
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Following discussion, Kate Pitrone made a motion, seconded by Paul Newman, to approve updates to Operating Policy 120 Hours of Service as amended to reflect closing on Sundays between Memorial Day and Labor Day. All policies will be reviewed at the end of summer to assess any further changes. The motion passed.
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Approval of Updates to Operating Policy 130 Holidays and Other Closings. Tabled
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Approval of Updates to Personnel Policy 288 Holidays and Closings. Tabled
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Approval of Updates to Operating Policy 350 Acceptance of Gifts for specific programs. Ms. Havlin presented updates to the policy to detail procedures for acceptance of gifts for programs. Trustee Josh Hutchinson mentioned that any gift approval would be after the fact, and Ms. Havlin replied that if the board did not approve the gift, it would be refunded to the donor. After a brief discussion, Mr. Newman made a motion, seconded by Mr. Yanchar, to approve the updates to Operating Policy 350 Acceptance of Gifts. The motion passed.
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Approval of Operating Policy 570 Video Surveillance. Changes were made to the policy to be in compliance with ORC 149.433 (B). The motion passed.
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Approval of Operating Policy 722 Sick Leave Fiscal Officer. Ms. Havlin presented updates to the policy that added language already in the vacation leave policy. The motion passed.
Board Development - Ms. Carroll
Ms. Carroll shared information about the recently approved petition to eliminate property taxes in the state. Signatures need to be collected and submitted by July 2. More information will be shared with the board after that time.
Foundation Report - Ms. Schrock
The Foundation had large book donations from two estates and at the recent book donation day held at the fairgrounds. 103 cars came with books to donate for Foundation book sales.
Public Comment - This observer asked for clarification about the Chardon project and the mention in the board packet of including the Administrative Center in the project. Ms. Carroll replied that it was being discussed and was in the planning stages.
Executive Session - Mr. Hutchinson made a motion, seconded by Ms. Brickman, to move to executive session to discuss the purchase or sale of property. The board invited Ms. Carroll and Ms. Havlin to join them in executive session. The motion passed and the board moved to executive session at 4:39 pm. The motion passed.
The board returned to regular session at 4:49 pm. Ms. Pitrone made a motion, seconded by Mr. Hutchinson, to explore the sale of vacant property in Middlefield. The motion passed.
The meeting adjourned at 4:49 pm.
Upcoming Events:
Next Meeting: The next Regular Board meeting is June 17th at 4:00 pm at the Middlefield Branch. See website for information on meeting dates and locations.
Minutes: The latest minutes are posted here. Prior to March 2023, videos of meetings were available to the public here. The GCPL is no longer posting videos of their meetings.
Observer: Cris Takacs
Editor: Sarah McGlone
Reviewer: Carol Benton
Date Submitted: 6/15/2025
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