Library Board Minutes - 02/12/2024
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Board Meeting Minutes – 2/12/2024
The meeting started with an invocation and then the Pledge of Allegiance (Item 3).
Item 1- Call to Order: The meeting is called to order at 10:04 AM.
Item 2- Members Roll Call: Present are Board of Trustee member Dee Mounts, Board of Trustee member Dave Ochenreider, and Chairman John Shewalter (Board of Trustee member Matt Morris was absent from the meeting and Vice Chairman Brian Shoemake resigned his position on the Board for personal reasons). Also present are Library Director Vanja Anderson, Assistant Director Shanna Gibbons, Head of Youth Services Alysha Wogee, Head of Reference Services Andrew Karneges, liaison Commissioner Frank Carbone, and Michelle Nelson from the District Attorney's office. In addition, members of the public are present.
Item 3- The Pledge of Allegiance was recited prior to the call to order.
Item 4- Trustee/Director/Liaison Comments:
Frank Carbone thanks Vanja for her weekly reports because it helps him understand what's going on at the library. He says on the 16th of February some Board members’ terms are up (Matt Morris and Dave Ochenreider) and new people will be selected (unless Morris and Ochenreider reapply and are selected again).
Item 5- Approval of the Agenda:
The agenda is approved.
Item 6- General Public Comment:
There are no comments.
Item 7- Emergency Items
There are no public comments. There are no Board comments.
Item 8- For Possible Action: Discussion and deliberation to approve or amend and approve the meeting minutes for January 8, 2024.
Dave Ochenreider makes a motion to approve the meeting minutes for January 8, 2024.
John Shewalter seconds the motion.
No public or Board comments.
Item 9- Presentation of the Treasurer's Report: Library Director Vanja Anderson presents the treasurer's report on expenditures for January 2024, as found in the backup.
John Shewalter asks Vanja to have the totals on page 8 match the totals on page 9.
Item 10- Approval of the Vouchers
Dave Ochenreider makes a motion to approve the vouchers for January 2024 through February 2024 and Dee Mounts seconds the motion.
No public comments.
John Shewalter says he has his usual question (asking about petty cash). Vanja says there is nothing unusual in petty cash. She says she has been including in the weekly reports any large purchases which are included in petty cash and everything else for this month is reimbursements.
Measure passes 3-0.
Item 11- Presentation of Librarian’s Report:
Vanja reads her report that can be found in the backup.
John Shewalter asks why glass needed to be replaced by the front door. Vanja replies that somebody threw a rock at it. Shewalter asks if the video of the incident has been given to police. Shanna Gibbons responds that the perpetrator was wearing a hooded sweatshirt and his face is not visible. Shewalter says the police may be able to identify him based on his clothing.
Shanna Gibbons reports the statistics for January 2024 which can be found in the backup.
Alysha Wogee reads the statistics for the children's programs which can be found in the backup.
John Shewalter thanks Vanja for the weekly reports, he says they are very helpful.
Shewalter asks what is going on with tutoring/microschooling. Vanja responds that she is still trying to find people who can be tutors. Shewalter mentions that there was a complaint about some doors being locked and that those doors must be unlocked during business hours. Shanna responds that people can exit through those doors, they just can't enter through them. Shewalter asks Vanja to check with the Fire Marshal to make sure it is OK that those doors are locked from the outside.
John Shewalter expresses his concerns about possible changes to the dog reading program and says he will not vote for any changes.
Shewalter expresses his concern about the condition of the driveways. Frank Carbone says he will talk about the situation with the driveways when it is his turn to speak.
Shewalter asks if the library could donate books to the jail. Shanna says the library used to do that a long time ago. Frank Carbone says the jail has a library with a lot of books and it would be worth visiting the jail to see what books they already have to know what kinds of books to donate.
Item 12- For Possible Action: Discussion and deliberation to acknowledge the findings of fact and conclusions of law of the Attorney General in the Opinion of the Attorney General File No. 13897-455 whereby the Open Meeting Law was violated in that the interruptions during public comment at the Board's August 8, 2022, meeting rose to the level of a public comment restriction that was applied based upon viewpoint in violation of NRS 241.020(3)(d)(7).
John Shewalter makes a motion to acknowledge the findings of fact and conclusions of law of the Attorney General in the Opinion of the Attorney General File No. 13897-455 and Dee Mounts seconds the motion.
Michelle Nelson explains that this item was added to the agenda by the District Attorney’s Office regarding the Attorney General's opinion that violations of open meeting law were made but it was the Attorney General's opinion that the violations were not willful and that action was taken by the Board to mitigate the severity of the violations and that foregoing prosecution was in the best interest of the public, so all that needs to be done by the Board is to acknowledge the findings of fact and conclusions of law.
Public comment:
C.J. Stevens, a complainant in this case, says that the claim that this was attempted to be mitigated is totally false. She says that John Shewalter was sitting next to Brian Shoemake when Shoemake made his inappropriate comments and said nothing. Ms. Stevens says a second person got up to speak and Shewalter said nothing. Then a third person got up to speak, Steve Bacus, and when Shoemake started getting confrontational with Bacus, only then did Shewalter call for a 5 minute recess. She says when the Board returned from the recess, nothing was said. The situation was never mitigated. Ms. Stevens goes on to mention that John Shewalter is under investigation for creating a hostile work environment at which point Michelle Nelson interrupts her telling her that she needs to keep her comments limited to the opinion of the Attorney General. Ms. Stevens then starts making personal attacks against John Shewalter and Brian Shoemake at which point she is interrupted again by Michelle Nelson who tells her that personal attacks are inappropriate and a violation of open meeting law and she needs to keep her comments limited to the opinion of the Attorney General. Ms. Stevens then directs her comments toward Commissioner Frank Carbone and tells him to stop making inappropriate political appointments of people to the Library Board, especially those who are unqualified, and to pick people who have executive level knowledge and can run the library.
Board comment:
Dave Ochenreider says this is another proof that there is no justice. He says that the Board didn't have the opportunity to know that these charges were made against them. He says the Constitution does not exist in open meeting laws. He says that the Board spends their time here and gets ready for these meetings at which point Michelle Nelson interrupts. Ochenreider then says, “I’m sorry. I don't get to talk. Another open meeting law. I pass.”
The Board then votes. The result is 2-1 (Dee Mounts and John Shewalter voted in favor, Dave Ochenreider voted against).
Michelle Nelson asks John Shewalter to call a recess. (Time is 10:47 AM).
The meeting reconvenes at 11:00 AM.
Michelle Nelson explains that the purpose of the recess was because she needed to confer with the District Attorney to confirm that a 2-1 vote is enough to pass the acknowledgement.
The acknowledgement passes 2-1.
Item 13- For Possible Action: Discussion and deliberation to acknowledge the findings of fact and conclusions of law of the Attorney General in the Opinion of the Attorney General File No. 13897-421 whereby the Open Meeting Law was violated 1) in its June 18, 2021 meeting agenda (item No. 11 ) by failing to sufficiently describe the nature of the business to be considered, specifically former Director Susan Wonderly's possible placement on administrative leave, 2) in its June 18, 2021 meeting by placing former Director Susan Wonderly on administrative leave during a closed session, and 3) by failing to publish an agenda for its June 22, 2021 board meeting and failing to ensure the June 22, 2021 board meeting was open to the public.
John Shewalter makes a motion to acknowledge the findings of fact and conclusions of law of the Attorney General in the Opinion of the Attorney General File No. 13897-421 and Dave Ochenreider seconds the motion.
Public comment:
C. J. Stevens says that Susan Wonderly wanted to be at the board meeting today and to speak, but her father is passing away and she could not be here.
Michelle Nelson says that generally speaking a person is not allowed to make a comment on behalf of someone else.
C.J. Stevens says that regarding the comment from the Attorney General that it was not willful, Ms. Stevens says she was at that meeting and it was willful. The Board's actions to put her on administrative leave two weeks before her 20 year retirement was very willful and spiteful and vindictive.
Board comment:
Dave Ochenreider says this is selective in what the Board did. He says the Board did not follow all the rules but what is looked at and what happened are two different things.
John Shewalter says the world is an imperfect place and mistakes get made. Those things were corrected. He encourages people to read the actual text of the Attorney General's decision which can be found in the backup.
The acknowledgement passes 3-0.
Item 14- Trustee/Director/Liaison Comments:
Commissioner Frank Carbone says that he and the Public Works Director have come to look at the driveways at the library several times. Carbone says that unfortunately the library is lower than the road and lower than all of the other properties around it. To fix the problem of large puddles forming on the driveways after it rains, the driveways would have to be elevated which would cost a lot of money. He said there are other possible solutions as well which are being looked into.
Carbone thanks all of the library staff for everything they are doing and says he is very proud of what the library has done.
Dee Mounts thanks Brian Jacobs for coming and performing the invocation. She says the reading with dogs program is still being worked on and if money from the county doesn't come through, then there will be a fundraiser. She says it is a great program and will be placed on a future agenda.
Dave Ochenreider thanks everyone for coming and says that the Board listens to what people say and takes it into consideration.
John Shewalter thanks Commissioner Carbone for the update on the driveways. He says, regarding the dog reading program, that Vanja said it would cost $450 to train each person for the program. Vanja says that number was supplied by Tynia Dickson. Shewalter suggests that Vanja find out if the county can reimburse people who complete the training. He thanks everyone for coming. He again encourages everyone to read the information in the backup.
Item 15- Adjournment at 11:14.