Pahrump Community Library
Minutes of the April 13, 2026 Board of Trustees Meeting
1) Call to order
Meeting called to order at 10:00 am
2) Members Roll Call
In attendance: Vice Chair Michael Runion, Trustee Terry Bell, Trustee Mathew Morris, Trustee Christopher Salute, Trustee Ann Underdahl, Director Kimberly Thomas, Michelle Nelson from the DA’s office, Head of Reference Kit, Acting Assistant Director Jennifer, Head of Circulation Barbara.
3) Pledge of Allegiance
Trustee Morris led the Invocation.
Trustee Salute led the Pledge of Allegiance prior to the Call to Order.
4) GENERAL PUBLIC COMMENT: * (Action will NOT be taken on matters considered during this period until specifically included on an agenda as an action item.)
Dave Ochenreider expressed his displeasure at only having one copy of the backup available for the public to look at.
Kelly Green agrees with Mr. Ochenreider about only having one copy of the backup available. She also asks the board to reconsider having hot spots available for the community.
Caroline Logue states that she spoke with Dr. Fred Steinman, who is the chair of the University Center for Economic Development. He is putting together the five-year plan for the library. She states that he was willing to come back and give a presentation to the public regarding the plan.
5) Trustee/Director/Liaison Comments: - This item is limited to announcements, brief discussions of public comments, correction of factual inaccuracies, direction to staff, or topics proposed for future board meetings. (Lengthy deliberation of topics not on the agenda is prohibited by the Nevada Open Meeting Law).
Trustee Salute asks if there is a time limit for comments. Vice Runion states that there is not. Michelle Nelson states that it is not a question-and-answer session with the public. It is just for making comments.
Trustee Bell had no comments.
Trustee Underdahl states that when she spoke to Director Thomas regarding the hot spots, they were outdated at that time and were only 4G compatible.
Trustee Morris had no comment.
Trustee Salute is interested in learning more about the hot spots and the five-year plan.
Vice Chair Runion asked Director Thomas to look into the hot spots and various providers and see what the cost would be per month to the library.
Michelle Nelson states that, in regard to Mr. Ochenreider’s comment, the backup materials binder is in compliance with open meeting laws and that the public may request that they receive a special notice of the agenda and all backup materials to review ahead of the meeting. She states that the board can address this with the director and have her provide more copies if they choose. She states that because there is only one binder, it should not be kept by any one member of the public to keep during the presentation of the board meeting.
6) Approval of April 13, 2026 Agenda (Non-action item)
Item 7 is struck as there are no emergency items.
Item 12 is moved in front of Item 8 so that a new board would be in place before continuing.
Without objection, the April 12, 2026 agenda is approved.
7) For Possible Action: Emergency Items
Item 7 is struck as there are no emergency items.
12) For Possible Action: Election of Officers – Nomination and Election of Officers for a two (2) year term:
a. Nomination and Election of Chair
Trustee Salute nominates Vice Chair Runion.
Trustee Underdahl seconds.
Vice Chair Runion abstains. Trustees Bell, Morris, Salute and Underdahl all vote yes.
The measure passes 4-0, with one abstention.
Chairman Runion accepts.
Item is opened for public comment after the vote.
Ginny Okawa congratulates Chairman Runion.
Kelly Green congratulates Chairman Runion.
Public comments are closed.
b. Nomination and Election of Vice Chair
Chairman Runion nominates Trustee Salute.
Trustee Underdahl seconds.
Item is opened for public comment.
Ginny Okawa supports the nomination.
Public comments are closed.
Trustee Salute abstains. Chairman Runion, Trustees Bell, Morris and Underdahl all vote yes.
The measure passes 4-0, with one abstention.
c. Nomination and Election of Secretary
Chairman Runion asks Trustee Underdahl if she was acting in the position of Secretary. She states that she was not, and that Dee Mounts was the Secretary. She states that she would serve as the secretary if she was nominated.
Chairman Runion nominates Trustee Underdahl.
Vice Chairman Salute seconds.
Item is opened for public comment.
Kelly Green states that Ms. Underdahl would make a wonderful Secretary.
Jeannie Okawa states that Ann would make a terrific Secretary.
Chairman Runion says that he is glad to hear that Trustee Underdahl has the support of the community and closed public comment.
Chairman Runion, Vice Chairman Salute, Trustees Bell, Morris and Underdahl all vote yes.
The measure passes 5-0.
8) For Possible Action: Discussion and deliberation to approve or amend and approve the meeting minutes for March 9, 2026.
Chairman Runion makes a motion to accept the meeting minutes for March 9, 2026.
Trustee Morris seconds.
The motion is opened for public comment. There is none. Public comment is closed for Item 8.
Item moves on to board comments.
Trustee Bell has no comments but is going to abstain because she was not on the board at the last meeting.
Secretary Underdahl states that she found the minutes to be accurate.
Trustee Morris has no comment.
Vice Chair Salute has no comment.
Chairman Runion has no comment and calls the question.
Chairman Runion, Trustee Morris and Secretary Underdahl all vote yes. Vice Chair Salute and Trustee Bell both abstained. The measure passes 3-0, with 2 abstentions.
9) Presentation: Treasurer’s Report by Kimberly Thomas for discussion of monthly expenditures and revenue for February 2026 through April 2026.
Director Thomas reads from her report as found in the backup.
10) For Possible Action: Discussion and deliberation to approve or amend and approve payment vouchers for March 2026 through April 2026.
Chairman Runion makes a motion to approve Item 10.
Vice Chairman Salute seconds.
The item is opened for public comment.
Kelly Green states that some members of the public cannot comment on this item because they do not have a copy of it and are unable to print it out.
Dave Ochenreider would like to know if the amount under the general fund payments for AT&T was a yearly or monthly amount. He states that the amounts are too hard to read because they are so small.
There is no further public comment and the item is opened for board comments.
Director Thomas states that there was nothing listed under AT&T. The amount that was questioned by Mr. Ochenreider was for Allied Security for having a security guard. She states that the library will receive a large bill from AT&T because we are under the state contract and then when it is renegotiated, we will not get a bill for a while.
Trustee Bell has no comments.
Secretary Underdahl has no comments.
Trustee Morris has no comments.
Vice Chairman Salute asks why there is a bill from both AT&T and T-Mobile. Director Thomas states that AT&T is for the library landlines and T-Mobile is for the director’s cell phone that was approved by the board. When the board cancelled the hotspots, T-Mobile was asked to apply the credit towards the cell phone. Vice Chairman Salute asks why there are two pest control companies. Director Thomas responds that the usual pest control company is Genuine Pest. When they were called regarding what was thought to be a pigeon problem, they stated that they don’t offer that service. Desert Guard was called and they came out and found out that it was actually a rat caught in an old trap, and they took care of the problem. He asks if there can be some consideration to using local businesses for some items this year.
Chairman Runion states that he is very happy to see the amount of usage of the automated print system. He then calls the question.
Chairman Runion, Vice Chairman Salute, Secretary Underdahl, Trustees Bell and Morris all vote yes. The motion passes 5-0.
Vice Chairman asks for a 5 minute recess. Chairman Runion calls for a recess at 10:40 a.m.
The meeting is called back to order at 10:45 a.m.
11) Presentation: Librarian’s Report by Kimberly Thomas for discussion on library activity for March 2026 through April 2026. Report activities include staff activities and training, library project updates, patron traffic, books checked out, books returned, fees collected, STEAM, internet use, website usage and materials added.
Director Thomas reads from her report as found in the backup.
Director Thomas states that after she prepared the librarian’s report, she has heard back from the company who will be doing the repair on the roof due to the leaks that occurred in November 2025. The estimated start date will be April 27, 2026.
Item 11 is opened for public comment.
Caroline Logue states that she commends the director for the things that the library provides. She would like to see a broader civic engagement output with advertising and marketing. She knows that the library has a Facebook page, but not everyone has the internet or knows that the page is there.
Kelly Green states that she is pleased to see the increase in library users. She agrees with Ms. Logue that not everyone sees what the library offers and that some thought should be given to reaching out to people on other platforms like Instagram for TikTok.
There is no further public comment and the item was opened for board comments.
Trustee Bell says that she is very impressed with the numbers. She supports further outreach in other places so that people know what the library offers. She states that she is willing to help with that outreach.
Secretary Underdahl states that the comments made by Ms. Logue and Ms. Green are very valid. She states that as a public service organization, announcements about things going on at the library should be in the newspaper and should be free.
Trustee Morris agrees with the comments made by Ms. Logue. He has been trying to think of ways to promote the library more and to get the community involved. He says that social media can be important, and we need to concentrate on the needs of this community, not the nation.
Vice Chairman Salute states that young people are on Facebook. He says that the library should show more affection to the community. He wonders if, for example, when there’s an Earth Day event, if we can have a table at the event or other events like that. He attends those events and would be willing to split his time and be at a table with other board members or staff members. He says that it would be a great way to get out into the community and promote the services of the library. Vice Chairman Salute asks if the comments were just for Item 11 or Item 13 as well.
Chairman Runion states that it is just for Item 13. Vice Chairman Salute yields.
Chairman Runions appreciates the fact that staff members are doing training. He would like to make sure that cross-training is also happening in case someone quits or gets fired. He says that people need to be trained up to the point where they are supposed to be.
Michelle Nelson has a comment regarding the notice that was brought up by Ms. Logue. She states that the NRS is pretty limited on what notice is actually required. She quoted NRS 241.020 subsection 4, which was revised in 2023. She states that any additional public posting to bring awareness to the board meetings, would have to either go to the director from the trustees, or she may do it on her own. If anyone requests notice of the meeting, they may send an e-mail to the director, and she will send out the agenda with the backup.
Item 12 was already addressed.
13) Trustee/Director/Liaison Comments: - This item is limited to announcements, brief discussions of public comments, correction of factual inaccuracies, direction to staff, or topics proposed for future board meetings. (Lengthy deliberation of topics not on the agenda is prohibited by the Nevada Open Meeting Law).
Director Thomas thanks everyone for coming.
Trustee Bell has no comment.
Secretary Underdahl has no comment.
Trustee Morris has no comment.
Vice Chairman Salute commends Director Thomas and says that she is doing an excellent job. He says that the services provided are incredible. He amends his comment to Ms. Logue when they were talking about Fred Steinman. He says that UNR is doing great things for our community and he welcomes them. He says that he was talking with Kit, the Reference Librarian, who mentioned that he purchased some books through Amazon that weren’t readily available. He wonders if some donations, curated or targeted, or other non-used books could be put into circulation.
Trustee Morris says that he wants to congratulate the new officers and welcome our new members. He states that we have a very good library here and a good relationship with the director, who is very good at her job.
Chairman Runion says that he is happy to see so many members of the public attending the meetings and that this is a great board. He believes that there is a good mix of education and background. He would like to see five copies of the backup printed out in large print. He asks that Trustee Bell work with Director Thomas on advertising, and if Vice Chairman Salute is willing to join in. But all discussions cannot include another board member because at that point it would violate the open meeting law. Michelle Nelson states that is correct. If there is anything that may come before the board that would have to be voted on, it cannot be mentioned in passing or discussed with another board member.
Michelle Nelson has no further comments.
14) Adjournment
Meeting adjourned at 11:08 a.m.