Pahrump Community Library
Minutes of the January 12, 2025 Board of Trustees Meeting
- Call to Order
Meeting called to order at 10:08 am.
Members Roll Call
In attendance: Chair John Shewalter, Ann Underdahl, Mathew Morris, Vice Chair Michael Runion, DA Brian Kunzi
Absent: Director Thomas
- Pledge of Allegiance
The Pledge of Allegiance was recited prior to the Call to Order.
- GENERAL PUBLIC COMMENT: * (Action will NOT be taken on matters considered during this period until specifically included on an agenda as an action item.)
Public comment:
Helen Schneider says she hopes everyone had a good Christmas and New Year’s. She hopes the library staff enjoyed their Christmas Eve and day after Christmas off. That was really nice of somebody to do that. She says she just stopped in and donated some more books to the library, and last year donated $1,244 and some cents in books. They included children's books, science, sociology, economics, photography, history, biography, and a lot of mysteries, including bestsellers. And one real true crime story about a town about the size of this one called Kill Show because all of a sudden a TV production company came in and decided to investigate. She says it is good reading for anyone who likes to be scared.
- 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).
DA Kunzi has no comment.
Chair Shewalter has no comment.
Vice Chair Runion says he wants to welcome Ann.
Chair Shewalter also says welcome to Ann.
Vice Chair Runion says he thinks Ann is a wonderful addition to the board. She's been a great member of the public. She's had great commentary, great insight, tremendous amount of research before she even speaks. He is pleased to have her on the board.
Chair Shewalter states that he wants to ditto Mike's comments.
Mathew Morris says he welcomes and appreciates Ann. He asks if we are going to stop having invocations.
Chair Shewalter says no, that there was no time to get it set up this month and he apologizes.
Trustee Underdahl states she is the new trustee on the board, at least until March. She welcomes this opportunity to be here for the public, to be here for the library, and hopes to be a good addition to this board.
Chair Shewalter thanks her for her comments and states there's a benefit to having a short first run. You're eligible for two full terms then.
Approval of January 12, 2026 Agenda (Non-action item)
Item 7 is struck as there are no emergency items.
Without objection, the January 12, 2026 agenda is approved.
For Possible Action: Emergency Items
Item 7 is struck as there are no emergency items.
- For Possible Action: Discussion and deliberation to approve or amend and approve the meeting minutes for December 8, 2025.
Vice Chair Runion makes a motion to approve the meeting minutes for December 8th, 2025.
Chair Shewalter seconds.
There is no public comment.
Trustee Underdahl states she was not a member of the board or at that meeting, and is going to abstain from voting on item number eight.
There is no further board comment.
Chair Shewalter calls the question.
The measure passes 3 with 1 abstention and 1 absent.
- Presentation: Treasurer’s Report by Kim Thomas for discussion of monthly expenditures and revenue for December 2025 through January 2026.
Chair Shewalter asks if one of the department heads will read the presentations and says since we don’t have anybody to do that we’ll hold them until next month.
- For Possible Action: Discussion and deliberation to approve or amend and approve payment vouchers for December 2025 through January 2026.
Chair Shewalter asks DA Kunzi if payment vouchers still need done.
DA Kunzi responds in the affirmative.
Vice Chair Runion makes a motion to approve the payment vouchers for December 2025 through January 2026.
Trustee Morris seconds.
There is no public comment.
Chair Shewalter states that he has a question about the petty cash. His understanding was that we were done with the Clovers, and here are Clover payments again. He wants to know why. We paid a big chunk of money last month to pay these things off and here we are paying money for them again.
Trustee Underdahl asks if this is money that is paid in arrears.
Chair Shewalter says no.
Trustee Underdahl asks if it’s a prepaid plan.
Chair Shewalter states it’s a monthly plan and he’s not sure if it's paid in advance or in arrears. He states his point is not when we pay them, it's why we're paying them now. Since last month, it was his understanding that we were done with Clover, because we've been paying these monthly payments for a long time. We don't use the system. So Kim had made a larger payment to pay them off and sent them back or whatever they do with them.
Trustee Underdahl asks if this was a payment made in December, could it have been for November?
Vice Chair Runion says that would make logical sense.
Vice Chair Runion states he agrees with Ann that this may be a post-pay plan where that was our last month's, where we canceled it at the last meeting. It takes time to make that happen.
Chair Shewalter says he doesn’t know that we cancelled it.
Vice Chair Runion says it was canceled at the last meeting.
Chair Shewalter says he specifically asked her, are we done with this thing? Yes.
Vice Chair Runion says he may withdraw the motion to amend and put out to amend because we have significant questions.
Chair Shewalter says it's just petty cash and there's not much.
Vice Chair Runion yields.
Trustee Morris has no comment.
Trustee Underdahl has no further comment.
Chair Shewalter calls the question.
The measure passes 3 with 1 absence and Shewalter’s nay.
- Presentation: Librarian’s Report by Kimberly Thomas for discussion on library activity for December 2025 through January 2026. Report activities include staff activities and training, library project updates, patron traffic, books checked out, books returned, fees collected, online story time, STEAM, internet use, website usage and materials added.
Chair Shewalter asks DA Kunzi what to do since Kim's not here and no one's here to do her presentation.
DA Kunzi says to move on.
- For Possible Action: Discussion and deliberation to 1) approve, amend and approve, or reject the Vortex Doors proposal to replace the ADA door operators on the interior and exterior front doors and replace the hinges on the interior front doors at a cost of $9,261.00; and 2) funding to be determined by the Board of Trustees.
Chair Shewalter makes a motion to1) approve the Vortex Doors proposal to replace the ADA door operators on the interior and exterior front doors and replace the hinges on the interior front doors at a cost of $9,261.00; and 2) fund through the General Fund.
Vice Chair Runion seconds.
There is no public comment.
Chair Shewalter says the doors need to be fixed. We've been fixing all kinds of stuff, and he thinks this is a suitable thing to have function. The interior and exterior front doors, the switches that open them and so on, the hinges. He’s in favor of this.
Vice Chair Runion says he agrees and is a big proponent of making anything ADA as compliant as we can.
Trustee Morris asks $9,000 for two doors?
Chair Shewalter says no, $9,261, and it's 4 doors. It's the interior and exterior, both sets.
Trustee Morris says it does sound kind of spendy.
Trustee Underdahl says from an ADA standpoint, the other option would be putting levers on the doors so you could hit them with your elbows while your arms are full of books trying to get in or out.
Chair Shewalter asks does that comport to ADA or just I got a bunch of books to carry out?
Trustee Underdahl says it will allow access, but having official ADA doors is definitely preferable and the electronics involved in doing something like that certainly adds to the cost. So this is likely very reasonable and she is for it.
Chair Shewalter calls the question.
The measure passes 4 with 1 absent.
- For Possible Action: Discussion and deliberation to approve or amend and approve 1) changing the Assistant Library Director’s position from hourly to salary; and 2) cap the Assistant Library Director’s salary at $70,000.00 annually or increase the Assistant Library Director’s hourly rate as may be determined by the Board of Trustees.
Chair Shewalter makes a motion to 1) change the Assistant Library Director’s position from hourly to salary and 2) cap the salary at $70,000 annually.
Vice Chair Runion seconds.
Public comment:
Dave Ochenreider says he is in favor of having an Assistant Director that’s available to take the place of the Director. He says he thinks today’s meeting is inappropriate without the full place. How we spend money, how many people are here, all of that. He says we don't have the backup. There's one copy of the backup. He doesn't know that $70,000 is enough. He thinks it should be a salary position and we ought to have somebody in it and we ought to have somebody here when the Director isn’t here.
Chair Shewalter thanks him for his comment.
There is no further public comment.
Chair Shewalter says he made the motion because he helped make the agenda item and counsel refined it. He says we are in need of an Assistant Director. He had a conversation with the Director and she's done some interviews. He states that the qualification requires an MLIS and/or the certification that a couple of our department heads are working on. He says the Director has a candidate who is highly qualified, interested in the position, and the Director is interested in offering her a position. So that's going to bring us an Assistant Director that can actually qualify per the employee manual. She asked him to write the item, he is in favor of it, and he completely supports it. He says he doesn’t think it's that much money. He states that we’ve done an awful lot of work to make sure that our staff is being adequately compensated, and this is just another step in that direction.
Vice Chair Runion says he sees no issue here. He believes that generally the top people are salaried, especially if they're going to be asked to work all hours in support of various operations. 70K, as long as that's market rate, he is happy with it.
Trustee Morris says he'd like to know how we arrived at the figure of $70,000. Is it sufficient for the position?
Chair Shewalter says not only is it sufficient for the position, it's sufficient to the applicant.
Trustee Morris asks why is it being capped?
Chair Shewalter says that's not a word that he put in there, so he can't tell you why it says cap. He states he would imagine that counsel didn't want anything added to it once we decided, and so she put that in there.
Chair Shewalter asks DA Kunzi to clarify.
DA Kunzi says the cap would not prevent you from increasing it down the line if you need to. You can always take additional action to amend whatever you've done here today if you find that. He says it’s not unusual with annual reviews and things of that nature to potentially do any adjustments to salaries that are necessary. This is not a situation where it's tying your hands to you can never be above $70,000. It would just take additional board action to do that.
Chair Shewalter says he thought it was just to cap that no one arbitrarily could just add to it, that it would take a board item again.
Trustee Morris says he just wanted that clarification. People do need incentive if they’ve got a ceiling they're bouncing off of.
Chair Shewalter says this was the director's request.
Trustee Morris says that's the reason he asked the question.
Trustee Underdahl says she stands with Mr. Morris about not using the word capped. Most positions of this sort would have a salary range, which could be flexible. That means we wouldn't all have to get together to meet every year to make some changes. Also, currently, Nevada ranks 50 out of 50 in what they pay people in libraries. Within the state of Nevada, currently, the range for a Nevada Assistant Library Director goes between up to $89,000. Humboldt County probably pays the most for their library people, but she would say with the cost of living being what it is, people having trouble getting groceries anymore, that we need to be more flexible. So far, we've been really lucky in being able to find exceptional people to work with this library. Our director's very knowledgeable and forward thinking, but she would encourage us to set a range rather than a cap on a position of this type, especially if it's going to be salaried, because as you know, people who are salaried typically do work more than 40 hours a week. Sometimes they can get a little put out by what they're putting out and not getting in return. She would hope that we would consider making that a salary range rather than a cap.
Chair Shewalter says with regards to Trustee Underdahl’s first comment of using the word cap, we are not able to change agenda items, especially at this point. He says the agenda item's written, it's posted for the three days. At the point of posting, we can't just make changes to the agenda item.
DA Kunzi says you can't change the agenda item, but the agenda item does not tie your hands on what action you can take, which was relevant to this particular issue. So there is nothing wrong with a motion to approve the Assistant Library's Director's salary at $70,000 if you want to remove the word cap from that motion. That is not an illegal motion.
Chair Shewalter asks if we can change it.
DA Kunzi says you're not changing the agenda item, but you can take any action that is relevant to this particular agenda item. Now, from a legal standpoint, you couldn't go above $70,000 without giving public notice of that. But to change something like saying that you're going to remove the cap is not a significant change to the topic that is described in this particular agenda item.
Chair Shewalter asks if we can change it as long as we don't change the letter or the spirit of the agenda item?
DA Kunzi says you can't go beyond the scope of what the agenda item is.
Chair Shewalter says the $70,000 was derived from the applicant and requested by the director. And so that's why it's written. In light of Mr. Kunzi's comments, if the board wants to remove the word cap, he’s fine with that. It's not going to change anything. The reason he says that is because the $70,000 is what she's requesting. It's what we're approving. We can't change that without having another agenda item later. And whether the word cap is there or not, it's still going to take a board motion, or it's still going to take board approval to change the $70,000.
Trustee Underdahl says she thinks it's disincentivizing.
Vice Chair Runion withdraws his second.
Chair Shewalter says Trustee Runion can make the motion.
Vice Chair Runion moves to amend by removing the word cap, but retaining everything else. So changing the Assistant Library position from hourly to salary and 2) the Assistant Library Director's salary, setting it at $70,000 annually.
Chair Shewalter seconds the amended motion.
There is no public comment.
There is no additional board comment.
Chair Shewalter calls the question.
The measure passes 4 with 1 absent.
- For Possible Action: Discussion and deliberation to 1) conduct the annual review and evaluate the character, alleged misconduct, and professional competence of the Pahrump Community Library District’s Library Director, Kim Thomas, in relation to her duties and responsibilities as a Library Director as set forth in the Pahrump Community Library Personnel Policy Manual or as otherwise directed by the Board of Trustees; and 2) take administrative action against the Pahrump Community Library District’s Library Director, Kim Thomas, if the Board of Trustees determines such administrative action is warranted including but not limited to termination, a substandard performance appraisal, dismissal, suspension, demotion, reduction in pay, verbal or written reprimand, probation, or no action.
Chair Shewalter says he wants to note that Miss Thomas, our director, is not here today. That does not preclude the board from moving forward with their evaluation.
Chair Shewalter makes a motion as written to conduct the annual review and evaluation.
Trustee Morris seconds.
Public comment:
Helen Schneider says it's real easy, just rehire her because she's doing a fantastic job.
Chair Shewalter says we don't need to rehire her.
Helen Scneider says just keep it going.
Chair Shewalter says not only is she still hired, but she's passed her probation period.
Helen Schneider says just keep it rolling along.
Chair Shewalter thanks her for her comment.
Lora Stewart says she'd like to welcome Trustee Underdahl to the board. And it's so nice to see another lady up there. She’s sorry Dee's not here, that would be two of them. And also to see everybody else up here. She’d like to say Happy New Year, and may the library continue to prosper and help the children and help everyone in the community for the needs that they want and for the computer services that they offer she takes advantage of a lot.
Chair Shewalter asks if she wants to comment about the actual item for the director's evaluation.
Lora Stewart says she thinks the director's evaluation is great.
Chair Shewalter thanks her for her comment.
There is no additional public comment.
Chair Shewalter says Kim's been a year with us now as director. He thinks she's doing a phenomenal job. She had a lot of struggle at first with staff and some other things. Those things are working themselves out and/or she is working them out. Aside from those things, he’s seen some real forward momentum with the library, she oversaw the remodel real well. She's got a lot of great ideas and they're being implemented. We've automated the front end. We're automating customer services in reference. And the young adults department is set up and it looks phenomenal. He understands that there's training going on with staff. The weeding and so on is going to become more efficient. So is labeling the books and all. She bought a printer to make that more consistent, she's got two new department heads that are actually being certified. He says he commends Julie on her work on that. He hears that she’s doing really, really well on it, and he’s really proud and happy for her. He says those things are all moving forward well. He says he spends a lot of time talking to our director. He says he drives a truck and spends most of his days staring through a glass shield and has lots of time to chat. He says he would like to see the rest of this squabbling with the staff and all cleaned up. He wants to see the policies adhered to 100%. And when those rewrites for the manuals are done, he’s confident that they will be implemented to the nth. He’s really happy with how Kim's doing, and would like to see her pay increase to $90,000 a year. He says it says not limited to and so we can bump her salary.
DA Kunzi says he thinks the way this is worded, the board is going to have to bring back the issue of giving her a pay increase at the next meeting.
Chair Shewalter says it says reduction in pay. So if that's one of them, but not limited to, how can an increase in pay not be covered under, but not limited to?
DA Kunzi says those are complete opposites.
Chair Shewalter says his point is pay is in there.
DA Kunzi says he knows pay is in there.
Chair Shewalter says but the only option is to reduce it.
DA Kunzi says you advised the public that all you were going to do was consider dismissal, suspension, demotion, or reduction in pay. That to him is just fundamentally different. It should have been just discussion of pay or increase in pay. But the way it was worded, unfortunately, he thinks the hands have been tied really as far as what you can move forward with as far as doing a pay increase. He doesn’t recommend it. In order to be compliant with the open meeting law, that would be inappropriate.
Vice Chair Runion says he hasn’t spent as much time as John speaking with Kim, but she does phone on occasion for various pieces of advice from his background as a project manager, program manager, and that kind of thing. He’s been extremely impressed with her ability to research and tap her experts. When she doesn't know something, she'll tap somebody who knows it, or knows where to find it, at least. And that's tremendously impressed him because that's a skill not everybody has. He states he’s also impressed that she doesn't call all the time and handles the issues that are internal to the library and runs the library. That's her job. That's not his job. He signs checks and makes policy. That's his job and that's it. He doesn't want to run a library. He says he is absolutely impressed with what she's done. She has done a wonderful job and glowing would be a good word for his evaluation of her performance and character, etcetera.
Trustee Morris says he concurs with the efforts of Ms. Thomas. She's very good at what she does. She doesn’t deal in half measures. She crosses her T's, dots her I's, and she's very good at what she does. He says he speaks to her probably three or four times a month. She keeps him abreast of everything going on. He says he has no complaints. He thinks she's done a wonderful job, and he would think we would do everything we can to maintain her stay here.
Trustee Underdahl says not having been on the board during Director Thomas's tenure, she feels she needs to abstain from voting. However, as a patron of this library, she has had really good interactions with her. There are some issues that she’s discussed with her as a patron, and she had already done technical research to clarify why she had made some of the decisions she's made on things. So as a patron, she’s extremely satisfied with her as a library director, even though she will be abstaining from voting on this particular item.
Chair Shewalter says he wants to note his comments about the staff issues and the policy are not a criticism of Ms. Thomas. It's an encouragement to get those things put to rest. They were massive a year ago. Today, they're just a little bit. He’d like to see those little bits tightened up. There’s always room to improve certain things, and those are the two things that he sees. As far as everything else, he thinks she's doing an incredible job.
Chair Shewalter says the question will be no action and calls the question.
The measure passes 3 with 1 absence and 1 abstinence.
- 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).
DA Kunzi has no comment.
Chair Shewalter says our director's absent today. Unfortunately, she missed hearing all the comments about her. He thinks she would have been happy to hear them. So we'll go on to trustees.
Trustee Underdahl says she doesn’t have any additional comments. She appreciatess having been part of this meeting and thank everyone for coming and thinks good things about this library.
Trustee Morris has no comment.
Trustee Runion says he wants to propose a topic for a future board meeting. That would be that pay raise that Chair Shewalter talked about. He wants to make sure it's in the record that it's been proposed.
Chair Shewalter says we'll make that happen. He’s sorry that Kim isn't here to hear people discussing her performance because that's too bad. But she can listen to the recording and she can actually hear it verbatim. He says welcome again to Trustee Underdahl. He says if she has anything that she needs help with outside of discussing an item, as far as himself, and he’s sure he can speak pretty well for the rest of the board, feel free to contact any of us. They will give her whatever support she needs. He tells her she is able to discuss an agenda item, but with only one person. If she wants to do that, she can. But non-agenda items, she can talk to all of the board members and ask how things work, how certain things may function, just in case she has any questions so she doesn’t feel like she’s out there all alone.
Trustee Underdahl says thank you.
- Adjournment
The meeting is adjourned at 10:59 am.