Pahrump Community Library
Minutes of the March 9, 2026 Board of Trustees Meeting
- Call to order
Meeting called to order at 10:13 a.m.
2) Members Roll Call
In attendance: Chair John Shewalter, Vice Chair Michael Runion, Trustee Ann Underdahl, Trustee Mathew Morris, Director Kimberly Thomas, Head of Circulation Barbara, Michelle Nelson from the DA’s Office
3) Pledge of Allegiance
Chair Shewalter 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.)
Caroline Logue congratulates everyone on their past work and the new people that are coming in. She is looking forward to knowing what the new order of business will be.
She inquired about the five-year plan and requested that an item go on the agenda
in the near future to hold a public workshop.
There was no other public comment.
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 Underdahl welcomed everyone.
Trustee Morris welcomes everyone. He states that he sees some new faces in the crowd and that he encourages that. He encourages people to invite their friends and those that are concerned with our community.
Vice Chair Runion agrees with Trustee Morris’s comments.
Chair Shewalter says it is nice to see new faces. He congratulates the new appointees of the Library Board of Trustees. He asks Director Thomas whether, when the five-year plan was put in motion, if the public was invited to participate. She affirms that they were. He states that the plan has been worked on for three months and that it is almost completed. He states that starting again would cost additional funds. He asks for verification that the price was $9000.
Trustee Morris states that the price is $9,000.
Director Thomas states that the $9,000 was for the policy, and the plan was a lesser account. Chair Shewalter asked what was paid for the five-year plan, was it nine or less?
Director Thomas states it was less but would have to check on the exact amount.
Chair Shewalter says he would hate to see the library incur additional funds to have something re-done that's already done or almost done.
With no further comment, Item 5 is closed.
6) Approval of March 9, 2026 Agenda (Non-action item)
Item 7 is struck as there are no emergency items.
Without objection, the March 9, 2026 agenda is approved.
7) For Possible Action: Emergency Items
Item 7 is struck as there are no emergency items.
8) For Possible Action: Discussion and deliberation to approve or amend and approve the meeting minutes for February 9, 2026.
Vice Chair Runion moves to approve the meeting minutes for February 9, 2026.
Trustee Morris seconds.
There is no public comment.
There is no board comment.
Chair Shewalter calls the question. The measure passes 4-0.
9) Presentation: Treasurer’s Report by Kim Thomas for discussion of monthly expenditures and revenue for February 2026 through March 2026.
Chair Shewalter states that items 9 and 10 will be combined together. He makes a motion to add additional backup.
Vice Chair Runion seconds.
Chair Shewalter calls the question. The measure passes 4-0
A recess is called at 10:25
Chair Shewalter reconvenes the meeting at 10:42
Michelle Nelson asks that Director Thomas give her presentation.
Treasurer’s Report by Kim Thomas for discussion of monthly expenditures and revenue for February 2026 through March 2026.
10) For Possible Action: Discussion and deliberation to approve or amend and approve payment vouchers for February 2026 through March 2026.
Chair Shewalter asks for clarification on Statewide Fire Protection and Johnson Controls. He asks what the difference is between them. Director Thomas states that Statewide Fire Protection is for a quarterly inspection, and Johnson Controls is our annual fire alarm service.
Vice Chair Runion asks for clarification on three items that look like they were mislabeled. They are the ILL through Amazon, the job posting through Amazon, and the Walmart background check fees. Director Thomas saus she has to retrieve a folder from her office with that information.
A recess was called at 10:53
Chair Shewalter reconvenes the meeting at 11:02
Director Thomas provides clarification on the three mislabeled items. The one for Amazon for $49.31 are for decorations for the Youth Department. They are the
“Dr. Seuss, oh the places you'll go” hot air balloons and hanging lanterns that they have in their department. The second one from Amazon for $92.55 was for more “Dr. Seuss Day” things for the Youth Department. They are rainbow flower pom-pom decorations and decals for the wall,
Dr. Seuss bookmarks (2 packs of 50) and Dr. Seuss pencils (2 packs of 72). The total is $92.55. Walmart for $126.21 was also for the Youth Department. This was for Valentine's Day decorations and candy.
Vice Chair Runion thanks Director Thomas.
Chair Shewalter asks about the Clover fees being paid from petty cash because they should be a monthly general fund disbursement. Director Thomas states it was because they are debited directly from the bank account. Chair Shelwalter said that answers his question. He then opens the item for public comment.
Caroline Logue asks for clarification on the time period for the Allied Universal voucher. She wants to know if it was for security on site at the library or did it involve any other kind of security.
Chair Shewalter states that the monthly payment to Allied Universal is for the security guard who is here at the library and provides physical security. He states that the contract was approved and signed by the board.
There were no other public comments.
Director Thomas asks if, in addition to correcting the names on the signature line of the payment voucher, if the three payments that had the incorrect thing listed next to them can also be corrected.
Chair Shewalter makes a motion to amend and approve the payment vouchers. The amendments will be to correct the factual errors in vendor and payments on the credit card. He asks Director Thomas to list the corrections that should be made.
Director Thomas states the changes should be on the first line for Amazon, it should read Youth Department decorations instead of ILLs. On the second line for Amazon, it should be Youth Department Dr. Seuss event instead of job posting. And on the third line for Walmart, it should say Youth Department Valentine decorations instead of background check fees.
Chair Shewalter states the amendment will be to change the vouchers as commented on by the Director and the signature names to reflect the current board members.
Chair Shewalter makes the motion.
Vice Chair Runion seconds.
Chair Shewalter opens the item to public comments again.
There were no more comments.
Motion passed 4-0
11) Presentation: Librarian’s Report by Kimberly Thomas for discussion on library activity for February 2026 through March 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.
Director Thomas reads her report as found in the backup.
Trustee Morris asks if Tales with Pebbles is suspended. Director Thomas states that it will be resuming in May because we will have more people attending in the summer.
Chair Shewalter states that when he arrived for the meeting, he tried the automatic door by the meeting room and it did not open. He asks if it is broken. Director Thomas states that it does work but it must be turned on with the key when the door is unlocked. She said that somebody didn’t turn it on when they unlocked the door.
Chair Shewalter asks about the roof leak and if the insurance company had decided if they were going to cover it.
Director Thomas states yes.
Chair Shewalter asks if they were just going to do the small area where it leaked, or are they going to do one slope?
Director Thomas states they told her the entire slope. They have not given her additional information, and she hasn’t been able to get the claims adjuster on the phone about this since she got the e-mail. She will try and follow up with her again today and get additional information about it, but she stated that they said the entire slope where the leak was occurring was going to be repaired.
Chair Shewalter asks if they inspected the entire roof, and Director Thomas states that they did. Chair Shewalter asks if there were any other areas that were leaking or where there may be a problem.
Director Thomas said they should. She states there were a couple of other areas that leaked, but it didn't sound like that was going to be part of their repair, because they just said the entire slope.
Chair Shewalter asks if the insurance company was just going to ignore it.
Director Thomas said that is what it sounds like, because when they said the entire slope, that's not the entire group (of areas).
Chair Shewalter asks what the board should do about them not fixing all the spots that leaked. Michelle Nelson states that they need to have the insurance policy, along with all the emails, sent over to the DA's office for a review of all correspondence and the terms and conditions of the insurance policy.
Chair Shewalter comments on the new ILS system and thanked the director for her selection. He also comments on the new Envisionware system and asks for a demonstration after the meeting.
Chair Shewalter asks about the six-week cataloging course being taken by the head of circulation. He wants to know how many classes there are. Director Thomas states that there are eight classes in all to get the certificate, but there are more that are offered. It is separate from the public library certification; it's specialized. Chair Shelwalter asks if that something that is being mandated, that they get their certificate so that when they get into the ILS, having spent a lot of time and money on it, that they're not in there destroying things for example. He wants to know if they are required to get the certificate or if it was just one cataloging class. Director Thomas states that she would like the primary person who deals with cataloging to get the cataloging certificate. She would also like to discuss with the board the reimbursement rate for that.
12) For Possible Action: Discussion and deliberation to approve, amend and approve or reject removing the usage restrictions for meeting room reservations.
Chair Shewalter states that he put this item on here because somebody that wants to use the meeting room wants to use it every week, but the director informed him that it couldn’t be used more than twice a month by any one group. He asks if there was any reason that the usage restriction should not or could not be removed, and the answer was no.
Chair Shewalter made a motion to remove the scheduling restrictions. The text to be removed will be “up to two sessions per month”.
Michelle Nelson states that it will read; a group may schedule a meeting room. A session is one hour minimum and four hours maximum.
Vice Chair Runion seconds.
Item open for public comment
Caroline Logue asks for the definition of groups that are eligible to reserve the room.
Chair Shewalter closes public comment as there were no further comments.
Chair Shewalter states that the intention is to remove the restriction, not to apply it to certain groups or exclude certain groups. If a group wants to reserve the room every week for
12 months, if that's the policy, then let them do it.
Michelle Nelson states she would request that the board entertain an amendment to the motion to say any group may schedule a meeting.
Chair Shewalter amends the amendment to replace “a” at the beginning of the sentence to “any”. Any group may schedule a meeting room.
Vice Chair Runion seconds
There was no further public comment.
Director Thomas states that her concern was that you can have people trying to schedule it daily, or multiple times a day, or 12 months in advance, and they might no longer be able to use the meeting room for library programs, because it does say library programs take priority. But once you have the room fully booked by people that expect to get to use it on an instant basis, she thinks it's going to be a struggle to kick them out. She stated that when she looked at other libraries, the one that was most generous with their meeting rooms that you could schedule it 52 times a year.
Chair Shewalter asks what Director Thomas recommends.
Vice Chair Runion states that it should be up to weekly as opposed to weekly because that implies that we are only doing is a weekly reservation.
Trustee Morris asks about political parties, if there's shared time, equal time.
How would that affect somebody campaigning? Could they conceivably dominate the time?
Vice Chair Runion states they could only schedule weekly, so they aren’t using the room all the time.
Chair Shewalter describes a scenario. If someone has it booked every Wednesday for 52 weeks and someone else comes in and wants the same days and times, it's first come first serve. The second group will have to pick a different day and time when the room is available.
Trustee Morris asks the DA if that is legally valid.
Michelle Nelson replies that the policy is on a first come, first serve basis. So whoever reserves the room is the one that is entitled to it. And there are provisions for a deposit. If they decide they don't want it within a certain time frame, then they lose their deposit and so forth. So as long as it's equally applied to everyone and all groups, then there should not be a problem.
Chair Shewalter states there's nothing in the policy that would preclude or exclude any political party. The policy states “any group”. He says that the library doesn’t have a political position.
Director Thomas states that the Library Facilities Policy includes a separate page specifically addressing political activity. It states that although libraries collect materials that represent a diverse array of viewpoints and opinions in political matters, it is not in the interest of the library to become a setting for political activities, such as the display or distribution of campaign materials from elected officials or ballot measures. The purpose of this policy is to define the type of political activities prohibited on library premises. For the purpose of this policy, ballot initiative refers to any ordinance, measure, referendum, or amendment authorized by popular vote. Candidate refers to any individual campaigning for an elected office.
Library refers to the Pahrump Community Library. Premises refers to library facilities, including exterior and interior walls, meeting rooms, windows, entrances, or doorways, hallways, offices, parking lots, and any public areas. The following political activities are prohibited on library premises.
In-person solicitation of votes for any candidate or ballot initiative.
In-person solicitation of contributions for any candidate or ballot initiative.
Display of posters or flyers in support of any candidate or ballot initiative.
Distribution of flyers, brochures, or other printed material in support of any candidate of any ballot initiative.
Use of library website or social media accounts for any of the above activities, and it says this was last reviewed 4/12/21. Director Thomas states she just wanted to point out that it exists and that it doesn't prohibit people having meetings in the library, but it does limit the type of activities.
Chair Shewalter states it prohibits them from standing in the library and handing out literature or pamphlets but if they rent the meeting room and they're having a meeting here and they distribute information amongst their meeting members, he doesn’t see that as a violation of the policy.
Michelle Nelson agrees.
The original motion and second are removed.
While trying to come up with exact wording, a member of the public made a point of order, and the item is opened back up for public comment.
Caroline Logue asks for clarification on the room deposit and the fee to use the room.
Chair Shewalter states the policy says profit-making groups will be charged $50 per session plus a $50 deposit, and non-profit groups will be charged a $50 deposit. He states he doesn’t see a need to change that part of the policy.
Dave Ochenrider states that he has concerns about damage being done by misuse of the room.
Helen Schneider states that some centers require proof of insurance. She suggests that the library may want to do that to protect against damage.
Chair Shewalter makes a reminder that this is about usage restrictions, not insurance or anything else.
Robin Niedecker has concerns that some groups will try to use the room every day of the year. She believes it should be limited.
Chair Shewalter closed public comment.
Michelle Nelson adds that she wants to address a few of the comments. As far as insurance, that is already part of the policy. The sessions are limited to one to four hours per session, so there is a limit on that. The library would not be allowed to do any type of pre-selection of a group because that would be a violation. Also, a provision in this agreement is that if an activity creates substantial risk for damage, then it may be prohibited by the library. And in addition to that, if a group wants to take as much time as they want, perhaps another group cannot come in to use the meeting room. There's also a provision where the library reserves the right to reschedule an existing reservation. All of those concerns are greatly valid, but they are already addressed in this policy. The focus is on the language of one sentence.
Chair Shewalter clarifies that two no-shows will result in a forfeiture of deposit and cancellation of all remaining reservations. He makes the motion to amend the meeting room use policy, page one, final paragraph, first sentence to say any group may reserve the meeting room weekly for up to 52 weeks per year.
Vice Chair Runion seconds
Michelle Nelson asks for clarification of a one hour minimum and four hours maximum.
Chair Shewalter says there is no change to that.
There is no public comment.
Director Thomas makes a clarification that non-profit groups are not allowed to sell anything on the premises. They are also not allowed to take donations or dues.
Trustee Underdahl agrees with the policy of canceling reservations for repeated no-shows; however, she requests clarification on whether the two missed dates must occur back-to-back.
Chairman Shewalter states that would have to be taken up at a later time because that is not part of the proposed agenda item.
Trustee Morris has no comment.
Vice Chair Runion agrees with Trustee Underdahl and states that it should be taken up at another time.
Motion passed 4-0
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).
Michelle Nelson has no comments.
Director Thomas thanks everyone for coming.
Trustee Underdahl thanks everyone for coming and paying attention to what really goes on at the library. She thanks Ms. Jones for being an active participant and having a parade at the ‘Take your child to the library’ day.
Trustee Morris thanks everyone for coming.
Vice Chair Runion apologizes for not having his phone on silent.
Chair Shewalter says it was nice to see different faces and congratulates the new board appointees. He acknowledges this was his last meeting as a trustee and says it was an honor to serve on the board for six years and help modernize the library.
14) Adjournment
Meeting adjourned at 12:03p.m.