Ottawa Public Library Board Meeting

Minutes

Wednesday, 15 October 2014
5:00 pm

Champlain Room, Ottawa City Hall, 110 Laurier Avenue West

Present:

Chair:  Jan Harder
Vice-Chair:  A. Bergeron
Trustees:  Amelita Armit, Jim Bennett, Keith Egli*, Patrick Gauch*,
David Gourlay, Danielle Lussier-Meek, Shad Qadri,
Doug Thompson, Marianne Wilkinson, Rose Zeidan

*Trustees Egli, Gauch, Lussier-Meek, Qadri, Wilkinson jointed by teleconference. Trustees Egli, Qadri and Wilkinson submitted regrets at 5:35 p.m.

Regrets:

Trustees:  Christine Langlois, Tim Tierney

DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

No Declarations of Interest were filed.

CONFIRMATION OF MINUTES

Minutes of the Ottawa Public Library Board meeting of Monday, 8 September 2014, were confirmed.

PRESENTATION

BOOK PRESENTATION - CANADA’S MAGNIFICENT MARATHON – 40 YEARS RUNNING IN OTTAWA – MARK SUTCLIFFE

Chair Harder invited Dave Palmer, President of Run Ottawa and Mark Sutcliffe, author of the book and member of Run Ottawa to say a few words.

Dave Palmer spoke briefly to provide background of the May Ottawa Race Marathon, of Run Ottawa, of the special 40^th milestone running of the event book commemoration, and of Mark Sutcliffe, author.

Mark Sutcliffe spoke of the 192-page hardcover book being a collection of stories, tracking the timeline of the history of running in Ottawa and the relationship to the Ottawa Race Marathon. He noted the event is not only economically beneficial but also creates a tremendous health benefit to the community because of the training that occurs each year.

Ian Hunter, member, Run Ottawa and architect of today’s book presentation was also present.

On behalf of the Ottawa Public Library Board, Chair Harder thanked Dave Palmer and Mark Sutcliffe for the donation. She advised that the book will be added to the Circulating Collection to ensure that as many people as possible read it. A photo opportunity took place.

Direction to staff:

That staff engage with Run Ottawa to help promote the Ottawa Race Weekend through its website and assist with potential space for meetings leading up to the event.

That staff invite Mark Sutcliffe to participate in the Central library strategy sessions in 2015.

REPORTS

1.

CHAIR’S VERBAL UPDATE

*The Chair’s verbal remarks are attached at the end of this document.

MOTION No. OPL 20141015/1

That the Ottawa Public Library Board receive the verbal updates from the Chair on the following:

a)            FOPLA pot-pourri;

b)           2015-2018 City of Ottawa Board and Committees Recruitment Process;

c)            Self-serve DVD hold pick-up at the Main branch;

d)            Central Library Update;

e)            Canadian Library Month;

f)             Levenger Foundation Inc. Donations; and

g)            City of Ottawa 2015-2018 Term of Council Priorities and Strategic Plan Refresh

RECEIVED

PLANNING AND BOARD SUPPORT

2.

RULES OF PROCEDURE BY-LAW AND POLICY FRAMEWORK

OPLB-2014-0092

At the outset, Chair Harder thanked Trustees Armit, Bennett and Gauch for the stellar work on the Ad hoc Committee working on the by-laws. She introduced Mr. Jacques Levesque, Transform Management Consulting Incorporated, Mr. Rick O’Connor, City Clerk and Solicitor and Anna Basile, Program Manager, Planning and Board Support who were present to respond to questions.

Mr. Jacques Levesque, Transform Management Consulting Inc. provided the Board with a brief overview of the report and identified some of the key areas for improvement that did represent good governance practices and /or deviated from the Public Libraries Act.  Mr. Levesque noted that procedural items for the new By-law were developed here rather than in a policy and staff identified those major changes from the existing By-law to the new proposed By-law. He advised that there was one contentious item through the process and that was the availability for trustees to participate in meetings through electronic means. Mr. Levesque pointed out that Mr. O’Connor provided a legal opinion that is not allowed under the various acts within the library and ultimately within the broader context of municipal law.

Board trustees discussed meeting date flexibility, with some thought to having another meeting date because of Monday holidays. Chair Harder spoke of appropriate notification to the public, which would be a benefit to the Board.

In response to a query from Chair Harder with respect to the City of Ottawa’s governance, in particular, the duration of Chair and Vice-Chair terms, Mr. O’Connor noted that he and the Deputy Clerk are reviewing the term of Council governance; which will be tabled at the last Council meeting in November and a report will be issued at the first business meeting of the new Council. He advised that it would be opportune for the Board after it has assembled for its first meeting, but prior to the election of the Chair and Vice-Chair, to look at the term of both positions and adjust if wished at that time. Mr. O’Connor responded to a further question as to whether Council could recommend board governance changes for the Board. He noted that would have to be studied further but the City will be looking at providing clarity for all committees in that regard and Council could give guidance to the Board.

Vice-Chair Bergeron encouraged staff to advise staff potential Board trustees who wish to apply during the upcoming City Clerk’s Recruitment process, that teleconferencing is not an option. He also recommended staff highlight other aspects in the By-law and policies during the recruitment process.

In response to a question posed by Chair Harder, Mr. Levesque advised that having alternate members is not being proposed in the By-law.

There being no further discussion, the report recommendations were put to the Board and were CARRIED, as presented.  The following Direction to Staff was also provided:

DIRECTIONS TO STAFF:

1.    That staff look for Council’s guidance through their governance decisions in December in 2014 for Chair and Vice-Chair length of terms.

2.    That staff advise new potential board members that teleconferencing is not an option in member meeting participation, as well as important By-law and policy framework issues.

MOTION No. OPL 20141015/2

That the Ottawa Public Library Board approve:

1.            The proposed Rules of Procedure By-law of the Ottawa Public Library Board to govern the proceedings of the Board; and,

2.            That the Rules of Procedure-By-law come into force and effect on January 1, 2015; and

3.            The proposed Policy Framework for Board governance and operations policies.

CARRIED

3.

MAKERSPACE UPDATE - PRESENTATION

Anna Basile, Program Manager, Planning and Board Support spoke to a detailed PowerPoint slide presentation (held on file with the Chief Executive Office); which served as an overview of the Imagine Space project, including statistics, success stories and challenges and mitigation strategies.

Board trustees engaged in a discussion regarding the following:

·         Agreement with the U.S. Embassy;

·         Tracking age demographics;

·         Partnerships with school boards; and

·         Percentage of downtime of the 3D printers.

In response to the above-noted queries from Board trustees, Ms. Basile noted that a recommendation has been put forth to request an extension of the grant with the American Embassy until June 2016. With respect to tracking age demographics, Ms. Basile pointed out that the Ottawa Public Library does not specifically keep track of demographics but through anecdotal data from staff inside the space, interest is from various age groups; which she provided examples. In response to having a partnership with any school board, Ms. Basile advised that they do not have specific partnerships at this time with respect to the MakerSpace; however, Ms. Basile and Elizabeth Thornley, Manager of Program Development will be looking at building relationships and exploring particular ventures with schools in order to get additional uptake on the space, especially around the specific morning hours when it is not open to the public. Ms. Basile mentioned that there are some significant downtimes with respect to the commercial grade 3D printers. Staff has met with the vendors to explore issues and are working to get them restored and operational. Alternatives for customers have been provided until other options are available.

Chair Harder mentioned the fees associated with use of equipment in the space and referenced that Parks and Recreation have an excellent cost recovery tool for program availability and needs. Vice-Chair Bergeron cautioned staff that if the price is too high, the demand can be stifled and that aspect should be taken into account when potential price scenarios and thresholds are established.

There being no further discussion, the verbal update was RECEIVED, as presented.  The following Direction to Staff was also provided:

DIRECTION TO STAFF:

That staff explore the possibility of building a business case for a funding opportunity for longer hours for MakerSpace.

MOTION No. OPL 20141015/3

That the Ottawa Public Library Board receive the verbal update for information.

RECEIVED

INQUIRIES

Trustee Bennett submitted the following verbal inquiry: “Will a Calendar of Reports item be available in November?” and “There was an indication in the September meeting Calendar of Reports that the Semi Annual Performance Measurement report would be delayed until November and so will it be coming forward then?”

Danielle McDonald, Chief Executive Officer advised that a Calendar of Reports and the Semi Annual Performance Measurement report would be on the November agenda.

OTHER BUSINESS

Chair Harder explained that Trustee Thompson’s last meeting with the Board would be in November as he is officially retired from City Council as of the end of November and he cannot participate as a Trustee at the December meeting.

ADJOURNMENT

MOTION No. OPL 20141015/4

That the Ottawa Public Library Board meeting be adjourned at 17:50.