Present:

Trustees: Steven Begg, Riley Brockington, Mary-Rose Brown, Kathy Fisher, Allan Higdon, Matthew Luloff,
Carol Anne Meehan, Harvey A. Slack, Tim Tierney

Danielle McDonald, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) welcomed everyone to the inaugural meeting of the 2019-2022 Ottawa Public Library Board. Ms. McDonald gave a briefing on the election process and advised that if more than one person was nominated for the position of Chair or Vice-Chair, elections would proceed by secret ballot.

DECLARATIONS OF CONFLICT OF INTEREST

No Declarations of Interest were filed.

CONFIRMATION OF MINUTES

Minutes 42 - Tuesday, 11 December 2018

Confidential Minutes 12 - Tuesday, 11 December 2018

CONFIRMED

ELECTIONS

1.

ELECTION OF CHAIR

MOTION OPL 20190205/1

Moved by Trustee Matthew Luloff:

WHEREAS, pursuant to Section 9(g) of the Rules of Procedure By-law, BE IT RESOLVED that Anna Basile, Division Manager be appointed scrutineer for the Election of Chair & Vice-Chair.

CARRIED

MOTION OPL 20190205/2

Moved by Trustee Allan Higdon and seconded by Trustee Carol Anne Meehan:

That Trustee Tim Tierney be nominated to the position of Chair for the Ottawa Public Library Board.

CARRIED

MOTION OPL 20190205/3

Moved by Trustee Kathy Fisher and seconded by Trustee Allan Higdon:

That the nominations for the position of Chair for the Ottawa Public Library Board be closed.

CARRIED

Trustee Tim Tierney accepted the nomination and was declared Chair the by the CEO. Chair Tierney presided over the remainder of the meeting.

2.

ELECTION OF VICE-CHAIR

MOTION OPL 20190205/4

Moved by Trustee Steven Begg and seconded by Trustee Allan Higdon:

That Trustee Kathy Fisher be nominated to the position of Vice-Chair for the Ottawa Public Library Board.

CARRIED

MOTION OPL 20190205/5

Moved by Trustee Steven Begg and seconded by Trustee Allan Higdon:

That the nominations for the position of Vice-Chair for the Ottawa Public Library Board be closed.

CARRIED

Trustee Kathy Fisher accepted the nomination and was declared Vice-Chair.

The Chair advised that Item 3 - OPL-LAC Joint Facility: Overview of Public Engagement Process Presentation would be considered last.

REPORTS

4.

INTEGRATED LIBRARY SYSTEM CONTRACT

OPLB-2019-0204

The CEO highlighted an error on page four which resulted from a miscalculation of the total contract cost. The total contract cost was calculated using the one-year price of $172,364.51 instead of the negotiated five-year annual price of $165,894.63. The total contract cost should have been calculated as follows: $165,894.63 x 5 = $829,473.15. Therefore staff will amend the last sentence of the first paragraph on page four.

In response to a question from Vice-Chair Fisher in terms of the scope of the Integrated Library System agreement, Monique Brûlé, Division Manager, Programs and Services said the 2019 to 2023 agreement covers the same general elements as the previous agreement. SirsiDynix has committed to honouring a five-year term with a 0% annual increase, which lists the various software components and their price.

Trustee Brockington inquired about the data security of the system with respect to the customer data if it could it be breached accidentally or had ever been breached. Ms. Brûlé indicated that to her knowledge there has never been an accidental breach of confidentiality. Staff are confident as the vendor has a solid reputation across the library sector.

MOTION OPL 20190205/6

That the Ottawa Public Library Board:

1.    Approve a five-year agreement with SirsiDynix for the provision, support, and maintenance of the Integrated Library System, as further described in this report; and,

2.    Therefore Be It Resolved that the last sentence of the first paragraph on page four be replaced with: “This would represent an annual expenditure of $165,894.63 and a total expenditure of $829,473.15 (excluding applicable taxes) from 2019 to 2023. All prices in Canadian dollars.

RECEIVED and CARRIED, as amended

5.

2019 DRAFT OPERATING AND CAPITAL BUDGET ESTIMATES AND THREE-YEAR CAPITAL FORECAST

OPLB-2019-0205

Monique Désormeaux, Deputy Chief Executive Officer provided a presentation of the 2019 Draft Operating and Capital Budget Estimates and Three-Year Capital Forecast. (Held on file with the Chief Executive Officer). Ms. Désormeaux outlined the 2019 Draft Budget details and estimates. She presented the Board with the 2019 Operating Pressures which includes mandatory costs, strategic items, and financial adjustments. She provided details of the capital expenditures and summarized the revised fee schedule. Matthew Pritz, Program Manager, Finance and Business Services, and Brenda Gorton, Account Manager, Financial Services Unit (City) were in attendance to respond to questions.

Chair Tierney reminded the Board that only questions of clarification could be posed to staff at this time. There being no questions, the Board received and tabled the following motion:

MOTION OPL 20190205/7

That the Ottawa Public Library Board:

1.            Receive and table the 2019 Draft Budget for the Ottawa Public Library and three-year capital forecast; and,

2.         That the 2019 Draft Budget for the Ottawa Public Library be tabled at Ottawa City Council on February 6, 2019 as part of the City Council’s tabling of the City of Ottawa 2019 Draft Operating and Capital budget.

RECEIVED and TABLED

6.

ROSEMOUNT BRANCH REVITALIZATION PROJECT UPDATE

OPLB-2019-0206

Monique Désormeaux, Deputy Chief Executive Officer and Dan Wojcik, from +VG provided a presentation on the final design of the revitalized Rosemount branch. (Held on file with the Chief Executive Officer). Ms. Désormeaux said the design is based on the assumption that the increase to the construction budget will be approved as part of the 2019 budget exercise, thereby enhancing the original design and improving the overall customer experience. Elizabeth Sampson, Manager, Library Facilities was in attendance to respond to questions.

Key highlights of the presentation included:

·         Recap of the work completed to date;

·         Project Milestones;

·         Images of the Service Hub, the Children’s Space, and the Exterior View; and,

·         Next steps.

Chair Tierney mentioned that Jeff Leiper, Councillor, Ward 15-Kitchissippi could not be at the meeting due to illness.

In response to a question from Chair Tierney regarding the timing of the consultative public art process that the City will manage, Ms. Désormeaux said the City is set to launch the public art competition by early March.

In response to questions from Trustee Meehan with respect to the teen’s space, specifically the hours of operation, and other community programming offered for teens in area surrounding the branch, Ms. Désormeaux said the dedicated space is located on the main floor at the front of the branch and available during regular branch hours. With respect to the community programming in the area, Ms. Désormeaux indicated that staff will confirm what programming is offered.

In response to a question from Trustee Brockington on why the $400K to fund the enhanced option was not included in the basic design, Ms. Désormeaux indicated the Class D estimates requires 80% for building code and accessibility upgrades, leaving 20% of the budget for improvements related to the customer experience. The additional $400K will cover the additional enhanced design option which will increase the project scale sufficiently to make the project eligible for the City’s Public Arts program.

Trustee Brockington further asked if the top priorities of the community were met in the design. The CEO indicated that the enhanced design was able to accommodate most of the features. The CEO referenced correspondence from the Rosemount Expansion and Development Group (READ) who were encouraged by the hard work undertaken over the past few months by the architects from +VG, staff, and the Board. Staff are looking into READ’s outstanding concerns, e.g. the number of available seats.

Further to a question from Trustee Brockington whether the temporary location is vacant and what the proximity is to the branch, Ms. Désormeaux said the temporary location at 1207 Wellington is vacant; it is near Parkdale Road and Wellington Street, which is very close in proximity to the existing location.

Trustee Begg asked staff to elaborate on the feedback received at the
well-attended December public consultation sessions. Ms. Sampson said during the public consultations, participants spoke of the love for their local branch; preserving key historical elements; having a defined children’s space; having public meeting spaces; having outdoor amenities, including bike racks and stroller parking; having public art; and the glass “reading room.”

Trustee Luloff was pleased with the accessibility upgrades in the design as well as the service hub concept which would look good in other aging branches. He commended staff and +VG on the design.

Trustee Slack echoed Trustee Luloff’s comments saying the project will enhance the community.

Chair Tierney said staff noticed how excited the community was at the 100^th anniversary of Rosemount when discussing the revitalization project.

In response to a question from Trustee Meehan about making the meeting space multi-purpose for the community after hours, Ms. Désormeaux indicated that a number of branches do have that capacity however, it is not possible at the Rosemount branch because the building is too old and can not adapt this feature.

MOTION OPL 20190205/8

That the Ottawa Public Library Board receive this report and the Rosemount branch final design (to be tabled at the meeting) for information.

RECEIVED and TABLED

PRESENTATION

3.

OPL-LAC JOINT FACILITY PROJECT: OVERVIEW OF PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT PROCESS

Alain Gonthier, Director, Infrastructure Services, City of Ottawa said the public engagement process is a significant milestone, billed as the Inspire555 series, a nod to the facility’s new address at 555 Albert Street. He introduced Donald Schmitt, from Diamond Schmitt Architects.

Mr. Schmitt provided a presentation on the public engagement process, which is part of the design for the Ottawa Public Library (OPL) and Library and Archives Canada (LAC) Joint Facility Project. (Held on file with the Chief Executive Officer). 

Key highlights of the presentation included:

·         Project Consultation Overview;

·         Collaborative community consultation process;

·         Inspire555 Schedule;

·         Local outreach, Indigenous engagement, National outreach, speakers and reflection, online engagement, and workshops;

·         Site opportunities; and,

·         Details of the first workshop related to local outreach.

In response to a question from Vice-Chair Fisher on how feedback will be received and how the two local sessions will be structured, Mr. Schmitt said a great deal of thought on how best to engage the community has been considered. He broke down the structure saying it would be in two parts: one, is presenting ideas with respect to views, topography, distance to light rail transit (LRT), points of arrival, connection, etc., questions of clarification, following which participants will break into groups to discuss and provide input. Second, is presenting different options to spark interest, such as size of building, number of floors, followed by breaking into groups.

Trustee Begg asked Mr. Schmitt to elaborate on the Indigenous knowledge component. Mr. Schmitt said the timeline is not entirely finalized. Ron Deganadus McClester was hired as an Indigenous specialist to assist. His experience with the DARE project at Algonquin College is an asset. He will guide the team through the process to develop a meaningful relationship with the Indigenous community.

In response to a question from Trustee Meehan whether concrete ideas will be part of the design options as there’s a budget to adhere to, Mr. Schmitt confirmed that it will be part of the design options, focused on being open, not leading to conclusions.

In response to a question from Vice-Chair Fisher regarding what the linkages and timing will be between the local sessions and the speaker events, and what value the speaker events will bring, Mr. Schmitt said the speaker events are another dimension to the conversation and will occur after the workshops have begun. An example of a speaker series would be around technology and how the technology might look at the library and how this will change for the public.

Further to a question from Vice-Chair Fisher on whether the information gathered will have an influence on the speaker series, specifically the more notable trends expected to see in design, Mr. Schmitt said that conversations may be structured in a way that individuals can bring certain perspectives which will be linked back. The engagement is a two-way conversation that will bring interesting ideas.

Trustee Higdon asked how the engagement was coordinated with Library and Archives Canada (LAC). Mr. Schmitt indicated that twelve people are working on different aspects of the project. There have been several meetings with a team represented by the OPL, LAC, and the Architects.

In response to a question from Chair Tierney on whether the building design will achieve Leadership in Energy and Environmental (LEED) standard. Mr. Schmitt mentioned the bar will be set high. He said it will be important to understand the operating costs as approximately one quarter of the budget will be from capital. Mr. Schmitt said the goal is to exceed a Silver or Gold standard.

Chair Tierney said that Halifax led the way, followed by Calgary. The pressure is on to be that much better. Mr. Schmitt mentioned he spent time at the Calgary Central Library meeting with Calgary’s Chief Executive Officer, which was a good learning experience. As for this project, it is a good opportunity to do more. The partnership and topography is extraordinary, and the site is at a crossroads for the community between it’s connectivity across the region with proximity to LRT. The consultation process will be more thorough than others with community comments that will help shape a good foundation.

MOTION OPL 20190205/9

That the Ottawa Public Library Board receive this presentation for information.

RECEIVED

ADJOURNMENT

MOTION OPL 20190205/10

Be It Resolved that the Ottawa Public Library Board meeting be adjourned at 6:14 p.m.