Board Minutes May 11, 2026

Kewanee Public Library District

Board of Trustees Meeting minutes

May 11, 2026

Members Present: President John Sayers, Vide-President Vanessa Fite, Treasurer Lea Eastman, Secretary Jessica Fornander, Andrew Dwyer, Jodee Werkheiser. Also present: Director David Eckert, Information Services Manager Denise Dimmitt, Circulation Services Manager Sarah Arnold, Selena Taylor, and Kewanee City Manager Kasey Mitchell.

Call to Order

President John Sayers opened the meeting at 4:01 p.m.

Public Comments

Selena Taylor, a Kewanee resident, has a window washing business and mentioned maintaining the windows at the library. She was asked to provide a proposal to the Director.

Kasey Mitchell, the new city manager, introduced herself. She wants to help build relationships with the city. It was mentioned to her that we had to add lights to poles around the building for safety.

Approval of Minutes

April minutes were reviewed. Motion to approve Vanessa Fite/Jodee Werkheiser. Motion Passed.

Resolved, that the minutes of the April 13, 2026 Kewanee Public Library Board of Trustees meeting be accepted as presented.

Budget Report

Lea presented the report. Transaction by detail account: page 1 – there were three payrolls this past month; page 5 – yearly subscriptions including magazines and the Quad City Times newspaper; page 7 Nextera energy is the gas supplier, no overcharges and contract renewal to 2030; page 8 – Tech soup – this is Microsoft office 365 software, Barracuda had an error on the bill, it will be corrected next month. Special Levy Transaction detail report: page 1 – ST Viewscan is the new scanner, just waiting on the machine; page 2 – shows the projector expense, Music Makers LLC. Annual Budget vs. YTD Actual should be at 83%. E-Rate funds were received, Friends of the Library donation, expenses are looking good for the last month of the fiscal year. Special Levy Annual Budget vs. YTD: QuickBooks error – e-rate not matching on spreadsheet, everything matches at the bank.

Approval of Bills

Motion to approve by Lea Eastman/Jessica Fornander to approve the payment of the payroll and bills as presented. Motion was passed by roll call vote.

Resolved, that the payroll in the amount of $64,278.24 and bills in the amount of $47,529.76 be approved for payment.

John Sayers: Yes

Vanessa Fite: Yes

Lea Eastman: Yes

Jessica Fornander: Yes

Andrew Dwyer: Yes

Jodee Werkheiser: Yes

Department Reports

Director – David presented. Everyone is excited about the summer reading program starting later in the month. They are going to have a favorite duck downstairs, please go down and vote. Hoopla has increased and printed material has decreased this past month. There are many good programs that are going on: Dinos – which had about 65 patrons and June 24 the Spoon Man program.

Information Services: provided in board packet.

Youth Services: provided in board packet.

Circulation and Statistics: provided in board packet.

Technical Services: provided in board packet.

Technology Report: provided in board packet.

Tech Meeting minutes: provided in board packet.

Business Requiring Action

Non-Resident Card Acceptance Program

The new rate for non-residents is $127. Motion to approve by Jodee Werkheiser/Jessica Fornander. Motion passed.

Resolved, that the Kewanee Public Library District participate in the Illinois non-resident card acceptance program for fiscal year 2026-2027.

Employee Handbook

David presented the handbook after review with others. He would like to make this updated employee handbook effective July 1, 2026. Some recommendations were made about the break policy to remain as is; ensure that laws/regulations are referenced and update the non-medical leave policy. Motion to approve the new employee handbook with adjustments mentioned by Vanessa Fite/Lea Eastman. Motion passed.

Business for Discussion

Draft Budget for 2026-2027 – John Discussed how minimum wage might have an impact in the budget.

Closed Session

Motion to go into closed session at 5:01 pm by Jodee Werkheiser/Vanessa Fite to discuss salaries for 2026-2027. Motion passed.

Motion to go back into regular session at 5:19 pm by Jessica Fornander/Vanessa Fite. Motion passed.

Action from Closed Session

Motion to approve new wages as presented for FY 2026-2027 by Lea Eastman/Jodee Werkheiser. Motion was passed by roll call vote

John Sayers: yes

Vanessa Fite: yes

Lea Eastman: yes

Jessica Fornander: yes

Andrew Dwyer: yes

Jodee Werkheiser: yes

Announcements

Next Board Meeting: June 8, 2026 at 4:00 PM

Friends of the Library – Coffee and Chat with author Becca Kinzer on June 11 at 2:00 PM. They will be doing Patron count from June 1 to June 5

Adjournment

Motion to adjourn at 5:28 PM by Vanessa Fite/Lea Eastman

Respectfully submitted by Jessica Fornander, Secretary