Fair Haven Free Library
Monthly Board of Trustees Meeting
Wednesday, March 15, 2023
Present: Judith Gevry, Christine Sheldon, Ronald Stack, Cecelia Hunt, Thomas Bruso and Carol
Scott
Judith called the meeting to order at 7:00PM. The first order of business was to reorganize the
board.
Cecelia nominated Judith Gevry to serve as the Chair of the Trustees. Christine seconded the
nomination. No further nominations were made. The Board elected Judith Gevry to serve as the
Chair of the Board of Trustees unanimously.
Christine nominated Cecelia Hunt to serve as Secretary of the Board. Thomas seconded the
nomination. No further nominations were made. The Board elected Cecelia Hunt to serve as the
Secretary of the Board of Trustees unanimously.
Cecelia nominated Christine Sheldon to serve as the Treasurer. Ronald seconded. No further
nominations were made. The Board elected Christine Sheldon to serve as the Treasurer of the
Board of Trustees unanimously.
Following the reorganization, it was determined that Christine would accompany the former
Treasurer and Board Member, Nathan Morris, to the bank to change the name on all of the
accounts.
The Board welcomed newly elected member, Ronald Stack, to the Board of Trustees.
The Secretary’s Report was distributed. Christine moved to approve the minutes as written.
Thomas seconded. Motion carried unanimously.
There was no Treasurer’s Report, however, Carol handed out two spreadsheets listing the current
spending to date and for the previous month. The Board discussed expenses including the
purchase of passes for the library from VINS, VT State Parks, and Shelburne Museum.
Judith and Nathan had to go to the bank to take care of the CDs that needed to be turned over.
Judith reported that the CDs were reinvested for a one-year term. The Board reviewed interest
rates from various institutions and noted to look at interest rates at the end of the year, prior to
the end of the CD’s term.
The gift from the estate of Elizabeth Allen Barnouw (sale of the Maple Street house) was
received. We received a total of $20,000. The money was deposited in the bank in the Memorial
account. The Board discussed how to invest the memorial funds that would give us the best
interest.
Cecelia moved the board investigate interest rates and CD terms at local institutions (Community
Bank, Heritage Family CU, Edward Jones Investments and M&T Bank) where we might better
invest the Memorial monies. Thomas seconded the motion. Motion carried unanimously.
Cecelia moved that we put $30,000 from the memorial fund into a high-yield account for one
year to be called the Memorial Fund CD Account. Thomas seconded. Motion carried
unanimously.
No action on the memorial accounts will be transacted until Christine is named on the accounts
as our new treasurer.
Librarian’s Report
Ten Book Club members met to discuss Black on February 13th over Zoom.
Automation project continues. Our totals at the end of February were 1282 patrons and
16,895 books entered in the system. In February we added 8 patrons. We also added 59
items to the system and discarded 17.
The take and make for February was a hot chocolate packet. We distributed 48 of them.
There was a “Meet the Candidates” event in the Hyde Room on Saturday February 25 th .
Twenty-two people attended. Cecelia mentioned it was a great way to introduce community
members to the Meeting Room and the library.
The Friends held a “ by donation” Book Sale on Wednesday March 1 st . The sale made $24
downstairs and $13 upstairs. It was a snowy evening which may be why attendance was low.
Vermont Elevator inspection was done on Wednesday March 1 st . This inspection was $150.
John Laramie was here on March 7th to shovel the valleys and he replaced some slates.
Library was closed due to the weather on Saturday March 4 th and on Tuesday March 14 th .
The library budget passed 396 to 137. We really appreciate all those who supported the
library.
The Meeting Room was used by 4 people from 3-6 on March 8 th . Neil Robinson reserved the
space.
Mary Kay has submitted the paperwork for the $300 Summer Programming Grant. She is
also planning to apply for the Winnie Belle Youth Services Grant this year. She is also
working on a Good Citizens Challenge to go with the Summer Reading Program.
Carol is still working on State Reports.
Karen Barber has been in volunteering to straighten up the non-fiction section. We are very
grateful for her help. Carol also reported that Paul Patten has returned and is once again
volunteering.
Next meeting will be April 19, 2023
New Business:
Thomas said that his wife, Joy Sayre, would like to donate a painting to the library. The Board
was extremely grateful and overjoyed to have one of her pieces of art. She will meet with Carol
about what kind of painting, including the size of the piece and where we might display it.
Christine moved to adjourn at 7:54 PM and Thomas seconded. Motion carried.
Respectfully submitted,
Cecelia Hunt, Secretary
Library Board of Trustees Monthly Meeting
Wednesday, February 15, 2023
In attendance: Judy Gevry, Nate Morris, Christine Sheldon, Cecelia Hunt, Thomas Bruso and
Carol Scott
Judy called the meeting to order at 7:00PM
The Secretary’s Report was distributed. Chris moved to accept the minutes of the January 2023
meeting as written. Thom seconded. Motion carried.
The Treasurer’s Report was distributed. Chris moved to accept the Treasurer’s Report as
written. Thom seconded. Nate mentioned that the library has received donations In Memory of
June Dorion. Motion carried.
Total assets include:
Checking: $43,090.83,
Memorial CD: $19,385.88,
2 other CDs have $26,427.27 and $4,295.24
Nine Book Club members met to discuss Sunflower Sisters on January 9 th over Zoom.
Automation project continues. Our totals at the end of January were 1274 patrons and 16,853
books entered in the system. In January we added 5 patrons. We also added 73 items to the
system and discarded 61.
The take and make for January was a snowflake bookmark, We distributed 60 of them.
John Laramie was here on January 24th to shovel the valleys and I asked him to check the
roof because we noticed a small water spot in the back cubby. John returned to check the roof
on Monday February 13 th and found a bad vent boot. He put in a new vent boot and replaced
the slate.
Friends held meeting on Wednesday January 25 th . They set book sales through April, chose
an angel for next year, discussed potential programs and voted on some purchases for the
library. Six members attended on a very snowy afternoon.
The Friends have purchased a light weight 6 foot step ladder for the library.
The Meeting Room has been used by several groups recently. The Historical Society met
Tuesday February 7 th (5 members) The Itty-Bitty Committee used the space for a meeting on
Tuesday February 7 th . (5 members) and Rutland County Mental Health met with a client on
February 7 th (3 people). Members of the Art Club of Fair Haven met in the Library. The Art
Club meets at the library the first Monday of the months during the fall and winter.
The Friends held a “ by donation” Book Sale on Saturday February 11 th from 10AM to Noon.
The sale raised $285. The next Book Sale is Wednesday March 1 st . These book sales are
much easier to host since items do not need to be priced and we don’t have to ring things out
or make change.
Carl took down the outside Holiday greenery on Sunday February 12 th .
The library has received several donations in memory of June Dorion. June was a longtime
patron of the Fair Haven Free Library who belonged to our Book Club and wrote articles for
the newsletter.
The window for State Reports opened on Feb. 10 th and will be open until March 24 th .
Updates: Maple St. house and the estate of Elizabeth P. Allen (Betty Allen Barnouw)
Judy reported that she met with an attorney to go over the Quitclaim Deed proposed by Attorney
Pratt for the estate of Elizabeth P. Allen estate. The board has been reviewing the information
and has sought the advice of council several times. After lengthy discussions and research into
the matter, the advice from the local attorney was to proceed with the quitclaim deed. Cecelia
Hunt moved the board proceed with the quitclaim deed on the on the Maple Street house, part of
the estate of Elizabeth P. Allen, for the amount of twenty-thousand dollars. The motion was
seconded by Thomas Bruso. Further discussion followed. The motion carried unanimously.
The Board had a little celebration thanking Nate Morris for his tenure on the Board of Trustees.
Nate served as the Treasurer and we will miss his contributions to the Board.
Thom moved to adjourn at 7:35PM and Chris seconded. Our next meeting will be March 15,
2023.
Respectfully submitted,
Cecelia Hunt
Fair Haven Free Library Board of Trustees
Monthly Board Meeting
January 18, 2023
Members Present: Judith Gevry, Nate Morris, Christine Sheldon, Cecelia Hunt, Thomas Bruso,
Carol Scott
Judy called the meeting to order at 7:00 PM.
Nate moved to accept the minutes of the November 16, 2022 meeting. Chris seconded the
motion. Motion carried unanimously.
Nate passed out the Treasurer’s Report.
Current balance of our checking account as of December 31, 2022 is $51,720.16. The balance of
our CDs is $50,030.04.
Nate discussed some budget items, especially in relation to grant funding for items like programs
and for Inter Library Loans. We are seeing an increase in the amount spent on Inter Library
Loans (partially grant funded), salaries (due to the increase in minimum wage as mandated by
the State of Vermont) and also our utilities (due to increase cost of heating oil). Chris moved to
accept the report as written. Thom seconded. Motion carried unanimously.
Chris moved to raise the salary of the assistant librarian commensurate with the raise in the State
Minimum Wage Law, and to ensure that all other employees are making a minimum of the new
State Minimum Wage. Thom seconded. Motion carried unanimously.
Librarian’s Reports for December and January
Ten Book Club members met to discuss The Last Thing He Told Me on November 14 th over
zoom.
Automation project continues. Our totals at the end of November were 1260 patrons and
16,769 books entered in the system. In November we added 3 patrons. We also added 27
items to the system and discarded 0.
The library was decorated for the holidays over Thanksgiving weekend. The angels went on
sale November 30 th . Angel sales went very well and nearly all the angels were sold.
Six Book Club members met to discuss Tales of a Paperboy on December 12 th over zoom.
Automation project continues. Our totals at the end of December were 1269 patrons and
16,841 books entered in the system. In December we added 9 patrons. We also added 40
items to the system and discarded 104.
The take and make for December was a cardinal ornament, We distributed 60 of them.
We received a letter from the town concerning excessive water usage. Got report week of
November 28 th it was 136, week of December 5 th it was 44. We believe someone may have
accidentally left the tap running in the downstairs bathroom. Carl Scott did visit the library
to check for leaks and found none.
Friends held a “Take what you want, Pay what you can” book sale on Saturday December
10 th . They made $394 and cleared out a lot of books.
On Wednesday December 14 th the furnace wasn’t working. Called Paul McClure who sent
Mick to look at it. Needed a new belt.
The library was closed on Saturday December 17 th due to weather.
Carl, Jeff and Carol packed up all the holiday decorations on Sunday January 1 st .
Minimum wage increased to $13.18 on January 1 st . We had people under that amount. All
employees now are making at least the minimum wage.
Called J&R Sprinkler and set up an inspection for January 10 th . They came to do it but could
not get into the fire box because there was a key broken off in the lock. I had to call Royal
Glass to send a locksmith. The locksmith came on January 11 th . I have now put in a call to
reschedule with J&R. The cost to remove the key was $150.
Garaventa was here to do lift maintenance on Tuesday January 17 th . We had to have some
batteries and contacts replaced. They sent us a new service contract for this year. Batteries
cost about $150 each.
Updates: Maple St. house
Judy handed out a letter received from the lawyer of the Betty Allen Estate. The Board had
questions about the quitclaim and are concerned about the reference in the letter about
reporting as a real estate transfer and not a land transfer. Judy will visit with an attorney to
hopefully clarify the quitclaim deed and address some of our concerns about recording the
transfer.
Town meeting is in March. Chris and Thom will be there to answer any questions about our
budget. We will discuss talking points at our next meeting.
Next meeting will be February 15, 2023
Respectfully submitted,
Cecelia Hunt, Secretary
Fair Haven Free Library Board of Trustees
Wednesday, November 16, 2022
Present: Judy Gevry, Nate Morris, Chris Sheldon, Thom Bruso, Ceil Hunt and Carol Scott
Judy called the meeting to order at 7:00PM.
The minutes of the October 19, 2022, meeting were reviewed. Chris moved to accept the
minutes as written. Motion seconded by Thom and carried.
Nate reported that he will have the Treasurer’s Report ready for the next meeting in January. We
do not meet in December.
Chris asked Carol if she has heard from Garaventa. Carol will try to contact them this week.
Judy shared a copy of the report she wrote for the Town Report. A few small changes were
made and the report will be mailed out this week to Eileen at the Town Office.
Judy shared the information she got about the donation of the house from the estate of Betty
Allen Barnouw. The general consensus of those she spoke to was that if we sign the agreement,
then the library will receive roughly $20,000. Judy will contact Attorney Pratt to have him send
us a copy of the agreement for our perusal and if we agree, our signatures to complete the
transaction.
Carol gave us the Librarian’s Report.
Eleven Book Club members met to discuss The Lost Village on October10th. For
November, December, January and February the book club will meet via Zoom.
Automation project continues. Our totals at the end of October were 1257 patrons and
16,742 books entered in the system. In October we added 4 patrons. We also added 51 items to
the system and discarded 69.
Friends are working on angels. Three members met on 10/20 and three members on
10/27. People have also taken angels home to work on and they will be completed by the end of
the week.
The angels will go on sale Wednesday November 30th. The Friends have contacted
Bridget Stockwell for outside decorations around our main entrance and Mary Markie made
some decorations for the library lawn.
Our turkey take and make projects are moving quickly. We have already given out 30 to
our patrons. We will have new projects for December and January.
I have begun to gather statistics for state reports. The information was sent to Judy to
help with the town report. I also prepared the budget sheet with our proposed budget for 2023.
One three-year term and the one-year term are up.
Next meeting will be January 18, 2023
Ceil moved to adjourn at 7:34PM and Thom seconded.
Respectfully submitted,
Ceil Hunt
Fair Haven Free Library
Board of Trustees Meeting
October 19, 2022
Present: Judy Gevry, Chris Sheldon, Ceil Hunt, Nate Morris and Carol ScottI
Judy called the meeting to order at 7:00PM.
The minutes of the September meeting were distributed and reviewed. Chris moved to accept
the minutes as written. Nate seconded. Motion carried.
Nate passed out the Treasurer’s Report. Chris moved to accept the report as written. Motion
was seconded by Ceil. Discussion was held. There have been increases in our budget including
increased costs of oil, Worker’s Comp insurance, and inspections. Motion carried.
Librarian’s Report
We need to contact Garaventa and the water sprinkler inspection company. They have
been called and we are still waiting for their inspections to take place.
Ten Book Club members met to discuss We Begin at the End on September 12 th . For
November, December, January and February the book club will meet via zoom.
Automation project continues. Our totals at the end of September were 1253 patrons and
16,760 books entered in the system. In September we added 7 patrons. We also added 70 items
to the system and discarded 79
We are currently going through and discarding titles from the system that have been
missing for several years. We did 2017 this week.
The report for the second round of ARPA money was submitted Monday September 26,
2022.
The Art Club used our meeting space on October 10 th . They will be meeting in
November, and possibly January through March.
The Historical Society will hold a Button Program in the meeting room on Sunday
October 23 rd at 2PM. Dani and Hugh have been informed, so they can adjust their cleaning
schedule.
Friends are working on angels. 2 Members met on 10/6 and 3 members on 10/13.
Fuel Tank was inspected by Sam’s on October 14 th and our tank was filled up. We should
now be on automatic delivery.
Baker and Taylor Company was hacked in early September which resulted in a
slowdown in our ability to order books. The problem is now resolved, and we received our long
overdue book order this week.
Our owl take and makes are almost gone. So far we have given out over 50 of them.
There will be turkey take and makes for November.
We received a letter from the estate of Betty Allen Barnouw. The remainder of the estate
of 5 Maple Street has been left to the library. We will need to contact a lawyer and several
others for more information on this bequest. Judy will be contacting several people to
investigate further for the Board.
Ceil moved to create a petition to put a library reserve fund on the ballot. Nate seconded
the motion. Discussion on how we inform the public that this will not increase the budget, but
rather help us encumber funds to be able to operate in case of unexpected expenses and in the
interim before we receive our quarterly allotment. Motion carried. Chris and Ceil will work the
polls on election day to get the petition signed.
Budget discussion ensued. We noted that in order to meet the new increase in the
minimum wage requirements, we need to increase salaries by 3%. Other increases included
Worker’s Comp, cost of fuel, and Inter Library Loans. Ceil moved to submit a budget of
$95,477 for the town vote. Chris seconded. Motion carried unanimously.
Next meeting will be November 16, 2022
Ceil moved to adjourn at 8:23PM. Nate seconded.
Respectfully submitted,
Ceil Hunt
Fair Haven Free Library
Board of Trustees Monthly Meeting
Wednesday, September 21, 2022
Present: Judy Gevry, Chris Sheldon, Nate Morris, Thom Bruso, Ceil Hunt and Carol Scott
Judy called the meeting to order at 7:00 PM.
The minutes of the August meeting were reviewed. Chris moved to accept the minutes of the
August 17 th meeting. Thom seconded. Motion carried.
Nate handed out the corrected August Treasurer’s Report along with the September report. Chris
moved to accept the corrected August report and the September report as written. Motion
carried.
Our next meeting is the budget meeting and members are going to be coming with ideas about
the budget. Reminder was given to the board about the proposed changes to the minimum wage.
Carol gave the Librarian’s Report
Circulation is up as are the number of Inter Library Loans.
Ten Book Club members met to discuss Sooley on August 8 th .
Automation project continues. Our totals at the end of August were 1246 patrons and
16,769 books entered in the system. In August we added 8 patron We also added 88 items to the
system and discarded 0.
The library signed a contract with Sam’s U-Save fuel for $3.65 a gallon, pay on delivery,
for the 2022-23 heating season.
Matt from ACT Computing fixed our receipt printer on September 14 th . It took 2 hours to
sort out the problem. Carl and I were at the library. Matt worked from his office.
The library plans to have two stick figures in the park for the month of October.
We received several nice donations in memory of longtime volunteer Teresa Smith. Ceil
has sent thank you notes. I purchased a book on knitting in Teresa’s memory.
September 19 th through the 24 th is Banned Books Week. Two Castleton University
students asked if they could put a display in the library for a class they were taking. Their display
is in the nonfiction room.
We just put out an owl kit for our patrons to take home and make.
Library closures for October through January:
October 10 &31 st (Mondays)
Friday November 11 th
Wednesday November 23 rd ,
Friday December 23 rd
Saturday December 24th
Monday December 26 th
Saturday December 31 st
Many of those days are holidays and the library is closed. Chris moved to close on October 31 st
and December 23 rd . Ceil seconded. Motion carried.
Updates: Royal Glass bill came and the cost was over $500 for the fire inspection. We
are due to have our sprinklers inspected. Costs of inspections continue to spiral.
Holiday House was discussed. The Board agreed that it would not be wise to have it
since we get such huge crowds. The angels will still be on display.
Carol announced that the Historical Society will be using the library for a presentation
from the “Button Lady” in October.
Next meeting will be October 19, 2022 (budget meeting)
Ceil moved to adjourn and Chris seconded.
Reminder our next meeting is budget meeting.
Respectfully submitted,
Ceil Hunt, Secretary
Fair Haven Free Library 