Robinson Public Library District Building and Grounds Committee met Nov. 9.
Here are the minutes provided by the committee:
President Debbie Scott called the meeting to order at 5:18 p.m. in the Newlin room of the Robinson Library.
Members present were Debbie Scott, Michael Garrard, Guy Rumler, Doug Roberts and Janice Shick.
Members Absent: Todd Liston
The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the approaching renewal of the Hutsonville branch building lease, which expires on November 30, 2022. The lease has been on automatic three-year renewal terms since the end of the initial three-year term that ran from December 1, 2010 to November 30, 2013.
Summary: Doug Roberts received a text from Mike Kramer, co-owner of the building that currently houses the Hutsonville facility, on Tuesday, October 25, 2022 at 3:28 p.m. Mike indicated in the text that there were a couple of issues that needed to be discussed – a change of the payee names on lease payment checks and also to discuss the lease agreement. Doug and Mike spoke by phone on Wednesday, October 26, 2022 at 3:28 p.m. Mike expressed during the four-minute phone call that due to rising costs, he would like to increase the monthly rent from $235/mo. to $400/mo. Doug told Mike that he would need to discuss the proposed increase with the board’s building and grounds committee prior to a new agreement being signed.
Discussion: The board’s building and grounds committee were provided with a copy of the existing lease, which has been in effect since December 1, 2010. They were also provided all of the pertinent financials for the Hutsonville facility for the entirety of fiscal year 2022 as well as the financials for fiscal year 2023 year-to-date (through the first four months). The central points to discuss before agreeing to recommend a rent increase to the full board were: 1) the significant increase against what is currently being budgeted monthly and whether absorbing such an increase would jeopardize an overage against the annual budget & appropriation numbers that are on file; 2) the facility is heavily dependent on in-kind (borrowed) money from the district for its annual operations; 3) Hutsonville has the lowest patron traffic numbers annually of any of the district locations.
After review of the provided documentation, some conversation on how to possibly increase patron traffic, and Janice Shick determining that an increase of $165/mo. over the remaining six months of FY23 would not put us above our B&A building fund target, the committee members agreed that the increase to $400/mo. was in line given that the monthly amount had not changed since the initial agreement was enacted.
One additional item that was discussed in addition to the established rate increase for the new agreement was the need for verbiage to be included in the agreement that would cap any subsequent increases at 10% upon the completion of any future arrangements. This would allow us to better plan, from a budget standpoint, when we near the end of any subsequent term. Guy Rumler said that he would reach out to Mike Kraemer to indicate that provision and to let Mike know that we would need an agreement draft in advance of our December 20, 2022 board meeting so that the full board can officially vote on ratification.
The meeting adjourned at 6:00 p.m.
https://www.robinson.lib.il.us/board-of-trustees/meeting-minutes/building-and-grounds-committee-meeting
Alerts Sign-up