WINDING RIVERS LIBRARY SYSTEM
BOARD OF TRUSTEES
MINUTES OF THE MEETING HELD MARCH 26, 2008

PRESENT: George Brandt, David Brommerich, Loren Caulum, Karen Dahl,
Louise Donohue, Charles Jensen, Clara Johnson, Mary E. Larson,
Nancy Lerum, Frank Nicosia, Elizabeth Nutter, Vern Olson, Gina Rae,
Tom Rauk, Jane Walczak.

EXCUSED: Judy Bouffleur, Wayne Gates, Fred Goettl, Carol Grogan.

ABSENT:

STAFF & GUESTS: Kristen Anderson, Charles Clemence, Randy Dagnon,
David Polodna, Ken Wolf (Collins).

1. Call to Order/Open Meeting Notice Certification: The meeting was
called to order by President Brandt at 6:35 pm. He certified that
the meeting had been properly noticed as required by the open
meetings law.

2. Roll Call: Roll call was taken as indicated above.

3. Approval of Minutes: Motion by Frank Nicosia, seconded by
Charles Jensen, to approve the minutes of the January 23, 2008
meeting as presented. Carried.

4. Reports

4.1 Approval of Bills & Budget Update: Polodna presented the
bills. Gina Rae asked for an explanation of quick checks. Dagnon
responded that this was a method of preparing a check for an
entity that was not likely to be receiving another check from WRLS:
a process that saved the time of creating a vendor record. Motion
by Mary Larson, seconded by Tom Rauk, to approve the bills.
Carried. Polodna explained the addition of the Unemployment and
Gift Fnd/Gates Purchases expenditure lines on the Expenditure
Report; discussion followed. Motion by Karen Dahl, seconded by
Vern Olson, to accept the budget report as presented. Carried.


4.2 Auditor's Report: Ken Wolf of Collins and Associates
introduced and reviewed the WRLS audit report for 2007. Since the
board had not received the audit in advance, Mr. Wolf took
considerable time to explain the entire document. A few questions
were raised and answered. Motion by Karen Dahl, seconded by Nancy
Lerum, to accept the audit report as presented. Carried.

4.3 Director's Report: Polodna introduced Elizabeth Nutter, the
new trustee from La Crosse County; President Brandt asked her to
tell the board a bit about herself and she did so. Polodna
announced that he was in the process of visiting all county boards
to discuss county library service plans and the agreement among the
seven counties and the system. He also distributed a one page
summary report of WRLS' 2007 finances and activities which was
prepared for the county boards. Polodna then introduced the two
charts that had been provided in the packet, showing likely county
reimbursements to local libraries for 2009. Some discussion of the
nature and background of the payments followed.

Polodna noted three involvements that WRLS staff have committed to
for 2008: a statewide library visioning summit to be held on May 5
and 6, an adolescent literary leadership conference to be held on
May 15, and an appointment to the statewide library delivery
advisory committee. Finally, Polodna explained that in the various
proposals for addressing the state's budget shortfall, the only
mention of library system funding had been that the governor
proposed taking most of the system aid from the Universal Service
Fund, rather than from general purpose revenues. This raises the
potential for problems in the future if the Universal Service Fund
is eliminated, but otherwise it does not necessarily raise any
worries for the 2009 system funding. However, much can happen
before this matter is settled so it is hard to say what ultimately
will be the disposition of system funding for next year.

4.4 Public Comments or Topics for Discussion at Future Meetings:
None.

5. Unfinished Business

5.1 Proposed Location for the July and September 2008 Meetings:
Because of an error in specifying meeting dates, the auditorium of
the La Crosse Public Library is not available for the July and
September 2008 meetings. After thought and some phone calls,
Polodna proposed that the July meeting be held in Trempealeau and
the September meeting be held in Sparta, both in library meeting
rooms that offer open meetings access. Motion by Frank Nicosia,
seconded by Karen Dahl, to approve the proposed locations for the
July and September meetings. Carried.

6. New Business

6.1 Next Meeting Date: The next meeting is scheduled for 6:30 pm
on May 28, 2008.

7. Adjournment: Motion by Karen Dahl, seconded by Loren Caulum to
adjourn. Meeting adjourned at 7:42 pm.

Respectfully submitted,

David Polodna, Recorder