WINDING RIVERS LIBRARY SYSTEM
BOARD OF TRUSTEES
MINUTES OF THE MEETING HELD MAY 28, 2008

PRESENT: George Brandt, David Brommerich, Louise Donohue, Wayne
Gates, Fred Goettl, Clara Johnson, Myrna Kelley, Mary E. Larson,
Nancy Lerum, Frank Nicosia, Vern Olson, Gina Rae, Tom Rauk, Karen
Thayer, Jane Walczak, John Wenum.
EXCUSED: Loren Caulum, Elizabeth Nutter.
ABSENT: Judy Bouffleur, Karen Dahl.
STAFF & GUESTS: Kristen Anderson, Charles Clemence, Randy Dagnon,
David Goldfein (LPL), David Polodna, Marcia Sarnowski.

1. Call to Order/Open Meeting Notice Certification: The meeting was
called to order by President Brandt at 6:37 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. New trustees
Karen Thayer (Jackson County), Myrna Kelley (Juneau County), and
John Wenum (Juneau County) were introduced and welcomed.

3. Approval of Minutes: Motion by Mary Larson, seconded by Tom
Rauk, to approve the minutes of the March 26, 2008 meeting as
presented. Carried.

4. Reports

4.1 Approval of Bills & Budget Update: Polodna presented the
bills. Questions were raised and answered about tissue bees,
retirement contributions, and resource grant payments to member
libraries. Motion by Fred Goettl, seconded by Wayne Gates, to
approve the bills. Carried. Polodna summarized the status of
revenues and expenditures through April; brief discussion followed.
Motion by Vern Olson, seconded by Louise Donohue, to accept the
budget report as presented. Carried.

4.2 Director's Report: Polodna distributed the executive summary
of the Legislative Audit Bureau Best Practices report and briefly
discussed the frustration it created in La Crosse County when
selected portions of it were reported in the La Crosse Tribune.
He went on to indicate that there has been no indication from DPI
that recent actions to repair the state budget shortfall will have
any negative impact on system aids for 2009.

Polodna distributed copies of the County Library Service Planning
primer so that board members would have the same information that
is being provided to county supervisors. George Brandt reported
that he was trying to establish a process and committee in
Trempealeau County to undertake preparing a draft plan. He offered
to assist other counties in this effort if there was a desire for
assistance. Lastly, Polodna shared portions of an online
discussion about the benefits and shortcomings of conducting system
board meetings via videoconferencing. WRLS trustees shared some
thoughts about if and when such a process would be useful in this
region. No conclusions were reached.

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

5. Unfinished Business

5.1 Personnel Committee Update: Minutes of the March meeting of the
committee were distributed. Tom Rauk explained the tracking system
that was set up to facilitate getting the maximum return of
director evaluation surveys, and assured all that the coding would
be separated from all responses before the data left his hands. In
this way anonymity is guaranteed. Jane Walczak reported that the
committee intends to have the completed evaluation presented to the
board at the July meeting.

6. New Business

6.1 Counties/System Agreement Revision: Polodna introduced the
revised agreement, noting that there were few changes and only one
of substance: section I.D was added, specifying the counties'
requirement to have an active, periodically updated service plan.
Some discussion followed, including questions about if the
revision needed to be approved at this meeting. Polodna said it
could wait until July if the board wished. Motion by Tom Rauk,
seconded by Vern Olson, to approve the revisions and authorize the
president to sign the agreement. Carried.

6.2 Minimum Wage Recommendations for Directors: The annual revision
of the wage recommendations was presented by Polodna, who noted
that the adjustments were between 2.5% and 3%: a fairly
conservative increase given that the recent Consumer Price Index is
at about 4.1%. It was also noted that these recommendations are
distributed throughout the state and have been reported to provide
tangible assistance to library boards and staff. Motion by Wayne
Gates, seconded by Mary Larson, to approve the distribution of the
wage recommendations for 2009. Carried, with David Brommerich
opposing. Gina Rae asked if it would be possible to get
information on how many of the WRLS area libraries in each category
meet of exceed the minimum recommendations. Polodna said he would
provide that at the July meeting.

6.3 Next Meeting Date: The next meeting is scheduled for 6:30 pm on
July 23, 2008, at the Shirley Wright Memorial Library in
Trempealeau.

7. Adjournment: Motion by Frank Nicosia, seconded by Mary Larson, to
adjourn. Meeting adjourned at 7:31 pm.

Respectfully submitted,

David Polodna, Recorder