MINUTES
CITY OF NORTH LAS VEGAS
LIBRARY DISTRICT BOARD OF TRUSTEES REGULAR MEETING
May 24, 2022
Website - http://www.cityofnorthlasvegas.com
CALL TO ORDER
5:15 p.m., City Hall, Council Chambers, 2250 Las Vegas Boulevard North,
North Las Vegas, Nevada 89030
ROLL CALL
TRUSTEES PRESENT
Vice Chairwoman Reese
Trustee King (Joined 5:32 p.m.)
Trustee Lockhart
Trustee Henry
STAFF PRESENT
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Library Director Lewis Chief Deputy City Attorney Eidsmore Deputy City Clerk/Recording Secretary McDowell North Las Vegas Aliante Library Branch Manager Alexander |
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PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE - BY INVITATION
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David Becerra, 3115 Las Vegas Blvd. N., Las Vegas, NV 89115, stated he wished to be part of community meetings to assist and provided an overview of his school, Cactus Park Elementary which was opening in Fall of 2022. He said it was a free charter school for children in grades Kindergarten through Eighth Grade. |
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North Las Vegas Library District Director Forrest Lewis stated they would hear Agenda Item number five first, which was a presentation item at the beginning of the meeting, and that they would conduct the voting at the end of the meeting once they had a quorum.
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5. |
Summer Reading Challenge Presentation. (For Discussion Only) |
North Las Vegas Aliante Library Branch Manager Shelley Alexander provided information on the Summer Reading Program. Branch Manager Alexander stated the theme was “Oceans of Possibilities” and it was from May 25, 2022 to July 31, 2022. She stated the registration was on the website and there were 389 people registered as of May 24, 2022. Branch Manager Alexander said staff had been busy promoting schools in the community. She stated they partnered with Silver Mesa Recreation Center and camp counselors would have dedicated reading time for the children daily which resulted in prizes for the readers. North Las Vegas Aliante Library Branch Manager Alexander said they were trying to reach people that were not regular library users into the libraries by programming. She said they had not had lots of programming in the last two years but they were heavily invested in programming in the current year. She said they would be providing literacy classes and S.T.E.M. programming. North Las Vegas Aliante Library Branch Manager Shelley Alexander discussed grant funding and the multiple programs that would come from the grants. Branch Manager Alexander stated they had implemented four staff-led programs for adults: two soap-making classes and two plant holder-making classes. She said the children’s prizes were purchased by generous donations from the community.
Vice Chairperson Reese stated some of the people she worked with lived in Las Vegas but that they wanted to come to the North Las Vegas libraries as they had better prizes.
Trustee Lockhart asked Branch Manager Alexander if the prizes were given out at the end of the Summer Reading Program.
North Las Vegas Aliante Library Manager Alexander stated the prizes were given out throughout the program as the readers earned them.
Trustee Henry thanked Aliante Library Branch Manager for her presentation and asked if there would be information being sent to parents about reading and the achievement gap correlation.
Aliante Library Branch Manager Shelley Alexander stated they had Early Literacy Classes which discussed the achievement gap to younger parents.
North Las Vegas Library District Director Forrest Lewis stated the Summer Reading Program took months to plan and thanked Aliante Library Branch Manager Shelley Alexander.
ACTION: RECEIVED
Library Director Lewis stated that since they had a quorum at that time that they would move to Item number one on the agenda.
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1. |
Library District Board of Trustees Regular Meeting Agenda of May 24, 2022 (For Possible Action; Recommendation - Approve) |
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APPROVED |
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MOTION: |
LDBT Trustee Lockhart |
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SECOND: |
LDBT Trustee King |
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AYES: |
LDBT Vice-Chairperson Reese, LDBT Trustees Lockhart, Henry, King |
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NAYS: |
None |
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ABSTAIN: |
None |
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ABSENT: |
LDBT Chairwoman Esparza, LDBT Trustees Arbuckle, Powers |
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2. |
Library District Board of Trustees Regular Meeting Minutes of March 22, 2022. (For Possible Action; Recommendation - Approve) |
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ACTION: |
APPROVED |
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MOTION: |
LDBT Trustee Henry |
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SECOND: |
LDBT Trustee Lockhart |
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AYES: |
LDBT Vice-Chairperson Reese, LDBT Trustees Lockhart, Henry, King |
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NAYS: |
None |
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ABSTAIN: |
None |
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ABSENT: |
LDBT Chairwoman Esparza, LDBT Trustees Arbuckle, Powers |
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3. |
Emergency Connectivity Fund Grant Application in the Amount of $77,448. (For Possible Action; Recommendation - Ratify)
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North Las Vegas Library District Director Lewis stated that item was for the Emergency Connectivity Fund. He stated they received grant funding and had purchased 300 Chromebooks with data service and previously purchased 62 Wi-fi hotspots that were circulated. Director Lewis stated the grant was an extension of the funding source through the next fiscal year. He said they would not be purchasing any additional devices but that it would allow them to continue data service on the Chromebooks and hotspots through the calendar year to January 2023.
Library District Board of Trustees Vice-Chairperson Reese asked Director Lewis how many had been used.
Library District Director Lewis stated the hotspots were checked out constantly and there were waiting periods. He said it was a long process to become fully catalogued and entered into the system. Director Lewis said the Chromebooks were recently circulated. He said it took them a long time to get approved for the funding but once they were heavily promoted they would be heavily circulated. Director Lewis stated once the next school year began, the students would be able to check Chromebooks out for the entirety of the school year.
Vice-Chairperson Reese asked City staff if there were any posters that advertised the Summer Reading Program.
Aliante Library Branch Manager Shelley Alexander stated they had posters displayed so that people were aware. Branch Manager Alexander said the City’s Communications Department had been working on a press release that would be released.
Trustee Henry stated that the school districts would be turning in Chromebooks soon.
North Las Vegas Library District Director Forrest Lewis stated they would have to sign a form stating they did not have the resources to provide the data on their own. Director Lewis stated they would not have to verify anything but the documents would be kept on file for up to 10 years in the library. He stated that once the grant funding period was over, they owned the devices and would utilize them how they liked.
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ACTION: |
RATIFIED |
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MOTION: |
LDBT Trustee Lockhart |
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SECOND: |
LDBT Trustee Henry |
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AYES: |
LDBT Vice-Chairperson Reese, LDBT Trustees Lockhart, Henry, King |
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NAYS: |
None |
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ABSTAIN: |
None |
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ABSENT: |
LDBT Chairwoman Esparza, LDBT Trustees Arbuckle, Powers
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Trustee King asked Director Forrest Lewis what the plan was to provide services to the families beyond the $77,448.00 and what a plan would be to utilize the hotspots.
Library District Director Lewis replied to Trustee King that they did not have a plan for afterward but would have to decide at that time if there was additional grant funding available. Library District Director Lewis stated if it was popular, it would be built into the library’s budget.
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4. |
Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA), American Rescue Plan (ARP) Digital Collection Development Grant in the Amount of $13,500. (For Possible Action; Recommendation - Ratify) |
North Las Vegas Library District Director Forrest Lewis stated it was additional funding the state library had through federal government that they had to spend by a certain deadline. Director Lewis stated they divided the money up by libraries in the state based upon statistics of dollar amounts spent on collection development each year. Library Director Lewis said it had to be used on digital items. He said the funds would be used to purchase digital audio books which would give them a nice collection to start with audio and digital e-books.
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ACTION: |
RATIFIED |
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MOTION: |
LDBT Trustee King |
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SECOND: |
LDBT Vice Chairperson Reese |
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AYES: |
LDBT Vice Chairperson Reese, LDBT Trustees Lockhart, Henry, King |
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NAYS: |
None |
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ABSTAIN: |
None |
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ABSENT: |
LDBT Chairwoman Esparza, LDBT Trustees Arbuckle, Powers |
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6. |
North Las Vegas Library District Tentative Budget for Fiscal Year 2022/2023 Presentation. (For Discussion Only) |
North Las Vegas Library District Director Lewis stated their library district received significant source of funding through property taxes. Director Lewis said they did not receive consolidated tax or additional funding. He stated the city’s growth through single family residences as well as warehouses generated revenue that came in through property taxes. Director Lewis provided the following information on property taxes:
Library Director Lewis stated the city was bringing in more property taxes. He said they were at a point where they were operating in the black and beginning to build their library fund. North Las Vegas Library District Director Lewis stated the proposed budget was just over 3.6 million which gave them a cushion and built a bottom line. He discussed inflation and said they did not know what would happen in the next one to two years. He said they had increases to the budget and were adding six full-time staff members and would be increasing their hours in the library. He stated they were spending in a cautious way so as not to put themselves in a position in case of any downturn. Director Lewis provided FY2022 Library District Highlights:
North Las Vegas Library District Director Forrest Lewis then provided the major FY2023 Library District Goals:
LDBT Vice-Chairperson Reese said the Charter Schools would like outreach as she said all of the outreach goes to CCSD schools. Vice-Chairperson Reese asked Director Lewis if there were any plans to have outreach to charter schools. She stated they were publicly-funded charter schools including Somerset Academy, Losee Campus and Aliante Campus.
North Las Vegas Library Director Lewis replied to Vice-Chairperson Reese that they included those charter schools in the outreach and that was part of their plan. He said they also included private schools.
Aliante Library Branch Manager Shelley Alexander stated that a few individuals had visited schools and were making connections. She said she did not know if anyone had been to the charter schools recently. Manager Alexander stated they were included in the outreach lists. She stated the current year had been difficult in regards to that. Manager Alexander said they would definitely be including the charter schools in their outreach program.
LDBT Vice-Chairperson Reese stated the gentleman in the audience should reach out to them to obtain outreach information.
Library District Director Lewis asked if there were any additional questions.
LDBT Trustee King stated he wanted to commend Director Forrest Lewis regarding the success of the data with the Chromebooks. He said it was an admirable feat that was accomplished with Director Lewis’ team.
North Las Vegas Library District Director Forrest Lewis stated they put in a CIP Project for the library which was a capital improvement outside their budget. He said it was not guaranteed that it would go through but that it had been approved. He said they asked for $170,000 to build a study room in one of the branches. Director Lewis said it would be cubicle-style and they would have three cubicles they would put in that location. He stated there would be one larger cubicle that would fit 12-15 students at a time that would be flexed for S.T.E.M. program and they would be able to be louder without disturbing people around them. Director Lewis said they would be moving more towards digital technology, but that would be the pilot project to test out and demonstrate the need.
ACTION: RECEIVED
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There was no public participation. |
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LDBT Vice-Chairperson Reese adjourned the meeting at 6:07 p.m.
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APPROVED:
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/s/ Laura Esparza |
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Laura Esparza, Chairperson |
ATTEST:
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/s/ Erin Obed |
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Erin Obed, Deputy City Clerk II |