OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Manitowoc Library Board Meeting - July 28, 2026

Common Council & Committees — Tuesday, July 28, 2026
BodyManitowoc, Wisconsin
SessionCommon Council & Committees
DateTuesday, July 28, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 26:25

Transcript — Verbatim
0:02

All right.

0:03

We're gonna go ahead and call the meeting to order.

0:06

Are there any requests to amend tonight's agenda?

0:11

All right, and then we'll go on to public comment.

0:16

Members of the public are invited to speak at the Nashville Public Library Board of Trustee Trustees meeting each month on any matter related to the oversight of the National Public Library.

0:25

The comments from each speaker shall be limited to five minutes in length unless extended by action of the NATO Public Library Board of Trustees.

0:33

Do we have anyone here for public comment?

0:37

Anyone online?

0:40

Anyone?

0:43

And we'll move on.

0:45

All right, we didn't have no public comment.

0:47

We'll go to number four, approval of the minutes.

0:51

Um Mr.

0:56

Abel uh made a motion.

0:58

Anybody to second?

0:59

I'll second.

1:00

All right, and Stephanie a second.

1:01

Wonderful.

1:04

Any comments?

1:06

Uh any questions or comments about the minutes.

1:11

All right, so we can just go ahead and take a vote and approve those minutes.

1:15

All in favor?

1:17

Aye.

1:18

Opposed.

1:19

All right.

1:21

Wonderful.

1:23

So we'll move on.

1:24

Financial reports.

1:26

Um, yeah, back to this one.

1:29

Good thing you said that.

1:30

Here we go.

1:34

Financial reports.

1:36

Um, Chris is the head of that.

1:41

Ready?

1:42

Okay.

1:42

Okay.

1:43

Uh you have before you what at least in my memory is the longest uh set of budget status reports that we've had, um, both 12810 and 2013 for April, May, and June.

1:58

It's really was a quorum issue.

2:00

Also, the check register, you have all those uh in front of you, and so I would move for them to be accepted.

2:10

Second, thank you.

2:13

All right, are there any any anybody have any comments about any of the reports that were submitted to all right?

2:21

Then we can um make a motion to accept the financial reports as they are.

2:25

All favor, aye and opposed.

2:29

All right.

2:31

Um next on our agenda is correspondence, but there is no correspondence.

2:35

So we're gonna move to the administrative reports, and I'll have Karen take over.

2:41

Okay, um report the highlight statistics and articles were attached.

2:49

Any questions to anybody?

2:53

Um I just wanted to say that um thank you, all the people that did all the work on the federal reading program.

3:00

And um the radio thing was really interesting.

3:04

I enjoyed it with my kids in the library, and I noticed right away all the cool planters, so that was really neat to see that um we're utilizing all the talents of the people at the library and getting to have really nice plants and things out there, and also I was impressed with the ILL department that we're getting other libraries to notice how bright that department is, and I totally agree.

3:30

And also, welcome and thank you to me for interning here, and I think that's all I have on COVID.

3:39

Okay, and I did also want to point out in Meredith's um report.

3:46

Uh with in our discussion, we had um I wanted to highlight some of the like statistics or activities, so she's including that now in her report.

3:58

So it gives you some numbers of how much uh um happens with the physical materials.

4:05

So explanation of what it meetings that would give you an idea of that, all right.

4:16

And I'll highlight meeting Bavar Burton was also like he did say reading with all of us, yes.

4:28

Oh, it's fan girl.

4:32

Yeah, it's a big deal.

4:35

Okay, we can move on.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Personnel Matters████████████████████████████████████████40%
Public Engagement████████████████████████████████32%
Procedural█████████████13%
Engineering And Infrastructure██████████10%
Animal Welfare█████5%
Summary of Proceedings

Manitowoc Library Board Meeting - July 28, 2026

Note: The official minutes and transcript indicate the meeting was held on Monday, July 27, 2026, but the instruction specifies July 28, 2026. This discrepancy is noted.

The Manitowoc Public Library Board of Trustees met on the evening of July 28, 2026, at 5:00 PM in the Library Board Room and via Zoom. Vice President Pam Brick chaired the meeting. Seven members were present, three were absent, and several staff and guests attended. The board approved routine items, elected officers for the 2026-2027 term, approved a renovation bid, and discussed a major reorganizational plan. All votes were unanimous (7-0).

Public Comments & Testimony

  • No members of the public offered comments.

Discussion Items

  • Approval of Minutes (June 22, 2026): The minutes were approved by a 7-0 vote.
  • Financial Reports: The board approved a consolidated set of budget status reports for Funds 2810 and 2813 for April, May, and June 2026, along with check registers and a financial summary. Treasurer Christopher Able noted it was the longest set of reports in his memory. The motion passed 7-0.
  • Administrative Reports: The board received the Director’s Report, Manager Highlights, Monthly Statistics for June 2026, and news articles. Board members praised the summer reading program, the radio activity, new planters, and the interlibrary loan department. The director began including activity statistics in the report.
  • Board Officers for 2026-2027: The Nominating Committee recommended a slate of officers: President Pam Brick, Vice President Darian Kaderabek, and Treasurer Christopher Able. The board accepted the nomination and then elected the slate via unanimous ballot, both votes 7-0.
  • Welcome New Board Member: Lynn Keehan was welcomed to the board. She introduced herself, noting she was born and raised in Manitowoc, worked 22 years for the school district, and served as a library at Madison Elementary.
  • Renovation of Meeting & Study Room Spaces Public Bid: The board approved a public bid for renovating meeting and study room spaces. The bid was within the already-approved budget and also recommended by the library foundation. The motion passed 7-0.
  • Reorganizational Plan: Director Karen Hansen presented a reorganization plan aligned with the 2027 budget, focusing on customer service and right-sizing departments. The plan would create a public services department to staff the business center and a circulation department to manage the main desk, allowing staff specialization. Hansen stated she had communicated with all staff, who showed understanding but some anxiety about new duties. Board members asked clarifying questions about the number of service desks, effective date (January 2, 2027), and training. The plan was received as an informational update; further discussion will occur in committee.
  • Future Committee Dates: The board scheduled the Finance Committee for Monday, August 17, 2026, at 2:00 PM, and the Personnel Committee for Monday, August 10, 2026, at 4:30 PM.
  • Facilities and Building Updates: Facilities Manager Stacey Bialek reported on roof motor replacements (old system) now completed, management of a gull colony on the roof (approximately 30 nests, two eggs per clutch, about half died; egg depredation planned for spring), waiting for the city lift to clean globes and replace bulbs, repair of the staff entrance, fixing alarm software, and initial bids for the second-floor restaurant. New planters were the first phase of landscaping, with a second phase planned for next spring.

Key Outcomes

  • Approved the June 22, 2026 meeting minutes (7-0).
  • Approved the financial reports for April–June 2026 (7-0).
  • Elected officers for 2026-2027: President Pam Brick, Vice President Darian Kaderabek, Treasurer Christopher Able (7-0).
  • Approved the renovation of meeting and study room spaces bid (7-0).
  • Scheduled the Finance Committee meeting for August 17, 2026, at 2:00 PM and the Personnel Committee meeting for August 10, 2026, at 4:30 PM.
  • The meeting was adjourned at 5:26 PM.

Meeting Transcript

All right. We're gonna go ahead and call the meeting to order. Are there any requests to amend tonight's agenda? All right, and then we'll go on to public comment. Members of the public are invited to speak at the Nashville Public Library Board of Trustee Trustees meeting each month on any matter related to the oversight of the National Public Library. The comments from each speaker shall be limited to five minutes in length unless extended by action of the NATO Public Library Board of Trustees. Do we have anyone here for public comment? Anyone online? Anyone? And we'll move on. All right, we didn't have no public comment. We'll go to number four, approval of the minutes. Um Mr. Abel uh made a motion. Anybody to second? I'll second. All right, and Stephanie a second. Wonderful. Any comments? Uh any questions or comments about the minutes. All right, so we can just go ahead and take a vote and approve those minutes. All in favor? Aye. Opposed. All right. Wonderful. So we'll move on. Financial reports. Um, yeah, back to this one. Good thing you said that. Here we go. Financial reports. Um, Chris is the head of that. Ready? Okay. Okay. Uh you have before you what at least in my memory is the longest uh set of budget status reports that we've had, um, both 12810 and 2013 for April, May, and June. It's really was a quorum issue. Also, the check register, you have all those uh in front of you, and so I would move for them to be accepted. Second, thank you. All right, are there any any anybody have any comments about any of the reports that were submitted to all right? Then we can um make a motion to accept the financial reports as they are. All favor, aye and opposed. All right. Um next on our agenda is correspondence, but there is no correspondence. So we're gonna move to the administrative reports, and I'll have Karen take over. Okay, um report the highlight statistics and articles were attached. Any questions to anybody? Um I just wanted to say that um thank you, all the people that did all the work on the federal reading program. And um the radio thing was really interesting.

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