Switzerland County Public Library

Board Meeting Minutes

November 4^th, 2025

The regular monthly meeting of the Switzerland County Public Library Board of Trustees was held Tuesday, November 4^th, 2025 at 3:30 pm in the meeting room of the library. Attending were Don Tolliver, Mary Jane Rogers, Diane Sigmon, Diana Barry, Michelle Hicks, Heather Peelman, Emily Fox and guest Kelsey Dwenger. Not attending were Sharon Deck and Norman Miller.

Fox stated she forgot to include the 990 form in New Business. No opposition was had to adding it to the agenda. Rogers made a motion to approve the minutes of the previous board meeting, seconded by Tolliver and passed unanimously. Reports of library activity and technology activity were shared. Fox reported she and Adult Service Coordinator Samantha Minch have started a pilot program for outreach delivery at Swiss Villa. Fall break programming was relatively well-attended. The library participated in trunk or treat at the Moorefield Fire Department and saw 258 people. The library has also begun receiving books from Ingram. Processing is currently being done in-house.

Bills and claims were presented. Sigmon made a motion to approve the claims, seconded by Barry and passed unanimously.

Time for Public Comments

High School Media Specialist Kelsey Dwenger introduced herself and said school officials suggested she attend board meetings in order to help with outreach and collaboration between SCPL and the school. She will attend meetings if possible.

Old Business

Fox said she has not heard from anyone else about snow removal. She will keep trying, but things might stay as before.

New Business

The 990 has been completed by Stephanie Furnish. Tolliver motioned to accept it, seconded by Rogers and passed unanimously.

Fox presented proposed salaries for staff. Initially, raises were set at 2.5%, but a 3% raise is only around $1000 extra and due to uncertainty in funding, she felt that a slightly larger raise would be helpful. Sigmon motioned to approve a 3% raise for all staff, seconded by Hicks and passed unanimously.

The 2026 salary schedule was presented with a minor change with regards to director certification. Hicks motioned to accept, seconded by Tolliver and passed unanimously.

2026 health insurance plans were discussed. Currently, renewal is a 9% increase as opposed to a 3% growth quotient. The library has enough to cover the entire premium this year, but next year, the library will likely need to pick a cheaper plan, ask staff to contribute a portion, or a combination of both. Consensus was the renew the current insurance plan for now and be aware of potential changes next year.

Fox announced that the library will receive a $10,000 gift from the Carnegie Corporation of New York in honor of the 250^th anniversary of America. The funds should be distributed in January. She said she thought it would be good to save some for maintenance and to get the makerspace and outreach delivery programs off the ground, but is open to suggestions. Tolliver asked if the funds could be used for insurance premiums and Fox said potentially. This item will be tabled and board members can discuss potential uses for the funds next month.

Fox proposed a winter hours schedule running December 22^nd-February 12^th where the library would close at 6 p.m. instead of 8 p.m. Monday-Thursday. This is due to low usage of services in the winter months. Programs after 6 p.m. will be allowed if a staff member supervises. Staff hours will largely be unaffected. No opposition was held.

Fox asked for permission to close the library December 5^th-6^th for staff training and the annual Evergreen upgrade. The upgrade begins Saturday, December 6^th, but staff would receive training on the 5^th and hold their annual holiday gathering after. All board members approved of the closure.

The library will close at 5 p.m. on November 10^th due to staff at the ILF conference. The library will be closed all day November 11^th due to Veteran’s Day. They will also be closing at 5 p.m. on November 26^th and reopen on November 29^th due to the Thanksgiving holiday.

Fox will be taking leave November 11^th-30^th.

With no further business, the meeting adjourned at 3:58 p.m.

Minutes recorded by Emily Fox.