October 13, 2025

Weston Public Library Board of Trustees MeetingOctober 13, 2025Weston Public Library

Call to Order

Dan Sheperd, President, called the meeting to order at 6:02 PM.

Roll Call of Board Members

Archambo, absent; Armitage, present; Carson, present; Gamby, present; Patel, present; Sheperd, present; Sommerfeld, present.

Staff members present: Shelen Stevens, Deb Gross and Darla Froman.

Sheperd made a motion, second by Patel, to excuse Deb Archambo from the meeting for personal reasons. Roll Call: Archambo, absent; Armitage, aye; Carson, aye; Gamby, aye; Patel, aye; Sheperd, aye; Sommerfeld, aye. Motion carried.

Approval of Minutes

Armitage made a motion, second by Carson, to approve the August 11, 2025, Regular Meeting Minutes with no additions or corrections. Roll Call: Archambo, absent; Armitage, aye; Carson, aye; Gamby, aye; Patel, aye; Sheperd, aye; Sommerfeld, aye. Motion carried.

Carson made a motion, second by Sheperd, to approve the September 8th Special Meeting Minutes with no additions or corrections. Roll Call: Archambo, absent; Armitage, aye; Carson, aye; Gamby, aye; Patel, abstain; Sheperd, aye; Sommerfeld, aye. Motion carried.

Public Comments

Shelly Myerholtz, representative of the Business Council, reported that a new partnership with the Weston Library to offer a senior citizen gathering, which takes place in the Library’s Community Room on Tuesdays beginning in October, has been a success so far with ~ 20 attendees. The event offers fellowship, refreshments, educational opportunities and more. Director Stevens, who has been providing items from the history room to foster discussion during the event, was thanked for her help with the event.

Mark Tolles commented that he appreciated seeing the promotion of the Historical Society event that was held at the Weston Library. He encouraged more events like this one.

Financial Report

It was noted that a $5000 donation has been made to the Library by an anonymous donor. Sommerfeld clarified that funds have not been transferred to the newly created accounts at this time and clarified the amount that can be spent from the Henning fund per year. Board members were provided copies of the financial reports prior to the meeting. Patel made a motion, second by Carson, to approve the August 2025 and September 2025 Financial Reports. Roll Call: Archambo, absent; Armitage, aye; Carson, aye; Gamby, aye; Patel, aye; Sheperd, aye; Sommerfeld, aye. Motion carried.

Old Business

Strategic Plan: The Board continued discussions related to the proposed Strategic Plan. Director Stevens reported that the State of Ohio offers free strategic planning resources to public libraries. Board Members encouraged her to contact the state to arrange for this support. Director Stevens will also work with Sommerfeld to provide information that has been gathered/prepared to date. “Strategic Planning” to remain on future agendas to continue an ongoing discussion.

3D Printing: Patel reported that Doug Marion is still on board with assisting with training. Patel asked if the Library’s financial position supported this initiative. Sommerfeld urged the board to support initiatives like this one. Director Stevens reminded the Board that Joyce Nowak is continuing to review the Makers Space Policy that would help with safety, usage, and other guidelines. She will reach out to determine the status of this review. Would like one new 3D Printer in Weston and one new 3D Printer in Grand Rapids. While the current space in Weston will support the equipment, the limited space at Grand Rapids will need to be discussed further. Patel will work with Director Stevens to develop a plan for location, training, maintenance, etc. that will be presented to the Board at a future meeting. “3D Printing” to remain on future agendas to continue an ongoing discussion.

New Business

Board action on amendment to the Bylaws of the Weston Public Library Board of Trustees: Article 7, Section A and Article XI: Amending Article 7, Section A will fold the Finance Committee meetings into regular board meetings with full Board participation. “Finance Discussion” will be added as a separate agenda item. Sommerfeld commented that this could make meetings take longer. Board members are okay with this as the entire board should be apart of these discussions. Will discuss the possibility of adding additional meetings during the January 2026 Organization Meeting. Board discussion was not supportive of amending/removing Article XI in the Bylaws. Sommerfeld made a motion, second by Armitage, to amend article 7, Section A of the Bylaws. Roll Call: Archambo, absent; Armitage, aye; Carson, aye; Gamby, aye; Patel, aye; Sheperd, aye; Sommerfeld, aye. Motion carried.

Board action on Weston Landscape Proposal for 2026: Director Stevens reported that D&D Landscaping provided a proposal for landscaping the exterior of the Weston Building. This proposal takes into consideration safety concerns that were identified by law enforcement during the Emergency Management walkthrough/review. Would like this project considered for 2026 funding. The Board encouraged Director Stevens to work with D&D to identify next steps in the planning process.

Board action on elimination of Patron Policies of 2007: Director Stevens reported that other Libraries do not have a separate “Patron” Policy because the rules and policies are already covered elsewhere. The only item that is currently contained in the “Patron” Policy is the “Bulletin Board” Policy. Sheperd made a motion, second by Patel, to eliminate the “Patron Policies of 2007”. Roll Call: Archambo, absent; Armitage, aye; Carson, aye; Gamby, aye; Patel, aye; Sheperd, aye; Sommerfeld, aye. Motion carried.

Board action on Public Bulletin Board/Displays Policy: The “Bulletin Board” Policy was embedded in the “Patron Policies of 2007” and needs to be covered as a stand-alone policy since the Board just voted to eliminate the “Patron Policies of 2007”. Sommerfeld made a motion, second by Armitage, to approve the “Bulletin Board” Policy, with no adjustments except for the amendment to a typo. Roll Call: Archambo, absent; Armitage, aye; Carson, aye; Gamby, aye; Patel, aye; Sheperd, aye; Sommerfeld, aye. Motion carried.

Director Update

1. The library will be hosting several games for youth and teens during the Weston Recreation Boards Fall Festival, located on Main St., on October 18 from 3:00 to 7:00.

2. House Bill (HB) 137 is scheduled for a hearing Wednesday in the House Local Government Committee. This legislation would allow a taxing authority to deny a public library access to the ballot. This means they could prevent public libraries from putting a property tax levy on the ballot and deny voters a say in their local property taxes. HB 137 would give sole discretion to a library’s taxing authority with regards to moving a levy request to the county board of elections.

3. House Bill 309 has undergone many changes since originally being introduced in the Ohio House. The current version of the bill does the following:
   

   • Provides a safe harbor for voted property tax levies for the first five years of a levy’s collection. However, this would not include renewal levies.

   • Authorizes CBCs to reduce property tax levies, provided they are not otherwise required to approve them without modification, to avoid unnecessary or excessive collections.

   • Defines “unnecessary collections” as those beyond the reasonably anticipated financial needs of the taxing authority for the specific purpose of the tax after accounting for current fund balances, projected expenditures, and other available funding sources.

   • Defines “excessive collections” as those in an amount or a rate that exceeds what is required to provide services at a level that is consistent with statutory obligations.

   • The state budget bill (HB 96) included similar language regarding county budget commissions, however, Governor DeWine vetoed that language. The Ohio House could vote to override this veto, but at this point they have chosen to move HB 309, with modifications based on input from the Governor’s Property Tax workgroup.

   • The bill was passed out of the House Ways and Means Committee unanimously on Wednesday and later passed on the House Floor with 19 democrats voting in opposition. The bill will now move to the Ohio Senate for further consideration.

   • Discussions continue at the state level to potentially consolidate libraries under county commissioners.

4. Sound Wall Panels: Currently reviewing options and obtaining a quote for sound wall panels for future installation in both locations’ community rooms.

5. A Holiday Christmas Tea will be held at Weston Saturday, December 13 at Noon. Space will be limited, and registration will be required.

Other/Good of the Order

Sommerfeld would like to see a Branch Library located at the school in partnership with Otsego. Director Stevens has had a discussion with Mr. O’Shea about this idea, but no formal commitments, proposals, etc. have been prepared for either the school board or the library board. Sheperd asked Director Stevens to reach out to Mr. O’Shea to explore this option further to prepare a plan for both boards to consider.

Deb Gross presented a Resolution for Amounts for Rates. Sheperd made a motion, second by Patel, to approve the Resolution as presented. Roll Call: Archambo, absent; Armitage, aye; Carson, aye; Gamby, aye; Patel, aye; Sheperd, aye; Sommerfeld, aye. Motion carried.

Adjournment

Gamby made a motion, second by Carson, to adjourn the meeting. Roll Call: Archambo, absent; Armitage, aye; Carson, aye; Gamby, aye; Patel, aye; Sheperd, aye; Sommerfeld, aye. Motion carried.

The meeting was adjourned at 7:20 PM.