Those present were Nichols, Harvey, Brown, Mandujano, and Russell.

Steve Viessman arrived later.

Also present were Shirley Flack, Jana Kehn, Judy Oltmanns, David Netterfield, Jenni Powell and Deb Carlson.

Bev stated that the agenda statement for next Monday’s Council meeting had to be submitted by noon today so she had submitted the statement which is attached to these minutes.

Clark noted that he had invited Shirley Flack to attend this meeting because of her long history with the library.

Bev distributed a memo of discussion points for tonight’s meeting and a copy of the library’s Capital Improvement Project (CIP Project 2004--Li-4) for a New Public Library Facility. (See attached, page 4) She said the she had moved the project back two years during the last budget process because of revenue forecasts. If the timeline of this CIP is followed, there will be $20,000 available in FY 05-06 to begin the planning stages for a new library building.

If the Library Board wishes to move this project forward a year, the appropriate time would be during the budget process this summer. Monday’s presentation to the City Council is to "open the door" to further discussion and prepare them for a budget request then. The budget process starts in May when the city’s Revenue Committee meets to forecast revenues for the coming fiscal year. The process continues through the summer months. The City Council meets in August for a budget workshop to finalize the budget.

Shirley explained that she had devised the CIP for a new library facility as part of a request by the City Manager at the time. Each city department was to submit a long-range plan, and a new building was the library’s long-range plan. She then explained how she came up with the figures for the building.

Clark mentioned that he had visited the new Seward library. It took them eight years from the time they approached the City Council until the building was dedicated. They raised all the money through private donations; however, two families donated $1million each.

Bev introduced David Netterfield. David provided a thumbnail sketch of his experience in fundraising. He has done some preliminary research on library building projects via Internet. All the places he searched recognized the need to build friendships. A common thread was to develop a plan for what is to be accomplished. When there is a definite building plan, then a good practice is to put the design on the library web page for people to see. One library had a Crazy 8’s Club and asked eight people to donate $1,000 each. Few people can donate a million, but $1,000 is possible for many people. Other fundraising ideas were discussed, including plaques (books) on the wall with different levels of giving. David mentioned that the Midwest Theater had raised $30,000 in one weekend. If we can sell the community on this project, it appears that the community will provide financial support.

On April 20^th the library board and staff will meet with consultant Pat Wagner to begin getting a plan committed to paper and start the campaign for a new library in earnest. In the meantime, we should start talking to people. When the time comes, we will divide ourselves into areas of interest i.e. fundraising, advocacy, research. We will have public meetings to provide an opportunity for the community to ask questions, voice concerns, and make wishes known. Marj suggested we find a catchy motto for the campaign. Shirley suggested, "A library says a lot about a city." The Friends of the Library will want to assist and will be asked to help; however, we need to develop a definite plan of action, and the meeting with Pat Wagner in April will be the time to do this with her guidance.