Library Board Addresses Missing Meeting Minutes Complaint
New Procedure for Library Meeting Minutes and Public Records
Complaint Withdrawn After Library Provides Missing Minutes
The Board of Library Trustees held a meeting primarily to address an Open Meeting Law complaint. Library Director Felicia Desire explained that the complaint was filed because meeting minutes from 2020 to 2023 were inaccessible due to a missing physical binder. She credited trustee Fran Racklin for providing her personal copies of the missing minutes, which allowed the library to fulfill the records request within the required timeframe. Consequently, the individual who filed the complaint was satisfied and formally withdrew it. Following the resolution of the complaint, the board discussed its current procedures for handling meeting minutes to prevent future issues. Director Desire outlined the process, which started in January 2025. The new procedure involves using video recordings of the meetings to draft minutes, which are then presented to the board for approval at the subsequent meeting. Once approved, the minutes are filed both digitally at the library and physically with the City Clerk's office, creating a dual record system for public access. The meeting, which was convened specifically to meet the 14-day response requirement for the complaint, concluded with a unanimous vote to adjourn.
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City Officials
Public / Other
Roll call.
0:01Ronald Kathleen here. And Rocket Sperling absent. Sharon Quinn here. Fran Racklin here.
0:08Tim Long here.
0:09Eddie Deont here.
0:10Melissa Panchchley absent. Paula Cullen here.
0:13And Felicia Desire, library director.
0:15And our assistant administrator, Kayla King.
0:18Pursuant to the open meeting law, any person may make an audio or video recording of this public meeting or they may transmit the meeting through any medium. Attendees are therefore advised that such recordings or transmissions are being made whether they are perceived or unpersceived by those present and they are deemed acknowledged and permitted.
0:42Okay. Discussion of the open meeting law. Um, so I just wanted to I I did bring to your attention a complaint that we received a open meeting law complaint because I was not able to um access some of the files from 2020 to 2023 um some of the past meeting minutes. Alien had physical binders and that binder was not present. I did ask her to come in and help me. We could also not find it
1:11together. Um so but Fran was very very kind and she had gone through her past collection of me meeting minutes. This is why it's good to keep some of our history. Um and she was able to fulfill a lot of those um meeting minutes that we were missing. So we have and I've given uh the records for all of these for A1, A2 and A3 at this moment. So the
1:35first ones were the portion um since I started I had given those at first and then was having a little bit of a difficult time but we have 10 days to fulfill the request once we have it. So on the seventh day after I got some of those records from Fran um we were able to kind of fulfill the whole request and the gentleman did withdraw the complaint. Um, so really today it would
1:59just be great to kind of just go over what we're doing now just to make sure that this doesn't happen in the future and um and our current practice since January 2025 if that's okay. Unless anyone has any any questions or anything about the complaint or is that an anonymous complaint?
2:14No.
2:15No.
2:15No.
2:16You got to go.
2:17You didn't read the attachment.
2:21Sorry. I still have the same question.
2:23Yeah. So So I think it was I think it was shared. the complaint had had to be shared for that um for that and then that's why we were required to meet within 14 days because that's normally the response to uh to a complaint. Uh and he had just asked to collect all those documents, make sure that he gets them and then also so that we could uh talk about our process to make sure that
2:44uh going forward we're we're just procedurally um at the standard so that if there were another request we would be able to fulfill that which makes sense. During the co you would have a lot of them that would be missing because the board did not meet.
2:59Yep. I didn't the board meet by Zoom.
3:03Uh yes and I did have a lot of those meeting minutes. So some of those meeting I knew I I thought so but there were some that didn't Yeah, there was definitely some people couldn't get on to there were some that were canceled.
3:15There was a lot that were canceled and I submitted some of those notifications instead of the actual minutes because a lot of those notifications were in there. Um, so yes, good job, Brandon.
3:25I really, you really saved the day. Uh, and now we actually submitted those to the clerks also. So now they have a back uh a backdated record, which is really great. Um, so do you know something? I had seen a binder when I was when Leanne was here. And in the binder was all the minutes.
3:42Oh, she has shelves of binders. The one binder that was missing was 2020 to 2023. She even said it it's one one binder. It should be right here. And I mean she had them dated cuz they're they're only physical documents. So um so we'll be doing both physical and digital.
4:00What about her computer? You would have had access to computer.
4:03So her computer died on her way out. Um but also I she didn't tell me that she had any digitally saved. She when I had asked her she said I kept them all here.
4:13So I believe she printed them and then just kind of kept a hard copy and that was the way. on her computer like sometimes you can access the hard drive and it can get the you know any information that's contained in the hard drive.
4:24Yeah. It just wouldn't have been approved minutes if that makes sense because whatever she would have sent to the clerk. So So I mean it seems that whatever Fran had was kind of good enough cuz those were the those were the approved minutes by the board um since they were given to you at the meeting.
4:40So but we we got them anyway.
4:42So everything is done.
4:43Yeah. Yeah.
4:44Okay. Let's move on. Yeah. Um, so just the notice on current develop procedure.
4:49So since 2025, the way that I've kind of done it is uh we have the meeting. I used to record the meeting. Now there's another recording of the meeting. So that's one less thing that I have to do.
4:59Um, it is obviously available to the public uh already online and they can watch us live and see us in action. So, um, those meeting minutes are also, uh, there's a couple different websites that they draft their own meeting minutes, but my official meeting minutes get presented to you at the next meeting and then you vote on them. Once you accept them, that is when I actually file those
5:21digitally and I also file those with the clerk's office. So, any kind of public records request would go normally through the clerk's office, not directly to me. They can request it from me, but normally it goes through the clerk's office uh, as they hold all the board meeting minutes. And so there should be kind of a fail safe of the clerk's office having them on file and then also
5:41our department having them on file. And so I think I'd like to continue doing it that way because it's worked so far. Um it's a good practice to have although this the city clerk they had never requested it and it's not permanent.
5:53They now said it's a good practice to have it but they never used to request it. But now it's it's a good practice but they should actually make it mandatory but they never made it. I think I think it is required by law. I was surprised.
6:06No, no, it's it's still not. I called the city court. She said it's not still mandatory. I mean, you could still It's a good practice to have, she said. But it's still not mandatory.
6:16It's done.
6:17Okay.
6:18Okay, let's move on.
6:20Um, so I mean, so that was basically pretty much it. Public recording of trustes minutes. I used to record them um audio and then I would usually you can get rid of that once the minutes are approved and then they go to the clerk but now we have like I said the recording so I just watch the back and then I make sure that I'm accurate to the minutes doing that. We have the
6:40trustees approve them. So that's our process of approval and then the filing goes um here digitally and then to the clerk's office to be uh to be filed by the clerk. So anyone of the public could kind of uh put in a request for any of those and they will be available from this point forward.
6:58Uh so I don't think that we'll have this situation again. And that's pretty much all I have to say about the process.
7:04And we're meeting today because of the protocol.
7:07Yes, it's it's um just yes, just because uh we were required to meet within 14 days to respond uh to discuss how we wanted to respond. It was a little bit late to tell you all yesterday. That was when I was notified that he withdrew his complaint. I just wanted to double check and I felt like maybe the meeting would go slightly differently if if you know we don't have to draft a letter, all
7:29those kinds of things. Uh so it was great that we were able to resolve that.
7:33Was it because he was satisfied that he dropped his claim or was it Yeah. No, he said he said um I uh thank you for thank you for fulfilling the requirements of the request. I believe um I believe he said I am satisfied. He just Yeah, he just said, "Thank you. I withdraw the the complaint." He was He was kind about it.
7:53Was there anything of particular that he was looking for in the minutes?
7:57No, I don't Yeah, I'm not No.
8:02Well, I don't know if he said it to you or not. Ask him.
8:06No, it was I'm not certain exactly what he was looking for. Um, he was looking for 2020 to 2026 July 2nd. Um, so Any questions?
8:22Are we ready to move on?
8:24Yeah, I think so.
8:25We're ready to journ.
8:27Yeah, there I don't think there's any citizens input. Um, so I'll take a motion.
8:35I make a motion to second.
8:38All in favor?
8:39I.
8:40Any opposed?
8:42There we are.
8:43Thank you.