Board of Trustees & Committees

Library Board of Trustees
The Regular Meetings of the Board of Trustees of the Vespasian Warner Public Library District for the 2024-2025 fiscal year will be 6:00 p.m., at the Vespasian Warner Public Library, 310 N Quincy St., Clinton, Illinois on the following dates:
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​July 9, 2025 - Minutes (Approved 8/20/25)
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August 20, 2025 - Minutes (Approved 9/10/25)
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September 10, 2025 - Minutes (Approved 10/1)
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Vespasian Warner Public Library District
Clinton, IL  61727
Board of Trustees Meeting
September 10, 2025
 
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President Laura Hale called meeting of the board to order at 6 p.m.  Roll call was taken with the following members present:  Hale, Becky Adams, Stephanie Coonce, Clay Held, and Camille Redman.  Absent:  Janelle Sams-Thomas and Matt Love.  Also present:  Executive Director Bobbi Perryman and Maintenance Supervisor Lucas Snow.
 
Corrections or additions to the minutes:  The minutes from  August 20, 2025, were approved by voice vote on a motion by Coonce.
 
Approval of Bills—none
 
Correspondence—none
 
Staff Reports—

• Melissa Snow and Emily Dunham are deep into Halloween planning.

• Snow is working with Cassandra Meyen to host the Monarch Festival.  Caterpillars, surprisingly, are cannibalistic, and some needed to be replaced.  All but one of the remaining caterpillars created a chrysalis. Monarchs have begun hatching on the children’s floor.  The butterflies are to be live-streamed.

• August program attendance was way up.  Digital circulation is up.  Young Adult is up. Patron services continues to grow, and computer usage is up.

 
Standing Committee Reports

1. Finance—Cincinnati reduced the deductible for their liability insurance down from $92,000 to $25,000.  Due to cost, the library’s worker compensation insurance is now with Marquette.  We probably will need to file an extension for our audit with the state of Illinois.  Since all Illinois townships have audits due this year, the accountant firms who do public government audits are swamped.  All of our information has been sent to our auditor.

2. Property—Forms have been laid out for the concrete for the outdoor HVAC unit.  It will be complete before the Apple & Pork Festival.  Concrete from the old garage will be removed.  It presents a tripping hazard.  The 40-ton unit is expected to arrive September 18-22.  A crane will lift the unit from the truck and put it into place.  The construction timeline is now complete, indicating which trade will be doing what when.  Basement work is expected to last 8 to 10 weeks.  The boiler room demolition begins next week.  The first floor work is also expected to last 8 to 10 weeks.  It includes removing the entire drop ceiling.  The children’s floor work should take 4 to 6 weeks.  The museum will start from scratch anytime.  Some overlap will occur.  Contingencies are in place for when the circulation desk has to be moved, as well as for other areas.  Bathrooms are not expected to be a problem since the only changes are the additions of electric baseboard heaters.  The library will have heat by winter.  This is the last shoulder season involved.  The entire project will take 6 months from start to finish, so the air conditioning will be done before it is needed.  For other construction, the bid was awarded for the ADA concrete bid, but the contractor has not shown up. We may need to change contractors.

3. Personnel—Part-time clerk Olivia Totten has resigned.  She worked for the library for 2 ½ years.  She will be going to the Lincoln Library and will be working full-time there.

4. Policy—none

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Business Items:

1. Review Illinois Standards for Public Libraries:  Advocacy—Perryman credits the library staff with the strength of our partnership building with local groups, such as 4-H and the DeWitt County Museum.  The Friends of the Library has been doing advocacy for our library and for libraries in general.  The group is growing, with up to 20 members, many of them young.  Much credit for this goes to President Katrina Held.  They are going to work on locally elected officials.  Board member Clay Held suggested the library might want to join the DeWitt County Coalition of non-profits, which meets at the U of I extension office.  It is considering expansion to public governmental units and local businesses.

2. Tour of facility—After adjournment, Snow and Perryman will take the board on a tour of all of the library, including its nooks and crannies, with an emphasis on how the HVAC project will affect these areas.

 
Announcements—A poll is in progress to select a name for the new pavilion.  Patrons may vote at the circulation desk.
 
Adjournment—On a motion by Adams, the meeting was adjourned at 6:28 p.m.  Motion passed by voice vote.
 
The next meeting is Wednesday, October 1, 2025, at 6 p.m.
 
 
Respectfully submitted,
Becky Adams
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October 1, 2025 - Minutes (Approved 11/12/25)
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Vespasian Warner Public Library District
Clinton, IL  61727
Board of Trustees Meeting
October 1, 2025
 
 
President Laura Hale called the public hearing on taking out a loan for the HVAC project to order at 6:02 p.m.  The hearing was closed at 6:03 p.m.
 
Hale called the Board of Trustees meeting to order at 6:03 p.m.  Roll call was taken with the following members present:  Hale, Matt Love, Becky Adams, and Clay Held.  Absent:  Janelle Sams-Thomas, Stephanie Coonce, and Camille Redman.  Also present:  Executive Director Bobbi Perryman and Lance White, Vice President of Ag and Business Banking, from the First National Bank.
 
Corrections or additions to the minutes:  The minutes from  September 10, 2025, were approved by voice vote on a motion by Held.
 
Approval of Bills—none
 
Correspondence—none
 
Staff Reports—

• Clinton Cloverbuds 4-H went on a behind-the-scenes tour of the library.

• A grant application for math programming has been submitted, but only 15 libraries nationwide will be selected.  Another was submitted to add more STEM kits to the collection.

• More than 200 people stopped by the library’s Apple & Pork booth.

• Door count for September of 2024 was 2,400, but this year it was 3,500.

• The upstairs windows were painted for homecoming and a golf cart was decorated for the homecoming parade.

• Melissa Snow attended a YEP ceremony where she accepted the grant funding for our STEM kits and was encouraged to apply for more.

 
Standing Committee Reports

1. Finance—The levy for the coming year has been drafted, and we are waiting on our final EAV.

2. Property—The work on implementing the lighting grant from Ameren for changing interior lighting is underway.  The lower level is done.  We hope to see a drop in the power bill.  Steve Carithers, project manager for the HVAC project met with library representatives.  The smaller unit is planned to be installed in the museum room in December.  The big unit is due to arrive Oct. 7 and be installed shortly thereafter.  It will be offline Oct. 13 and scheduled for start-up Oct. 14.  We still have not received the bill for the second payment yet.

3. Personnel—Part-time clerk Olivia Totten resigned, and Sarah Jenkins-Smith has been hired to replace her.  She started tonight.

4. Policy—see below.

 
Business Items:

1. Adoption of ordinance 25-2 to take out a loan for the HVAC project.  The entire project is to cost $2,201,652.  Love moved to approve a loan for $1.5 million from the First National Bank.  The interest is to be 2.5 percent below the Wall Street Journal Prime, which then becomes 4.99 per cent.  This will apply to the first seven years of the loan and is to be re-adjusted after that.  The vote was unanimously in favor, with Hale, Love, Adams, and Held voting yes, the remaining board members being absent.  The loan documents were signed by President Hale and Secretary Adams.

2. Renew and approve the draft programming policy.  The contents of this policy are similar to the library’s materials policy, with much of the wording borrowed from that of the Skokie Public Library.  After the review, Adams moved that the programming policy be adopted, and the motion passed by voice vote.

3. Review Illinois Standards for Public Libraries:  Building and Grounds.  The library will need to do a new section on capital improvements next year.  We are working on environmental standards, and will be in compliance after the lighting upgrade and the HVAC project are complete.

 
Announcements—After polling our patrons, the new pavilion has been named after Minnie B. Warner, who encouraged her husband Vespasian Warner to make a donation of land and money for the establishment of the library.  An aluminum sign will be mounted outside on the pavilion, and a plaque honoring major donors to the project will be placed inside next to the Woods photo of the board that oversaw the building of the library’s addition 35 years ago.
 
Adjournment—On a motion by Love, the meeting was adjourned at 6:30 p.m.  Motion passed by voice vote.
 
The next meeting is Wednesday, November 12, 2025, at 6 p.m.
 
 
Respectfully submitted,
Becky Adams
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​​​October 1, 2025 - Legal Notice
LEGAL NOTICE
 
NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING
 
On the taking out of a loan by the Vespasian Warner Public Library District
 
Notice is hereby given to the Public that on Wednesday, October 1, 2025, at the hour of 6:00 P.M. at the Vespasian Warner Public Library, 310 North Quincy Street, Clinton, Illinois, a public hearing will be held on the taking out of a loan by the Vespasian Warner Public Library District.
 
Becky Adams Secretary, Board of Trustees Date: August 25, 2025 Vespasian Warner Public Library District 310 North Quincy Street Clinton, Illinois 61727
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November 12, 2025 - Minutes (Approved 12/10/25)
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Vespasian Warner Public Library District
Clinton, IL  61727
Board of Trustees Meeting
November 12, 2025
  
President Laura Hale called the Board of Trustees meeting to order at 6:03 p.m.  Roll call was taken with the following members present:  Hale, Matt Love (in at 6:06), Becky Adams, Janelle Sams-Thomas, Stephanie Coonce, and Camille Redman.  Absent:  Clay Held.  Also present:  Executive Director Bobbi Perryman and Youth Services Manager Melissa Snow.
 
Corrections or additions to the minutes:  The minutes from  October 1, 2025, were approved by voice vote on a motion by Sams-Thomas.
 
Approval of Bills—none
 
Correspondence—none
 
Staff Reports—

• The Clinton Power Station’s six-year real estate assessment agreement ends in 2027, with the new agreement to take effect for the tax year 2028.  Stakeholders and attorney Robin Schwartz met at the school for a meet and greet.  The schools receive the lion’s share of the tax money, with the library’s portion about 4.5%.  A permit for renewal of the station’s operation is pending with the government.  Negotiations will begin late next year.  The station is actively hiring and possibly could add another reactor later on.  Both that possibility and the infusion of money from META are indicators that the agreed-upon assessment will probably go up.

• The library held three times as many programs this October as we did last year.  The library was part of the Homecoming Parade, participated in a Wapella Says Yes event, and was part of the Monster Mash on the square for Halloween.

• The library conducted two “Murder and Mayhem” tours of downtown Clinton and want to do one in Wapella next year.

• The children’s floor hosted the library’s first Crime Club for Teens with Christin, featuring an attempt to solve local cold cases (without much luck), but the event went over well anyway and had a great turnout.

 
Standing Committee Reports

1. Finance—The first ENTEC bill is expected soon.  All taxes are in, so the library has plenty of money.  Interest is up; the money market account is at 4%.  However, expenses are also up, such as gas and utilities.  We won’t be drawing on the loan from the First National until we need it.  The audit is in process.  It will probably be done by February, with an extension.

2. Property—Farm tenant Mark Schwartz wants to continue.  Rent on the yearly lease might be changed as we check on standard rents published by the University of Iowa.  The big HVAC units have arrived for the new building, and they are HUGE.  The units for the old building are much smaller.  Temporary heat is in place, probably until the new units begin working the first week in December.  There have been no patron complaints, except for the smell when the contractors cut through concrete insulation.  The sign is now up on the new pavilion.  It cost $170.

3. Personnel—Staff evaluations are done.

4. Policy—State law now allows non-residential fees to be paid in installments.  Perryman suggests the board consider allowing this, maybe for those whose fees are over $100, possibly in four installments.

Business Items:

1. FY 2025/2026 Tax Levy—This represents a 4.46% total increase.

2. FY 2025/2026 Building Equipment and Maintenance Levy—This represents a 4.76% increase.  Sams-Thomas moved that the Board pass both levies.  The motion passed unanimously.

3. Review Illinois Standards for Public Libraries:  Collections.  The standards were discussed, and the library currently meets all state standards.

4. Executive Director Performance Review—Adams moved that the board enter closed session at 6:42.  The board returned to open session at 7:03.  At that time the board reviewed with Perryman their discussion.

 
Announcements—none
 
Adjournment—On a motion by Love, the meeting was adjourned at 7:10 p.m.  Motion passed by voice vote.
 
The next meeting is Wednesday, December 10, 2025, at 6 p.m.
 
 
Respectfully submitted,
Becky Adams
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December 10, 2025 - Minutes (Approved 2/11/26)
Vespasian Warner Public Library District
Clinton, IL  61727
Board of Trustees Meeting
December 10, 2025
 
 
President Laura Hale called the Board of Trustees meeting to order at 6:02 p.m.  Roll call was taken with the following members present:  Hale, Janelle Sams-Thomas, Becky Adams, Stephanie Coonce, Clay Held, and Camille Redman.  Absent:  Matt Love.  Also present:  Executive Director Bobbi Perryman.
 
Corrections or additions to the minutes:  The corrected minutes from November 12, 2025, were approved by voice vote on a motion by Sams-Thomas.
 
Approval of Bills—none
 
Correspondence—none
 
Staff Reports—

• Sams-Thomas and Perryman met with Mark Schwarze for the farm lease renewal for March 1, 2026, through February of 2027 for the same amount as last year:  $25,837.50.  He appears to be taking excellent care of our farm.  This spring he will be ordering soil tests not done for the last five years.  Yields have been good.  This year the farm produced 87 bushels per acre beans.

• The director worked with a committee for the Reaching Forward South Conference in April.  The group will be giving a presentation on problem patrons.

• The director attended the 2025 ILA Legislative Meet-Up in Bloomington.  Representative Sally Turner’s staffer was there.  E-book prices are currently too high, and they may be able to negotiate a lower price.

• Heat may be restored to the lower level this week.

• Numbers were down due to lower hours and only being open 21 days in November due to heating issues.

• Youth Services Manager Melissa Snow and Logan Janicki finalized their proposal about Magic the Gathering and Pokemon programs for Reaching Forward South.

• Sarah Jenkins Smith is the new clerk on the children’s floor.  She works alone in the evening and is particularly good with disruptive kids.

• Rachel Deavers did research on comets and made stars for the room at the DeWitt County Museum that the library was responsible for decorating.

 
Standing Committee Reports

1. Finance—All information has been submitted for the audit.  One CD was renewed.

2. Property—We’ve experienced lots of delays with the HVAC installation.  The last part arrived for the lower level, and the electrician is done with the generator there.  Demolition has begun on the main floor.  There was a leak in front of the men’s room on the children’s floor due to an ice dam. The second installment of $300,000 for the HVAC work has been sent.

3. Personnel—none

4. Policy—See below.

 
 
Business Items:

1. Change Closing Hour on Fridays from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m.  The library has been slammed with people after school about 3:45.  Coonce moved for the change, which was approved unanimously.

2. Approve Non-Resident Fee Payment Policy—The suggestion was made to allow two payments, in July and January for non-residents whose fees are $100 or more.  The motion by Redman passed unanimously.

3. Review of Standards for Illinois Libraries—Finance.  The library meets all the state requirements, follows General Accounting Standards, and avoids only one person handling money.  Electronic payments must be approved by three people.  The only item we need is a long-term financial plan.

4. Patron Ban Discussion—Closed under 5 ILCS 120/2(c)(8).  Adams moved to enter closed session at 6:27 p.m.  The vote passed unanimously.  Following the closed session, Held moved to ban Zachary Wharton from the library permanently.  The vote passed unanimously.

 
Announcements—Library Director Perryman will be gone to Disney between Christmas and New Year’s.
 
Adjournment—On a motion by Sams-Thomas, the meeting was adjourned at 6:38 p.m.  Motion passed by voice vote.
 
The next meeting is Wednesday, January 14, 2026, at 6 p.m.
 
 
Respectfully submitted,
Becky Adams
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January 14, 2026 - Cancelled
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​February 11, 2026 - Minutes (Approved 3/11/26)
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Vespasian Warner Public Library District

Clinton, IL  61727

Board of Trustees Meeting

February 11, 2026

 

 

President Laura Hale called the Board of Trustees meeting to order at 6:01 p.m.  Roll call was taken with the following members present:  Hale, Matt Love, Becky Adams, Stephanie Coonce, Clay Held, and Camille Redman.  Absent:  Janelle Sams-Thomas.  Also present:  Executive Director Bobbi Perryman.

 

Corrections or additions to the minutes:  The minutes from December 10, 2025, were approved by voice vote on a motion by Redman.

 

Approval of Bills—none

 

Correspondence—Goldwater Estates is contesting its tax assessment, and their protest will be going before the county’s board of review.

 

Staff Reports—

• The past month has been hectic due to construction.  The contractors, however, have been very pleasant and accommodating, and our patrons have been patient and understanding.

• Due to only being open 19 days, foot traffic has been down, but not by much.

• The library had its highest juvenile circulation in the last five years and an 83% increase over 2024.

• In addition, the library had the highest program attendance in the last five years and an 88% increase over 2024. 

• Patron numbers increased by 8%, and reference questions increased by 54%.

• There was a TIF District meeting today.  TIF I is expiring.  Called Park Lane West, it was begun in 1990, with a value of $40,000 and is now worth $12 million.  TIF IV, which includes the square, was begun in 2012 and was valued at $5.4 million.  Its current valuation is $8.2 million and won’t expire until 2035.

• Executive Director Perryman is now on the Clinton Celebrates 250 committee and is in charge of marketing and organizing volunteers.  The library will have a table on the square and will have an entry in the July 3 parade.

• The Summer Reading Program planning is complete and ready to go.

• Youth Services Manager Melissa Snow wrote and received another grant from YEP for STEM kits.

• The library had an information table at a recent Vault program for grandparents raising grandchildren.  The table featured available resources at the library, including toddler time.

Standing Committee Reports

1. Finance—The audit report was all good, with no evidence of fraud or of the library staff doing anything incorrectly.  ENTEC payments for $300,000 in June and $450,000 in November were taken from the library’s checking account.  The next payment of $210,000 was taken from the library’s money market account, and the one after that will also come from the money market account.  The library has not used any of the approved loan yet.

2. Property—HVAC Update:  There is now partial heat in the new building.  The lowest reading during this process was 39 degrees.  However, now it’s warm enough to put Luna back on the children’s floor.  New carpeting will be needed around the edges of the children’s floor.  An anonymous donation and $5,000 in interest will pay for this replacement.  The new building is scheduled for a March completion.  However, air handlers for the old building have not arrived and will not be here until March, so that area will not be done then. After the meeting, the board will get a tour of the building to see the progress.

3. Personnel—none

4. Policy—See below.

 

 

Business Items:

1. Approve Draft of the Nursing Mothers Policy, based on a new law.  Coonce moved to approve the proposed policy, which was passed by voice vote.  Coming soon:  a policy concerning leave for mothers with children in the NICU.

2. Authorize electronic payments for Globe Life—Currently the library is receiving a late notice even when checks are mailed well in advance.  Adams moved to authorize the electronic payments, which were approved unanimously by a roll call vote.

3. Review of Standards for Illinois Libraries—Governance.  Suggestions for improvements include 1) regularly review bylaws, 2) IPLAR presentation to the board at its August meeting, 3) more education for trustees, a move promoted by the state, which has opened a new online portal to facilitate this, 4) board advocating for the library with local, state, and federal stakeholders (personal choice), and 5) the board could be more involved in conferences.

 

Announcements—The building tour will be held following the meeting.

 

Adjournment—On a motion by Love, the meeting was adjourned at 6:32 p.m.  Motion passed by voice vote.

 

The next meeting is Wednesday, March 11, 2026, at 6 p.m.

 

 

Respectfully submitted,

Becky Adams

​​​March 11, 2026 - Minutes Pending Approval
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​April 8, 2026
May 13, 2026
June 10, 2026
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Board minutes are available for inspection at the Vespasian Warner Public Library.