Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Library Policy topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Library trustees ask Select Board to review personnel policy, offer $5,000 grant for walkway
Summary
Library trustees told the Select Board that library staff do not consider themselves town employees and asked whether a library-specific personnel-policy acknowledgement is acceptable; trustees also offered a $5,000 restricted grant for a children's-room walkway with a May 1, 2026 completion/report deadline.
Liz Milligan, a trustee of the Town of Jefferson Library, asked the Select Board on Aug. 18 to allow library employees to sign an updated Library Personnel Policy acknowledgement rather than the town's employee manual, saying staff do not view themselves as town employees. Milligan also reported the library received a $5,000 grant (from the Manton Foundation through the Association of Rural and Small Libraries) restricted to a single facility improvement: the walkway outside the children's room leading to the playground.
The Select Board did not take immediate action. Instead, members asked Administrative Assistant Amanda Simino to send both the library personnel policy and the town employee manual to the town attorney for review to ensure the documents and acknowledgements cover employees and liability. The trustees said they would be willing to transfer the $5,000 to the town for the walkway project if needed to meet grant requirements.
Milligan said the grant is one-time only and that, if unused, the funds must be returned to the Association of Rural and Small Libraries; she said the project and final report must be completed no later than May 1, 2026. The board also asked staff to consult the Division of Local Government/Department of Revenue Administration (DRA) and the town auditors about the proper financial mechanism should the trustees transfer the funds to the town for construction.
Trustees raised two accessibility items: Milligan asked the board to pursue the installation of baby-changing tables in each restroom, and she requested Portland Glass's contact information so the trustees can adjust a hinge on the door between the children's room and the blue room, which they said can block an emergency-exit door and hinder accessibility. Selectman Norman Brown said the state would require engineered building plans for an ADA site visit; because the town does not have those plans, the board asked staff to gather price quotes for four changing tables and return with cost estimates at a future meeting.
The Select Board directed staff to obtain legal and fiscal guidance and to return to the trustees with recommended next steps and any proposed contract or funding mechanism for the walkway project.
