Record of Proceedings
Adams County Public Library
Board of Trustees Regular Meeting
Manchester Public Library
September 9, 2026 – 5:30 p.m.
The Adams County Public Library Board of Trustees met on September 9, 2026, at 5:30 p.m. for a regular meeting at Manchester Public Library.
Phil Rhonemus called the meeting to order. Members present were Elaine Lafferty, Sarah Shelton, Linda Stepp, Kayla Bowman, Holly Johnson, and Linda Worley. Others present were Executive Director Nicholas Slone and Fiscal Officer Steven Harris.
There was no public participation.
Minutes of the previous Board of Trustees meeting were reviewed and discussed. Motion #1 made by Elaine Lafferty, seconded by Holly Johnson to approve the minutes of the regular meeting held August 12, 2026. Motion carried. All yeas.
Report of Fiscal Officer
The financial reports submitted by the fiscal officer were reviewed and discussed. Motion #2 made by Linda Worley, seconded by Kayla Bowman to accept the financial reports of the Fiscal Officer and approve the payment of bills. Motion carried. All
yeas.
Motion #3 made by Holly Johnson, seconded by Kayla Bowman to table the Resolution Accepting the Amounts and Rates as Determined by the Budget Commission and Authorizing the Necessary Tax Levies and Certifying Them to the County Auditor as we have not received them at this time. Motion carried. All yeas.
Report of Executive Director
Josh and Jacob successfully replaced the security camera at Manchester so we should now be able to take care of future camera replacements. We are going to get Empire to seal the holes where security cameras were moved.
Nick is following up with West Union Police Department regarding the vandalism at the library.
We are planning for first full-day staff development training in October.
The Prosecutor and Civil Attorney are planning to attend the next board meeting. Nick discussed the Public Services, Information Services, and Outreach Services for the month. The circulation stats will be available next month.
Julia has been doing staff spotlights. We have been doing so many meals that we have run out of meals but more are on the way.
West Union is working on some décor updates and signage updates to make the library more user friendly.
We had to switch from WhoFi to Local Hop of our room reservation scheduling due to the state library no longer providing WhoFi. Local Hop is a significant savings over WhoFi.
Motion #4 made by Linda Stepp, seconded by Sarah Shelton to accept donations, acknowledge volunteer services, and to approve library support group activities as requested. Motion carried. All yeas.
Old Business
Motion #5 made by Holly Johnson, seconded by Sarah Shelton, to approve the disposal of documents according to the library’s records retention schedule. Motion carried. All yeas.
The North Adams Shelter House is still not fully completed so it is not ready to transfer to the library at this time. Hopefully, it will be ready by October.
The room reservation policies were briefly discussed as to why they were set up the way they are. The shelter house policy is not ready to adopt at this point.
We have one more LED lighting quote to review on Friday from Energy Optimizers. The AMPICA estimate came in around $37,000. We have requested they come back to prepare a final estimate using a certified electrician. There will probably be no grant funds to use.
Nick presented a comparison of the benefits and drawbacks to having your own library foundation. Various issues related to using the Community Foundation or our own private foundation were discussed.
New Business
Holly Johnson discussed the bench/statue project for West Union. She has found a sculptor, Tizzano, and he has found a foundry to cast the statue/bench. He is going to provide sketches for our review and approval. The project would be funded entirely through an anonymous donation obtained by the Friends of the Library. The cost is around $60,000. They are trying for a spring timeframe.
6:25 p.m. Motion #6 made by Linda Worley, seconded by Elaine Lafferty, to enter into Executive Session to discuss the employment and compensation of employees (ORC 121.22 (G)(1). Roll call Phil Rhonemus-yea, Linda Stepp-yea, Linda Worley-yea, Holly Johnson-yea, Kayla Bowman-yea, Elaine Lafferty-yea, and Sarah Shelton-yea.
6:28 p.m. Reconvened in regular session.
Motion #7 made by Linda Stepp, seconded by Linda Worley, to accept, with regrets, the resignation of Amanda McCann effective September 9, 2026 as recommended by the Director. Motion carried. All yeas.
Adjournment
Motion #8 made by Linda Worley, seconded by Kayla Bowman, to adjourn the meeting. The board will meet in regular session at the North Adams Public Library on Wednesday, October 14, 2026 at 5:30 p.m.