* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting. [00:00:01] CLOSED CAPTIONING PROVIDED BY BUFORT COUNTY. IT HAS TAKE OVER JUST A MOMENT. WE'RE HAVING THE TECHNICAL DIFFICULTY. OKAY. ALL RIGHT. I'M GONNA CALL THE MEETING TO ORDER. IT'S 4 0 3. UH, COULD WE ALL RISE AND SAY THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND TO THE REPUBLIC NATION UNDER GOD, INDIVIDUAL WITH THE LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL? THANK YOU SO MUCH. THANK YOU ALL FOR BEING HERE. UH, WE WILL NOW HAVE THE INTRODUCTION OF THE BOARD MEMBERS. WOULD YOU LIKE TO START? TRACY? MM-HMM . TRACY ROBINSON. DISTRICT FOUR BAR COLE. DISTRICT THREE. THOMAS. DISTRICT TWO. BRENDA WATSON POWELL. DISTRICT ONE, MILLER CHAIR AND DISTRICT 10. JANET PORTER, DISTRICT EIGHT. HOW ABOUT THIS DISTRICT 11. ROSA LEE RICHMOND, DISTRICT SEVEN. DO YOU HAVE A MICROPHONE? UH, PUT YOUR MICROPHONE CLOSER. MAYBE. ARE ARE YOU OKAY? IT'S ON. OH, IT'S ON? OKAY. ALRIGHT. I'M JOE PASSMAN COUNTY COUNCIL, AND I REPRESENT DISTRICT FIVE AND I'M THE LIAISON. THANK YOU. UH, WE HAVE AUDRA AN OGDEN HERE, AN ANTON ANTONACCI OGDEN HERE FROM C COMMUNITY SERVICES, AND WE HAVE JANINE MUD DISTRICT NINE . JUST A COUPLE MINUTES LATE. THAT'S ALL RIGHT. ATIONS, I'M, I'M, I APPRECIATE EVERYONE'S ON RIGHT. RELATIVELY ON TIME BECAUSE THE TRAFFIC IS GETTING TO BE A REAL PROBLEM. SO I THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR BEING HERE. UH, WE ALSO HAVE A GUEST AND THAT WOULD BE JANE FARNER FARNER. AND I CAN'T, I'M STACY AND JANE. STACY, YES. AND STACY IS HERE, IS THE BRANCH MANAGER OF BUFORT. ASKED HER IF SHE WANTED TO COME. WATCH WHAT WE DO. STACY. SHE'S GOOD PEOPLE. THANK YOU. . WELL, I THINK I, I THINK I KNOW STACY PRETTY WELL, BUT THE NAME I COULDN'T REMEMBER. UM, ALRIGHT. UM, NEXT WE'LL, I, DO WE HAVE ANY PUBLIC COMMENT? ANYONE LIKE TO SAY ANYTHING? NO. OKAY. THANK YOU. UM, WE HAVE A LITTLE BIT OF CORRESPONDENCE. I'D LIKE TO READ A LETTER THAT WE'VE RECEIVED. DEAR COUNCIL, THIS WAS SENT TO, UH, COUNCILMAN PASSMAN AND COUNCILWOMAN TABERNAC, BUT IT WAS FORWARDED TO AMANDA IN HONOR OF NATIONAL LIBRARY WEEK. I'D LIKE TO SHARE MY SINCERE APPRECIATION FOR YOUR SUPPORT OF THE BEAUFORD COUNTY LIBRARIES. AS AN AVID READER AND LIFELONG LEARNER, I'M DEEPLY GRATEFUL FOR THE RESOURCES OUR LIBRARY PROVIDE, BOTH AT THE BRANCHES AND ELECTRONICALLY. FOR BEAUFORT COUNTY STUDENTS HOOPLA, THE DIGITAL LENDING LIBRARY IS ONE OF THE MOST FREQUENT USED APPS ON MY PHONE. AS A PERSON WHO WORKS REMOTELY, I ALSO CHERISH THE INVITING STUDY CAROLS AND ROOMS AVAILABLE AT THE HILTON HEAD LIBRARY. BRINGING MY VIRTUAL OFFICE TO THE LIBRARY ALLOWS ME TO INTERACT WITH OTHER BOOK LOVERS AND ACCOMPLISH THINGS IN A SAFE AND STUDIOUS ENVIRONMENT. DURING THE 10 YEARS I HAVE LIVED IN THE COUNTY, IN BUFORT COUNTY, I'VE HAD THE DISTINCT PLEASURE OF VISITING ALL THE LIBRARY BRANCHES, INCLUDING THE NEWEST PORT ROYAL BRANCH. IT'S HARD TO SAY, WHICH IS MY FAVORITE. HOWEVER, THE ST. HELENA LIBRARY IS PARTICULARLY SPECIAL PLACE. PLEASE SHARE MY GRATITUDE WITH YOUR FELLOW COUNCIL MEMBERS AND ALL OF THE BEAUFORT COUNTY LIBRARY STAFF. IT IS A PLEASURE TO HOLD A LIBRARY CARD IN THIS COMMUNITY WITH THANKS FOR YOUR LEADERSHIP FROM A LIBRARY PATRON. SO I WANTED ALL OF YOU TO KNOW THAT WE ARE APPRECIATED. THANK YOU. SO YOU THIS MR. MOORE? YES, WE HAVE MR. MICHAEL MOORE, THE COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR. WOULD YOU LIKE TO SAY ANYTHING? HI, EVERYONE. , WELCOME. I'M SURE YOU COULD SAY ON AND ON, SO THANK YOU FOR THE SHORT. YEAH, WELL, IT'S GREAT TO BE HERE WITH YOU ALL TODAY. I DID HAVE A FEW THINGS I COULD SAY, UM, BUT I'VE BEEN THE COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR SINCE JULY 1ST OF LAST YEAR, SO COMING UP ON 11 MONTHS, I'M GLAD TO FLY AND GET A CHANCE TO COME OVER AND MEET THE BOARD. I'VE BEEN TRYING TO GET AROUND AND MEET EVERYBODY, SO, SO HERE I AM. BUT, UM, YOU KNOW, I THINK LIBRARIES OBVIOUSLY ARE, ARE BIG PARTS OF EVERY COMMUNITY. I THINK, YOU KNOW, WHERE THE, UM, LIBRARIES ARE THROUGHOUT THE COUNTY I THINK ARE IMPORTANT. THEY KIND OF ANCHOR SOME OF THE AREAS AND, UM, YOU KNOW, I'VE BEEN TO SEVERAL OF 'EM. I DON'T THINK I'VE BEEN TO ALL OF THEM, BUT THIS ONE IN [00:05:01] PARTICULAR I REALLY LIKE BECAUSE I'VE BEEN HERE A COUPLE TIMES AND MY GRANDSON HAS BEEN HERE TOO, SO THAT'S PRETTY EXCITING. HE'S LIKE, UH, YEAR AND A YEAR AND A HALF NOW. SO, PRETTY EXCITED ABOUT THAT. BUT ANYWAY, UM, YOU KNOW, I THINK FOR OUR, YOU KNOW, OUR COUNCIL AND, AND FOR ME AS ADMINISTRATION AND, YOU KNOW, WE'RE, IT'S GREAT TO HAVE AUDRA WHO'S KIND OF HERE AS ASSISTANT COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR NOW. YOU KNOW, IT'S A, YOU KNOW, WE TALK ABOUT IT'S A GREAT PLACE TO LIVE, WORK, AND PLAY. YOU KNOW, LIBRARIES ARE A KEY PART OF THAT. AND, UM, YOU KNOW, ALL THE RESIDENTS HERE IN THE COUNTY, NO MATTER THEIR BACKGROUND, AGE OR CIRCUMSTANCES DESERVE ACCESS TO THE TOOLS AND OPPORTUNITIES THEY NEED TO SUCCEED. AND WE CAN'T FULFILL THAT, OBVIOUSLY, WITHOUT THE LIBRARIES IN SUPPORT OF THIS, UM, BOARD. UM, I THINK IN TERMS OF, YOU KNOW, THE, YOU KNOW, WE'RE IN THE MIDST OF BUDGET RIGHT NOW, SO I THINK, YOU KNOW, WE'RE IN, IN A, IN A GOOD PLACE IN TERMS OF THAT. WE HAD OUR FIRST READING, UM, YOU KNOW, WE'VE GOT A NEW ORGANIZATION CHART AND AS I MENTIONED EARLIER, WE'VE GOT AUDRA HERE WHO'S, WHO'S, WHO'S, UM, NOW THE ASSISTANT COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR. UM, BUT, YOU KNOW, WE'VE ADDED SOME OTHER THINGS. YOU KNOW, I'M LOOKING AT, AT PERSONNEL FACILITIES AND, YOU KNOW, HOW DO WE BE FISCALLY RESPONSIBLE? YOU KNOW, WE'RE GONNA ADD A FOURTH EMS SHIFT TO LEAVE SOME PRESSURE. WE'RE GONNA LOOK AT FACILITIES MAINTENANCE AND THEN, AND LOOK AT SOME OTHER, UM, ASPECTS OF THE WAY THAT WE HAVE OUR ENTERPRISE FUNDS AND OUR MILLAGE ALLOCATIONS. UM, I'D ALSO LIKE TO THANK AMANDA FOR ALL HER EFFORTS HERE. UM, YOU KNOW, WE REALLY APPRECIATE WHAT SHE DOES HERE AT THE COUNTY. FROM MY PERSPECTIVE. I'M GRATEFUL FOR IT. AND, UM, I KNOW SHE'S GOT A LOT OF GREAT, UM, YOU KNOW, CREDIBILITY AND, UM, AND, AND, UH, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE LIKE TO TALK ABOUT THE LIBRARY. SO I'M ALWAYS EXCITED ABOUT THAT. AND, UH, YOU KNOW, GOING FORWARD, I LOOK, YOU KNOW, FORWARD TO WORKING WITH YOU ALL AND WITH AMANDA AND WHERE WE CAN IMPROVE OUR SERVICES AND, UM, YOU KNOW, WITHIN OUR, OUR FISCAL MEANS AND WORKING WITH COUNCIL ON THAT. SO, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, I JUST WANT TO THANK YOU ALL FOR BEING HERE AND, UH, FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO ADDRESS YOU ALL AND, UH, LOOK FORWARD TO WORKING AND MEETING EACH OF YOU. SO WITH THAT, AND AS FAR AS BACKGROUND, YOU KNOW, I WAS IN YORK COUNTY BEFORE I CAME HERE FOR ABOUT THREE YEARS. I'M A RETIRED NAVY VETERAN OF 30 YEARS, AND, UM, WIFE OF 35 YEARS, TWO SONS WITH THE ONE GRANDSON WHO LIVES HERE AND ONE LIVES IN, UM, ALABAMA. SO FORTUNATE, AND IT WAS CERTAINLY AN ATTRACTION TO COME TO BEAUFORT COUNTY, HAVING A GRANDSON WHO'S IN THE AREA. SO I TOTALLY UNDERSTAND . YEAH. . WELL, THANK YOU SO MUCH. SURE. UM, WE HAVE, WHEN, UH, MR. PASSMAN WAS HEAD OF COUNTY COUNCIL, UH, WE SAW SO MANY GREAT CHANGES, SO MANY POSITIVE CHANGES FOR THE COUNTY. IT'S GROWING LIKE CRAZY. IT'S HARD TO KEEP UP. AND WE'RE, WE LOOK FORWARD TO YOUR CHANGES AS WELL OR YOUR, YOUR POSITIVE INFLUENCE ON THE COUNTY. SO, WELL, THANK YOU FOR THAT. THANK YOU. HAPPY TO BE HERE, . THANK YOU FOR COMING. WELL, UM, WE HAVE THE LIBRARY DIRECTOR'S REPORT. BEFORE WE DO THAT, CAN WE, UH, VOTE ON THE MINUTES? OH, I ALWAYS FORGET THE MINUTES. THAT'S OKAY. UM, UH, THE MINUTES. OH, YES, IT'S RIGHT HERE. PUT YOUR GLASSES ON. IT HELPS APPROVE OF THE MINUTES. UM, MAY I HAVE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE MINUTES THAT WERE SENT OUT, BERNIE? SECOND. SECOND. SECOND. UH, JANET. ALL IN FAVOR? AYE. A AYE. AYE. OPPOSED? ALL RIGHT. THEY HAVE BEEN ACCEPTED, UH, AND NOW THAT LIBRARY DIRECTOR'S REPORT. YEAH. SO, UM, AS CUSTOMARY, I, UM, DO LIKE TO UTILIZE A LITTLE BIT OF A MULTIMEDIA TO GIVE YOU SOME VISUAL. UM, SO MR. MOORE, UNFORTUNATELY, YEAH, , THANK YOU. UM, I'LL BE SHARING SOME PHOTOS AND SOME UPDATES FROM THE LAST TIME THAT WE MET, WHICH WAS IN MARCH. UM, A LOT OF WONDERFUL THINGS HAVE HAPPENED SINCE THEN, AND I HOPE TO SHARE THAT WITH YOU TODAY. SO, AS YOU CAN SEE, UM, WE'VE, UH, CELEBRATED A LOT OF FUN THINGS, AND YOU'RE GONNA HEAR A LITTLE BIT MORE AS I GO FORWARD. UM, YOU'LL SEE, UM, MYSELF ON THE VERY BOTTOM RIGHT. UM, DURING NATIONAL LIBRARY WEEK, ALL OF OUR STAFF, UM, AT EACH LOCATION, UH, VISITED A COUNTY DEPARTMENT. AND SO THE ADMINISTRATIVE TEAM FOR THE LIBRARY VISITED THE ADMINISTRATIVE TEAM FOR THE COUNTY. AND, UM, WE PUT SOME BOOKS ON SHELVES IN YOUR HONOR. SO WE TOOK A PHOTO THERE. UM, HARRIS, AND THAT'S MS. CHERYL HARRIS. UM, THE, UH, ADMINISTRATOR'S ASSISTANT. UM, AT THE TOP, WE HAVE, UH, STAFF FROM LOCO WITH OUR VOTING STAFF, OUR VOTERS REGISTRATION STAFF, UM, AND THE UPPER, UH, RIGHT HAND CORNER, OUR PORT ROYAL STAFF VISITED WITH CHIEF MEYERS IN THE TOWN OF PORT ROYAL PD. UM, THE MIDDLE, UM, IN THE, IN THE MIDDLE, UH, IS BASKET FROM STACEY AND HER TEAM. THEY VISITED NEXUS, THE, UM, FORMERLY OR ALSO KNOWN AS, UM, BEAUFORT COUNTY ALCOHOL AND DRUG OFFICE, GIVING THEM SOME GOODIES ABOUT WHAT THE LIBRARY PROVIDES. AND THEN ON THE BOTTOM CORNER, OUR BOOKMOBILE STAFF VISITED THE PUBLIC WORKS, UM, DEPARTMENT. UH, IT IS PUBLIC WORKS APPRECIATION TIME OF YEAR, SO THAT KIND OF WORKED IN THERE. BUT [00:10:01] OUR, UM, BOOKMOBILES ARE OUT AND ABOUT AS IS PUBLIC WORKS. AND SO WE THOUGHT THAT WAS A GREAT PAIRING THERE. I'LL START BY GIVING YOU A LITTLE BIT OF UPDATE OF WHERE WE ARE ON PERSONNEL. WE HAVE THREE CURRENT VACANCIES, UM, IN THE PROCESS OF BEING FILLED, THAT WOULD BE A LIBRARY ASSISTANT, UM, PART-TIME AT HILTON HEAD LIBRARY ADMINISTRATOR FOR USER EXPERIENCE, AND A LIBRARIAN THAT WILL OVERSEE OUR COLLECTION DEVELOPMENT. THOSE ARE ALL IN PROCESS. I'M PLEASED TO TELL YOU THAT WE ARE CURRENTLY TRYING TO FILL FOUR SUMMER INTERNSHIPS, UH, WHERE WE'LL HAVE, UH, AN INTERN AT THE PORT ROYALLE AND BEAUFORT LOCATIONS, AND SOMETIMES POPPING IN ON THE BOOKMOBILE. WE'LL HAVE AN INTERN AT BLUFFTON, AN INTERN AT ST. HELENA, AND AN INTERN AT THE HILTON HEAD LOCATION. VERY THANKFUL TO OUR COUNTY HR AND FOR MR. MOORE'S, UM, SUPPORT OF PROVIDING INTERNSHIPS, UM, THROUGHOUT THE YEAR. BUT DURING THE SUMMER, YOU KNOW, WE GET BUSY WITH SUMMER READING, SO THIS WILL BE GREAT TO HAVE SOME ADDITIONAL HANDS AND MAYBE SOME FUTURE LIBRARIANS, UM, THAT WE GET TO WORK WITH. THIS SUMMER. I DO HAVE FOUR VACANCIES THAT WE ARE ACTIVELY INTERVIEWING FOR. THAT WOULD BE DEPUTY DIRECTOR, LIBRARY MANAGER, UH, AT HILTON HEAD, UH, SENIOR LIBRARIAN OR THE MANAGER AT LOKO. AND THEN A LIBRARY ASSISTANT FULL-TIME POSITION AT BLUFFTON. I AND I WILL CONTINUE TO FRAME MY, UH, THE REST OF MY REPORT, UM, IN THE, AROUND THE FOUR GOALS OF OUR STRATEGIC PLAN. AS YOU REMEMBER, THOSE ARE USER EXPERIENCE, COLLECTION, SPACE, AND COMMUNICATION. SO WE'LL START OFF WITH USER EXPERIENCE. OUR GOAL JUST TO REFRESH YOU, IS TO PROVIDE LIBRARY VISITORS WITH A FRIENDLY, INFORMED, USER-FOCUSED EXPERIENCE. LAST MONTH, I SHARED WITH YOU THAT WE WERE ON TRACK TO EXCEED THE AMOUNT OF LIBRARY CARDS THAT WE ISSUED FROM THE PREVIOUS YEAR. AS OF OUR LAST DATA OF APRIL 30TH, WE HAVE NOW ISSUED 5,630 NEW LIBRARY CARDS THIS YEAR. I KNOW, JANET, YOU LOVE NUMBERS AND CONTEXT, SO WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? WELL, LAST YEAR WE ISSUED 4,286. SO WE, WITH TWO MORE MONTHS TO GO, WE'RE LOOKING AT WELL OVER A THOUSAND MORE CARDS ISSUED IN THIS YEAR THAN THE PREVIOUS YEAR, WHICH IS A TESTAMENT TO OUR STAFF GETTING OUT AND TELLING PEOPLE THAT THE LIBRARY'S HERE FOR THEM AND WHAT WE HAVE TO OFFER. AND MOST OF ALL, FOR FREE. AND I HAVE TO SAY THAT FAR EXCEEDS, YOU KNOW, WE ALWAYS TRACK THAT RELATIVE TO POPULATION GROWTH, AND THAT THAT'S, IT LOOKS LIKE WE'RE GONNA BE AT ABOUT UP BY ABOUT A THIRD, WHICH WE HAVE A GROWING POPULATION, BUT NOT WHERE IT'S INCREASED BY A THIRD IN ONE YEAR. SO THAT IS PHENOMENAL BECAUSE WHEN WE DID THE STRATEGIC PLAN, WE REALLY WANTED, WE REALLY ASPIRED TO HAVE, YOU KNOW, EVERY CITIZEN KNOW THAT THEY HAD, THAT THEY HAD A COOL LIBRARY TO COME TO AND TO HAVE AS MANY LIBRARY CARDS AS POSSIBLE. SO THAT'S A HUGE PART OF OUR STRATEGIC PLAN. SO KUDOS, PLEASE EXTEND OUR APPRECIATION TO THE STAFF. YES, MA'AM. OUR ANNUAL BOOKMARK CONTEST IS COMPLETE. AND I WANNA DRAW YOUR ATTENTION TO THE BLUE FOLDER THAT YOU HAVE ON YOUR DESK. WE GAVE YOU ONE BOOKMARK. OF COURSE THERE ARE FOUR BECAUSE WE DO, UM, A BOOKMARK FOR FOUR AGE CATEGORIES. AND SO THESE ARE, UM, OUR WINNERS. GRAB MY NOTES. DO I TELL YOU WHO THESE WONDERFUL PEOPLE ARE? THE FOUR DESIGNS ARE PICTURED AND WELL, I'M GONNA START WITH THE YOUNGEST AGE CATEGORY AND TO THE, TO THE ADULT. OUR YOUNGEST, UM, ARTIST IS EVELYN ELLSWORTH, PICTURED IN THE LEFT. AND HER DESIGN IS, UH, THE ONE THAT HAS THE, THAT FEATURES THE VOLCANO. UM, OUR NEXT SELECTED ARTIST IS SOPHIA HETLAND, AND SHE HAS THE ONE THAT HAS STAIRS THAT MIGHT BE THE ONE THAT YOU HAVE IN YOUR PACKET. I SEE ROZ, THAT'S THE ONE YOU HAVE IN YOUR PACKET. AND OUR THIRD CATEGORY IN THE TEEN CATEGORY, UM, IS JANESSA BYWATER. HERS IS THE ONE THAT SAYS COLOR YOUR WORLD. AND THEN OUR ADULT WINNER IS, UM, EMILY MACIS, AND HERS IS THE ONE THAT HAS THE LION OR THE TIGER ON IT. YEAH. SO YOU CAN COLLECT ALL FOUR BY VISITING THE LIBRARY THIS SUMMER. UM, BUT I WANTED TO MAKE SURE YOU WALKED AWAY WITH A BRAND NEW BOOKMARK FROM OUR VERY TALENTED ARTIST. I DO WANNA SAY THAT AGAIN, THANKS TO OUR STAFF AND ALSO THE EFFORTS OF THE COUNTY GETTING THE WORD OUT ABOUT THIS. UM, THIS CONTEST, WE RECEIVED 1025 SUBMISSIONS. THAT'S 143 MORE THAN WE HAD LAST YEAR. THERE'S 1,025 ARTISTS WHO WANTED TO BECOME A BOOKMARK, AND, UM, VERY PROUD OF THESE FOUR WHO, UM, WHO ARE FEATURED. AS I MENTIONED, SUMMER READING IS RIGHT AROUND THE CORNER. UM, IT WILL BEGIN ON SATURDAY, MAY 31ST AND GO THROUGH JULY 31ST. THE THEME THIS YEAR IS COLOR OUR WORLD, HENCE THE BOOKMARKS WITH THE ARTIST THEME [00:15:01] ON IT. UM, AGAIN, JUST TO REMIND YOU, READING SUMMER READING PROGRAM IS NOT JUST FOR KIDS. WE WANT KIDS TO READ, BUT THIS IS READING FOR ALL AGES, AND WE HAVE PRIZES FOR ALL AGES, AND WE KEEP IT REALLY SIMPLE. IT'S VERY EASY TO TELL SOMEONE HOW TO PARTICIPATE STARTING MAY 31ST. THEY CAN GRAB A GAME BOARD. YOU HAVE ONE HOT OFF THE PRESS IN YOUR PACKET. WE'LL RELEASE THOSE STARTING MAY 31ST. WE DON'T WANT ANYBODY GETTING AHEAD OF US , BUT, UM, ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS READ 20 MINUTES A DAY AND MARK OFF ONE OF THOSE SQUARES OR CIRCLES ON THE PALLET. LET ME BE CLEAR ABOUT WHAT WE ASK YOU TO READ. WHATEVER YOU WANT. YOU CAN READ THE BACK OF A SERIAL BOX. IT CAN BE YOUR EMAILS, MR. MOORE. IT CAN BE TEXT MESSAGES, IT CAN BE IN A GOOD OLD FASHIONED BOOK. IT COULD BE A GOOD OLD FASHIONED BOOK. UM, 20 MINUTES A DAY IS ALL WE ASK. AND IF YOU, UM, NOTATE YOUR GAME BOARD, BRING THAT IN TO US AFTER YOU'VE COMPLETED 30 DAYS OF READING, AND WE'RE GONNA GIVE YOU, UM, AN OPPORTUNITY TO WIN A GRAND PRIZE ALONG THE WAY. WE GIVE YOU THREE CHECKPOINT PRIZES AFTER YOUR FIRST 10 DAYS OF READING, WE GIVE YOU, UM, AN AGE APPROPRIATE, UM, INCENTIVE. SO OUR YOUNGEST READERS WILL GET A, A, A READING BUDDY, WE CALL IT. IT'S JUST A STUFFED ANIMAL, BUT THEY LOVE THOSE. WE RAN OUT LAST YEAR BECAUSE THEY WERE SO POPULAR. AND THEN OUR TEENS AND OUR ADULTS GET A TOTE BAG OF SORTS, WHICH ARE ALWAYS POPULAR. AND AFTER YOUR, UH, YOUR SECOND CHECKPOINT PRIZE, AFTER YOUR 20TH DAY OF READING IS A READER REWARD CARD. SO THANKS TO THE GENEROSITY OF LOCAL BUSINESSES, UM, WE HAVE SIX OR SEVEN, UM, BUSINESSES WHO HAVE ACROSS THE COUNTY WHO HAVE SAID, OKAY, YOU GIVE YOUR READER THIS CARD, THEY COME IN AND VISIT MY STORE, AND THEY'RE GONNA GET SOMETHING FREE. MY FAVORITE ONE TO RECOMMEND IS KILL ONES ON BAY STREET AND ALSO KILL ONES ACROSS THE COUNTY. THEY ALWAYS GIVE A FREE TREAT TO OUR READERS OVER THE SUMMER. AND THEN THE THIRD PRIZE IS YOUR ENTRY INTO THE GRAND PRIZE DRAWINGS, WHICH ARE GENEROUSLY DONATED BY OVER 50 LOCAL BUSINESSES. EVERYTHING FROM A TWO NIGHT STAY AT SESA TO GIFT CARDS TO LOCAL RESTAURANTS. UM, BUT JUST FOR PLAYING, WE GIVE YOU A FREE BOOK. SO FOR ADULTS, YOU GET A GIFT CARD OR A GIFT CERTIFICATE FOR OUR FRIENDS BOOK SALE CORNERS. AND FOR OUR YOUNGER READERS, WE HAVE AN ASSORTMENT OF POPULAR KIDS BOOKS THAT THEY GET TO PICK FROM. SO THERE'S REALLY NO REASON NOT TO PARTICIPATE. AND YOU GUYS ARE GETTING THE GAME BOARDS FIRST, SO I HOPE THOSE ARE THE FIRST ONES I SEE GET TURNED IN. MM-HMM . AMANDA, ARE THEY GOING TO BE DOING THE LUNCHES THIS YEAR? YES, MA'AM. OH, OH, . THE NEXT PART IS THAT THE SUMMER LUNCH PROGRAM IS RETURNING, AND IT WILL BE AT ALL LOCATIONS, INCLUDING PORT ROYAL. SO ALL SIX LOCATIONS WILL BE HOSTING THE SUMMER FREE LUNCH PROGRAM THAT IS FUNDED BY THE USDA, AND IT IS IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE BEAUFORT COUNTY COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT. SO MONDAY THROUGH FRIDAY, UM, ANYONE UNDER THE AGE OF 18 WILL BE ABLE TO VISIT A LIBRARY AND GET A FREE LUNCH. THOSE ARE COLD LUNCHES, SO IT'S NOT LIKE A HOT LUNCH. IT'S A, UM, LIKE A FIELD TRIP, KIND OF A LUNCH, IF YOU REMEMBER GOING ON FIELD TRIPS. UM, AND WE JUST ENCOURAGE PEOPLE TO COME IN AND TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THAT OPPORTUNITY. WE KNOW THAT, UM, KIDS DON'T STOP GETTING HUNGRY IN THE SUMMERTIME, EVEN THOUGH THE SCHOOLS ARE CLOSED, THEY CAN COME TO US FOR LUNCH AND BOOKS. OUR SECOND STRATEGIC PLAN GOAL IS COLLECTIONS. AND SO, UM, I WANTED TO SHARE SOME MORE DATA WITH YOU. IF YOU LOOK AT OUR ANNUAL MONTHLY CIRCULATION DATA, AND I'M TALKING ABOUT THE, THE PHYSICAL ITEMS THAT YOU HOLD IN YOUR HAND, PLUS THE DIGITAL ITEMS THAT CIRCULATE ON HOOPLA THIS YEAR, OUR AVERAGE MONTHLY CIRCULATION IS 72,835 ITEMS THAT ARE BEING BORROWED. LAST YEAR IN 2024, IT WAS ABOUT 70,182 ITEMS BORROWED PER MONTH. SO I'M, WE'RE SEEING MORE ITEMS GO OUT, WHICH IS GREAT. WE STILL HAVE TWO MORE MONTHS TO GO, AND JUNE, UH, OR MAY AND JUNE ARE SOME OF OUR HIGHER CIRCULATING MONTHS. SO THOSE AVERAGES MAY AVERAGE UP A LITTLE BIT HIGHER, BUT I'M VERY PLEASED TO SEE THAT A YEAR TO YEAR COMPARISON, MORE ITEMS ARE MOVING THIS YEAR THAN WERE MOVING LAST YEAR, WHICH MEANS PEOPLE ARE READING AND ENJOYING THE USAGE OF THEIR LIBRARY CARD. EVERYONE IN THIS ROOM, I BELIEVE HAVE HEARD YOU, I THINK YOU'VE HEARD ME TALK ABOUT WONDER BOOKS, BUT FOR THE SAKE OF THE PUBLIC VIEWING AT HOME, I'LL EXPLAIN WHAT THOSE ARE. IMAGINE, UM, WHEN I WAS A KID, I HAD A RECORD PLAYER AND A, A BOOK. DID YOU ALL SEE THOSE EVER WHEN YOU WERE GROWING UP? YOU HAD A RECORD PLAYER AND A, AND A PICTURE BOOK, AND YOU WOULD PUT THE RECORD ON, AND THEN IT WOULD GOLING FOR YOU TO TURN THE PAGE. THE 2025 VERSION OF THAT IS A WONDER BOOK. IT IS A PICTURE BOOK OR A CHAPTER BOOK. THEY'RE FOR, THEY'RE, THEY COME IN ALL, ALL SORTS OF CONTENT. UM, BUT WE'LL USE A PICTURE BOOK FOR THE SAKE OF MY EXAMPLE. IMAGINE A PICTURE BOOK THAT IN THE COVER HAS A LITTLE PLAYER. SO NO NEED TO HAVE A RECORD PLAYER [00:20:01] ANYMORE. THE PLAYERS EMBEDDED INTO THE COVER. AND YOU WILL PLUS PLAY, ADD SOME HEADPHONES OR JUST LISTEN TO THE ONBOARD SPEAKER, AND IT WILL READ TO YOU WHILE YOU FOLLOW ALONG IN THE BOOK. SO THESE ARE CALLED WONDER BOOKS, AND, UM, WE RECEIVED A DONATION TO GET OUR FIRST COLLECTION AT ST. HELENA. BUT BECAUSE OF, UM, THE ABILITY TO HAVE ADDITIONAL FUNDING, WE ARE ACTUALLY THROUGH THE, THROUGH OUR FRIENDS OF THE LIBRARY OF BEAUFORT, AND ALSO THROUGH OUR MATERIALS BUDGET, WE'RE ABLE TO GET WONDER BOOKS AT ALL LOCATIONS. YAY. SO YOU CAN NOW WALK INTO, UM, EVERY ONE OF THE BEAUFORT COUNTY LIBRARIES AND START TO SEE THESE AVAILABLE FOR CHECKOUT. SO GET ONE, TRY ONE MAYBE WITH YOUR GRANDSON. UM, ALL KINDS OF FUN CHARACTERS. AND, AND THE BEAUTY OF IT IS YOU CAN LISTEN AS YOU READ, BUT IT ALSO HAS A, UM, AN INTERACTIVE MODE. YOU CAN TOGGLE IT TO THAT AND IT WILL ASK YOU QUESTIONS ABOUT WHAT YOU READ. SO REALLY KIND OF COOL. THIRD, IN TERMS OF SPACE, AND THIS IS WHERE MY EYES LIGHT UP. I SOMETIMES I STRUGGLE TO FIND, TO TELL YOU SOMETHING THAT WE'VE DONE TO IMPROVE OR ENHANCE, UM, LIBRARY SPACES. YOU KNOW, THAT REPLACING A TAR A CARPET TILE OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT IS A LOT MORE INVOLVED THAN GETTING WONDER BOOKS ON THE SHELF. SO I'M VERY PLEASED TO TELL YOU WITH THE HELP OF OUR CAPITAL PROJECTS DEPARTMENT, WE HAVE COMPLETED AND ARE IN THE PROCESS OF COMPLETING SEVERAL ENHANCEMENTS IN THIS BUILDING RIGHT NOW. UM, THE EXTERIOR HAS BEEN SPRUCED UP, SO I SHRUBBERY TRIMMED. I'M GONNA SHOW YOU A PICTURE SO YOU CAN SEE THE BEFORE AND AFTER TO REALLY GET THE APPRECIATION CARPET ON THE SECOND FLOOR. UM, WHEN YOU LEAVE, THE ELEVATOR HAS BEEN REPLACED. YOU'RE GONNA, YOU'RE GONNA GIMME AN OOH AND A AH, IN JUST A MOMENT, . SO, UM, HOLD FOR THAT. AND WE ARE IN THE PROCESS OF REFRESHING OUR EXTERIOR SIGNAGE. YESTERDAY I HAD THE PLEASURE OF SEEING LYNN AT HILTON HEAD LIBRARY. WE RECEIVED A NEW CIRCULATION DESK. YOU'RE GONNA SEE A PICTURE OF THAT. UM, THE OLD, THE OTHER ONE WAS, UM, NO LONGER ABLE TO BE REGLUED AND RE-PUT TOGETHER. SO OUR CAPITAL PROJECTS TEAM, UM, HEARD MY CRY FOR HELP AND, UH, WORKED OUT A WAY FOR US TO GET A NEW DESK THERE. AUDRA AND I HAVE BEEN WORKING ON GETTING BIKE RACKS REFRESHED AROUND OUR LIBRARIES. UM, LOKO LIBRARY DOES NOT HAVE ONE, AND SO WE'RE TRYING TO GET ONE FOR THEM. UM, AND THEN OUR READING GARDEN AT HILTON HEAD IS SCHEDULED FOR RENOVATION LATE MAY, EARLY JUNE. I KNOW COUNCIL ALREADY APPROVED THE GREENERY FOR THAT CONTRACT, SO LOTS OF GREAT THINGS. BUT HERE'S THE PICTURES BEFORE AND AFTER . THAT WAS THE OOH AND THE AH, YEAH, . THIS WAS BEFORE. AND THIS IS AFTER ON THE LANDSCAPING. AND HERE IS THE HILTON HEAD DESK BEFORE, GOSH, AND AFTER. SO JUST WANTED TO SHOW YOU THOSE MORE PICTURES TO COME, BECAUSE THE END OF THE YEAR HASN'T HAPPENED, AND THERE'S STILL MORE PROJECTS TO GO. GREAT JOB. IT'S AMAZING. UM, STACY AND HER MONTHLY REPORT, SHE MENTIONED, AND I SWEAR SHE HEARD ME SAY THIS, BUT I'M GONNA GIVE HER THE CREDIT. IT'S AMAZING WHAT A NEW TRASH CAN WILL DO, , TO IMPROVE THE EXTERIOR. IT'S JUST AMAZING. YOU REPLACE A TRASH CAN AND IT FEELS LIKE A WHOLE NEW BUILDING. SO THESE LITTLE, WHAT, WHAT SEEM AS SMALL, UM, REALLY DO HAVE A BIG IMPACT. SO OUR FOURTH AND FINAL STRATEGIC PLAN GOAL IS COMMUNICATION. AND WE'RE TRYING TO DELIVER TIMELY, RELEVANT COMMUNICATION, BOTH INTERNALLY AND EXTERNALLY TO THE PUBLIC. SO HERE'S WHERE I'M GONNA BRAG ON OUR STAFF. UM, OUR STRATEGY NUMBER FOUR UNDER THIS GOAL IS TO EXPLORE OPPORTUNITIES TO BETTER CONNECT WITH THE PUBLIC. SO DURING NATIONAL LIBRARY WEEK, OUR STAFF DID THAT IN TWO WAYS. NUMBER ONE, YOU HEARD ME TALK ABOUT THEM VISITING OTHER COUNTY DEPARTMENTS, AND WE DID, THEY SHOWED UP WITH LIBRARY SWAG WITH, UM, INFORMATION ABOUT LIBRARY RESOURCES. I HAD A CALL FROM, UM, VICTORIA HOFFMAN WITH RECYCLING IN, UM, THAT ARM OF PUBLIC WORKS. AND SHE SAID, DO YOU HAVE MORE? BECAUSE WE HAVE MORE PEOPLE . SO IT WAS REALLY GOOD TO HEAR THAT EXCITEMENT FROM OTHER COUNTY DEPARTMENTS TO LEARN ABOUT THE LIBRARY. ASIDE FROM THAT, OUR STAFF, EACH ON THEIR OWN, PICKED OUT LOCAL COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS, BUSINESSES, PLACES THEY WANTED TO GO VISIT. SO ON A SEPARATE DAY DURING NATIONAL LIBRARY WEEK, STAFF WENT TO A VARIETY OF PLACES I WENT TO, UM, A, A HISPANIC GROCERY STORE ON ONE 70, INTRODUCED OURSELVES. UM, MY ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT IS VERY FLUENT IN SPANISH, SO WE WERE ABLE TO MAKE A CONNECTION THERE AND DROP OFF INFORMATION ABOUT LIBRARY CARDS. OUR BEAUFORT STAFF WENT TO HELP OF BEAUFORT, WHICH IS A LOCAL NONPROFIT THAT, UM, PROVIDES FOOD AND OTHER SUPPORT TO INDIVIDUALS WHEN THEY'RE EXPERIENCING, UM, SITUATIONS THAT [00:25:01] REQUIRE THOSE. UM, IT'S A SLEW, IF I WERE TO SIT HERE, WE'D BE HERE ALL DAY TO TALK ABOUT ALL THE PLACES WE WENT, BUT IT'S JUST THAT IDEA OF WANTING TO LET PEOPLE KNOW THAT THE LIBRARY'S HERE THAT WE'RE GREAT, AND WE HAVE A LOT OF GREAT THINGS TO OFFER. AND THERE'S SOME PICTURES OF OUR, UM, TEAM OUT AND ABOUT. AND THEN FINALLY, I'LL END WITH SOME UPCOMING PROGRAMS THAT YOU MIGHT BE INTERESTED IN. JUST IN CASE YOU'RE WONDERING, WE PROVIDE ABOUT 33,000 PUBLIC EVENTS AT OUR LIBRARIES THAT WE HOST. ASIDE FROM MEETING ROOM USAGE, JUST THE, THERE'S JUST THE AMOUNT OF PROGRAMS THAT OUR LIBRARY STAFF PROVIDE TO THE PUBLIC IS ABOUT 33,000 OR MORE. THAT'S, THAT'S A LOT. IF YOU WERE TO DIVIDE THAT BY SIX LOCATIONS AND 52 WEEKS. UM, VERY SOON, UM, ON JUNE THE FIFTH AT HILTON HEAD AND JUNE THE SEVENTH AT ST. HELENA, WE'RE ABLE TO HOST A SCREENING ABOUT PUBLIC LIBRARIES INDEPENDENT LENS, UM, OF A SUBSET OF PBS HAS MADE AVAILABLE FOR A VERY LIMITED TIME, THE OPPORTUNITY TO SEE A DOCUMENTARY CALLED FREE FOR ALL THE PUBLIC LIBRARY. I'VE PREVIEWED IT BECAUSE I WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT IT WAS BIPARTISAN, THAT IT WAS JUST ABOUT LIBRARIES, AND IT IS JUST ABOUT LIBRARIES AND HOW WONDERFUL PUBLIC LIBRARIES ARE, AND HOW THEY'VE CHANGED OVER TIME. SO I WILL BE, UM, FACILITATING THE SCREENING AND CONVERSATION I'VE ASKED, UM, YOUR CHAIR, LYNN MILLER, TO BE WITH, TO BE PRESENT ON BOTH OF THOSE DAYS. AND WE'VE ASKED OUR FRIENDS GROUPS TO BE PRESENT ON THOSE DAYS SO THAT WE CAN KIND OF HAVE A CONVERSATION POST SCREENING ABOUT THE VALUE OF LIBRARIES AND WHAT, WHAT CAN WE DO TO KEEP LIBRARIES VIBRANT FOR, FOR THE FUTURE. WE ALSO, AS I MENTIONED, HAVE OUR SUMMER READING KICKOFF ON SATURDAY MAY THE 31ST. YOU CAN GO TO ANY LIBRARY IN ANY PART OF THIS COUNTY AND EXPERIENCE A PROGRAM. AN EXCITING PROGRAM JUST TO KINDA GET PEOPLE HAPPY AND EXCITED ABOUT SUMMER READING. SO STOP IN AND PARTAKE IN BLUFFTON. WE'RE GONNA HOST A LEARN TO DRAW COMICS CLASS. IT'S A SERIES OF FIVE WORKSHOPS FOR TEENS. SO IF YOU KNOW ANY TEENS WHO ARE INTERESTED IN COMICS, AN ILLUSTRATION, THEY'RE GONNA BE ABLE TO BE TAUGHT BY LOCAL ILLUSTRATOR, JENNA AU ABOUT HOW TO DO THAT. ONE OF OUR BIG SUMMER READING PERFORMERS THIS YEAR IS RIVERBANK ZOO. THEY'LL BE AT EVERY LOCATION BETWEEN JUNE 3RD AND JUNE 5TH. THEY'LL BE, THEIR PROGRAM IS COLOR OUR WORLD, OUR WILD WORLD, AND THEY WILL BRING IN CRITTERS, UH, I DON'T KNOW WHICH KINDS , BUT THEY'LL BRING IN SOME CRITTERS AND TIE THAT INTO READING. WE ALSO WILL HAVE DR. ASHLEY OLIPHANT TALKING ABOUT SHARK TEETH, SHELLS AND OUR SHORES, UM, AT THE BLUFFTON LIBRARY, HILTON HEAD, LOKO AND BUFORT IN THE MONTH OF JULY. AND THEN TO ENTICE SCIENCE AND STEM, WE WILL HAVE SCIENCE HEROES IN THE MISSING COLOR SCIENCE EXPERIMENTS. AND ALSO, UM, TYING IT BACK DOWN TO BOOKS AND HOW TO FURTHER EXPLORE SCIENCE THROUGH BOOKS THAT WILL BE AT BLUFF IN LUKO AND BUFORT. SO AS YOU CAN SEE, IT IS EXCITING TIMES AT THE LIBRARY ALWAYS, BUT MOST ESPECIALLY DURING THE SUMMER. THAT IS THE END OF MY PART, BUT I WILL ASK IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS THAT I CAN ANSWER OR SOMETHING I DIDN'T COVER. OH, GO AHEAD. FOR THE, UM, INTERIM POSITIONS, UM, ARE YOU, IS THE LIBRARY STILL ACTIVELY? YES. OKAY. AND THEN WHAT ARE THE AGE RANGES FOR THE INTERNS? WHAT THE MINIMUM AGE RANGE ARE YOU LOOKING FOR? HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS? COLLEGE STUDENTS? UM, HR LEAVES THAT KIND OF BLANKET FOR US, BUT I BELIEVE THE MINIMUM IS 16. THE MINIMUM IS 16. UM, WE ARE, THEY WOULD LIKE US TO GET THOSE FILLED SOONER RATHER THAN LATER. SO IF YOU KNOW SOMEONE THAT'S INTERESTED, PLEASE HAVE THEM SUBMIT ASAP. GOTCHA. THANK YOU. AND THEY WOULD APPLY THROUGH THE COUNTY'S WEBSITE. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? NO. OKAY. UM, CONGRATULATIONS ON COMPLETING LEADERSHIP BEAUFORD. THAT'S, THAT'S GREAT. I MEAN, I, IT'S, IT'S VERY TIME CONSUMING AS I KNOW, AND I'M GLAD THAT YOU WERE ABLE TO DO THAT. SO THAT'S A BIG PLUS. THANK YOU. UM, OUR NEXT, UH, NEXT WE'LL HAVE THE COMMITTEE REPORTS. JOE, WOULD YOU LIKE TO, UH, GIVE YOUR FINANCIAL, FINANCIAL REPORT? YEAH. YES, I WILL. THANK YOU. UM, FIRST OFF, LIBRARY FINANCIAL REPORT IS CERTAINLY NOT AS COLORFUL AS THE DIRECTOR'S REPORT, BUT I HOPEFULLY WE'LL TRY TO MAKE IT AS INTERESTING AS WE CAN. UH, THE DOCUMENTS THAT WE'LL BE GOING THROUGH THREE DOCUMENTS ARE UP ON THE SCREEN. THEY'RE ALSO IN YOUR PACKET, SO YOU CAN FOLLOW THIS, WHOEVER, WHICHEVER WAY IS MORE CONVENIENT FOR YOU. WHAT I'D LIKE TO DO IS START HERE WITH OUR SPECIAL FUNDS, AND STARTING AT THE TOP LEFT HAND CORNER, WE'LL TAKE A LOOK AT OUR LIBRARY SYSTEM STATE AID LOTTERY. AND AS YOU CAN SEE, WE'VE RECEIVED ALL FOUR INSTALLMENTS THIS YEAR. HERE [00:30:01] WE'VE RECEIVED IN 468,000. YOU'LL NOTE THAT WE'VE SPENT 276,000 SO FAR THIS YEAR. WE'RE LEAVING THIS A RESIDUAL ABOUT 192,000. AND AGAIN, JUST AS A REMINDER, THIS, THESE DOLLARS ARE EXCLUSIVELY DEVOTED TO LIBRARY MATERIALS. AND WHILE WE'RE REVISITING THAT NUMBER LATER, AS WE GET INTO THE MATERIALS REPORT, NOW, MOVING OVER ONE COLUMN TO THE RIGHT, LOOKING AT IMPACT FEES, AND YOU'LL NOTE THAT AT THE FAR BOTTOM RIGHT HAND CORNER, WE ARE AT 5.2 MILLION, WHICH IS A TOTAL IMPACT FEE BUDGET ALLOTMENT THAT WE HAVE. THIS, I THINK, IS A HIGH POINT FOR THE LIBRARY ITSELF. NOW, IMPACT FEES ARE DIVIDED INTO THE OLD SYSTEM, NEW SYSTEM, OLD SYSTEM. WE'RE CARRYING ABOUT 4.2 MILLION IN BALANCE IN THE NEW SYSTEM OVER AROUND THE LEFT HAND SIDE. ABOUT HALF OF THE CALENDAR, JUST UNDER A, JUST UNDER A MILLION THERE. UM, SINCE OUR LAST MEETING, THE LIBRARY SYSTEM HAS TAKEN IN ABOUT, UM, 80, 84,000 ROUGHLY. AND DURING THIS PERIOD, WE HAVE HAD NO EXPENDITURES FROM OUR IMPACT FEES AT ALL. SO THIS LEAVES US A BALANCE ABOUT 5.2 MILLION. NOW, THAT, OF THAT NUMBER ROUGHLY HALF IS ALREADY SPOKEN FOR, OR IS UNDER WHAT IS CALLED REALLY EARMARKS OR IDENTIFIED, UH, APPLICATIONS. HERE WE HAVE, UM, WE HAVE, I THINK IT'S, UM, WE HAVE 703 QUARTERS OF MILLION DOLLARS, $750,000 IDENTIFIED FOR PRICHARD LIBRARY ITSELF, BLUFFTON, PHASE TWO, AND HILTON HEAD. WE'VE IDENTIFIED 800,000 FOR EACH OF THOSE TWO PROJECTS, WHICH MEANS THAT ROUGHLY HALF OF OUR IMPACT FEE, UH, APPLICATION HAS ALREADY BEEN IDENTIFIED, LEAVING US WITH ABOUT 200, ABOUT $2.5 MILLION IN AND NOT IDENTIFIED APPLICATIONS HERE. I WOULD IMAGINE MUCH OF THAT WILL BE DEVOTED TOWARDS THE PRINCEVILLE LIBRARY. ONCE THAT GETS UNDERWAY, WHICH REALLY MEANS THAT THE LIBRARY IS IN, IN A COMFORTABLE SHAPE, IMPACT FEE WISE, WE HAVE ENOUGH TO HANDLE CURRENT IDENTIFIED PROJECTS AND ENOUGH TO HANDLE FUTURE PROJECTS GOING FORWARD. THE FAR RIGHT HAND COLUMN IS SPECIAL TRUST. UM, WE HAVE REALLY, THERE'S NO MATERIAL CHANGES THERE WHATSOEVER. SO LET'S SKIP OVER THAT. AND THEN LET'S GO OVER TO OUR NEXT REPORT, WHICH IS REALLY, YOU KNOW, THE, THE BUDGET ITSELF. OKAY. NOW, AT, AT THIS POINT, WE'RE 10 MONTHS INTO OUR FISCAL YEAR, ROUGHLY 84% OF THE WAY THROUGH. AND IF YOU LOOK AT, AT THE VERY BOTTOM, UH, YOU'LL SEE THAT WE ARE, WE HAVE SPENT ROUGHLY 80% OF OUR BUDGET VERSUS, YOU KNOW, BEING ABOUT 84% THROUGH THE YEAR. WHEN WE TAKE A LOOK AT THE PERSONAL SERVICES THAT WE HAVE, WHICH IS REALLY THE STAFF COST, THERE WE'RE RIGHT ON TARGET, 84% OF THE WAY THROUGH THE YEAR. 83% SPENT ON OPERATING EXPENSES, 84% OF THE WAY THROUGH THE YEAR, 59% SPENT. MUCH OF THAT DIFFERENCE IS REALLY JUST, IS IDENTIFIED AS TIMING. A BIG PORTION OF THE, OF, OF SPENT MONEY IS REALLY IN LIBRARY MATERIALS. AND AGAIN, THAT GOES TOWARDS TIMING BECAUSE MUCH OF THE SUBSCRIPTIONS FOR LEASE BOOKS, NEW BOOKS, THOSE EXPENSES COME TOWARDS THE END OF THE FISCAL YEAR. AND THEY HAVE NOT YET IMPACTED THE ACCOUNTING SYSTEM THERE. SO WHEN WE TAKE A LOOK AT THAT, WHEN WE TAKE A LOOK AT A COUPLE OTHER ITEMS THAT AMANDA HAD IDENTIFIED IN TERMS OF TRAINING AND EXPENSES, WE'RE VERY MUCH ON, ON TARGET. IT'S SIMPLY A MATTER OF TIMING. NOTHING EXTRAORDINARY THERE. WE WOULD ANTICIPATE ENDING THE YEAR VERY CLOSE TO, OR PERHAPS A LITTLE BIT UNDER OUR BUDGETARY AMOUNTS ALL THE WAY THROUGH. OKAY, SO LET'S MOVE OVER THERE TO THE MATERIALS REPORT, WHICH IS REALLY MY, MY FAVORITE REPORT OF THE ALL BECAUSE REALLY THE MATERIALS REPRESENTS THE STUFF THAT IS ON THE BOOKS, EVERYTHING THAT'S AVAILABLE TO OUR, TO OUR PATRONS. AND THIS IS REALLY WHAT DRAWS OUR, OUR WHAT REALLY DRAWS THE PUBLIC INTO THE BEAUFORT COUNTY LIBRARY SYSTEMS. OKAY, NOW, SO FAR, YEAR TO DATE, 10 MONTHS OF THE WAY THROUGH, WE SPENT $521,000, WHICH IS A LITTLE BIT LESS THAN WHERE WE WERE THIS TIME, THIS YEAR. BUT AGAIN, MUCH OF IT IS REALLY JUST DUE, DUE TO TIMING. AND THOSE ARE JUST UNEXPLAINABLE THINGS HERE. UM, THE SOURCES OF OUR FUNDING, MOST OF IT SO FAR IS COMING FROM STATE AID. AND THE BALANCE OF IT IS, IS FROM THE COUNTY, ROUGHLY 53% [00:35:01] FROM STATE AID, 48% FROM FROM COUNTY FUNDS. SO FAR THIS YEAR. YOU TAKE A LOOK AT THE NUMBERS HERE, MOST OF THE MONEY HAS BEEN SPENT ON HOOPLA. ABOUT 72% OF OUR DOLLARS HAVE BEEN SPENT ON HOOPLA. BUT AGAIN, THAT'S A MATTER OF TIMING BECAUSE WHEN WE TAKE A LOOK AT LEASE BOOKS AND, AND BOOK SUBSCRIPTIONS, THOSE BILLS WILL COME IN THE LAST COUPLE MONTHS OF THE FISCAL YEAR. SO IT'S SIMPLY A MATTER OF TIMING THERE. WE'RE NOT SPENDING ALL OF THE LIBRARY MATERIALS ON, ON DIGITAL MATERIALS. A LOT OF IT IS STILL IN PRINT AND, AND IN HARD COPIES. NOW, THE NEXT THING THAT WE TAKE A LOOK AT IN THIS IS SAY, WHERE ARE WE GONNA BE AT THE END OF THE YEAR? AND THERE'S STILL A LOT OF MONEY THAT HAS LEFT THIS THAT'S ON THE TABLE HERE TO BE SPENT. UM, WE HAVE ON OUR REMAINING COUNTY MATERIALS BUDGET ABOUT $220,000, UH, UNSPENT STATE AID. WE HAVE 192. WE WOULD EXPECT TO GET SOMETHING FROM FRIENDS. AND WHEN WE ADD THIS, ALL THESE DOLLARS TOGETHER HERE, WE'RE LOOKING AT ABOUT $984,000 IN POTENTIAL SPEND ON MATERIALS, WHICH MEANS THE DIRECTOR HAS A LOT OF CHECKS TO SIGN BEFORE THE END OF THE YEAR THERE. UM, AND THIS WOULD REALLY BRING US TO WHERE WE SHOULD BE AS, AS, AS THE BEAUFORT COUNTY LIBRARY. WE'RE CLOSE TO A MILLION DOLLARS, WHICH IS REALLY WHERE OUR TARGET SHOULD BE. UM, AND ALSO AT, AT THIS POINT, WHAT I'D LIKE TO DO IS TO REALLY THANK OUR PEOPLE FROM BEAUFORT COUNTY, BECAUSE THE MONEY THAT WE SEE FOR MATERIALS, THE MONEY THAT WE SEE DEVOTED TOWARDS THE LIBRARY SYSTEM IS, IS VERY IMPORTANT. AND I THINK THE MONEY IS VERY WELL SPENT IN TERMS OF THE PUBLIC GOOD TO GET THAT IS, THAT IS REALLY AVAILABLE TO EVERYONE HERE IN THE COUNTY. SO THANK YOU FOR THAT. OKAY. AND THAT REALLY WRAPS UP THE FINANCIAL REPORT, AND IF THERE ARE ANY QUESTIONS, WE'LL DO OUR BEST TO RESPOND TO THEM. ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS? I WANNA SAY THAT THE ONLY THING I EVER HEAR FROM THE PUBLIC ABOUT OUR MATERIALS IS MORE, WE WANT MORE . SO, BUT I THINK WHAT, WHAT THE MONEY THAT I THINK WE HAVE A LOT OF MONEY, FIRST OF ALL. AND I THINK YOU DO A REALLY GOOD JOB, AMANDA, PUTTING IT WHERE IT NEEDS TO GO. SO THANK YOU FOR THAT. WHAT I, WHAT I HEAR THE MOST FREQUENTLY IS, UM, PEOPLE CLAMORING FOR BOOKS AND TAKING A LONGER TIME ACCESS TO THE BOOKS, YOU KNOW, THAT I, WHICH I MEAN, WE, I LOVE THE FACT THAT THEY'RE CLAMORING, BUT YOU DON'T WANT 'EM TO CLAMOR SO MUCH THAT THEY, YOU KNOW, GET TURNED OFF. BUT, UM, BECAUSE A LOT OF PEOPLE STILL ON, PARTICULARLY ON CURRENT POPULAR TITLES, HAVE TO WAIT QUITE A WHILE TO ACTUALLY GET THE BOOK IN THEIR HAND. BUT ANYWAY, THANK YOU SO MUCH. UM, AND THANK YOU JILL, FOR THAT REPORT. THAT'S GREAT. UM, THE NEXT COMMITTEE REPORT IS POLICIES AND PROCEDURES. JANINE, HAVE WE DONE ANYTHING? OKAY. UM, KATHY COOPER IS, UH, CHAIR OF THE STRATEGIC PLANNING COMMITTEE, BUT SHE IS ON A VACATION. SO JANET, DO YOU HAVE ANYTHING TO SAY? NO, I WANNA COMMIT, CONTINUE TO COMMEND, UM, UH, AMANDA FOR, UM, THE FACT THAT WE HAVE SUCH A GOOD STRATEGIC PLAN. AND YOU KNOW, YOU'LL NOTICE, PARTICULARLY MICHAEL, YOU'LL NOTICE THAT WE PRESENT EVERY MONTH IN ACCORDANCE WITH WHAT WE'RE ACCOMPLISHING RELATIVE TO THE STRATEGIC PLAN. 'CAUSE THERE'S NOTHING WORSE THAN A STRATEGIC PLAN THAT SITS ON A SHELF AND THAT YOU REALIZE AFTER YEAR HASN'T DRIVEN THE BOARD. SO WE WANT OUR BOARD AGENDA TO BE DRIVEN BY THOSE FOUR OBJECTIVES IN THE STRATEGIC PLAN. AND AMANDA KEEPS US INFORMED AND IN TURN, AND SO WE GET TIED BACK TO WHAT WE SAID STRATEGICALLY WE WANTED TO ACCOMPLISH. SO SHE DOES A GREAT JOB WITH THAT. THANK YOU. UM, UH, YOU, JANET, YOU ARE CHAIR FOR, UM, THE REQUEST FOR RECONSIDERATION COMMITTEE. IS THERE ANYTHING IN THE WORKS FOR THAT? YES, YES. JUST SO THAT THE PUBLIC IS AWARE, THE RECONSIDERATION COMMITTEE'S BEEN AROUND FOR YEARS, AND IT'S AN OPPORTUNITY FOR PEOPLE WHO HAVE CONCERNS ABOUT, UM, BOOKS, UM, THAT, UH, TO, UH, RAISE THAT CONCERN. AND WE HAVE A WHOLE POLICY IN PLACE TO PROCESS THOSE REQUESTS. AND WE DO NOT HAVE ANY REQUESTS AT THIS TIME. THANK YOU. UH, LIBRARY FACILITY, IS NOT. UM, BERNIE, DO YOU HAVE ANY, BERNIE DO YOU HAVE ANYTHING TO ADD? HOLDING PATTERN. I'M TRYING TO GET SOME NEW PROJECTS GOING. IT'S A BIG COUNTY. THERE'S A LIBRARY. I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW, WHEN IS BUFORT IS THE, UM, BLUFFTON LIBRARY GONNA BE COMPLETED? THEY DID A BEAUTIFUL JOB REVAMPING THREE QUARTERS OF THE LIBRARY, BUT A [00:40:01] QUARTER OF THE LIBRARY HAS NOT BEEN UPDATED, AND WE CERTAINLY HAVE A LOT OF MONEY IN THE IMPACT FEES. AND I WANNA KNOW, IS THERE ANY POSSIBILITY OF COMPLETING ? I UNDERSTAND IS THERE'S A, THE COUNTY HAS A LIST OF PROJECTS THAT THEY NEED TO GET DONE, AND WE ARE ON THE LIST. SO WHEN WE GET AROUND TO THAT, I DON'T KNOW MUCH YOU WANNA ADD ANYTHING TO THAT? YEAH, SO EACH, EACH YEAR AROUND NOVEMBER, DECEMBER OF EACH YEAR, EVERY DEPARTMENT IS ABLE TO PUT IN THEIR REQUEST FOR CAPITAL PROJECTS, OF WHICH THE BLUFFTON RENOVATION WOULD BE A, A CAPITAL EXPENSE. AND SO I PUT THAT FORWARD ALONG WITH THE RIVER LIBRARY, THE REPLACEMENT OF OUR SELF-CHECK MACHINE. I'LL PUT FORWARD ALL OF OUR WANTS AND WISHES. UM, AND THEN THEY HAVE A COMMITTEE THAT DETERMINES WHAT THEY'RE ABLE TO FEASIBLY DO IN A, IN A CALENDAR YEAR. AND THEY, THEY RANK THOSE AND THEY GO THROUGH A PROCESS. SO WE, I DON'T YET KNOW WHAT'S GOING TO BE GREENLIT FOR FISCAL YEAR 26, BUT THAT'S A PART OF THE BUDGET PROCESS. MM-HMM . AND SO I WILL SOON KNOW IF ANY OF OUR PROJECTS ARE GOING TO, ARE GONNA PROCEED IN THE NEXT YEAR. WHAT ABOUT THE, UH, DOES THE FACT THAT BLUFFTON HAS SO MUCH MONEY AND IMPACT FEES THAT IT COULD EASILY, A PORTION OF THAT COULD PAY TO JUST REFINISH WHAT WASN'T FINISHED? IT'S TO DO WITH THE RANKING OF THE PRO, ALL OF THE COUNTY PROJECTS AND THEN WHAT PERSONNEL THERE ARE AT THE COUNTY LEVEL TO BE ABLE TO ADMINISTER THOSE, EACH OF THOSE PROJECTS. SO IT IS JUST A RANKING SYSTEM. THE MONEY IS NICE, BUT IT DOESN'T GUARANTEE THAT IT'S GOING TO TAKE PRIORITY OVER ANOTHER COUNTY PROJECT. AND IF THERE'S ANYTHING ELSE Y'ALL LIKE TO ADD, , FEEL FREE. WELL, OBVIOUSLY, UM, A LOT OF THE MONEY THAT'S THERE FOR BLUFF AND IS ALSO GOING TO BE FOR THE NEW LIBRARY THAT'S SORELY NEEDED THERE, BASED UPON THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE WHO ARE COMING INTO THE COUNTY AND TAKING A LOOK AT THE LONG RANGE, UM, GROWTH IN THE COUNTY, THIS IS GONNA BE A HIGH PRIORITY OF ACTUALLY HAVING AN ADDITIONAL LIBRARY. HMM. SO I THINK EVERYONE SHARES THE DESIRE TO SEE THE EXISTING BLUFFTON LIBRARY GET THAT FINAL COMPLETION. IT'S JUST A MATTER OF, AND THAT WITH OUR OTHER, OTHER PROJECT, AMANDA, WHEN WILL WE KNOW IT DIDN'T WE KNOW IT'S ON THE LIST? IT'S BEEN ON THE LIST FOR OVER A YEAR. RIGHT. HOW LONG IT'S BEEN ON THE LIST. I JUST HAVE A QUESTION FOR, AS YOU SAID, JUST FINISHING WHAT DO YOU KNOW, OR AMANDA, YOU MIGHT KNOW WHAT STILL NEEDS TO BE FINISHED BECAUSE WE DID. OKAY. THERE'S SOME REPAIR PROJECTS I SEE ON HERE FOR THE ROOF AND THE HVAC SURE. WHICH PROJECT? OKAY. SO IT'S A PHASE TWO. WE CAN TALK ABOUT THAT OFFLINE. OKAY. BUT, UM, A PHASE ONE WAS DONE 20 21, 22, UM, AND IT, IT WAS ALWAYS THIS PROCESS SO AS TO, TO NOT SHUT DOWN THE LIBRARY COMPLETELY. UM, FOR THE TOTALITY OF THE RENOVATIONS THAT'S LEFT IS A STAFF AREA AND THE PRESENT DAY NON-FICTION AREA. BUT JUST TO JUST THIS IN PERSPECTIVE, THIS IS OUR BUSIEST BRAND WE'VE HAD, YOU KNOW, BECAUSE THIS WAS A PHASE ONE, PHASE TWO, AND WE DID PHASE ONE IN 2020 AND 2021. IS THAT RIGHT? YEAH. SO IT'S 2025. WE'VE BEEN PLANNING FOR THIS PHASE TWO NOW FOR YEARS. SO ANYTHING YOU COULD DO TO HELP US WOULD BE MUCH APPRECIATED. IT IS THE MIDDLE OF THAT THOUGH. WE DID GET THE GIFT OF THE FORT ROYAL LIBRARIES DON'T WANT. YEAH, YEAH. SURPRISE. RIGHT. BUT A MUCH, A MUCH, MUCH BOSTON LIBRARY ACTUALLY CAME IN UNDER BUDGET AND THEY NEVER COMPLETED IT. AND THAT'S, I WAS SO SURPRISED. 'CAUSE THE, IT ACTUALLY CAME IN UNDER BUDGET, SO THERE MUST HAVE BEEN MONEY. YEAH. I'LL DEFINITELY HAVE THAT DISCUSSION. YEAH. THANK YOU. THANK YOU SO MUCH. I APPRECIATE IT. THANK YOU. UM, NEXT, UH, THE, UH, LIAISONS, UH, FRIENDS OF THE LIBRARY LIAISONS, UM, BRENDA, WERE YOU ABLE TO ATTEND THE MEETING? I'M GOOD. I'M GONNA APOLOGETICALLY DEFER TO, TO AMANDA, BUT BEFORE I DO THAT, 'CAUSE UH, ROSALIE LUCKILY HAS GOT MY MIND WORKING. UH, LAST TIME, AMANDA, YOU REPORTED ON THE BURTON WELLS LOCKER PROJECT. MM-HMM . WHAT HAS HAPPENED WITH THAT? IT'S, THEY'RE IN OPERATION. THEY'RE, IS THAT GOING? IT'S, UM, IT HAD TWO MONTHS OF PRETTY STANDARD USAGE. I WOULD SAY PRETTY AVERAGE USAGE LAST MONTH WASN'T AS WHAT WE HOPED FOR, BUT WE DID HAVE SOME LIBRARY CLOSURES AND THERE WAS KIND OF A, A HINKY THING GOING ON WITH THE TECHNOLOGY OF THAT, BUT [00:45:01] WE'VE HAD A TECHNICIAN COME OUT AND TWEAK THAT. SO I'M HOPING THAT IT WILL GET BACK TO NORMAL USAGE. BUT WE HAVE PEOPLE WHO CALL US AND THANK US FOR IT. UM, JUST NOT GETTING AS MUCH BROADER USAGE AS I'D LIKE. BUT I THINK AF O OVER TIME IT WILL. SO ALL THE LOGO ARTWORK AND ALL THAT, THAT IT IS, IT'S BEEN AN OFFER. WE LAUNCHED IT OFFICIALLY TO THE PUBLIC IN JANUARY. WE WERE THERE FOR, UH, BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT TO KIND SHOW PEOPLE ABOUT IT AND, UM, DRUM UP SOME INTEREST. AND SINCE THEN IT'S HAD ABOUT, UM, I DON'T HAVE THE ACTUAL NUMBERS, BUT ANYWHERE BETWEEN 20, I THINK IT WAS AROUND 20 PICKUPS A MONTH, WHICH WAS PRETTY GOOD FOR A START THIS PAST YEAR. IT TOOK A, IT TOOK A LITTLE BIT OF A HIT, BUT, UM, I EXPECT THAT TO PICK UP IN THE SUMMER AND BACK TO APOLOGETICALLY IN THE PAST QUARTER, I GOT ANOTHER GRANDCHILD. SO, . WELL, CONGRATULATIONS. CONGRATULATIONS. THANK YOU. AND, AND, UH, BUFORT, UH, FRIENDS OF THE LIBRARY IS ALWAYS EXTREMELY BUSY AND ACTIVE, SO I'M SURE THAT AMANDA CAN TELL US WHAT THEY'VE BEEN UP TO. YES. UM, THEY WILL MEET, UM, THEY'LL HAVE THEIR ANNUAL MEETING ON SATURDAY, JUNE THE 14TH. UM, SO THEY WOULD ENCOURAGE ANYONE WHO'S INTERESTED TO LEARN ABOUT WHO THEY ARE AND WHAT THEY DO AT THAT MEETING, THEY'LL, THEY'LL HAVE A LOT OF INFORMATION ON, ON DISPLAY. OF COURSE, I WOULD BE REMISS IF I DIDN'T SAY COME JOIN THEM ON SATURDAY, JUNE THE, UM, SEVENTH AT ST. HELENA FOR SCREENING OF THE DOCUMENTARY I MENTIONED EARLIER. UM, BUT THEY ARE, THEY'RE MOVING, UM, AND THEY ARE CONSTANTLY LOOKING FOR WAYS TO SUPPORT THE NORTHERN BEAUFORT LOCATIONS. HOWEVER THEY CAN SO APPRECIATE THEM. AND I KNOW JANE'S INSTRUMENTAL ON THEIR BOARD, SO, UM, JUST APPRECIATE THEM FOR ALWAYS WANTING TO HELP. UM, OH, THANK YOU. UH, BL ROSALIE, DO YOU HAVE ANYTHING ABOUT BLUFFTON? I WENT TO THE FRIENDS OF THE BLUFFTON LIBRARY, HAD AN APPRECIATION LUNCH. UH, THIS WAS A COUPLE OF WEEKS AGO, AND THEY WERE HAVING THIS LUNCH AND APPRECIATION OF ALL THE SUPPORTERS THAT, UM, WERE PART OF, UH, THE BLUFFTON LIBRARY, UH, GROUP, UM, THE FRIENDS OF THE LIBRARY AND ALL THE PEOPLE THAT HELPED OUT. AND IT WAS VERY NICE. IT'S ALL I COULD SAY. AND THAT WAS A WAY TO THANK THOSE WHO WERE HELPING, UH, DO THINGS AT THE LIBRARY, UH, VOLUNTEERS MAINLY. AND, UM, THAT'S ONE THING THAT I DID PARTICIPATE IN. UM, AND OTHER THAN THAT, THE FRIENDS ARE ALWAYS TRYING TO RAISE MORE MONEY. THEY ARE REALLY ALWAYS THINKING ABOUT RAISING MORE MONEY FOR THE LIBRARY. WELL, I JUST WENT TO A VERY NICE LUNCH WITH MARY ALICE WITH HER NAME MARY MONROE. MARY ALICE MONROE IS LAUNCHING HER NEW BOOK. AND SO IT WAS AT BELFAIR AND, UM, THERE WERE 112 PEOPLE THERE, AND ALL THEY HAD TO DO WAS ORGANIZE A LUNCH AND SHE CAME AND SPOKE, AND THEN THEY DID A LITTLE R THEY RAFFLED OFF THAT CHARACTER FOR HER NEW BOOK THAT TO NAME THE CHARACTER. AND IT WENT FOR $1,200. SOMEBODY PAID 1200 TO, TO HAVE THE NAME OF A CHARACTER IN HER BOOK. SO THERE'S SOME GOOD, I, I MEAN, TO ME THAT WOULD'VE BEEN RELATIVELY EASY. SO IF YOU WANNA PASS THAT ON, THAT'S FINE, . SO ANYWAY, THANK YOU. UM, IS THERE ANY OLD BUSINESS? OH, I DIDN'T DO THE HILTON HEAD. HILTON HEAD IS HAVING A MEETING. OH, THEY'RE HAVING THEIR ANNUAL MEETING MAY THE 22ND. THEY'VE CHANGED SOME OF THE BYLAWS, SO THAT WILL BE VOTED ON. AND, UH, THEY'RE DOING, IT'S AT TWO O'CLOCK, SO THEY'RE NOT DOING A LUNCH. THEY'RE JUST GOING TO DO COOKIES AND COFFEE. SO IF ANYONE IS A MEMBER OF THE FRIENDS AT HILTON HEAD, UH, BE AWARE THAT THAT MEETING'S COMING UP. UH, THE PUBLIC LIBRARY, UH, FOUNDATION DID NOT MEET SINCE OUR LAST MEETING. UH, IS THERE ANY OLD BUSINESS, ANY NEW BUSINESS? AMANDA, DO YOU WANNA SAY ANYTHING? OH, JANINE, DO YOU WANT NO, I JUST ACTUALLY HAVE A, A QUESTION FOR AMANDA. OKAY. I'M JUST LOOKING AT SOME OF THE ANNUAL STATISTICS. UM, I JUST NOTE THAT THE TUTOR.COM OPTION, IT LOOKS LIKE WE, WE'VE REALLY STARTED TO SEE AN UPTICK IN THE USE OF THAT. CAN YOU JUST KIND OF SPEAK TO WHAT KIND OF, YOU KNOW, IS THAT JUST GETTING THE WORD OUT AND HOW ARE PEOPLE UTILIZING THAT? DO YOU HAVE ANY THOUGHTS ON, IT'S REALLY JUST WORD OF MOUTH AND BEING INTENTIONAL ABOUT PROMOTING IT. WE, UH, WE PROMOTED IT, WE FEATURED IT IN OUR, UM, ONE OF OUR MONTHLY CARD HOLDER EMAILS THAT GOES TO ABOUT 60,000 CARD HOLDERS. UM, AND WE, WE SAW A DIRECT INCREASE AFTER THAT. UM, AND THEN ALSO JUST ACTIVELY TALKING ABOUT IT AND TELLING PEOPLE ABOUT IT. AMANDA, FOR ALL THOSE PEOPLE WHO ARE UP LATE AT NIGHT AND CAN'T SLEEP AND ARE WATCHING THE THIS VIDEO, , REMIND THEM WHAT TUTOR IS. SO TUTOR.COM IS A ONLINE TUTORING RESOURCE [00:50:01] AVAILABLE TO ANYONE. IT DOESN'T, IT'S NOT JUST FOR KIDS. IT COULD BE FOR ANYONE WHO WANTS SOME ASSISTANCE, LEARN WITH THEIR LEARNING. IT COULD BE ASSIGNMENT BASED OR NOT. UM, EVERY SUBJECT IS INCLUDED, YOU NAME IT, FROM MATH TO TO ENGLISH, GRAMMAR SPAN, UH, LANGUAGE LEARNING. UM, YOU CAN, UH, YOU HAVE, UH, ACCESS TO A TUTOR ON DEMAND 24 HOURS A DAY, SEVEN DAYS A WEEK. THERE'S ALWAYS AN EXPERT ON THE OTHER END OF THE INTERNET FOR YOU. UM, OR, AND YOU CAN ALSO DO BY APPOINTMENT OR MY FAVORITE FEATURE, IF I WERE WRITING A TERM PAPER THESE DAYS, I WOULD SUBMIT IT TO TUTOR.COM AND HAVE THEM PROVIDE ME SOME, UM, CRITIQUES AND SOME SUGGESTIVE REVISIONS BEFORE I TURN IT INTO MY PROFESSOR. SO THAT'S AVAILABLE. IT'S ALL FOR FREE. IT WON'T ASK YOU FOR A LIBRARY CARD. IT'S JUST MERELY THAT YOU LIVE IN SOUTH CAROLINA. THAT IS PROVIDED TO EVERY RESIDENT OF SOUTH CAROLINA FREE OF CHARGE BY THE STATE LIBRARY. AND THAT FUNDING IS FEDERALLY FUNDED. SO IF YOU SEE ANY CHANGES TO FEDERAL, UM, FUNDING THAT, THOSE RESOURCES LIKE THAT COULD BE IMPACTED. THANK YOU. I'M REALLY GLAD TO SEE THAT THAT BEING UTILIZED IS GREAT RESOURCE FOR OUR COMMUNITY TO TELL EVERYBODY, YOU KNOW, I KNOW WHEN YOU'RE ON THE BALL FIELD, TELL 'EM BECAUSE I BET SOMEBODY'S ABOUT TO GET ON HOME PLATE AND WONDERING ABOUT THAT ASSIGNMENT THAT'S DUE. IT'S ON OUR FRIDGE AND OUR PERSONAL HOUSE AS WELL. SO THANK YOU. AMANDA, DO YOU WANNA SAY ANYTHING ABOUT THE PROVISO OR I, UM, OR NO, WHAT MS. MILLER IS ASKING ABOUT IS A STATE BUDGET PROCESS AND A PROVISO THAT WILL BE VOTED ON BY A CONFERENCE COMMITTEE. UM, THEY WILL CHOOSE BETWEEN EITHER THE HOUSE VERSION OF A PROVISO OR THE SENATE VERSION OF THE PROVISO. UM, THERE ARE TWO VERY DISTINCT DIFFERENT VERSIONS OF THAT PROVISO AND IT DOES DETERMINE HOW WE, UM, GET FUNDED THROUGH STATE AID. YOU HEARD EARLIER ABOUT HOW MUCH STATE AID IS IMPORTANT TO US. UM, AND SO THE HOUSE VERSION IS WHAT, UM, LIBRARIES ACROSS THE STATE HAVE BEEN ADVOCATING FOR. IT STILL, UM, GIVES US CREDIBILITY AS LIBRARIES AND IN OUR COLLECTIONS, UM, BUT IT DOESN'T DO THE, UM, ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS AS THE SENATE VERSION PLACES ON IT. SO THEY WILL GO BEFORE A CONFERENCE COMMITTEE NEXT WEEK. SO IF YOU ARE INCLINED AND WISH TO CONTACT, UM, REPRESENTATIVES AND SENATORS, YOU MAY DO SO. UM, I, I HAVE SHARED WITH YOU WHO THE CONFERENCE COMMITTEE MEMBERS ARE. NONE OF THOSE ARE LOCAL TO BEAUFORT, BUT THEY ARE REPRESENTING THE ENTIRE STATE ABOUT SERVING ON THAT CONFERENCE COMMITTEE. WELL, I'M GLAD YOU CLARIFIED THAT. THAT'S GREAT. ALRIGHT, IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE? I DON'T THINK SO. UH, OUR NEXT MEETING WILL BE SCHEDULED AT BLUFFTON. UH, IT'LL BE ON JULY 16TH AT FOUR O'CLOCK, UH, WITH THE FINANCE COMMITTEE, USUALLY MEETING AT THREE O'CLOCK IF YOU'RE AVAILABLE. UM, CAN I HAVE, UM, UH, A, UM, MOTION TO ADJOURN? YES. SECOND. THANK YOU. ALL IN FAVOR? AYE. OPPOSED? NO ONE. THANK YOU. ALL GOOD MEETING. [00:55:38] HERE'S WHAT'S HAPPENING IN BEAUFORT COUNTY TODAY. WE'RE HAVING OUR FALL COUNTY CLEANUP DAY, WHICH ALSO HAPPENS TO BE THE START OF OUR SINGLE USE COUNTYWIDE PLASTIC BAGMAN. UH, WE HAVE PEOPLE ALL OVER THE BEAUFORT COUNTY PICKING UP LITTER, UH, FROM DIFFERENT AGENCIES WITHIN BEAUFORD COUNTY. TODAY WE HAVE OVER 300 VOLUNTEERS, UH, COUNTY EMPLOYEES, TOWN EMPLOYEES, CITY EMPLOYEES. UH, OUR SPONSORS ARE, ARE PROVIDING PEOPLE, NOT TO MENTION, OVER A DOZEN, UH, ADOPT A HIGHWAY GROUPS IN OUR COMMUNITY. AND WE'RE ALL OUT HERE WORKING TOGETHER TO CLEAN UP OUR COMMUNITY. WE ARE SPREAD OUT THROUGHOUT THE COUNTY ON OUR MAJOR ROADS, UM, FROM ST. HELENA TO DALE TO BLUFFTON, HILTON HEAD, AND EVER POINT IN BETWEEN. THIS MORNING WE STARTED OFF BY PICKING UP COUNTY EMPLOYEES WHO VOLUNTEERED THEIR TIME AWAY FROM THEIR NORMAL DUTIES WITHIN BEAUFORT COUNTY TO COME OUT AND PICK UP LITTER. UH, WE GOT THE FIRST CREW THAT STARTED AT NINE AND THEY PICKED UP LITTER UNTIL ABOUT 12 O'CLOCK. AFTER THAT, WE TRANSPORTED THEM AGAIN TO DIFFERENT SITES THAT WE HAD SET UP PROVIDED BY WALMART FOR LUNCH AREAS. UM, ALSO OUR SECOND CREW CAME IN ABOUT ONE O'CLOCK AND WE WERE ABLE TO PICK THEM UP AND BRING THEM TO THE LUNCH SITE ALSO SO THEY COULD INTERACT WITH SOME OF THE DIFFERENT GROUPS AND VOLUNTEERS AND SPONSORS. THIS IS SUCH AN IMPORTANT EVENT TO OUR COMMUNITY AND ALSO TO OUR RESIDENTS TO RAISE AWARENESS AND LET THEM KNOW WHAT HARM LITTER DOES TO OUR COMMUNITY, ESPECIALLY WITH US BEING ON LIVING IN A COASTAL ENVIRONMENT. THE, UH, LITTER PICKUP TODAY WAS FABULOUS. FIRST OF ALL, IT WAS FUN. IT WAS A LOT OF FUN. I GOT TO WORK WITH A LOT OF REALLY FUN PEOPLE, UH, VOLUNTEERS, UH, ADOPT THE HIGHWAY FOLKS, UH, COUNTY STAFF, UH, ALL KIND OF FOLKS FOR, AND SO WE JUST, FIRST OF ALL, FIRST AND FOREMOST, WE HAD FUN. I THINK IT, IT HAS A GREAT EFFECT IN THAT PEOPLE SEE THE TRASH BEING PICKED UP AND THEN IT HOPEFULLY WILL HELP THEM TO THINK BEFORE THEY THROW TRASH OUT AND TAKE PRIDE IN THEIR COMMUNITY, UH, TO PICK UP LITTER AND NOT, AND NOT TO PUT LITTER OUT THE WINDOW. I THINK THIS EVENT FOR AU COUNTY PUTS US AHEAD OF A LOT OF OTHER COUNTIES JUST BECAUSE NOT MANY COUNTIES WITHIN SOUTH CAROLINA ARE HOSTING THESE LARGE EVENTS. AND I THINK WHEN EVERYONE GETS ON BOARD, IT'S GONNA BE GR A GREAT THING, BUT OTHER COUNTIES WITHIN SOUTH CAROLINA WILL LOOK BACK AND, AND WILL DEFINITELY BE A PIONEER. I THINK THIS HELPS INCREASE AWARENESS THAT LITTER AFFECTS EVERYBODY AND WE SHOULD ALL PITCH IN AND PICK IT UP. PICKING UP LITTER IS LIKE ANYTHING ELSE. IT, IT CAN BE INFECTIOUS AND THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT HAPPENED. YOU KNOW, PEOPLE ARE SEEING OTHER PEOPLE DO IT AND THEY'RE SEEING THE, THE CRITICALITY OF IT AND THEY'RE SAYING, YOU KNOW WHAT? I HAVEN'T DONE ANYTHING. I CAN DO SOMETHING NOW. HOW DO I HELP? AND YOU'RE SEEING MORE AND MORE AND MORE OF THAT RIGHT NOW. A SPECIAL THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS WHO DEFINITELY MADE THIS EVENT POSSIBLE. UH, OUR CORPORATE SPONSORS WERE WALMART PRO DISPOSAL AND AMERICAN PRIDE. OUR EVENT SPONSORS WERE HAWKEYE HOME INSPECTION, SOUTHERN SIGNS AND GRAPHICS, LOW COUNTRY SANITATION AND INK DROPS, CUSTOM TEES. OUR SPONSORS WERE SO IMPORTANT WITH MAKING THIS EVENT HAPPEN WITH THEIR GENEROUS DONATIONS FOR US TO BUY SUPPLIES AND BE ABLE TO BRAND OURSELVES WITH T-SHIRTS AND GET EVERYONE TOGETHER, WHETHER IT WAS LUNCH LOCATIONS, MEALS, AND THOSE SORT OF THINGS. THIS CLEANUP EVENT HAS BEEN HASHTAG WITH WE CARE. AND THAT'S REALLY BEEN OUR FOCUS ON THIS, IS THAT WE CARE. WE WANT TO SHOW THE COMMUNITY WE CARE. THAT'S WHY OUR EMPLOYEES HAVE TAKEN THEIR TIME TO VOLUNTEER TO DO THIS. OUR SPONSORS HAVE VOLUNTEERED TO DO THIS, AND IT'S ALL TO MAKE BUFORT COUNTY A BETTER PLACE TO LIVE. ON BEHALF OF BEAUFORD COUNTY, I WOULD LIKE TO SAY THANK YOU TO ALL OF OUR VOLUNTEERS AND EVERYONE WHO PARTICIPATED IN SHOWING WE CARE. AND THAT'S WHAT'S HAPPENING IN BEAUFORT COUNTY. * This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.