Next Meeting: February 9, 2022
Noon
William R. Dunaway Community Meeting Room
MINUTES of the regular meeting of the PItkin County Library Board of Trustees on November
17, 2021. The meeting was called to order at 12:05 p.m.
ROLL CALL: Trustees present: Barbara Reid, Barbara Smith, Judy Wrigley, John Wilkinson,
and Austine Stitt. New trustee Ashley Connolly and guest Wally Obermeyer attended via Zoom.
New alternate trustees Elizabeth Stewart-Severy and Erin Cummins were also present along with
Kathy Chandler and staff members Genevieve Smith and TJ Kaiser. Erin Cummins voted in
place of Elizabeth Nix who was absent.
PUBLIC COMMENT: None.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES: Austine Stitt moved to approve the minutes of the October 12,
2021 meeting. Barbara Smith seconded her motion which passed unanimously.
OLD BUSINESS: Jeremiah Hines of Audio Video Experts presented three proposals for the
Meeting Room projector and sound system. TJ Kaiser and John Wilkinson served as fellow
committee members to research systems. The favored proposal will definitely enhance the
viewers’ enjoyment of movies. A motion was made by Barbara Reid and seconded by Austine
Stitt to select the third (most expensive) proposal. The motion was passed by all Trustees with
one exception by Barbara Smith.
TRUSTEE COMMENTS: Austine Stitt inquired about Molly Ireland, and Kathy gave an
update. Barbara Smith explained her “no” vote on the motion to approve the purchase of a new projector
and sound system for the Dunaway Community Meeting Room. Judy Wrigley shared a concern
about the movie series’ future. John Wilkinson will confer with Jeremiah Hines about exploring
another high quality option for the Board to consider.
LIBRARIAN’S REPORT: Kathy Chandler gave a recap of the history of the capital reserve fund
for the new trustees along with an explanation for inviting Wally Obermeyer to offer us guidance
on seeking a better return on our investment.
NEW BUSINESS: Wally Obermeyer of Obermeyer Investments graciously donated his time to
give guidance to the Board on investing the capital reserve fund of $1,725,235 that is money that
had been gifted to the library. He advised us to invest long term funds (5+ years or possibly 3+)
into 60% equities and 40% bonds which he called moderately aggressive. Later on, he said there
is nothing wrong with starting conservatively (50% equities). He advised us to run any new
allocations through the Pitkin County Attorney and Treasurer to make sure the County is
comfortable with the allocations. Also, Wally said we should devise an investment policy with
our advisor that should include restrictions regarding the quality of the investments, types of
bonds, and diversification. In addition, he said the Board should consider dollar cost averaging over a 12 month period.
He acknowledged that “timing” the market is difficult. The Board thanked Wally for his time and advice.
A Nominating Committee for Election of Officers consisting of Austine Stitt, Barbara Smith, and
Judy Wrigley was formed to select nominees for next year’s officers. The slate will be presented
at the January 2022 meeting. Austine Stitt offered her resignation as Vice President.
Due to concern about the ongoing pandemic and group gatherings the Holiday Potluck has been
cancelled again.
FUTURE MEETING DATES:
January 12, 2022 April 13, 2022
February 9, 2022 May 11, 2022
March 9, 2022 June 8, 2022
ADJOURNMENT: A motion was made by Judy Wrigley and seconded by Barbara Reid to
adjourn the meeting at 1:37 p.m.
RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED:
Judy Wrigley
Secretary