02/12/2025 - MinutesTigard Public Library Board Minutes – February 12, 2025
TIGARD PUBLIC LIBRARY BOARD MINUTES – Wednesday, February 12, 2025 – Page 1 of 3
1. BOARD MEETING
A. At 6:31 p.m. Board Chair Ristau called the Tigard Public Library Board Meeting to order.
B. Chair Ristau called the roll.
C. Call to Board and Staff for Non-Agenda Items – None.
i. Board Chair Ristau wished to add a possible board response to the structural
changes resulting from the WCCLS Funding and Governance project.
2. PUBLIC COMMENT
A. Follow-up to Previous Public Comment: None
B. Public Comment – Written: None
C. Public Comment – In Person: None
D. Public Comment – Phone-in or Video: None
3. APPROVE MINUTES
A. Board Member Coleman moved to approve the Library Board minutes for the January 8,
2025 meeting. The motion was seconded by Board Member Bogert, and the motion
passed unanimously.
4. ICEBREAKER
Library Director Halsted Bernard asked everyone in attendance the icebreaker question: If you
had to describe how you are feeling right now as a weather pattern, what is your forecast?
Present Absent
Helen Allen
Mary Bogert
Candice Coleman
Lili Diaz
Pam Michael
Kate Ristau (Chair)
Jenny Stoffel (Vice Chair)
Jessica Lin (Alternate)
TIGARD PUBLIC LIBRARY BOARD MINUTES – February 12, 2025 – Page 2 of 3
5. DISCUSSION AND PREPARATION FOR JOINT CITY COUNCIL/LIBRARY BOARD MEETING
A. Jeanne Peloquin, the Library’s Communications and Outreach Coordinator, was present to
update the board on the video project in collaboration with TVCTV that was introduced at
the January meeting. The purpose of the project was to provide content that can be used
by the Library to promote services and support the upcoming WCCLS levy and also would
be useful for the Library Board’s annual presentation to the Tigard City Council.
Peloquin shared that she will meet with a TVCTV producer on Friday, February 14 to
finalize plans for the video.
Guidance for video content included: the Library’s updated spaces, the Seed Library, a
recipient of tax help, or the Spanish newsletter (Board Member Coleman), the Library
Backyard Tree Planting with Friends of Trees (Board Member Stoffel), Memory Care kits
available through WCCLS (Board Member Allen), and the Library’s new Social Services
Coordinator and how the Library partners with community organizations (Director
Bernard).
Themes for the video included ways in which the Library “plants seeds” in the community
(Board Member Michael) and ways in which the Library is supporting the community now
and into the future (Board Chair Ristau).
The date of the presentation to City Council will be April 15, and there was interest in
providing a “hands-on” component for the presentation possibly seeds from the Seed
Library or bubble waffles from the Opportunity Cafe tenant Chilita’s (Board Chair Ristau).
Board Member Coleman suggested having a brief slide deck in addition to the video
presentation that would include more facts and figures about the past year of Tigard
Public Library services.
All Board Members expressed interest in helping with the project, and Peloquin indicated
that she would follow up with the Board after her meeting with the TVCTV producer.
6. DIRECTOR’S REPORT
A. Director Bernard presented updates on the WCCLS Funding and Governance evaluation
process. After extensive meetings that included library directors and organizational
leadership from across the member libraries, a proposal to centralize library collection
management across the cooperative was presented to the Washington County Board of
County Commissioners. This proposal, which is estimated to save WCCLS $4 million per
year when it transitions in July 2027, was approved by the Washington County Board of
Commissioners on February 4. The impacts of centralization on the Tigard Public Library
team are significant: Director Bernard and library senior management will work with the
city’s HR and Finance teams to reorganize the Library’s structure to support the change in
local operations, and this reorganization will likely result in a decrease of library FTE.
TIGARD PUBLIC LIBRARY BOARD MINUTES – February 12, 2025 – Page 3 of 3
Board Chair Ristau asked whether there were any other possible funding models that
would achieve the same level of cost savings. Director Bernard answered that there were
not, and that centralized collection management is a model that many other library
systems use for cost savings.
Board Member Coleman asked whether this decision ends the Funding and Governance
evaluation process. Director Bernard answered that there is much more to the process
including establishing a new funding allocation formula for Washington County library
funding and potentially changing the cooperative’s governance model.
Board Member Coleman asked whether, with centralization, there will be a change to the
level of service provided to the community. Director Bernard responded that while any
change of this magnitude could result in a change in service, one of the goals of this
process is to find ways to keep delivering excellent service to all our communities.
Meeting guest Friends of the Tigard Library Board Member Mylène DiPenta asked what
caused the Washington County system to develop as a decentralized system. Director
Bernard answered that many of the individual libraries were established before the
Cooperative was created, and they made the decision to pool their resources to provide
even better service to their communities. With property tax and levy realities, the current
system has not been able to keep pace with cost increases.
Friends of the Library Board Member DiPenta asked whether there are ongoing
discussions about how to index the funding to the costs. Director Bernard said these
discussions are ongoing, and noted that exploring different models that provide
sustainable funding for all libraries in Washington County is a crucial piece of this work.
Director Bernard stated that if Board Members have questions or thoughts, they can
contact her to continue to clarify the process and get answers, and she will continue to
update the Board through her director’s reports each month.
7. NON-AGENDA ITEMS
A. Board Chair Ristau asked the Library Board can do something to show their support for
library employees at this stage in the process. Director Bernard said that the board can
decide how to offer support at this time and noted that one way to express their support
directly would be to share that support via a card or letter.
B. Friends of the Library Board Member DiPenta asked whether the Friends of the Library
Board could receive the full Tigard Library Board Packet in the future. Director Bernard
apologized for the oversight and confirmed that the Friends board will receive the packet.
8. ADJOURNMENT
At 7:45 p.m. Chair Ristau adjourned the meeting.
Prepared by: Jeanne Peloquin
Approved on: March 12, 2025