Leadership in Action

Leadership in Action training is coming to South Benton County today. What's this you may ask? Well, I don't know... exactly! but I aim to find out in these next two days. The website for LIA is here... Leadership in Action The site says that LIA is "a two day Leadership training for your community hosted by Rural Development Initiatives, and The Ford Family Foundation". Several of our group from South Benton Library Project are attending, so between us all we should get a good idea of just what Leadership in Action is. Our South Benton community has had several informal meetings with Rural Development Initiative/Ford Family Foundation and from what I've gleaned it seems that this training and what comes from it will be a good thing for our area. So, starting today, "emerging" leaders will be trained on how to actually be a leader in our community. I'll post some updates on what we learn at this two-day training. I'm really excited because there are around 25-30 people attending from our South Benton area. Stay tuned for updates!

Check It Out!

The Corvallis-Benton County Public Library Friends and Foundation puts out a publication each month called "Check it Out". The South Benton Library Project has a prominent place on the front page of this month's issue. Here it is: Check it out!

http://www.thebestlibrary.net/joomla/images/publications/cio_marapr09.pdf

SBLP Meeting Agenda- March 9, 2009

7PM AT THE MONROE FIRE HALL


INDRODUCTIONS/WELCOME

APPROVAL OF LAST MONTH'S MEETING MINUTES

TREASURER REPORT

OLD BUSINESS

1. ELECTION OF AT LARGE MEMBERS & DISCUSSION OF VOTING - TERESA

2. COMMITTEE REPORTS

A. MONROE COUNCIL - CATIE

B. FUND RAISING - MICHELLE

C. KICK OFF EVENT - SHARON

3, LAND UPDATE - ROGER

4. OTHER

5. NEXT MONTH'S AGENDA IDEAS AND ADJOURN

SBLP Meeting Minutes - Feb. 9th, 2009

SBLP Meeting Minutes February 9, 2009

In attendance:
Lori Pelkey-Monroe Community Library Specialist-Acting Secretary
Teresa Landers-Corvallis Benton County Public Library Deputy Director
Alyce Bayne
Serena Logan
Evelyn Lee
Dena Elliott-Chairperson
Roger Irvin - President SBCE
Amy Erickson-reporter for the Tri-County Newspaper
Carol McGlasson - Monroe City Council Chairperson
DeeDee Smith
Catie Mange - City Council Liaison
Craig Pelkey - Treasurer
Howard Steele
Sharon Kavanagh- Publicity committee
Michele Gazica - Fundraising
Janeece Cook - Representing Strengthing Rural Families
Sandi Crumley
Serena Logan


Introductions / Around the room

Teresa read last month's meeting minutes- and then they were approved

Treasurer's Report: No much activity reported this month, a few donations/expenditures. The Nick Salerno Fund that is in a CD has matured again, a motion was made, seconded and approved for Craig to look into a longer term CD for this fund.

Old Business:
Brochure: As Teresa translated the brochure into Spanish, a few errors were found. We talked about what to do. Everyone was agreeable to leave the error as is. Teresa showed her Spanish version of the brochure. Lori Pelkey will be looking into a different company to reproduce it.

Land: Roger reported all is going well. Partition survey has been filed. Preliminary title report has been done. Sale should be final by the end of March. We talked about a need for an executive session with the City Council about re-zoning the property. This needs to be done before groundbreaking.

City Council Liaison: Catie updated us on her latest visit to the council. They have been very happy to have a liaison. Carol McGlasson reported that Catie is doing a great job updating the council on the Library's progress. The question was raised about getting a permit to build on the land before the property is re-zoned. Carol McGlasson reported that the city can only take the property once the library is built.

Kickoff: Sharon gave out copies of the Kickoff plan. The Monroe High School commons is booked for the event. On her Kickoff plan, the colored items are things that are needed. Janeece talked about an idea she had for for a young children's storytime at the event. Teresa is getting a model train for display. We talked about advertising, various ideas were put forth. Evelyn reminded us of the button maker that we helped purchase and said that the button maker is at the Museum. Dena will pick it up. We talked about putting "Are You On Board?" on buttons with an added ribbon saying "I am" after someone has donated. Contact Sharon about making food for the kickoff.

Depot concerns: Teresa reported that there are still concerns in our community about the safety of using the depot. We need to make a fact sheet about the depot to pass out at the Kickoff. The results of the chemical testing needs to be available for community members to see. The environmental study will have been done by then so results of that should be out too.

New Business:
Grant Writing: Michele Gazica is interested in giving it a try. But she needs to take classes to learn more. There is a class coming up, the question was asked if SBLP should pay for the class. John Norenna should also be sent. It was agreed that SBLP will pay for classes for grantwriting. There is also an upcoming class on April 3 called "Mobilizing your board to raise more money". Two people should be sent to this. During the meetings' conversations about grant writing and fundraising, Michele seemed to lean more toward Fundraising. It was decided to approach John Norenna to see if he will take over Grant Writing and this would free Michele up to focus on Fundraising. Dena will contact John.
Ford Family Foundation: Lori, Catie and Evelyn told about the meeting they went to with Rural Development Initiative. At the meeting about 100 names were gathered to invite to the March 13 and 14 Leadership in Action seminar that will be held at the Monroe Legion Hall. All were encouraged to attend as many things will be taught at LIA that will help our efforts toward a new library.

Evelyn reported that the teens from Teen Council would like a full kitchen in the new library. She also asked about the "greeness' of the new building and if potential growth of the City of Monroe had been considered in the design. She also offered the use of the Alpine Community Center for Howard Steele to use at a fundraising concert.

Blogs from the Corvallis-Benton County Public Library

I've known about a few blogs that the CBCPL has, but I've just discovered a new one called The Second Floor Librarians . Looks like it will be an interesting blog and might give more information about our library services. As you all know, Monroe Community Library is a branch library of the Corvallis-Benton County Public Library, but this blog here is not so much about what we do as a library (although I can't resist sneaking in a post every once in a while about our great library services!) but more about the journey our community is on while our new Monroe Library building is getting organized and then built. Believe me, I can't wait for the day when I have ground breaking pictures to post! Meanwhile, please check out the newest blog from our library and while you are at it, check out our other amazing blogs; Birth to 6 and Teens@CBCPL .

Thursday, February 12

Hello there! My name is Amy Davis and I'm one of the volunteers at the Monroe Library. Lori has asked me to sit down and tell you my thoughts about our library, so here goes.

Let me begin my introducing myself. I've lived in Monroe pretty much all my life (19 years) and am currently enrolled at Linn-Benton Community College as an English and Journalism major. One of my classes this term is Photojournalism, and my last assignment was to take an environmental portrait of a friend. I chose my favorite librarian, Lori. Turns out, my instructor loved the photo I took (you can view my blog post here, if you'd like).

I've been coming to the library since I was a young'un-- probably since age 3 or 4. I can remember planting myself in the children's book section and pouring over my favorites for hours and hours (or minutes and minutes-- that can seem like hours to a little kid). I love coming here and just browsing through the books. I'm one of those weird people who loves the smell of rows and rows of books. This space is so familiar, I consider it one of my homes away from home. When I heard about the South Benton Library Project, you can't imagine how happy I was. As comfy and cozy as this place is, it will be absolutely wonderful to be able to spread out a bit. I tell you, it can take some talented maneuvering for more than one person to shelve books in the Adult Fiction section without knocking anything over or bumping into the other person. Recently, the SBLP was featured in both the Tri-County News and The Gazette Times. Our new library will give us the chance to house even more books here (I hear the angels singing now!) as well as having more space for the Summer Reading Program attendees and more computers. Every time I walk by the scale-model of the new library, I can't help but be excited. I can't wait for construction to begin!

Last Night's Town Hall Meeting

It was a bit of a surprise to me when I walked in to the Monroe Council Chambers last night at 7:00 pm to find a full house! There was a Town Hall Meeting concerning our community's transportation needs and was headed by Sharon Fipps from Benton County Transportation. Why there is no bus service between Monroe and Junction City or between Monroe and Corvallis has often been a subject of conversation at the library here. Last night's meeting addressed this issue and Monroe's community came out in force to voice their needs. It came as a surprise to Ms. Fipps that there was a need to travel between Monroe and Junction City; she was prepared to hear mostly comments on the need to travel within Benton County. Travel between Monroe and Junction City crosses county boundaries and makes it difficult for either county's transit system to take on this challenge. There were many comments and suggestions from our community members, and even one of our Latina community members came and voiced concerns coming from our Hispanic population. It's downright hard sometimes to get between here and Corvallis or Junction City when there are doctor's visits, shopping trips or social events happening. And in the interest of saving gas in these hard times, something should be done to make travel possible and/or easier. Mostly what Ms. Fipps spoke about would happen in 2011-2013. This is very far away when the need is now. One idea suggested was for the City of Monroe to own it's own van/vehicle and hire it's own drivers to bring community members to either Corvallis or Junction City where they could then pick up on either Benton or Lane County's transit systems and continue on to their destinations. I loved this idea! Wouldn't there be grants out there that would make the purchase of a vehicle possible for something as innovative as this? Think about the publicity our small town would receive for solving this problem of transportation on our own! This sounds like a great possiblity to me...

January 12 Meeting Minutes

SBLP Meeting Minutes - January 12, 2009

December meeting minutes approved

Financial Report-Attached

The Corvallis-Benton County Library Foundation added a line for donating to SBLP on their fund raising mailer they send out each year.

Land Update-

Teresa Landers reported that the contract of purchase for the sale of the land was signed with the railroad! SBLP will be the one purchasing the land. We can now do the wetland survey. We also need to do the environmental study on the land. Then the partitioning--has to go through the City of Monroe City Council. Closing date for the sale of the land should be the end of April. Dena also found out that South Benton Community Enhancement's insurace will cover SBLP. Roger Irvin reported that we should update the city zoning where the land is. Right now it is zoned industrial. This should be done in a private session with the Monroe City Council.

Fundraising-

Our new Publicity Chairperson, Sharon Kavanagh reported her ideas. She envisions several events in rapid succession. The following is a list of ideas to generate donations for the new library

1. (Get on Board or All Aboard!) A grand kickoff celebration event at the high school commons for the whole community. Some ideas for this event include book activities, high schoolers reading to children, furniture with books out for little ones. Have the architect's model of the new library out in the middle. Sharon asked Roger Irvin to MC the event, he agreed. We will ask Lori Stephens to do her computer presentation on what the library will look like. She would like small speeches given by Lori Pelkey, Dena Elliott and Teresa Landers. A donation table will be prominent with opportunities to make pledges to the project. Also a huge suggestion box. Coffee and small refreshments will be served.

2. Within a week, have Dena Elliott's belated retirement fest (Dinner with Dena) to honor her years of service at the Monroe Library. Dinner will be served and a current list of Dena's friends is needed.

3. Approximately three weeks later we will start having desserts at the homes of patrons who love the library. They will invite 20 friends and ask to donate/support the new library. Should have a SBLP board member come to each dessert. A list needs to be started of potential patrons to host these desserts.

4. Art idea: have an art fair this summer after Art in the Park is ended. Show the children's art from Art in the Park. Maybe have the children do art at the show. Make buttons and bookmarks with art to sell at the circulation desk.

5. Before kickoff-everyone on the SBLP board is encouraged to make a donation or pledge to support SBLP. Many grants require this.

6. Find someone younger to do something on YouTube, Flicker, Facebook etc. We need a web presence besides the blog. Can we get an Eagle Scout to take this on as their project?

7. Howard Steele again offered to donate all the ticket money for a concert he will give. (Country and Cowboy western)

Next meeting will be February 9.

Attendees:
Dena Elliott
Janeece Cook
Page Pedder
Howard Steele
Serena Logan
Catie Mange
Craig Pelkey
Lori Pelkey
Teresa Landers
Sharon Kavanagh
Roger Irvin

Agenda-SBLP Meeting Jan. 12, 2009

WELCOME

1. APPROVAL OF MINUTES

2. FINANCIAL REPORT

3. LAND UPDATE: TERESA

4. FUND RAISING

A. PLAN

B. IDEAS: EVENT TO START US OUT - SHARON K.

C. FUND RAISING: COORDINATOR/CHAIR

5. GRANTS

A. CDBG GRANT

B. GRANT WRITERS

C. GRANT WRITING COORDINATOR/CHAIR

6. OTHER BUSINESS

7. AGENDA FOR FEBRUARY

SBLP Dec. 8, 2008 Meeting Minutes

Approval of last month's meeting minutes

Treasurer Report -

What to do with $96.57 left on Design Grant was tabled. Later it was decided this money would be used to pay for Posters similar to the brochures

Old Business

Policy changes-Discussion yielded consensus to adopt a Steering Committee

Monroe Light Parade- the decision to make a float and enter into this year's light parade was cancelled due to not enough people to help

New Business

Land- RR wants land completley insured-this will be discussed at the next South Benton Community Enhancement meeting, Dena Elliott will report to us in January
Once we own the land, a celebration should happen. Unveil the model, pass out brochures, have dessert and coffee. Have this at the High School? Publicity committee should take this over. Sharon Kavanagh volunteered to be the Publicity Chairman.

Bank account signer- It was agreed that Catherine Mange will be a replacement signer on the bank account replacing Janet Begg.

City Council Liaison report- On Nov. 20, three people from the city planning commission, three city councilors and one new councilor met with Catie Mange and Lori Stephens who reviewed the design of the new building. Several questions arose about the wording on the brochure soon to be printed. Ideas were discussed about these changes and it was agreed to change the wording on the brochures. Catie Mange reported on the Nov. 28 Monroe City Council meeting where she reviewed our last meeting with them and officially reinvited everyone to attend all our SBLP meetings.

Lori Pelkey and Lori Stephens were invited to the Jan. 6, 2009 Lions Club meeting to present the New Library Design to their group.

Next meeting will be January 13, 2009 at the Monroe Fire Hall.

Attendees:

Serena Logan, Dena Elliott, Laura Oakes, Alyce Bayne, DeeDee Smith, Craig Pelkey, Catie Mange, sharon Kavanagh and Lori Pelkey

Final Agenda for October's South Benton Library Project Meeting

Please come to our October South Benton Library Project Meeting. We will meet this Monday, Oct. 13th at 7:00 pm at the Monroe Fire Hall meeting room. I have invited the three Monroe City Council candidates to come and see the progress we've made toward our new library building in an effort to encourage their participation on the project. I hope to see you there too as your efforts are greatly needed and appreciated.

Sincerely,
Lori Pelkey
Monroe Community Library
541-847-5174


Agenda for Oct. 13th SBLP meeting

Approval of last month's meeting minutes

Treasurer Report

Old Items
1. Status, Review and Finalization of Brochure using BCCC grant
2. Railroad news/ Money granted for land
3. Tri County news article
4. Ford Family Foundation/Rural Development Initiative interest

New Items
1. Restructuring committee: composition/structure, who should vote, how votes are weighed, conduct of meetings, positions open, etc.
a) How decisions are to be made in and out of our monthly meetings.
b) Email: It's use and limitations - establish guidelines in this type of communication.

2. What should/can we be doing (if anything) while we wait for final word on land?
a) If we wait to pursue certain things at what point do we proceed?
1) Possession of title?
2) In escrow?
3) Firm option to buy?

3. Status and input on Won Productions, Inc. marketing/publicity proposal.

4. Understanding Teresa Landers (Deputy Library Director for Corvallis-Benton County Public Library) and Monroe Community Library's staff role with our committee.

5. Upcoming Grants to apply for
a. BCCC
b. any others?

The Pout-Pout Fish-Great Storytime Book!

Last week at StoryTime I read a sweet book by Deborah Diesen called The Pout-Pout Fish. First of all I have to say how much I love to read stories at StoryTime here in the library. I think I've alluded to this several times here on the blog. But, since I love books so much, every once in a while I just have this urge to tell everyone about a wonderful children's book that comes along. The Pout-Pout Fish took me by surprise! It's got great rhythm and a sweet message. I'm very particular about loving kid's books. You all know that SkippyJon Jones is my personal hero and it's really hard to find a book that lives up to anything that Judy
Schachner writes! But I heartily recommend The Pout-Pout Fish to anyone who loves children's books or who has little children to read to in their life! Come on in to the library today and I'll help you find many more children's story books!

Last Night's (Sept. 8th)SBLP Meeting

I want to let you know about a major decision that was made at last night's South Benton Library Project meeting here in Monroe. Many of you didn't make it to the meeting but have expressed an interest in what has been happening concerning the new library building. We are moving into an active stage in our building project development and it's an exciting time. It's because of this that I cannot stress enough how the presence of each one of you at our meetings and the effort you make works for the good of everyone involved. What we are doing this very minute will benefit many generations to come.

At the meeting last night, we met Courtney Rader. She is the Volunteer Coordinator for the Corvallis Benton County Public Library but she also has her own consulting business. She has many years of experience doing fund raising for nonprofits and has been involved with capital campaigns as well. She has given us a proposal to accomplish the fund raising strategizing part of building our new library. She wrote it giving us an opportunity to spend as little or much as we feel we can afford by bidding it on an hourly basis with an initial retainer. She would also do it for a flat fee if we prefer. After much discussion on the subject of hiring Courtney, a motion was made, seconded, voted on and passed to retain her services as a Fundraising consultant for SBLP. Courtney brings a great amount of enthusiasm to our team and feels like raising 2 million dollars is very doable. She stressed that it will be hard work, but we will have a beautiful library built for our efforts. I listened carefully to her proposal and liked what I heard. I believe she will bring valuable assistance and direction to South Benton Library Project. I have attached her proposal with this email. Please feel free to let me know what you think. In the near future we are going to need some major team players who are willing to give of their time and effort to bring our new beautiful library building into reality. I know you are all committed to your library. I see it in your eyes when you come in to browse and check out your books. You all are on the front line of knowing how much we really need a bigger place to accommodate our growing community.

In a few days, I will post the minutes to last night's meeting on the blog. Again, this is no substitute for your actual presence there at a meeting, but will give you a flavor of what we do each month. I encourage you again, to attend next month's meeting on Oct. 13th at the Fire Hall. I do know that some of you may have conflicts and are unable to attend meetings. PLEASE call me so we can discuss how you might be able to help without coming to these particular monthly meetings. As we learn more about the nuts and bolts of fundraising I know we can find a way for you to help make this new building a reality.



Sincerely,

Lori Pelkey
Monroe Community Library
541-847-5174

September SBLP Meeting...

Hello Everyone,

It's that time again! Our next South Benton Library Project Meeting will be held this coming Monday, Sept. 8th at the Monroe Fire Hall at 7:00 pm. I really hope you can make it. At the last meeting we all decided to bring a friend to our September meeting. So, here's your chance to come to the meeting with a friend or family member!

At this month's meeting we will be talking more about the wetland study that must be done. We also will be hearing the latest news on purchasing the land from the railroad. You'll get sneak peak at the brochure that's being printed very soon too. And we will be hearing from a Fundraising consultant that has some great ideas for bringing the money together to build the new library building! So you can see we have some exciting things to hear about on Monday evening.

We’ll see you there!

Lori Pelkey
Monroe Community Library
541-847-5174

And the Survey Says.....!

Yes! A big "Thank You" to our South Benton Community who took the time and effort to fill out the Income Survey that was sent to some of our households! It is official that we qualify as low/moderate income! That means we are officially eligible to apply for CDBG and possibly other grants or loans as well. In a few days I will be posting the minutes from our July 14th meeting where we had Lori Stephens of Broadleaf Architecture answering questions about access to the new library site from HWY 99, Bill Patton of Streamline Engineering answering questions about the small wetland area on the property and Roger Irvin of South Benton Community Enhancement letting us know about the latest progress the county is making with the Railroad in purchasing the property.

Lori

Will You Be Taking Your Kids to the Library this Summer?

So, everyone, are you taking your kids to the library this summer? The Summer Reading Program in most states this year is "Catch the Reading Bug". You can take your kids to visit and join the programs, check out books for summer reading and in most libraries attend fun performances too! In our library, here in Monroe, we will even be having a performance with BUGS! What I love to tell both moms and kids is that during summer kids can read whatever THEY want! Yep, no teacher telling them to read this or that. They can chose. What fun! Moms...here's a hint...look at the running sidebar on my blog. I have some of my favorite read-aloud books there. These are storytime tested fun books! You could sneak some home and catch the reading bug with your kids! Oh and here's another hint... I did this and still do it for my kids...and it works at the library too! I put "bait" around the house! Yep, I unashamedly bring home NON-Fiction books that look interesting and just lay them on the couch or by the fireplace. Bam! I catch them every time browsing through the bait! Go to the kids section in your library and find some books about any fun or strange subject. Believe me any thing will catch their attention if it's just sitting there on the couch! Make sure you put fresh "bait" out often so they don't get bored... And what's really cool is that, little do they know it, but they are reading without you telling them to! Try it!

The Return of the Repile Man

Yes! The Reptile Man is returning to the Monroe Community Library on Wednesday, May 21st at 3:30 pm. He'll be at the Fire Hall again because we are expecting another big crowd. So, come early if you want to get a good seat.

Richard Ritchey's educational presentation will include over a dozen reptiles. Come learn about snakes, tortoises, turtles and lizards!

South Benton Library Project News by Catie Mange

Happy Spring! The efforts towards a new Monroe Library are steadily moving forward. However we still need more volunteers from the community to assist us with publicizing our efforts and the progress we’ve made. We meet regularly each month at the Monroe Fire Hall on the second Monday of each month at 7:00 pm. Call 847-5174 if you have any questions regarding these meetings. Please join us to learn more about what we’re doing and how you can help.

A couple of weeks ago we sent you an income survey for the South Benton Library Project. If you haven’t returned that survey form please fill it out and send it back now. We are very close to having enough responses for a valid survey, but we still need a few more completed forms. If you’ve lost the form, please call Scott Wilson and he can take your information. His number is 541.924.8473 (daytime) or 541.753.2156 (evening).

Thank you for your cooperation and we hope to see you at the next meeting

Happenings at the Monroe Community Library

Now that we have made it through tax season, everyone can breathe a sigh of relief! But wait, you still have to deal with high gas prices and the high cost of just about everything else. There is good news at your library in Monroe! We're local! For most of you we are just a short walk or bike ride away. No gas involved! We have so much to offer you too. If you check out our website, http://www.thebestlibrary.net you can see that we are more than just a small city library. Monroe's library is a branch of the Corvallis-Benton County Public Library. This means that you have access to everything that is in either the main library in Corvallis, the Philomath Library, Alsea's new library or the Bookmobile. You can request anything you see on our library's website and, using your library card number with PIN, it will be brought to you here at the Monroe Library! You'll get an email or a phone call telling you it's here and you can come down and pick it up. It's that simple. Don't see what you want on our website? Heard of a new book that the library doesn't own yet? You can request the library to buy it! Remembered an old book that was a childhood favorite and you don't see that we have it? We can put out an Inter-Library Loan request. This means our library borrows it from another library for you! Now that's service!

I am pleased to announce the return of "The Reptile Man" on Wednesday, May 21st at 3:30pm. The Reptile Man has been a big hit in Monroe for a few years now, so if you missed him last year, here's your chance to enjoy some really creepy crawly friends! After school ends in June, we will again have our Summer Reading Program here at the library. This year's them is "Catch the Reading Bug!" There will be a slight change in the day of the week we will have performers here at the library. This year's performers will come on Wednesday afternoons at 12:30 pm. If your children attend the Art in the Park program, they will be walked to the library for our Summer Reading Program performances each week. Look for flyers at the library and coming home with your kids from school soon. We will also be having fun things for the teens to do at the library as usual this summer.

See you soon at the Library!

Finally! What you've all been waiting for.....

No, not the money for the new building! But... we will be having the first meeting of 2008 next week. I would like to invite all South Benton area residents to come on out to our meeting which will be held again at the Monroe Fire Hall.

South Benton Library Project Meeting
Monroe Fire Hall
Monday, February 11, 2008
7:00 pm
Come and join us!