City Council Minutes 2018 03 05 - Laserfiche WebLink

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City Council Meeting Minutes March 5, 2018 Page 6 of 8 Councilmember Stolzmann stated she would like to see the dewatenng happen; it may not work, but it is a good faith effort on the problem By the time staff can contract for the dewatering Fielding will get a few weeks of good data. She thinks dewatering in conjunction with testing is a good next step. Members agreed to begin the monitoring and also get bids on dewatering. Mayor Muckle moved to approve the contract with Terracon, Councilmember Loo second Vote: Motion passed 5-0, Mayor Pro Tem Lipton recused Mayor Muckle moved to begin a process to get bids for the dewatering; Councilmember Stolzmann seconded. Voice vote; all in favor. DISCUSSION/DIRECTION/ACTION — OVERDUE FINES FOR CHILDREN'S PRINT MATERIALS Intenm Director Becky Campbell stated staff and the Library Board of Trustees are recommending the elimination of overdue fines for children's print materials in support of encouraging and reinforcing reading readiness for all children in our community. The subprogram goals of Library Services include the directive to practice to reinforce the skills needed for reading readiness with young children so that they are poised to be successful learners when they enter school For several years, libraries across the country have been discussing eliminating fees on materials and in particular on children's print materials Daily fines tend to add up more quickly on children's books as families check out many books at a time. This can affect lower income families disproportionately Data shows children who qualify for free or reduced lunch are already at a reading disadvantage. Staff feels the $10,000 per year in revenue in overdue fines on these materials seems a modest amount to invest in the reading ability of our children The Library Board of Trustees (LBoT) also supports the change to these fees Public Comments — None Councilmember Loo stated she disagrees with this proposal. She noted no other members in the Flatirons Library Consortium (FLC) currently exempt these materials from fines except for Boulder and they have done it for 20 years. 92% of libranes still charge overdue fines; only 5% are not charging for children's materials. Under the current proposal, taking out the ability to renew, you could go four weeks without fines. At the end of four weeks, you would be sent to a collections agency and charged the full cost of the overdue book. She saw little difference in fnendliness between the existing policy and the proposed new one. She added there is no real data equating fine elimination with reading success.