Library Board Minutes_3.18.25

City of Chandler — Regular Meeting (2025-09-23)

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Meeting Minutes 
Library Board Regular Meeting 
 
 
March 18, 2025| 6:30 p.m. 
Chandler Basha Library 
5990 S. Val Vista Dr. Chandler, AZ 85249 
 
Call to Order 
The meeting was called to order by Board President Alexis Merritt at 6:30 p.m. 
 
Roll Call 
Commission Attendance  
 
 
 
Staff Attendance 
Board President Alexis Merritt – Present 
 
Rachelle Kuzyk, Library Manager 
Board Vice-President Jennifer Pawlik– Present 
Sue Van Horne, Assistant Library Manager 
Board member Michael McElhany – Present  
Courtney Allen, Management Analyst  
Board member Arman Sidhu – Present 
 
Chris McGinley, Basha Branch Manager 
Board member Parker McCarthy – Not Present 
Caryn Nall, Hamilton Branch Manager 
Board member Faith Risolo – Not Present 
 
 
Unscheduled Public Appearances 
None 
 
Consent Agenda 
1. January 21, 2025 Library Board Meeting Minutes 
Board member Pawlik found a typo on the website for azleg.gov. Courtney to revise. Motion to 
approve the amended minutes was made by Board member Sidhu, Board member Pawlik 
seconded. Motion passed 4-0. 
 
Briefing 
1. Library Manager’s Report – Rachelle Kuzyk 
The Library Manager’s Report was provided to the Library Board in advance of the meeting for 
Board member’s review.  
Board Vice-President Pawlik inquired on the status of the bookmobile. Rachelle responded that it 
is getting closer to completion with no changes to report.

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2. Board Member McElhany would like an update on the Security Guard position request. 
Rachelle informed the Board that the position has advanced through the decision package process 
with the City Manager's overall packet that will go before Council for consideration. Board member 
McElhany stated that he would like to attend the Council meeting to talk to the staff or the City 
Council members and inform them he is on the library board and he supports the security guard 
position as a board member and as a citizen. Board liaison Courtney Allen will provide the board 
with the dates of the budget / Council meeting that board members are able to attend. 
 
Action Agenda 
1. Move Library Board to approve the library meeting room policy revision. 
Motion to approve the meeting room policy revision was made by Board member McElhany, 
Board member Sidhu seconded. Motion passed 4-0.  
Board liaison Courtney Allen informed the board there is one line to remove from the meeting 
room policy. The sentence stating ‘Meeting room reservations more than two consecutive days 
will not be approved’ does not apply because we do not allow or approve ongoing reservations. 
That sentence was left from an old version of the policy. Board member McElhany inquired if it 
was an external patron that asked that question which brought it to our attention. Courtney 
responded yes, we are asked this question often because our rooms are in such high demand. 
There are many inquiries if the room can be reserved as ongoing, but if we allowed that, the rooms 
would never be available for library programs or many different groups.  
 
Discussion 
1. Board President Merritt commented on how impressed she and her six-and-a-half-year-old 
daughter are with the Storywalk at Desert Breeze Park. Rachelle informed the board of the 
planned expansion for Mesquite Groves Park that is located next to Basha Library. There is a 
Storywalk planned to be included in that park development. 
2. Board member McElhany inquired if there will be any impacts with the federal funds as a result 
of the federal announcements. Rachelle responded that the short answer citywide is they do 
anticipate impacts on municipal level funding for neighborhood resources because there is 
federal funding tied to some of the services they provide, but right now we are not getting any 
messaging that suggests that our library funding will be impacted, other than potentially if the 
state library loses funding. We receive a small amount of money from the state library through 
grants, but we do not directly receive any money federally. What that might mean for the state 
library, and maybe as a larger whole for Maricopa County Library, we are unsure.  
3. Board President Merritt inquired if USA Today online is a new addition to our collection. 
Rachelle explained to the board that the library offered PressReader which included Arizona 
Republic and USA Today, but within the last year we discontinued PressReader when they 
removed Arizona Republic, which is what justified the high cost of PressReader. What you're 
seeing is USA Today’s very early effort at making subscriptions available through public 
libraries. Essentially, we have paid for 2,000 seats to access a subscription, so when you scan 
the QR code it pulls that out of the seat count which gives you access to the Arizona Republic

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or USA Today online without you having to pay for a subscription. This is less expensive than 
what we were paying for PressReader. Board President Merritt stated she was not able to get 
access to the Arizona Republic. Rachelle will follow-up with Charles Jean, our E-Branch and 
Collection Manager, as he did all the testing. 
 
Members Comments / Announcements 
1. Board member Sidhu announced his library board term is up so this will be his last meeting. 
Board member Sidhu has been on the board since 2019 and he will always be a supporter and 
he is always here to advocate for the library. 
 
Calendar 
1.  The next regular meeting will be held on Tuesday, May 20, 2025, at 6:30 p.m., in 
the Hamilton Library Program Room, 3700 S. Arizona Ave. Chandler, AZ 85248. Location may 
change based on renovation status. 
 
2. The next Friends of the Library Board meeting will be held on Tuesday, May 13, 2025 
at 1:00 p.m., in the Downtown Library Copper Conference Room 254, 22 S. Delaware 
St. 85225. 
 
3. The Mayor & Council Office, in partnership with the City Clerk's Office, is pleased to 
invite you to the annual Chandler Boards and Commissions Appreciation Event. This 
special event will be held on Wednesday, April 16, starting at 7:30 a.m., at the 
Chandler City Hall Courtyard. 
 
Adjourn 
Motion to adjourn made by Board member McElhany, Board member Sidhu seconded. Motion 
passed. The meeting was adjourned at 6:56p.m. 
 
 
______________________________ 
 
 
 
 
______________________________ 
Courtney Allen, Board Liaison                                         
Alexis Merritt, Board President