[PAGE 1]
MINUTES
OSKALOOSA PUBLIC LIBRARY BOARD OF TRUSTEES
MONDAY, February 23, 2026 — 4:00 P.M.
The meeting was called to order by President Diana Pearson.
Roll Call: Roll call was taken by Administrative Assistant Gracia Ver Steegh with Trustees Brant Bollman, Tony Hughes,
Stanley McHawes, Sam Mead, Scottie Moore, Diana Pearson, Minnie Richardson, Lindsey Thomas, and Wilton Wright at
the meeting. Director Gaughan was also present.
Board Correspondence: There was no Board Correspondence.
Friends Report: The Friends met, there were no staff members able to attend.
Community Comments: No community members were present.
Director’s Report: Director Gaughan told the board:
▪ The Tech Plan had no updates.
▪ The Strategic Plan – No updates on the current Strategic Plan. The Director and Administrative Assistant
received a draft copy of the new Strategic Plan and did a cursory review of it and should have it ready
for board review in March or April.
▪ Upcoming Library Programs:
o Winter Reading concludes on Thursday, 2/26/26 at 7pm. The Grand Prize Drawings will take
place prior to 10am on Friday, 2/27/26.
Unfinished Business:
a. Monthly Library Board Training: The Library Board has agreed to spend 20 minutes at each meeting
receiving training. This will meet requirement number 8 for Tier 3 Accreditation. This month, the Board
continued reviewing policies from the Iowa City Public Library as compared to Oskaloosa Public Library
policies to determine if any changes could/should be made. Policies reviewed were Policy Making and Policy
Review, Event Board, and Meeting Room and Lobby Use.
New Business – Consent Agenda:
All items appearing on the Consent Agenda are considered routine by the Library Board and shall be enacted by one
motion. If discussion is desired, that item shall be removed, discussed separately, and approved by a separate motion
by the Library Board.
a. Approval of Library Board Agenda, Minutes, and Special Meeting Minutes, Subject to Corrections
b. Approval of MidAmerican Invoices: Invoices did not arrive by the date of the meeting.
c. Approval of BRIDGES Quote: Annual quote for the BRIDGES service. Total is $3651.82 and will be paid from
General Fund, line 6502.
d. Approval of LibLime Invoice: Invoice for KOHA, the Library’s ILS provider. Total is $2500 to be paid from
General Fund, line 6490.
e. Approval of AirCon Invoice: Quarterly invoice for HVAC preventative maintenance. Total is $1556.52 to be
paid from Library Maintenance Fund, line 6490.
f. Approval of QCLC, Inc. (Kevin James): Invoice for Strategic Planning consulting services. Total is $6050 to
be paid from Zimmerman Memorial fund, line 6490.
Motion was made by Moore, seconded by Hughes, to approve the Consent Agenda. Motion passed.

[PAGE 2]
Committee Reports:
Budget & Finance Committee – Diana Pearson, chair: Met in person to write the letter the Board will send to the
Mahaska County Board of Supervisors. Will be discussed in New Business.
Building & Grounds – Sam Mead, chair: None.
Fundraising Committee – Scottie Moore, chair: None.
Policy & Planning Committee – Brant Bollman, chair: Met via email to discuss changes to the Employee Dress policy.
Will be discussed in New Businesses.
Staff Committee – Wilton Wright, chair: None.
Technology Committee – Minnie Richardson, chair: None.
New Business – Regular Agenda:
a. Approval of Updates to Employee Dress Policy: After comments were made at the Special Board meeting
about the Employee Dress policy, a Board member asked that it be reviewed. The Policy and Planning
Committee met to go over some proposed changes and make other edits. They approved some changes to
the policy and are ready to pass it to the full Board for approval. Discussion was had, and language about
related policy and professionalism was requested to be added by Board members.
Motion was made by Wright, seconded by Thomas, to approve the policy with the presented changes, and the changes
proposed at the Board meeting. Motion passed 9 to 0.
b. Approval of Letter about Budget Concerns: At the Special Board meeting on February 9, the Library Board
voted to draft and send a letter regarding County funding contributions to the Mahaska County Board of
Supervisors. The Budget and Finance Committee met to finalize the letter and approve it to be passed on to
the full Board for approval. A few minor language and punctuation changes were proposed at the meeting.
Motion was made by Bollman, seconded by Mead, to approve the letter with the proposed changes. Motion passed with
8 voting yes and Trustee Thomas abstaining from the vote.
c. Discussion of Carnegie Funds: The Library recently received a $10,000 check from the Carnegie Foundation
to be used to better the Library for the community. Director Gaughan is seeking direction on how the Board
would like her to proceed with exploring options for the funds. A few things that were presented were
water bottle filling fountains and replacing tables and chairs in the 3rd floor meeting rooms.
Motion was made by Mead, seconded by Hughes, to approve opening the discussion to provide the Director with
guidance moving forward.
Approval of Claims: Motion was made by Wright, seconded by Richardson, to approve payment of the February claims.
Motion passed.
President’s Remarks: President Pearson thanked the Board for their time and encouraged them to continue to stay
informed of the current legislation.
Adjournment: Motion was made by Richardson, seconded by Moore, to adjourn. Motion passed.
The next regular meeting will be on Monday, March 23, 2026, at 4:00 p.m., on the second floor of the library.
Respectfully submitted,
Gracia Ver Steegh
For the Board