Voting members of library’s art acquisition committee named

The voting members of the art acquisitions committee for the new Belleville Area District Library were announced by library board chairwoman Sharon Peters at the Jan. 9 regular meeting of the board.
The voting member selection by the Friends of the Library already had been announced as Donna Lavin. The Belleville Area Council for the Arts had announced its selection of Barbara Rogalle Miller.
Peters announced her selections of library board members Mary Jane Dawson and Alma Hughes-Grubbs. She noted that board member John Juriga had also indicated a wish to be on the committee, but she could only pick two. She said Juriga will continue to attend the meetings and will be involved, but won’t be a voting member.
Library Director Mary Jo Suchy also is a voting member.
Peters also announced the two artists selected as voting members are John Doug Peters and Michele Montour.
The committee’s first meeting had been set for Jan. 17.
In other business in the 56-minute meeting on Jan. 9, the board:
• Reelected officers to serve for the coming year: Sharon Peters as chairperson, Mary Jane Dawson as vice chairperson, and LaChelle Reed Caver as secretary. Tanya Stoudemire was elected acting treasurer until a clarification of the bylaws could be made. Ron Traskos, the board’s finance consultant, said from the audience that because of the segregation of duties in this small organization, even if there was a bylaw saying the treasurer must change, it wouldn’t hold up;
• Heard Ron Traskos present the 2016-17 audit by Alan C. Young & Associates. It was a clean audit of the $1,032,165 revenue, which was higher than expected because of the growing real estate market increasing the property tax income, and a cut in total expenses. That added $88,817 to the fund balance of $917,428 as of June 30, 2017. This is very different than audits of the past since this is the first time the bond proceeds of $13,729,846 and the short-term investments and bonds and commercial paper are listed on a separate page;
• Heard building committee chairperson Joy Cichewicz report that after more detailed designs of the new library building, it has been determined the project is $437,000 over budget. Suggestions for cutting have been given; and
• Heard Dawson announce that this day was Law Enforcement Appreciation Day. She said this announcement was being made by the mother of the chief of police of Ann Arbor (Jim Baird).