Mediatech Foundation

 The Spring board of trustees meeting was called to order at 5:35 PM by
Warren Buckleitner in the Community Room on Monday, March 10, 2008.

Present: Trustees Doug Orr, Warren Buckleitner, Lou Hosta, Shawn Armington,
Ellen Wolock and Mike Holk. Guests included Mediatech supervisors (Lorele
Pietraszewski, Vanea Jones and Jessica Kijewski), David Calandro (Acting
Director) and Bob Flisser from the Software School.

TREASURERS REPORT

Secretary Mike Holk reported that we have $7,614.07 in cash as of March 10,
2008. Warren Buckleitner reported that an additional $7,000 payment had just
been deposited from the WebWatch research project, bringing the balance to
$14,614.07. Lou voted to approve the treasurer’s report, seconded by Doug.

REPORT FROM THE SUPERVISORS

Lorele Pietraszewski, Vanea Jones and Jessica Kijewski reported that
Mediatech has been very busy lately and they commended Dave, Maggie and
Shawn for making a positive improvement by organizing back room and fixing
the computers. In addition, the cleaning service (provided by the library)
has made a big difference. The supervisors shared several stories of how
Mediatech’s services have made a difference for community members and made
some suggestions for improvements. These included setting up a snack stand
(or at least an information booth) for town parades and craft fairs this
summer, improving the circulation software and hardware to enable the
checking out of software, and collecting fines if need be.  The supervisors
had other ideas for improving the software supervision and recommended
printing a new brochure.

NEW BUSINESS

Staff changes. The board assigned Dave Calandro as Mediatech Director,
effective immediately, and Warren Buckleitner to Executive Director
effective immediately. (Shawn, Mike)
 
Stairstep donation. The board awarded a stair-step plaque to Greg DeStefano,
given the current contribution of $670. David read a list of the 11 names of
contributers, and reported that, with the help of Lorele, that he had been
able to send out thank you acknowledgements to each person. Warren said that
he would start working on the engraving the plaque as soon as possible,
after contacting the family.
 
Morning classes. Warren and Shawn presented an idea to start offering
classes in non-open hours (such as the daytime) for Seniors or others. A $10
suggested donation would be collected by Mediatech staff in order to cover
the $50/hour instructor fees. Any extra income would go to Mediatech. The
board approved the concept, but wanted to also approve each class and
instructor on a case-by-case basis. Doug/Lou.
 
Research at Mediatech. The second Consumer Reports WebWatch study was
completed on February 15, and the final payment of $11,000 arrived March 10.
The study was presented to CWW as "An Ethnographic Examination of How Young
Children (aged 3 to 8) use the Internet" (draft title). Of this last
payment, about $4,300 went to cover the research costs; most of which being
Warren's time, at $45/hour, to write the study. Warren would like to
continue seeking research projects to help fund Mediatech, and continue to
develop Mediatech's role as a research center. There is typically a 1 to 3
ratio in the previous budgets for the SAT study. In other words, 1/3rd of
the project costs went to cover the researcher time and expenses, with the
remaining 2/3rds to Mediatech. Warren's research time is billed at $45/hour;
a figure taken from previous proposals to the National Science Foundation.
A motion was made to allow Warren to seek further research projects,
providing a budget is provided in advance to the board, and each project is
presented and approved in advance. The motion was approved. Shawn/Mike.
 
A small staff raise. Dave requested that the staff be given a small raise in
pay.  Dave and the supervisors left the room and the board went into closed
session to discuss this request. It was decided that the budget, which is
fixed with no regular source of income, made the request difficult to meet.
A good deal of discussion followed. The board obliged with a one-time .15
cent increase in pay effective April 1, for hourly staff, making the hourly
wage $8.15/hour.  Ellen/Lou
 
Budget auditing. Lou Hosta volunteered to serve as the board’s internal
budget auditor. Lou will look over the books on a monthly basis to make sure
that payroll is being correctly submitted, and that other expenditures are
properly documented. Warren/Doug
 
New equipment. It was suggested that the first investment needed right now
is for a circulation software system with a scanner to help circulate
materials better and more accurately. Warren requested permission to
purchase two additional computer systems ($500 each) and a replacement Xbox
360 hard drive ($100).  Doug/Lou.
 
The meeting was concluded at 6:45 PM.