Board Minutes January 2026

THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES of the CUYAHOGA FALLS LIBRARY and The William and Margaretta Taylor Memorial Association

REGULAR MEETING
Tuesday, January 27, 2026
Sutliff Room

Call To Order:

Robin Worthington called the meeting to order at 6:01 pm.

Attendance:

Noah Spinner, Sean Blake, Robin Worthington, Michael Bowman, Rick Rubin, Karen Schofield, Bryan Van Sweringen Mike Dunton, Sandy Zirke, Bradley LeBoeuf, Director Andrew Harant, Assistant Director Jennifer Reynard, Fiscal Officer Kevin Gemmell

Excused: Cheryl Bruce

Oaths of Office:

Sean Blake, Micheal Bowman, and Noah Spinner all took the official oath of office. Their signed oaths were notarized by Fiscal Officer Kevin Gemmell.

Adoption of Agenda:

Rick Rubin moved to adopt the agenda. 2nd by Bryan Van Sweringen. Motion passed unanimously.

Approval of Minutes:

Bryan Van Sweringen moved to approve the Regular Board Meeting of December 16, 2025. 2nd by Mike Dunton. Motion passed unanimously.

Election of 2026 Officers:

  • Slate presented by Nominating Committee last month
    • President: Robin Worthington
    • Vice President: Bryan Van Sweringen
    • Secretary: Karen Schofield
    • Treasurer: Sandra Zirke
  • Call for nominations from the floor

Resolution 26-01: Move that the Cuyahoga Falls Library Board of Trustees approve the 2026 slate of officers presented by the Nominating Committee. Mike Dunton. 2nd Rick Rubin. Passed unanimously.

Appointments of Fiscal Officer and Deputy Fiscal Officer:

Resolution 26-02: Move that the Cuyahoga Falls Library Board of Trustees approve the appointment of Kevin Gemmell as Fiscal Officer for 2026. Karen Schofield. 2nd Bryan Van Sweringen. Passed unanimously.

Resolution 26-03: Move that the Cuyahoga Falls Library Board of Trustees approve the appointment of Amanda House as Deputy Fiscal Officer for 2026. Bryan Van Sweringen. 2nd Mike Dunton. Passed unanimously.

Board Education:

  • IT Manager Phil Shirley presented on the 2026 IT Roadmap. He spoke about the steps the library plans to take to complete the IT Roadmap. Along with this information, he presented copies of the 2025 and 2026 Roadmaps and advised about new cyber security laws and how the library will be compliant with these laws.
  • Akasha Walker thanked the board for choosing her as the recipient of the 25/26 Affleck Scholarship.

Public Participation: One person was in attendance. They chose not to speak.

Treasurer’s Report:

Resolution 26-04: Move that the Cuyahoga Falls Library Board of Trustee approve the payment of bills for December 2025 in the amount of $278,600.98. Sandy Zirke. 2nd by Sean Blake. Passed unanimously.

It was reported that the library received $134,933.92. in PLF revenue.

Resolution 26-05: Move that the Cuyahoga Falls Library Board of Trustees accept the December Financial Report subject to audit. Sandy Zirke. 2nd by Sean Blake. Passed unanimously.

Board President Report:

  • First, I want to express my appreciation for Nikki’s leadership and the many positive contributions she brought to the Board. We wish her well as a new member of city council.
  • Next, I thank you for placing your confidence in me to lead the Board this year along with Bryan, Karen, and Sandy.
  • We are glad to welcome Noah to the Board and look forward to him sharing his time and talents with us.
  • If you have not signed up for the winter reading program, it’s not too late! The program runs until February 28. There are programs for children, teens, and adults. Registration is online and this year’s program encourages patrons to utilize various Library services including using Makerspace, digital library resources, and attending programs. I hope you will all sign up!
  • Congratulations to Mia Pier on her promotion to Children’s Librarian and, also, Julie Bagdon hired as a Children’s Library Assistant.
  • Thank you to the anonymous donors whose donations totaled over $200!
  • Thank you to Phil Shirley for updating the Board on what the IT department accomplished in 2025 and a look ahead to this year.
  • And finally, thank you to the amazing staff for your continued support of our Library mission and vision. Your passion is reflected by all the positive comments received from patrons. Thank you for your commitment in making our Library “The Place”.

Committee Reports:

    1. Building:
      • No Report
    2. Policies/Bylaws Review:
      • Resolution 26-06: Move that the Cuyahoga Falls Library Board of Trustees approve the Public Records Policy. Robin Worthington. 2nd by Mike Dunton. Passed unanimously.
    3. Finance/Audit Committee:
      • No Report
    4. Graefe Memorial:
      • New flowers were placed on the memorial
    5. Personnel Committee:
      • Advised that the last meeting was held in executive session. There will be another during executive session on 01/27/2026
      • Robin Worthington shared a draft of 2026 committee assignments with trustees to be finalized in February
    6. Affleck Scholarship Committee:
      • The committee will be meeting to possibly update the current parameters of the Affleck Scholarship
    7. Strategic Planning Committee:
      • No report

Director’s Report:

  • The Board of Education passed the first resolution for CFL’s levy unanimously, and the certification from the County Fiscal Office has been received. The second resolution is on the School Board meeting agenda for tomorrow evening. Everything is on track to meet the February 4 deadline to be submitted to the Board of Elections.
  • Winter Reading began. Registration surpassed last year in just the first few days.
  • SearchOhio will return with a soft launch on February 9. OhioLink will follow on February 16
  • The new CFL Foundation has filed its articles of incorporation. It plans to submit a request to the Board to be recognized as a Library Affiliated Organization per CFL’s bylaws.
  • In the coming months, the stats will have a new look, as we will be using a new system from Library IQ, which is replacing Collection HQ and complicated Excel spreadsheets that Mandy has been using.
  • CFL closed this past Sunday and Monday due to the widespread inclement weather.

2025 Cuyahoga Falls Library Review:

  • Director Andrew Harant presented a Power Point on the library’s achievements, stats, and number of patrons that use the library and its various services. He also spoke about our staffing levels, the policies of the library, collective bargaining, and our strategic plan.

Personnel Report:

  • RESOLUTION 26-07: Move that the Cuyahoga Falls Library Board of Trustees approve the December 2025 Personnel Report. Bryan Van Sweringen. 2nd by Mike Dunton. Passed Unanimously

Unfinished Business:

  • None

New Business:

  • None

Executive Session:

Rick Rubin moved that the Cuyahoga Falls Library Board of Trustees enter executive session to discuss the employment of public employees at 7:20 p.m. by Mike Dunton and roll call vote was called.

  • Robin Worthington - yes                      
  • Rick Rubin – yes
  • Sean Blake – yes                                     
  • Karen Schofield - yes
  • Mike Dunton – yes                                 
  • Michael Bowman – yes
  • Bradley LeBoeuf – yes                          
  • Noah Spinner – yes
  • Sandy Zirke - yes                                   
  • Bryan Van Sweringen – yes

The Board entered public session at 8:20 p.m.

Adjournment:

Bryan Van Sweringen moved to adjourn the meeting. 2nd by Karen Schofield. Meeting adjourned at 8:20 pm.

Approved By: Robin Worthington, Board President

Approved By: Karen Schofield, Secretary