Bonneville County Library District
Minutes of the Bonneville County Library District Board of Trustees Meeting April 14, 2026
Called to order at 1:01 pm by Board Chair Rebecca Blackson
Present: Debra Haacke, Rebecca Blackson, Jennifer Crofts, Library Director Michelle Tolman, and District Clerk Myra Judkins. Karen Harris joined by phone before arriving. Jenni Cragun arrived after the meeting was called to order. Members of the public in attendance included Kirsti Cook and auditor Dana Izatt.
Jenni arrived at 1:05 pm.
On a motion duly made and seconded after due deliberation, the following resolution passed:
RESOLVED, that the consent agenda was approved. The consent agenda included: the minutes from the previous meetings February 10th and March 10th, the financial documents for February and March, and the clerk hours reports for February and March. (Jen motioned, Debra seconded.)
The auditor presented the completed audit of the library district’s finances for fiscal year 2025 and answered questions from the board.
Karen arrived in person at 1:50 pm during discussions on the Library Director Evaluation Policy.
On a motion duly made and seconded after due deliberation, the following resolution passed:
RESOLVED, that the existing Library Director Evaluation Policy not continue to be used and that the policy be replaced at the May meeting. (Karen motioned, Jen seconded.)
The Personnel Policy was moved to the May meeting.
Jenni left at 2:27 pm and then called in at 2:33 pm during discussions on the cabinetry contract.
The cabinetry contract was discussed and the board would like to allow another month to see progress before deciding if further action is needed.
Michelle reported that February included several events in addition to regular programming. Stuffie Sleepovers were held at the Ammon, Iona, and Swan Valley branches where children enjoyed reading with their stuffed animals, then left the stuffies to spend the night at the library and retrieved them the next day with a keepsake collage of their adventures. Fourteen local authors participated in a Local Author Event on February 6th. Attendees received a "passport" to meet each author, and earned entries for drawings which included books donated by the local authors. The event has been requested to be repeated. The Writer's Fellowship, a writing club for teens and adults of all skill levels, launched in February with meetings on Wednesday evenings. Marla Melior, a local author and president of the East Idaho Writers League, facilitates the meetings which include instruction, networking, writing sprints, and a book club.
March programming included the first full month of writing classes. Also in March, a Read-A- Thon was held to celebrate Dr. Seuss's birthday where participants were encouraged to read some of his books and contribute to a big reading thermometer. The final Let's Talk About It event in honor of the America 250 celebration was a discussion of the book 1776 by David McCullough. The BCLD Learn With Me program held a Pirate Night to support early literacy for children. Cressa Morris shared her expertise on decluttering and organizing any space and will be coming again on June 30th. The Snakes, Tails, and Tales educational class brought in many participants who love learning about and touching the provided snakes and lizards. The March class included a 14-foot python weighing 49 pounds. Other science events included POP! the Physics Outreach Project at the Ammon branch and a STEM presentation provided by Alturas at the Ucon branch. The Snowy to Sunny Reading Challenge was wrapped up and had 557 participants.
Jen left at 2:40 pm.
There was no Friends of the Library report, though it was noted that FOIL is working on getting some taller shelves for the Iona branch, FABL is regrouping, and a new friends group has been started called the Friends of the Bonneville County Libraries. They will be sponsoring a Spring Regency Gala and Adult Egg Scramble on May 2nd at 7:00 pm.
There was no Public Comment.
The next meeting will be held Tuesday, May 12th, 2026 at 1:00 pm at the Ammon branch, 3015 S 25th East, Ammon, ID 83406. The April meeting will include new options for the Library Director Evaluation Policy, the director evaluation, and the Personnel Policy.
The Director Evaluation was discussed during the Library Director Evaluation Policy portion of the meeting. The Survey Response Review and Executive Session were moved to the May meeting.
The meeting was adjourned at 2:53 pm by unanimous vote. (Karen motioned, Debra seconded.)