Friends of Ridgefield Community Library 

General Meeting Minutes

April 16, 2026

IN ATTENDANCE
Board members: Jeanne Androvich, president; Toni Rimer, secretary; Cathy Humphrey, past president; Sean McGill, RCL librarian

Members: Gayle Hansen, Christle England, Davina Cosenza, Debby Mohler, Curt Mohler, Lilly Jarusevicius


CALL TO ORDER / ESTABLISH QUORUM

The meeting was called to order by President Jeanne Androvich at 6:08 p.m., and a quorum was established.


APPROVAL OF AGENDA

Jeanne asked if there were any changes or corrections to the agenda.  Hearing none, Sean McGill moved to accept the agenda as presented, seconded by Cathy Humphrey.  The motion was approved unanimously.


CORRESPONDENCE

There was no correspondence presented.


APPROVAL OF GENERAL MEETING MINUTES – March 19, 2026

Jeanne asked if there were any corrections or additions to the general meeting minutes of March 19, 2026.  Hearing none, Christle England moved to accept the minutes as presented, seconded by Gayle Hansen.  The motion was approved unanimously.


TREASURER’S REPORT – March 2026 Report

In the absence of Kathy Streissguth, treasurer, Jeanne asked if there were any questions regarding the March 2026 treasurer’s report.  Hearing none, Christle moved to accept the treasurer’s report as presented, seconded by Sean.  The motion was approved unanimously, and the report will be Tiled for audit.


FVRL FOUNDATION REPORT

There was no formal report; however. Judy Musa, FVRL Foundation Friend Liaison, had provided the following information at the recent FRCL board meeting:


BRANCH MANAGER’S REPORT

The following is the report from Sean McGill, branch librarian.


FRIENDS BUSINESS
ADMINISTRATION

New Receipt Books

Jeanne asked Sean for a status report on the new receipt books, and he noted that they had been received and reviewed by Kathy Streissguth. She noted that there were some smudges where the address was printed, but that it wouldn’t prevent the receipts from being used. Sean also reported that the cost of the receipt books was approximately $324.00, which is much lower than what had been previously estimated.


FVRL Foundation Transition from Fiscal to Calendar Year

Toni Rimer reported that Judy Musa, FVRL Foundation, had attended the board meeting earlier in the week and had presented the plan for the Foundation’s transition from a Fiscal year, July 1 – June 30, to a calendar year, January 1 – December 31.  There are several factors that need to be addressed by the Friends in order to align with the Foundation’s transition:


Request to Change Friends Meeting Time and Day

Continuing the discussion from previous meetings, the following times and days were developed for consideration based on when the community room was available on a regular basis.  The options include the second Tuesday of the month for one hour between 12:00 p.m to 3:00 p.m.; the second Thursday for one hour between 12:30 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.; Fridays from 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m., or the third Thursday from 6:00 p.m to 7:00 p.m.  Any daytime meetings would preclude our student representative from attending, other than during the summer months.  After some discussion, it was determined that a survey would go to the current paid members indicating specific times for possible meetings (i.e. 12:00-1:00 p.m., 1:00 -2:00 p.m., etc. on identified days of the week).  Once input has been received, a decision will be made to implement the new meeting time and day after July 1, 2026.


FUNDRAISING

Used Book Store/Donations/Sorting Team

Christle continued to praise the group who does the sorting.  She also noted that many books are being distributed to the VA, juvenile center, and several assisted living facilities.  There is currently no leader for the bookstore; however, the book sorters exchange the stock approximately once a month.


Spring Used Book Sale

The next used book sale will be held on Friday, June 5, 2026 for FRCL members only, and on Saturday, June 6, 2026, for the general public.  Christle noted that Sophie Chi and Debby Mohler would be taking over the leadership of this event and would be observing the June sale.  Christle noted the need for volunteers to keep track of hours they work on FRCL business on their own, as it is important to the Foundation to be able to show the support of volunteers.  Sean noted that the library had received five boxes of children’s books from Union Ridge Elementary School.


ENGAGEMENT AND OUTREACH

Outreach Opportunity from Ridgefield Main Street

Those who had attended the “Get Involved Ridgefield" event indicated that it had been well run with good participation. However, it was also noted that the last hour did not have much activity and therefore, it had been suggested that the event be continued to two hours.


Celebrate National Library Week, April 19-25, 2026

Jeanne noted the dates for this event, and asked Davina Cosenza if she would send out an email to the members to let them know ways in which they can celebrate, and she also asked that information be put on Facebook and Instagram. Sean noted that staff will be treated to pizza one day next week.  It is also National Volunteer Week.


RCL 5th Birthday Celebration, July 10, 2026

Sean reported on a number of activities the library will be sponsoring for the celebration taking place at Overlook Park, including the following:


COMMUNICATIONS
Website, Facebook, and Instagram

Jeanne expressed her appreciation to Davina, who was now in charge of the website, as well as her duties with membership.  Jeanne thanked Cathy H. for her willingness to take on this responsibility when Anja Felton moved out of the area.


HALF-YEAR PLANNING
Committees
Jeanne reviewed the current members of committees and distributed the sign-up sheet so that those in attendance could confirm or change their selections of which committees on which they chose to serve. 


Meeting Calendar and Schedule (January – June 2026)

Jeanne distributed copies of FRCL information, including meeting dates and other calendar activities. 


Fundraising and Outreach Events (January – June 2026)
The above handout also included information regarding the identified activities for fundraising and outreach.


OTHER CONTINUING OR NEW BUSINESS

Christle stated that she would like to have food and a social time at the June meeting, if that was still an option. Jeanne noted that if Christle would like to take on that responsibility, it would be fine. It was noted that there would still need to be a short business meeting to approve any changes to the bylaws and/or policies and procedures, as well as the July 1 – December 31, 2026 budget.


NEXT FRIENDS’ GENERAL MEETING

The next general meeting will be held on Thursday, May 21, 2026, at 6:00 p.m. at the library. 


ADJOURNMENT

There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 7:11p.m.

Respectfully submitted, 

Toni Rimer, secretary