Library Board Meeting Minutes: June 25, 2026

Scappoose Public Library Board of Directors
Regular Business Meeting
June 25, 2026
Library Meeting Room also broadcast on Zoom
7 PM

Minutes

Call to Order and Pledge of Allegiance
The meeting was called to order at 6:35 PM. Attending were Director Jeff Weiss, Board President. Lisa Lewis, and Board Members Jolene Jonas and Elaine Nussbaum. The Pledge of Allegiance was recited by all attending at the previous budget hearing.
Public Input
There was no public attendance or input.
Approval of Minutes: May 21, 2026
Lisa asked if there were corrections to the May minutes. Jolene had a correction where the minutes called her the board president on the minutes from the May 30 Strategic Planning meeting. Jeff said he would correct it. Jolene made a motion to approve the May 21 minutes. Elaine seconded. The motion passed unanimously.
Consent Agenda
1. 4.1 Secretary-Treasurer’s Report
  The checks were discussed. Checks were drawn to pay the summer reading performers and performers for the Outdoor Festival. Jeff said the library is doing OK for spending and he expects all budget accounts to be underspent. There was discussion about Oregon law for overspending a government unit published budget.
2. Presentation of Bills
  Jolene made a motion to accept the consent agenda. Elaine seconded. Motion carried unanimously.
Old Business
1. Submitted and Approved Grants Progress
  Jeff said that in the past month, the library had received payment on the Oregon 250 grant and had been approved for a $3,000 grant from the Scappoose Community Enhancement Program which will be paid after July 1. Two pledges, one from T-Mobile and the other from Les Schwab have not been paid. Jeff also needs to meet with Fred Meyer to see if they will underwrite food costs for Movies in the Park this year. Lisa asked who we had used in the past. Jeff said Grocery Outlet, but they had changed owners.
2. Strategic Plan Next Steps
  Jeff passed out a draft of the strategic plan that was drawn from the May 30 meeting. Jeff said he had discussed it with staff and would need to discuss it further at the July staff meeting. Yellow indicates that it is a carry over goal that has become an ongoing task. Green indicates new goals from the May 30 meeting. Some goals had phrasing changed from the previous plan. There was discussion around Sunday Hours. Jeff said that the staff was not in favor of it. The draft plan is attached to these minutes. There was discussion around the history of library locations in Scappoose.
3. Rescheduled Outdoor Festival July 11, 2026
  We talked about the 30’ obstacle course and where to put it. We need to get approval from public works. The board discussed getting a volunteer team together before July 11. Cara said that she can help at the event. There was discussion around how to recruit volunteers. Jolene and Lisa recommended going through the school for Honor Society. We have been trying to get volunteers for a 2 hour period. Lisa siad she would check with Virginia to see if she had connections with volunteers for the event.
New Business
1. Librarian’s report
  Attached to this report. The quantity of summer programs was discussed. Lisa asked what we would use volunteers to do during the summer. Jeff said that they would like a volunteer to help with summer reading programs which would free up staff to do other activities. The library summer reading program has had over 600 children sign up during the first 2 weeks of the program and activities are packed. The availability of other children’s summer programs was discussed. Lisa said she would try to volunteer in the library on a regular basis. Papa Murphy’s gave us several hundred free pizza coupons to give out as prizes for reading. Lisa asked if she could observe on Saturday at 10 to get trained as a volunteer. Jeff said she could. Lisa wondered if the library was running out of books for kids. Jeff said the library has a lot of books.
  
  Jeff said that Job Corps plan to set up at the Wednesday Produce giveaway.
  
  Jeff is still trying to fill in bands for Movies in the Park.
2. Elevator Modernization Proposal
  We received our first bid which was in excess of $96,000 to rebuild our elevator. Jeff said he would send it off to the state elevator inspector to see if all the work was needed. The bid is $20,000 over what we expected and the library cannot afford to proceed without saving money for a couple of year. The new elevator code goes into effect in 2030. Jeff is sending the bid to Mr. Jones for analysis. We will need to get multiple bids from other contractors.
3. Movies in the Park 2026
  Jeff said the 4 movies the library is planning on showing are: National Treasure, The Sandlot, Forrest Gump, and Independence Day. Jeff has to submit paperwork to Swank to get permission to show the films.
4. Summer Reading
  Discussed under the Librarian’s Report
5. Discuss and adopt budget. Resolution 80-26 to approve 2026-27 library budget and adopt and approve tax rates.
  Jeff presented the LB-50 and the Resolution Adopting the Budget. Lisa read the Resolution Adopting the Budget and the Resolution Making Appropriations. Jolene made a motion to adopt the budget as read and make appropriations as read. Elaine seconded. Motion carried. Jolene yea, Lisa yea, Elaine yea.
  
  Lisa read the Resolution Imposing the Tax. Jolene made a motion to impose the tax. Elaine seconded. Jolene yea, Lisa yea, Elaine yea. Jeff read the Resolution Categorizing the Tax. Jolene made a motion to approve the Resolution Categorizing the Tax. Elaine seconded the motion. Jolene yea. Elaine yea. Lisa yea.
Other Business
Jolene asked if candidate Rachael Armitage could come and speak to the board briefly. The board said that was fine as long as she spoke during the public comment period. Jeff said the head of Oregon Legal Aid had contacted him and wanted to work with the library to possibly provide legal services in the library.

Jolene suggested Jeff no longer prints our board meeting documents. Since we all receive them in email, we all have the option to bring our laptops to the meetings, or to make our own copies of the documents you prefer to have on hand for note taking. Jolene said this is a total waste of library resources: Jeff's time to print and organize them, the cost of paper and ink.

Jolene made a motion to stop providing paper copies at our board meetings, Lisa seconded it and Jolene, Lisa and Elaine all voted yes.
Future Agenda Suggestions
Board Comments
Adjourn
The meeting was adjourned at 7:55

Scappoose Public Library Librarian’s Report 6-24-26

Staff Activities:
We are now on a summer schedule of programs
- Weekly:
  - Tuesday night: RPG games
  - Tuesday AM: Music and Movement
  - Tuesday night: Fiber Friends
  - Wednesday morning: Food Bank Produce Distribution
  - Wednesday afternoon: Lego
  - Thursday AM: Ukulele club
  - Thursday night: Family board games
  - Friday: Storytime
- Monthly groups:
  - Adult Book Club (fourth Thursdays)
  - Crafts for adults (first Monday)
  - Romance Book Club (second Monday)
  - Genre Book Club (fourth Monday)
  - Writers group (third Sunday)
  - Teen Art (first Tuesday)
  - Tween Art (third Tuesday)
  - Barbie Club (first Saturday)
  - Pokémon Club (first Thursday)
  - Homeschool Meetup (second Thursday)
  - Summer Reading activities as attached.
- Special events:
  May/June: School visits, local field trips to the library, schoolwide library card sign up.
  The June adult book club title is the Botanist’s Daughter by Kayte Nunn. The July Romance book is Loathe to Love You by Ali Hazlewood. The True Crime book club is Black Dahlia by William J Mann.
Statistics: We circulated 6,410 items in May, 250 less than last May. eBook circulation was almost identical to 2025 at 1,503. St Helens circulated 4,519 items in May. Circulation for May so far is above 2025 levels. Building use has been going up for the past 2 months and has exploded since school let out. We are a hangout place for latchkey middle schoolers this year.
Budget: At the end of May 2026, we had $361,480 in our treasury account and $27,410 in our Inroads accounts. At the end of May 2025, we had $344,205 in our treasury account and $37,735 in our Inroads accounts. The budget committee met again on June 11 and revised the budget to include the new revenue from the levy. We will need to discuss the revised documents and approve a final budget for me to file. As a reminder, we cannot shift more than 10% or $5,000 (whichever is greater) of any committee approved budget without another public hearing.
Ballot Measure: The vote was certified. I accepted the totals. The levy passed by 212 votes or about 5% We won with votes in the city district and the area between Scappoose and Warren. South Scappoose, Canyon, and West Scappoose voted against the measure.
Strategic Plan: I presented the outline of the strategic plan we worked on May 31 to staff. They seem to be on board with everything except the Sunday hours. I feel stressed on that point too because if someone is sick or has an emergency, the director must fill in. That’s in addition to the 10-20 hours a week I must cover circulation. I feel constant stress because I must do the important parts of my job either at top speed or as unpaid overtime. I was hoping the extra hours would get me off the desk more so I, and my successor, can have adequate time to spend on the administration of the library. I will have staff suggestions for the strategic plan for our July meeting.
Tax Issues: Dyno Noble is still in court. Cascade Paper still has a pending remonstrance
Grants: The Port of Columbia County paid their pledge of $1,500. We received the Scappoose Community Enhancement grant in the amount of $3,000 and I signed the paperwork for that.
Food Drive: We are still getting weekly produce deliveries from the Columbia Pacific Food Bank and bread from the Senior Center Bread Store. Generally, we are sold out by 11:30.
Elevator: We received the first bid on this which is nearly $100,000. I have submitted it to the elevator inspector to see what is really needed. We will need to get bids from other vendors. If it really costs $100,000, we will need to save money for a couple of years to pay cash for it.
Comcast Issues: We had outages on two Mondays because of work Comcast was doing on the local network.
Job Corps: The Tonguepoint Job Corps is going to start attending the Wednesday food distribution to recruit people into their training programs. I am also going to try to get them to have a booth at the Outdoor Festival.
Health Department: The Columbia County Health Department is going to attend 3 library events this summer as part of Summer Reading. Their first one was last week where they gave away children’s life jackets to children who needed them. They also have child safe home things to distribute. They were surprised at the number of children at the event and ran out of one size of the life jackets that morning.
Movies in the Park: We have gotten $5,000 in grants for Movies in the Park this year. Two of our regular acts have dissolved in the past year, so I am working with some Portland music schools to find bands for this event. The movies we will be showing are:
- August 7: National Treasure
- August 14: Sandlot
- August 21: Independence Day
- August 28: Forrest Gump
- I am still working to get Fred Meyer to supply food for the police/community club to serve at the four events.
Outdoor Festival Redux: The Outdoor Festival is 3 weeks away again. I have rebooked acts and expanded the entertainment. For music, we will have Pomegranate in the morning who won the Portland High School Battle of the Bands this year and Mr Vale’s Math Class in the afternoon (nearly every song is a funky explanation of a mathematical principle). We have contracted with Columbia County Audio to supply and run the PA for the event. The native dancers will be at noon. I have kayaks and camping gear to give away throughout the day. Squatchie and Friends will also be entertaining children in the morning, and Pyxis the Unicorn (miniature horse in a prosthetic) should be here too. The Reptile Man will be performing at the senior center at 11 AM.

I have reserved the blow-up obstacle course from Don’s rentals which we will need volunteers to monitor. Some of the June booth nonprofits cannot attend July 11, and others have stepped up. I’m still blocking off the streets as before. The health department should be here with their van to give out child safety stuff. We will need to man the welcome booth and find people to man the tent. Community Club will take care of the sandwiches.

We need to hang posters again. I should have them at board meeting.
Summer Reading: We have 565 kids enrolled in Summer Reading after just 10 days. Our total for 2025 was 740, so it looks like we may break that. The irregular hours at St Helens may have helped that total. We received 500 free (small) pizza certificates from the local Papa Johns to give away. I’m going to try to get some coffee coupons from Dutch Bros. too.

Even though using the reading trackers is optional this year, most families are still using them to track their reading progress. Staff is also asking the children what they are reading every time they stop in to get this week’s charm. It catches some of the children by surprise.

This year, while children can get a charm every week by stopping in the library, they don’t get other prizes until they have read for 40 days. Every 10 days of reading, they can add a creature or a plant to our reading garden wall. We are seeing how well this works to see if these rewards work as well as spending money on prizes like we have in the past.

There is also an adult version of Summer Reading again this year. For the adults, they complete three reading challenges and when they have completed those, they get a small prize and are entered into an end of summer drawing which will include a $75 gift certificate from Shadley’s.

Scappoose Public Library Strategic Plan 2026-2031

Introduction: Scappoose Public Library District’s 2026-2031 Strategic Plan was created by library staff and the library board with input from the Scappoose community and stakeholders. The overall objective of this plan is to anticipate the current and future needs of the Scappoose Public Library and to define priorities that will allow the library to flourish as a center for activity and learning. The library’s goal is to be an integral part of the community, its residents, and activities; to provide residents with the best available tools and resources to learn new skills and pursue new interests; and to contribute positively to the community quality of life. This strategic plan puts into writing goals, steps, and strategies the library will use to achieve that goal.

Mission Statement of the Scappoose Public Library: The purpose of the Scappoose Public Library District is to serve the informational, educational, cultural and recreational needs of the community in a welcoming environment for all.

About the Library: The Scappoose Public Library District is a special district located in and around Scappoose, Oregon, a small town outside of Portland, Oregon. The library facility is located in a building constructed in 1995 meant to appear to be a historic house in Heritage Park. The facility is 11,000 square feet and contains public areas, physical collections, and a public meeting room. The library collection consists of over 35,000 physical items and 131,000 digital items. The library also has a collection of STEAM kits for children and a Library of Things for adults.

About the Community: The Scappoose Public Library serves 14,235 residents in its special district. The community has a higher median income and is less racially diverse than the state of Oregon. About 29% of the residents are families with minor children, similar to the Oregon average. 25% of residents have a bachelor’s degree or higher compared with 33% for the Oregon average.

Service Priorities, Goals, and Objectives

Core Collections and Services
Goal: Continue to enhance library collections and services for personal enjoyment, education, and enrichment for patrons of all ages.
Action Steps:
1. Expand physical collections based on community needs (ongoing)
  1. Include household tools including sewing machines, cordless tools, etc. (ongoing)
  2. Expand Steam kit offerings (ongoing)
  3. Use community surveys to determine area of focus.( ongoing)
  4. Expand video game collection to reflect interest and demands.
2. Provide more helpful reader’s advisory (ongoing)
  1. Explore online tools for reader’s advisory
  2. Direct patrons to sources like Goodreads and other sources for suggestions on what to read next
3. Evaluate collections regularly for popularity, value, and timeliness.
  1. Weed collections annually (at a minimum) based on use
  2. Analyze collections annually (at a minimum) for accuracy of information and outdatedness.
  3. Add new collections based on community needs (ongoing)
4. Explore online technology to enhance services (ongoing)
  1. Purchase new technology that the community can use
5. Provide regular delivery between our partner library St. Helens and Scappoose (2021)
6. Expand ebook and audio collection based on demand.
7. Investigate cultural passes that we don’t already offer.
8. Offer Sunday hours.
Programming
Goal: To provide a diverse range of programs for all age levels that promotes understanding and community engagement
Action Steps:
1. Work toward the establishment of an event volunteer workforce. Expand the volunteer base.
2. Expand evening programming opportunities.
3. Partner with community organizations on annual events and festivals. (ongoing)
  1. Provide events for the entire community in the library facility and Heritage Park (ongoing)
4. Provide reading centered programming during summer school break. (ongoing)
5. Provide space for self-run groups to meet in the library (gaming, crafts, etc.) (ongoing)
6. Create passive activities for children so they can participate around their schedule (ongoing)
7. Partner with community organizations and non-profits to offer programs that foster a connection to the community.
  1. Provide public art space for children and community artists (2027)
  2. Enable more “how to” programs (ongoing)
  3. Enable programs in gardening, food growing (ongoing)
Community Outreach and Engagement
Goal: To provide awareness in the community of library programs and services and provide for and engage the neediest in our community.
Action Steps:
1. Connect with community social resources to provide services to our neediest patrons. (ongoing)
  1. Provide regular programs with local social workers.
  2. Provide referral service for Scappoose for social services.
2. Structure a comprehensive social media/marketing plan. (ongoing)
3. Continue a Little Free Library program on the library grounds (ongoing)
4. Perform an bi-annual community survey to determine community needs (bi-annual)
5. Continuously evaluate services and programs to assure they are wanted and meet community needs. (ongoing)
6. Maintain online library card applications
7. Maintain connections with local teachers to support educational needs. (ongoing)
Facilities/Technology
Goal: Provide community and staff with the appropriate physical environment and technology to serve their current and future needs
Action Steps:
1. Improve physical appearance of the library (ongoing)
  1. Redo Children’s Area mural to make it more appealing while retaining children’s library name.
  2. Enhance library entry to make it more modern and appealing. (2028)
  3. Develop better signage inside and outside the library. (ongoing)
2. Plan for replacement of physical systems/furniture before failure. (ongoing)
3. Continue to support technology for public to use (ongoing)
4. Maintain public websites to align with government regulations
Fundraising
Goal: Provide for the Library’s financial stability upon which the community depends on for essential library programs and support.
Action Steps:
1. Increase cost of non-resident cards to more accurately reflect taxpayer cost (ongoing)
2. Increase meeting room rental fees to more market level rates (ongoing)
3. Pursue funding through grants (ongoing)
4. Pursue donations through an annual fundraising campaign. (ongoing)
Staff
Goal: To build and sustain a professional staff that is knowledgeable, customer focused, and prepared to lead the library in pursuit of its vision, mission, goals, and objectives
Action Steps:
1. Provide external staff training in professional development (ongoing)
  1. Allow staff to attend professional training or events at least once a year
  2. Provide opportunities for staff to train online in areas related to job duties
2. Provide staff training in technology and emerging services
  1. Train staff in new technologies offered by the library (ongoing)
  2. Disseminate Tech Talk guides (ongoing)