Victoria MN Newspaper

Kathy Bognanni, left, will be the Branch Manager at the Victoria Library. Heidi Hoks is the Carver County Library Director. They presented floor plans of the new library in Victoria.

VICTORIA LIBRARY TO OPEN SOON

“CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR VISION”

Heidi Hoks, Carver County Library Director, spoke to councilmembers on December 8th and presented proposed design sketches of the new Victoria Library under construction.

"We are happy to be here," said Heidi. "We congratulate you. For many years Victoria residents have asked for a library. Congratulations on your vision and what you are doing."

She said the library is anticipating a soft opening at the end of February 2015 and will soon be deciding on a Grand Opening date. She announced that renowned author William Kent Kruger will be conducting a program at the Victoria Library on April 2nd.

Branch Manager at the Victoria Library, Kathy Bognanni, also addressed councilmembers that evening. "We have great plans for the Victoria Library," she said. "We will be open 40 hours per week, Monday through Saturday. We'll have programs for youth, teens, storytimes for kids, book discussion groups. We have a great Friends of the Library already interested. We'll have author programs beginning April 2nd. William Kent Kruger writes thrillers and is an excellent speaker. We'll have craft classes."

"The Victoria Library will have an emphasis on technology services," said Kathy. "We'll have a technology expert on staff most of the time. We are looking forward to opening what you want and need."

Added Heidi, "What we've heard is that there are a lot of young families in Victoria looking for children's programs. We plan to do do a lot of outreach to the Victoria schools. We hope to use some of your beautiful outdoor space. Mostly we'll be listening to what the community tells us."

USABLE MINUTES TO CONTINUE

AS VICTORIA CURRENTLY TAPES AND RECORDS

Council agreed on December 8th to continue Time Savers doing city council minutes as they have been -- not verbatim but also not minimal.

Said City Clerk Jennie Kretsch, "We've had Time Savers for many years. Every few years, Council makes changes. Currently Time Saves covers full detail and discussions, not verbatim. There is significantly more cost for verbatim minutes."

Current cost for the past five months totaled $2,722. Estimated cost for verbatim minutes in that time is more than double the cost, $6,488

Advised City Attorney Bob Vose, "You want a record that's usable, not just legal."

Stated City Manager Laurie Hokkanen, "Maybe it's time to have another discussion about the purpose and role of the minutes. Because of acoustics, conversation can be missed. I think it's up for discussion. "

It was stated that sitting through a two or three-hour video to find out what was said or done is not practical. However, video parsing (at a cost of $500/month) would help a viewer to pinpoint various agenda items.

Said Councilmember Tom Strigel, "Video parsing would be an easy confirmation of transparency and effort to communicate."

For the time being, council minutes will continue to be on video and posted on the city's website, and minutes will continue to be taken and also posted, as is the current practice, thorough but no verbatim.

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