Meeting Minutes March 2026

Belleville Area District Library
Meeting Minutes
March 10, 2026

  • Call to Order: Chair, Sharon Peters called the meeting to order at 7:32 pm.
  • Swearing in of John Juriga to the Library Board. The Honorable Judge Lisa Martin of the 34th District Court swore in John Juriga to the board. Juriga will serve until the end of 2026.
  • Roll Call: The following board members were present: Maria Jackson-Smith, John Juriga, Sharon Peters, Linda Priest, and Joy Cichewicz (7:53 pm).
  • Also present: Library Director Mary Jo Suchy, Library Assistant Nikki Pickeral.
  • Excused: Dan Fleming, Tanya Stoudemire.
  • Approve Agenda: Motion by Priest, seconded by Jackson-Smith, to approve the March 10, 2026, agenda as corrected (added John Juriga to the roll call). The motion carried unanimously.
  • Approve February 10, 2026 Minutes: Motion by Jackson-Smith, seconded by Priest, to approve the February 10, 2026, minutes as presented. The motion carried unanimously.
  • Public Comments: No Comment.
  • Landscape Maintenance Services: Quotes for landscape maintenance services (including spring clean-up, mowing and lawn care, lawn fertilization, plant beds, parking lot bioswale, tree and shrub pruning, and fall clean-up) were presented.  Motion by Juriga, seconded by Priest, to hire D.C. Lawn & Snow who presented the lowest bid and has a past working relationship with the library.  The motion carried unanimously. Juriga requested a conversation with the city of Belleville about the shared responsibility of care for the parking lot now that the municipal building is moving to next door. Suchy will look into it.
  • Committee Reports:
  • Building: The library notified Otis Elevator that it is not renewing its service contract that expires on June 1st. Suchy is awaiting quotes for new contracts with two different companies. The flag pole light was moved from the sidewalk to the adjacent lamp post.
  • Bylaws: Met on February 19th. The committee reviewed the proposed bylaws from the library’s attorney. Suchy sent the committee’s suggested edits back to the attorney. The attorney recommended that public comment and media communication should be addressed in separate policies from the bylaws.  
  • Finance: The six-month budgetary schedule was presented to the board. 
  • Outreach: No Report.
  • Personnel: No Report.
  • Policy: No Report.
  • Art: Michele Montour reported that the high school art exhibit will be on display in the 1st floor gallery space in April and May. June will feature works from the library’s Memory Café’, with a reception at the end of the exhibit. She announced the exhibits for the remainder of the year and 2027. She will contact the owner of the art piece on the atrium wall to extend the loan. In the absence of Alma Hughes-Grubbs, John Juriga will fill her position on the art committee. Montour will invite Debbie Juriga as the second artist representative on the committee. A new sculpture will replace the current sculpture in the children’s garden in May. The new sculpture is kinetic and made of different shapes and primary colors.
  • Approve Accounts Payable: Motion by Cichewicz, seconded by Priest, to accept the accounts payable as presented. The motion carried unanimously.
  • Director’s Report: See attached. S&P Global Ratings conducted a ratings review, and the library’s rating was upgraded to AA-.  An exhibit on Black Cowboys will be displayed in the library’s glass case for the month of March.
  • Trustee Comments:
  • Juriga: Thanked everyone for being a part of the board and enjoys being here.
  • Priest: Wants to give a painting of a bee from her late sister-in-law to the Friends.
  • Jackson-Smith: She signed up for a family Friends membership, so now their entire household is part of the Friends.
  • Cichewicz: One of her beehives did indeed survive the winter.
  • Chair Comments: Saw Tanya on television next to the Detroit mayor who was presenting the city’s budget. Expressed how valuable Tanya is to the library community and to the City of Detroit. Peters was happy to participate in many library programs this past month, including the African American Literature Book Group and the Library/Rotary Club’s community supported agriculture program.
  • Adjournment: Motion to adjourn by Juriga, seconded by Priest. The meeting adjourned at 8:52 pm.

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