Estacada News August 10, 2005

The New Estacada Public Library

By David Bugni, Chair, Estacada Public Library Foundation
and Vic Cain, Chair, Library Citizens Advisory Committee

Part 1 of 3

Last fall, prior to the November election, Dave wrote several articles describing the new Estacada Public Library. Much has been done since that time and the Library Foundation decided it is time to provide our community with an update about the progress of the new Library. Due to the amount of information to be covered, we will break this article down into three parts. This article, part 1, will focus on the fund raising aspects of the project, part 2 will dwell on the design of the facility, and part 3 will concentrate on the construction of the new Library.

The organization that has been charged with raising the necessary funds to build the new library is the Estacada Public Library Foundation, which is comprised of nine members. The Library Citizens Advisory Committee (LCAC) was appointed by the Estacada City Council to oversee the progress of design and construction. The LCAC is comprised of seven members who all live within the Estacada School District.

In 2003, the financial goal for the new Library, as recommended by the Library Building Task Force and accepted by the Estacada City Council and the Estacada Public Library Foundation, was determined to be about $3.5 million dollars. This included acquisition of the property, site development, building costs, furnishing and equipping the new library, funds for studies, design, and permits, and a construction contingency for unforeseen circumstances. The property has already been purchased and a number of feasibility studies have already been performed. Design is currently ongoing.

Since 2003, a highly focused fund raising effort has been underway, and at this time we have raised over $3.06 million. We believe that we will not reach the original goal of $3.5 million; rather, we will be much closer to $3.2 million, or about 90% of that goal. Our community can be proud that we have reached this goal. Because of the timelines put in place as a result of the bond levy that was passed last year, the increasing costs of construction, and agreements made with granting foundations, the design and construction of the new Library must proceed in accordance with the original time table set forth last year and cannot be delayed. Therefore, design began this past spring and is scheduled to be complete in the fall (we will discuss the design aspects in part 2). Construction is scheduled to start towards the end of September or early October and will be complete next summer (we will discuss this in part 3).

The funds to design and construct the new library have come from three sources: 1) Community (Local) Funds/Donations ($667,000 out of a goal of $745,000), 2) Grants from Foundations ($495,000 out of a goal of $900,000) and 3) the bond levy which voters within the Estacada School District boundaries passed last November ($1,900,000). We are still waiting to hear from a number of foundations, but we believe that the remaining amount coming from this source will not exceed $100,000. We have received very generous donations from a number of foundations including: the Meyer Memorial Trust, the J.F. & M.L. Miller Foundation, the Ford Family Foundation, the Collins Foundation, Oregon Community Foundation, Juan Young Trust, the PGE Foundation, and the Dwyer Charitable Trust, just to name a few. Since the beginning of 2004, about 60 grants were written to foundations across the country for a total requested amount approaching $1,800,000. Therefore, we have been about 28% successful in receiving monies from foundations, which is lower than we anticipated.

Local donations have come from a number of individuals. However, to date only about 130 people within the Estacada School District boundaries have contributed. The district contains at least 16,000 persons. We need your help! Due to the large area that the library serves, the majority of the funding for its construction has come from outside the Estacada city limits.

As a result of this probable short fall of about $300,000 from our original goal, it was decided to reduce the overall size of the Library by about 6% (to 12,600 square feet), with a possibility of deferring the construction of the community room until sufficient funding is received, reducing it by another 6%, if needed. Any further space reductions will be decided when the actual bids to build the library are received from the sub contractors who will build it. This approach is believed to be much better than leaving the Library the same originally planned size and significantly reducing the quality of the materials put into it. Some minor material substitutions will probably occur, but the intent is to retain the goal of providing a durable, low-maintenance facility.

In order to reach this revised $3.2 million financial goal, the Library Foundation is still seeking tax-deductible donations from individuals and business from within our community. Perhaps the most prominent example of this continued fund raising campaign will be the upcoming Auction which will benefit the Children’s section of the new library. This Auction event will be held on Friday, August 19th at 6:00 p.m., in tandem with the Library’s annual Renaissance Feast. Tickets are available pre-sale only through the Library. Please join us for a fun evening of dining and entertainment, and bid on some marvelous auction items. Our goal is to raise at least $20,000 at this event. A raffle, which also benefits the Children’s section, will be held the following Saturday, August 20th, during the Renaissance Faire.