The Oregonian (Portland, OR)

 September 10, 2003

ESTACADA PICKS SITE FOR FUTURE CITY LIBRARY
Author: STEVEN AMICK - The Oregonian
Edition: SUNRISE Section: SOUTH ZONER Page: B02 Dateline: ESTACADA

Twelve-year-old Joey Triska asked the Estacada City Council for a favor this week. He got his wish. The council voted Monday to choose a 1.5-acre site on the west side of Northwest Wade Street, beside city-owned Wade Creek Pond, as the location of the proposed $3.55 million Estacada Public Library. The new building, with about 13,500 square feet of floor space, would replace the library's 2,800-square-foot quarters in City Hall. "I just think that the pond site will be better," the boy told the councils. "It's right next to the schools." Estacada High, Estacada Junior High and River Mill and Clackamas River elementary schools are within a few blocks of the pond on the city's upper level.

The Wade Creek Pond site, which is estimated to cost $100,000, would be about $500,000 cheaper than the other site the council considered. That site, on the city's lower level, is made up of several land parcels, including six houses and some vacant land, north and east of the Estacada Fire Department's training center at Southeast Fifth and Currin streets. Mayor Bob Austin said the pond site has "a lot of potential to it." The library board, the Library Building Task Force and the Estacada Parks and Recreation Commission all favor the site, he said. Also, the downtown site might be needed in the future for redevelopment and commercial expansion."There is no perfect site," the mayor said. However, the pond site "looks like the better of the two." The choice of the pond site went against the wishes of scores of library users who said in an informal poll that they wanted the library to remain downtown. The selection also dashed the hopes of several downtown business owners and others seeking revitalization of Estacada's commercial core. Nina Hamilton, who owns a gift shop on Northeast Broadway Street, said rejecting the downtown site could alienate potential contributors to the project.

In a Feb. 26 report, the task force outlines a financing plan that would ask local business people to provide $700,000 to $1 million toward the project. Other suggested funding sources range from the city to private foundations and the federal government. The task force also suggests forming a library district -- probably with the same boundaries as the Estacada School District -- in which voters would be asked to approve a construction bond.

Steven Amick: 503-294-5915;
stevenamick@news.oregonian.com