The Multnomah County Library Capital Bond, which involves projects to build, expand and renovate eight libraries, was approved by voters in November 2020. During a board briefing on Jan. 25, 2022, bond officials updated the County Board of Commissioners on the progress of the bond’s projects, showing that community engagement remains at the forefront of these projects.
Tracey Massey, director of the Department of County Assets and Chief Information Officer, confirmed the bond projects remain on schedule and the budget remains unchanged at $387 million.
“We made a promise to voters when we put the bond measure on the ballot,” said Director of Libraries Vailey Oehlke.
That promise was to create a bond oversight committee that would provide community members a role in overseeing and guiding the Library Capital Bond funds. The Library Bond Oversight Committee meets quarterly to review the progress, and met on Jan. 24, 2022. At this meeting, the Committee adopted and announced its charter and the Committee Chair, former State Treasurer of Oregon, Randall Edwards, alongside Vice-Chair Jeffrey Scherer.
“We are excited to see these library projects done to meet the many needs of the County residents of today and into the future, and it is an honor to be part of this group,” said Randall Edwards, Chair of the Multnomah County Library Capital Bond Oversight Committee.
Library Capital Bond Project Director Mike Day presented a graphic of the new Operations Center that will be located in East Portland. Day explained that the Operations Center will begin construction in July 2022 with a completion in Fall 2023.
Day also reported Holgate and Midland libraries are mid-way through the rough design phase and will then move onto construction. Both libraries are expected to begin construction in January 2023. Midland Library will be completed in Spring 2024 and Holgate Library will be completed in Summer 2024. Holgate Library will feature a Winter Garden, to bring the outdoor experience inside.
“We have come to appreciate the outdoors so much more,” said Chair Deborah Kafoury. “I’m excited about the opportunities for taking learning and creativity and bringing that outdoors as well as bringing the outdoors in.”
These two libraries are working with the community organization Your Street, Your Voice to involve the public in the process. Your Street, Your Voice is leading a cohort with the bond that focuses on youth, particularly for BIPOC and LGBTQ youth to gather their input on teen spaces at both Holgate and Midland libraries.
The Community Design Advocates program was also created to host focus groups and community conversations with BIPOC, LGBTQ and other communities. Oehlke said youth participating in Your Street, Your Voice and community members participating in Community Design Advocates are paid.
Both Albina and North Portland libraries will be transitioning into the design phase in late January. North Portland Library is scheduled to be completed in Summer 2024, followed by Albina Library in Fall 2024.
As for community outreach, both Albina Library and North Portland Library have the Youth Opportunity Design Approach. The first cohort ended in December and worked with 13-18 year olds from the community. A total of 18 teens participated and helped envision teen spaces that reflected their community. Youth Opportunity Design Approach is expecting to host another cohort in the near future.
Commissioner Lori Stegmann shared her excitement about the libraries and said, “That’s great to see the DEI [Diversity, Equity and Inclusion] outreach and really high percentage of participation.”
“I also appreciated the youth inclusion in the different ways with Holgate and Albina,” said Commissioner Jessica Vega Pederson.
“Thank you for the information about DEI,” said Commissioner Susheela Jayapal. “The teen participation pieces are really exciting.”
“I just want to say thank you to you and your teams,” said Commissioner Sharon Meieran.
Community engagement efforts are scheduled to continue. Learn more and keep up-to-date with the projects through Multnomah County Library’s Capital Bond.
