Friends of the Weller Library meeting welcomed large crowd

Waitsburg—On Wednesday, June 9, the Friends of the Weller Library met for their regular monthly meeting. The meeting was held at the Weller Library in Waitsburg and attended by approximately 30 people.

Karen Huwe, past president of the group, welcomed everyone before turning the meeting over to new president Lisa Winnett. After the last meeting’s minutes were read and approved, Winnett opened discussion on the City Council’s possible decision to surplus the library. She said the group knew nothing of the plan until they read it in The Times.

Librarian Rosie Warehime stated that she was opposed to moving the library. She felt the historical value of the location and the alternative ADA service she has provides are reasons the library should be allowed to stay in the current location.

Skip Carpenter spoke of the need to keep the few remaining historic buildings and amenities in Waitsburg from disappearing. He commented on the disintegration of city services, including outsourcing garbage management, suspension of tree and yard waste disposal, ending city-wide yard clean-up, and closing the pool. He said it appeared to be “open season on kids.” He referred to the Weller Library and the building as the “spark plug” of the city.

There was a general agreement at the meeting that the building needs repair and renovation. The city said that the city’s renovation costs are more than private parties which led to a discussion of a nonprofit or private party buying the building on behalf of the library.

The attendees discussed two possible scenarios: The first is creating two properties, the upstairs to be sold to a private party, and the bottom space would continue to be owned by the city and house the library. The money from the upstairs sale would fund renovations to the library for ADA compliance and increased functionality.

The second idea was whether the city could sell the entire building to a private party using criteria other than the highest bidder. Could the council create bidding criteria that allow preserving the building and housing the library to be considered an asset to the city? A winning bid could include cash and a long-term, low-cost lease for the library.

Suze Wood offered her experience working with the City Administrator, Randy Hinchliffe, saying she receives direct answers to her questions. In a conversation with Hinchliffe that day, she said his concerns for the building were primarily ADA compliance-related. She said he also had concerns over the upstairs being vacant and the library running out of space.

Wood said that she told her brother, who is a lover of libraries, about the status of the building. He was interested in the possibility of buying the building to allow the library to stay in the current space. He would make the necessary changes for ADA compliance and renovate the upstairs as an apartment.

Should the City decide to sell the building without the library as a tenant, the Wood family offered potential rental space in the building currently being developed as Duke & Remington. Hinchliffe said that would not be possible as the city is not interested in renting space for the library. They will only locate it in a building the city owns.

Attendees who were at the city council meeting last month felt the decision to move the library to another building had already been decided. They shared that Councilmember Jim Romine said the city was looking at a building to house both City Hall and the Weller Library.

Local realtor, Lynne Carpenter confirmed the city was making contact with building owners, her family was contacted about their building at the north end of Main Street by the pool. She said the family did not feel it was an appropriate location for the library but would consider it if the situation was dire.

Carpenter pointed out that there was only one building currently on the market that would be big enough for what the city has said it would like to do. The large white metal building at the north end of Main, owned by Northwest Grain Growers and most recently occupied by Limagrain Cereal Seeds, is on the market. (Update: The building was taken off the market Thursday morning after the meeting. The owners are in negotiations)

This led to the meeting to discuss the potential cost to move the library. Twila Tate, a Waitsburg resident and a librarian at the Walla Walla library, voiced concern over the lack of planning or budget for a move. She described the types of funding she was familiar with for libraries and wondered why the city had not applied or received any of these grants to work on the library.

Jillian Henze said she heard four main problems voiced by those at the meeting. The first was a lack of trust in City Hall and the City Council; the second was a lack of communication from the city. A third was the building’s physical state, including ADA concerns and the needed renovation to the upstairs. The last was the lack of funding for any long-term investment in the library and building.

The library board was asked by several attendees what steps should be taken at this moment to protect the Weller Library. Kate Hockersmith reminded the group that any city council member could table an action item on the agenda. They only have to move to table the item, before or after discussion, and it will be held until the following monthly meeting.

The library board decided to distribute a petition to communicate with the council. The board would like to slow the surplus process down to allow the library board, supporters, and the city council to work together to find the best solution. They agreed they wanted to explore options that might keep the library where it is.

There was talk about raising funds to make an offer on the building should it go to surplus. Bids must be at least $14,000 which is 10% of the appraised value of $140,000. However, the council could decide not to accept any bid.

CORRECTION: Bids must be at least within 10% of the appraised value, not 10% of the appraised value as stated in the original article. Since the building is valued at $140,000, the council will only consider bids for $126,000 or higher.

Should the surplus decision be tabled at the June 16 meeting, the board would ask the council to hold a workshop so the public can be a part of the problem-solving needed to make the final decision on the library’s future.

Joy Smith said new Washington state legislation may allow the city to consider the development of affordable housing upstairs as part of a successful bid.

It was mentioned that the city council held a meeting in executive session at the same time as the Friends of the Library meeting. Executive sessions are allowed to cover buying real estate, setting the price for selling real estate, and discussing new appointment qualifications.

The city always posts upcoming city council meeting agendas and packets on the website under the government tab. The June 16 meeting agenda includes setting a public hearing on the proposal to surplus the Waitsburg Fairground property and a final vote to surplus the Weller Library building. Those interested in the council’s decisions should read the published agenda and packet and attend the meetings held the third Wednesday of each month at 7 p.m. at the Lions Club at the Waitsburg Fairgrounds.