One for the books
JOEL MARTIN | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 2 years, 12 months AGO
Residents filled the Royal City City Council chamber to the brim Tuesday as the council approved an agreement to get the new Royal City Library underway. From left: Council members Michael Christensen and Perla Garcia, Mayor Kent Andersen, and council members Hector Rodriguez, Ryan Piercy and Rick Kannely.
Cheryl Schweizer/Columbia Basin Herald
Joel Martin has been with the Columbia Basin Herald for more than 25 years in a variety of roles and is the most-tenured employee in the building. Martin is a married father of eight and enjoys spending time with his children and his wife, Christina. He is passionate about the paper’s mission of informing the people of the Columbia Basin because he knows it is important to record the history of the communities the publication serves. | September 6, 2023 5:35 PM
ROYAL CITY — Progress toward a new Royal City library took a big step forward Tuesday at the Royal City City Council meeting.
The council chamber was filled to standing room only as proponents of the library turned out in support of the lease agreement between the city and the Royal City Friends of the Library. The move was made possible in part by a grant the Friends of the Library received from the Lauzier Foundation: $150,000 in July of this year, to be followed by $200,000 in 2024 and $150,000 in 2025, for a total of $500,000. Between that and other funds the Friends of the Library have raised, there is currently $620,000 available for the work.
The Friends of the Library have been raising funds and making plans for a new library since 2019, according to President Susan Piercy. The existing library is only 1,200 square feet; the library the organization envisions — and has had tentative plans drawn up for — is 4,000 square feet.
The location the Friends of the Library have had their eye on is a piece of city-owned land on Camelia Street. A sign erected at the site in April proclaims it the future home of the Royal City Library, but the formalities have remained up in the air. The Lauzier grant prompted city Finance Director Shilo Christensen to bring the matter to the council.
“The city owns the land,” Christensen explained. “If we built this building, it would cost a lot of money. The Friends of the Library said that they would be willing to pitch in to help. So if we leased the land to the Friends of the Library for a small lease amount, they, through volunteers, would build it for the city and at the end of the lease, that building would be turned over to the city.”
North Central Washington Libraries would supply the books and furnishings for the library, Christensen explained, but the building, as well as the land it occupies, would belong to the city. The city also owns the land and building the current library occupies, and could sell that property once the new one is completed.
The timeline envisioned by the Friends of the Library, once the city council and the city planner have both approved the plans, would set a groundbreaking for Sept. 27 of this year and a completed library in early 2025.
City Attorney Katherine Kenison expressed some concern about the city’s liability for costs incurred if the construction project were to fall through.
The Friends of the Library have two sources of funding,” she said. “One of them is the recent Paul Lauzier grant and the other one is the pledge from our central library ... The city, however, is not a party to either of those funding agreements. Those commitments have been made to the Friends of the Library. So we don't have a contractual guarantee that those funds are actually going to be paid.”
If the funding were to fall through, Kenison explained, the city could be left with a half-finished building and have to find the money to finish it.
“If this was a typical construction project that the city was entering into, you would have both a performance bond and a payment bond,” she said. “I would (suggest) something similar to that to ensure performance by Friends of the Library. And that would be an additional expense ... because it's buying insurance.”
Piercy pointed out to the council that much of the labor in the library’s construction will be donated, which makes the actual cost of construction considerably less than the official estimate of about $840,000.
“I would like to say one thing,” Andersen said. “You know, we have pretty much followed Katherine's counsel, but sometimes you have to take a little bit of a risk to do something. And this might be a risk where we can go into an agreement with them and have confidence that the project is going to go the way that (is planned). If you look at the Paul Lauzier Foundation, and you look at every other project done in every other city, they've never defaulted once. I don't think we're gonna go out on a very big limb.”
The council voted unanimously to authorize Kenison to draft a lease agreement between the city and the friends of the Library.
“Fantastic,” said Friends of the Library member Sharon Chesterman. “It’s been a long time coming.”
Joel Martin may be reached via email at [email protected].
ARTICLES BY JOEL MARTIN
Quincy National Night Out scales down
QUINCY — Quincy’s National Night Out was more compact this year, which worked out well, said QPD Sgt. Joe Westby, who’s in charge of event planning for the Quincy Police Department. “National Night Out is a big event, and the fact that we’re able to shrink it up is like a breath of fresh air,” Westby said. “If you're always doing the same thing, it's kind of nice to switch things up and see how it works.” National Night Out took place Thursday on the block of C Street next to the police station, a shift from previous years when it was held at Lauzier Park. The smaller space meant fewer emergency vehicles for children to explore, but it also meant less walking for attendees. Grant County Fire District 5 brought a fire truck, and the Grant County Sheriff’s Office had a patrol boat. Renew, the Grant County behavioral health agency, had a booth and so did Quincy Partnership for Youth. Veterans Operation Creation sang the national anthem, and the Quincy Animal Shelter brought kittens that piled over each other making friends with passersby. As before, the QPD served grilled hot dogs.
Quincy Police retirements leave big shoes to fill
QUINCY — There are some big shoes to fill at the Quincy Police Department. “We’re losing 48 years of experience between them,” Quincy Police Chief Ryan Green said at the retirement party for Capt. Jorge Trujillo and Det. Damon Powell Thursday. Trujillo, who grew up in Sunnyside, has been with QPD for 19 years, he said, coming on as a patrol officer fresh out of the military. From there he served as a field training officer, a detective and finally captain. “I consider him my left-hand man,” Green said. “He runs the operations side of the house … He knows the agency very well, and he knows the community.” Trujillo has some projects around the house to tackle now that he’s retired, he said.
Big fun on a small scale
Wheat Land Communities’ Fair opens Thursday
RITZVILLE — The Wheat Land Communities’ Fair isn’t as big or as flashy as some of the county fairs around central Washington, but the folks who keep it going like it just the way it is. “It’s somewhere you can go and get an old-time traditional feeling, and you’re comfortable letting your kids roam the grounds and experience all that it has to offer,” said Board Member Lori Williams. “It’s more of a feeling than (one) specific thing,” The fair starts Thursday in Ritzville and runs through Sunday. Starting Friday, the 56th Ritzville Rodeo will take place alongside the fair at the rodeo grounds. This year the entertainment budget was expanded, Williams said, to be able to offer more fun that’s covered by the cost of admission. For the kids, there’s face painting, balloon art, Lego crafts, races, contests and games. Children can also ride on a little train towed around the fairgrounds behind a tractor.