Still in limbo?
Library saved but other key city facilities still in
jeopardy

By Katie Pizza
Argus Observer
Friday, November 7, 2008 11:04 AM PST

KATIE PIZZA | ARGUS OBSERVER (from left to right) Betty Cech, Vale, Carlene Waterman, Payette and Irene Haas, Nyssa practice physical therapy at the Ontario Aquatic Center Thursday morning. The center might see an influx in funds at the end of next year since money that was previously siphoned to the library will now go to Ontario’s general fund. However, Ontario City Manager Henry Lawrence and Ontario Mayor Joe Dominick said the plan must be discussed further before any decisions can be made.

Ontario—Ontario-area voters approved a local measure to fund the Malheur County Library by creating its own district but it may be at least a year before the funding mechanism for the facility kicks in.

Another key question, now that the bond passed, revolves around the use of the money saved once the city stops subsidizing the library.

Voters approved the library bond Tuesday, 2,813 to 2,149 votes. The bond will cost taxpayers $.55 per $1,000 of property value within the boundaries of the Ontario School District, which includes the city and rural areas around Ontario.

Ontario City Manager Henry Lawrence said the new library district will be formed July 1. The city will continue to fund the facility up until July 1.

There remains, however, a funding gap between July 1 and November, when the library is scheduled to begin to receive county property taxes.

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That problems is one for the library board to decipher, Lawrence said.

“The board of directors would have to come up with a solution for the interim,” he said.

Lawrence said he did not know at this point if that interim money would, or could, come from the city.

Ontario Mayor Joe Dominick expressed support for the library bond.

“As far as the city and taxpayers in general,” Dominick said. “It will allow for us to have a relaxation in the budget.”

He also said the bond passage will allow the library to provide better services and stay open more.

“Now they’ll get 40 to 50 hours a week instead of 27,” he said.

Ontario Librarian Darlyne Johnson expressed approval for the “awesome” bond and the changes that come with it.

“It’s kind of scary,” she said. “But it’s also wonderful, because now we know.”

At an Ontario revenue committee meeting in April, Ontario Finance Director Rachel Hopper said if the library district was approved, the city would only have to take out $200,000 from the contingency fund every two years. However, she said if the district were not approved by voters, that number would go up to $600,000, leaving the fund empty in four years.

“That’s if we don’t buy any new capital, which is unrealistic,” she said at the time.

On Thursday, Hopper said the city has budgeted $377,297 for the library, with that funding set to continue until June 30, 2009.

She said not funding the library allows the city to either earmark money for items such as public safety or use it to build up the city’s contingency fund.

She also said July 1, 2009, will mark the first day of the library’s new district, with the bulk of the money from property taxes available for the district in November.

Like Hopper, Lawrence also said the city money that no longer goes to the library will be channeled into the general fund and could potentially be used to fund amenities like the golf course and Aquatic Center. However, he said those ideas may or may not come to fruition.

“I won’t have any idea until the council looks at it,” he said.

However, city leaders are currently analyzing other options to ease some of their financial burdens.

One issue is the municipal golf course, which had Lawrence searching for an interim fix late last month as Ontario Golf Course Manager Mark Copley’s contract expired.

The city is still looking for a buyer to take the course off its hands.  In an e-mail to council members, Lawrence said he recommends the city send out a request for proposals, “casting out nets far and wide, to find a credible and substantial company to take over the operations.”

He also said the company should have “the financial horsepower to put the capital improvements into the course, so we can be proud to market it to visitors.”

Meanwhile, Lawrence said he contracted with Copley to stay on for the next two months to help with the day-to-day operations, with future plans able to be negotiated in December.

“He currently has another job,” Lawrence said in the e-mail.

Lawrence also hired Kenny Gather and Steve Holderman, both long-time employees, as temporary part-time employees.

Gather will handle sales, with Holderman handling maintenance for the course.

“The key over the next few months is to be able to keep the course running,” he said in the e-mail.

Another change for the course is the city will now receive 100 percent of membership sales and register receipts, rather than 40 percent.

Lawrence said he believed this would be a short-term fix to help balance out the costs of the part-time help and operations.