Library talks
City, library district officials work to hammer out plan regarding
use of building

By Katie Pizza
Argus Observer
Thursday, February 5, 2009 10:49 AM PST

A library patron (in the background) uses a computer at the Ontario Public Library Wednesday afternoon. The City of Ontario and the Ontario Public Library Board of Directors are currently in talks about what should be done with the current library building. The City of Ontario has drafted a $5,000-a-month lease agreement for use of the city-owned building. The agreement was not approved at the library board meeting Wednesday night.

Ontario — The newly-formed Ontario Public Library District Board met with three city officials to hammer out the details of a lease agreement to allow the district to use the current Malheur County Library structure.

The discussions included four library district board members as well as the library advisory board and three city officials.

“We pretty much are not willing to accept it,” Ontario Public Library Board Chair DonnaClaire Blankinship said regarding the city’s offer on a lease agreement.

However, she said she was willing to hear negotiations about the city’s proposed pact.

Currently, the city’s proposed contract offered to the library board for use of the 220,000- square-foot building includes $5,000 a month in rent, and the newly-formed library district would also have to pay half of the maintenance costs on the structure.

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Ontario City Council member John Gaskill asked for clarification about the opposition to the lease agreement.

Ontario Public Library District Board member Don Oakes said he believed the library should not be charged anything for the use of the facility because all it can be used for is a library. He said he spoke to a state librarian and was told in almost all cases library buildings are gifted to the newly-formed library district.

“No questions asked,” he said.  Blankinship and Ontario Public Library District Board Member Micheal Jones both said the proposed lease agreement would ruin the library district’s ability to serve the public.

“Our budget certainly wouldn’t stand for that,” Blankinship said.

Another concern, this one brought up by Ontario Public Library District Board member Amy Couture, was  taxpayers were promised a library with extended hours and services when they voted for the library district.

“We said we’d have more hours and more services, and if we can’t do that we might as well close the doors right now,” Ontario Public Library District Board member John Schram said. Blankinship said she was led to believe the building would be gifted to the library district.

She also said she believed it is a faulty assumption to believe the library district wants the city to continue to own the building.

“We, as a board, want to own the building,” she said. Jones said he believed the district should offer a counter-proposal, such as a $1 or $10 a year and the district would cover all maintenance.

A theme for many of the board members was the city should simply gift the library building to the district. Gaskill said many people assumed that would happen when talks about forming a library district began.

“It was just sort of an assumption,” he said. “A common sense understanding, and we all know what happens when we assume things.”

However, Gaskill cautioned against rejecting all aspects of the city’s lease agreement, much of which he said included “boiler plate” information included in most Oregon leases.

“Lines in the sand are good until you run out of sand,” he said.  Ontario Mayor Joe Dominick said the lease agreement was simply part of the negotiation process.

“I apologize if the lease has been taken as take it or leave it,” Dominick said.

He said the city just took the initiative to take the first step.

“Scratch out what you don’t like and add some wording you really do like,” he said of the proposed lease.

The Ontario Public Library District plans to draft a counter-proposal, with Ontario City Manager Henry Lawrence planning to bring the issues brought up at the meeting to the council.