City slates library meeting
Session set for for 6 p.m. March 5 at FRCC

By Katie Pizza
Argus Observer
Wednesday, February 25, 2009 12:38 PM PST

Ontario �” City officials plan to meet with the Ontario Public Library District Board at a public session at 6 p.m. March 5 to discuss the uncertain future of the city-owned library building.

At issue is whether or not the newly-formed library district should have to pay rent to the city for use of the building. City officials appear committed to working out some kind of payment plan, while library district leaders believe the building should be gifted to them.

However, Ontario City Council member Norm Crume said, while the city remains flexible in the amount of rent the district should pay, he believes the district continues to have a “free-or-nothing” viewpoint.

“At this point in time, asking for it free, I don’t believe is negotiating in good faith,” he said.

Crume also referred to a recommendation from Oregon State Librarian Jim Sheppke the city should gift the building to the district.

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Sheppke wrote the State Library has seen 24 new library districts formed, with cities and counties willing to give the building to the new district.

However Crume said just because other cities have opted to give their buildings away doesn’t mean Ontario should.

He also said he believed the meeting would serve to deliver knowledge to the citizens of Ontario, because he did not feel the city was equally represented in prior Argus Observer articles regarding the library building.

Crume said one issue citizens may not be aware of is the fact that the city helped to pay for the library building in a bond.

However, the information regarding resident help was published in a Jan. 23 Argus Observer article. In the Jan. 23 piece, library district librarian Darlyne Johnson said in 1966 $220,000 was budgeted by the city in a bond election to build the new library. The state library board gave the library a grant for $180,000 with the stipulation the library building would always be used as a library.

Ontario resident Leona Whitcomb, who plans to attend the meeting, said she did not feel the city should charge rent.

“I think that the residents of Ontario paid for the building previously. I don’t think they should have to pay for it again,” she said.

However, in a phone interview Tuesday, Crume said he did not believe the citizens of Ontario were paying for the library building twice. Rather, he said the citizens were getting their money back since the first year’s rent would go into a separate fund to pay for roof, heating and cooling replacement, with the next year’s rent going into the general fund if the first year’s rent money was not used.

“If we didn’t get the money we would have to ask the citizens to pay for the money down the line,” he said.

The city’s $5,000 a month, he said, covers liability costs and that the city is simply protecting itself from having to withdraw money from the general fund as it does with the golf course.

Ontario Public Library District member Sharon Jones said she planned to attend the meeting.

“I know we’ll be there to answer any questions and see where we go from there,” she said.

Crume said he continues to be interested in what the public has to say regarding the library building issue. He said people that have approached him have been two to three to one in favor of renting the building. However, he also said people tend to approach elected officials with the same viewpoint as themselves, with council members such as John Gaskill, who is in favor of gifting the building, hearing a different set of opinions. Crume said, as a businessman, he said he did not feel the city should give a building to someone who did not pay for it to be built and that the city should be paid for its investment.