The annual summer reading program events draw many youngsters to the Washougal Community Library. Supporters have been working for several years to raise funding for a new, larger facility. The effort recently got a boost when the Fort Vancouver Regional Library Board decided to budget an additional $225,803 to the effort. (Post-Record file photo)
Supporters of a larger library in Washougal have received some good news.
The Fort Vancouver Regional Library District board of trustees has approved a budget amendment to add $225,803 to provide capital seed money for the local project. The same amount was also approved for libraries in Woodland and Ridgefield.
There is already $750,000 for each of the three libraries in the FVRL cash reserve plan.
The $975,803, available for each branch, could be used for land acquisition, if needed.
“It is always our hope that land can be found that would not add to the cost of the project, but that isn’t always possible,” FVRL Executive Director Amelia Shelley has said previously.
Prior to the April 18 board meeting, Shelley said three potential sites for a new library in Washougal have been identified. Their locations are not being released to the public.
The Washougal library, 1661 “C” St., is 2,400 square feet.
Library will be the subject of a design challenge workshop
The Washougal Community Library has been selected to be the subject of a design challenge workshop at the Library Journal Design Institute in Bozeman, Montana.
“Architects will be assessing the sites we have been considering and give us input on which site might best suit our needs and how the library layout might look when built out at that location,” Shelley said. “It’s a design exercise, so no final decisions will be made but it will give the staff and board some great food for thought as we work on our decision.”
Washougal Library Branch Manager Rachael Ries plans to attend the May 5 and 6 sessions.
“It is specifically for librarians and city planners who are in the midst of a building project,” Ries said. “I’ll have the chance to talk with librarians, architects and vendors about building/renovating for evolving user expectations and community engagement and hear about recently constructed or renovated libraries.”
