Camas Council considers $479K library contract

Camas City Council members are set to approve a $479,000 consultant contract with the Seattle-based Johnston Architects to help “refresh and reimagine” the Camas Public Library.

Camas Library Director Connie Urquhart told the Camas City Council last week that the scope of services included in the consultant contract will address safety and accessibility concerns, such as lighting and flooring inside the library, improve the library’s entrances off of Northeast Fourth and Fifth avenues and help define the future Children’s Learning Hive.

“The Camas Public Library opened an expanded and renovated building 20 years ago, in what many think of as the showpiece of our city,” Urqhart stated in her staff report to the city council. “In the last two decades, (the city’s) budget has precluded staff from administering anything more than emergency repairs. Without preventative maintenance or the ability to update public areas consistent with changing community needs, the jewel of downtown has begun to lose its shine. The updates needed are not simply cosmetic in nature, but items such as lighting, flooring, and accessibility issues combine to create safety concerns.”

Urqhart said the Council had already approved several library projects related to safety and accessibility in its 2023-24 budget and that “several surveys both at the library and for the City’s surveying on (American Rescue Plan funding for COVID relief)” showed the children’s library was “something citizens want to see done.”

“Residents polled in last year’s strategic planning engagement cited the children’s library as a top area of focus for improvement,” Urqhart noted in her staff report. “According to the survey results of 802 respondents, making improvements to the Children’s Library ranked number three overall and (first) in the category of facilities. There are distinct spaces within the Children’s Library; however, none of these are clearly defined for use or general age group. The Children’s Library serves ages zero to 12, which can be a challenge to provide the right developmental learning tools and spaces to all segments within that range.”

Urqhart said that, “due to the volume and level of work to be done,” the library was seeking an outside consultant to design and manage the projects.

The library director added that eight firms had responded to the City’s request for proposals and that Johnston Architects was “by far and away, the firm with the most public library experience.”

“They have a real understanding of early literacy,” Urqhart added. “One of the architects was an early learning educator, and she’ll be on the team” should the city council approve the consultant contract.

The architectural firm would provide scalable models for the city and help prioritize what can be done within the city’s expected budget, Urquhart said.

“They will help us look at the budget we have and provide a few designs — good, better, best,” Urqhart said, adding that, although the city will likely only have enough money for the “good” category, the consultants can also help guide fundraising strategies if city officials and library leaders decide they would like to pursue “better” or “best” options.

She added that the new president of the Friends of the Camas Public Library nonprofit group also has a background in fundraising and has worked with organizations that are kicking off capital fundraising projects.

“Should we decide to move into that ‘best’ category, I think we’re in good hands with Johnston and with our Foundation president,” Urqhart said last week.

The library director added that “a large portion” of the library building update work is already funded — including $730,000 from a state grant for exterior work, $610,000 from ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act) money earmarked for the library, and a $10,000 Norman C. Danielson grant as well as a $10,000 donation from 100 Women Who Care for the children’s library.

“A large portion is grant-funded,” Urquhart said. “Our community identified the children’s area as one of their top picks on how to spend (the federal ARPA) money.”

Camas City Councilwoman Jennifer Senescu questioned the need for a consultant during the Council’s Oct. 2 workshop.

“We have a contract for $479,000. That’s a lot of money to replace flooring and put furniture in,” Senescu said.

Urqhart said the library’s exterior project requires a project manager and that the City “simply does not have the resources to have someone on staff to do that.”

“We want to benefit from economies of scale and have one firm do everything,” Urquhart said. “We have to have a professional services agreement project manager for the exterior, regardless — even if we didn’t do the inside work. By bundling it, we’re going to see a savings there. And we need design work in the children’s area.”

Senescu said she still felt “really strongly” about the issue.

“I love the children’s area and know the community wants that,” Senescu said. “But I don’t feel that we need consultants … to tell us what flooring and furniture to put in.”

The consultant’s scope of work, if approved by the city council during its Oct. 16 meeting as part of the consent agenda, would include a first phase concentrated on the exterior work — improved entrances, mitigation of water damage, replacement of monument signs and repairs to the library’s windows and door casings — and a second phase that focuses on the Children’s Learning Hive and also provides new furniture, flooring and lighting in other parts of the library.

The total consultant contract is not to exceed $479,042, and Urqhart said she expects the consultants would complete their work by Dec. 31, 2024, but would likely have cost estimates available about two months after kicking off their work.

“The library is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year, with a storied history of beloved memories in the hearts and minds of our citizens,” Urqhart noted in her staff report. “The next generation of Camas residents deserve to have a library with the same shine, and one that adapts to the needs of its community. Johnston Architects feel they can get us there with this project.”