Smoke Signals 3
Regional Library Effort Has Friends All Over
Twenty percent of the $7 million project is already contributed.
SEPTEMBER 15, 2004
By Ron Karten
Willamina Lumber Company
pledged $500,000. Bob Harris of D
Industries provided 20 acres of land
valued at $340,000. The City of
Sheridan contributed $210,000
worth of architectural designs and
other services. And the Friends of
the Sheridan Library, with indi
vidual contributions, has raised
nearly $30,000 for the project.
In all, community busin esses, gov
ernment entities and individuals
have provided more than $1.2 mil
lion for a nearly $7 million regional
library and community center to be
located on State Road 18-B that
runs between Sheridan and
Willamina parallel to State Road 18.
As envisioned, the project will
fund two buildings with room for a
third, according to Portland Archi
tect Fred C. Gast, Jr. who also did
the designs for a previous effort
which would have built a new li
brary for Sheridan alone.
The first building will be the li
brary, but according to Gast, "it will
not be your normal library facility.
It will contain an exhibition hall
and a display gallery as well as
public meeting space" in addition to
library facilities.
The second building will be a com
munity center with stadium seat
ing for 320 with room for another
50 chairs on the floor. "It will house
space for all kinds of community
activities," said Gast, "including a
full range of performance venues
from high school graduations to
musical events, movies, lectures,
and sit down dining for 300.
It also will provide a facility for a
full kitchen for community break
fasts and a full range of food ser
vices, plus a larger reception gal
lery for exhibits.
A future building on the same site
may also house recreational activi
ties, like a swimming pool.
Boosters point to specific favorite
features. "It would have wireless
connections so people could walk in
with laptops," said Angie Barry,
Chair of the project board and a
Sheridan City Council Member. "At
Sheridan, only three people can get
on (line) at a time. A lot of parents
in this area don't have the money
to buy a computer and get on the
Internet."
"We're pushing the educational
aspect for the general population,"
said Sheridan Interim City Man
ager Lonnie Hinchcliff. He pointed
to "a computer room, separate
rooms for smaller children and for
older adults." And he foresees the
archive room holding artifacts from
both the Tribe and the local com
munities. In short, said Gast, "It will pro
vide a better library for the area
than any of the individual cities can
provide alone."
This first grand scale cooperative
effort among Sheridan, Willamina
and Grand Ronde opens the doors
to a range of regional proposals,
including water projects and other
community enhancements.
"The little library in Sheridan is
a fabulous little library but it is just
too small," said Michelle Bleth, a
Sheridan School Board member
who also is a Board Member of the
West Valley Library District & Com
munity Center Development Com
mittee. "This is one of those oppor
tunities that allow us to avoid be-
follow."
In addition, said Hussey, the
Tribe is in line in October this year
for an annual federal grant worth
some $40,000 in mass transit fund
ing, and the project would like to
make use of some of that money for
"There used to be jobs and money here. Today, they have
jobs that don't pay as well. They're discouraged. This is
a great way to have communities work together and feel
better"
Angie Barry, Project Chair
ing one of those communities that
doesn't have enough money to do
anything."
Dreams for the project include a
number of related but separate
projects. One will tie the area to
transportation projects stretching
from Portland and Salem to
McMinnville and the coast. A bike
and pedestrian path funded by the
Oregon Department of Transporta
tion will add to the transportation
possibilities, and provide a safe place
to exercise for residents of both
Sheridan and Willamina.
"Everyone has to understand,"
said Hinchcliff, "that this is a big
picture. We're working with three
to four ideas and one can move for
ward without the others."
The Ford Foundation has yet to
weigh in, though they have done a
site visit and the announcement of
a grant, possibly as high as a half
its ambitious transportation plans.
"They're working on connecting
mass transit from Portland, Keizer
and McMinnville and Salem
through to Lincoln City. With dif
ferent companies operating mass
transit in each area, Hussey has
helped with the negotiations that
will be necessary to link all the
lines.
Hussey and Tribal Engineer Eric
Scott are aware that the purpose of
the Tribal grant is to make it easier
for Tribal members to get around
for jobs and Tribal activities. While
the Library project transportation
plan may provide the best solution,
Hussey said that he and Scott are
currently "collecting information to
decide what our direction should be
for the Tribe."
The project has the support of a
range of local movers and shakers.
"It's one of the most important
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IfYou Build It. . . The site of the proposed regional library was pledged to the project
by Bob Harris of D Industries. Valued at $340,000, the 20-acre site is among a number of
large gifts offered to bring the project to life.
million dollars, is in the offing. Con
tact with the Tribe's Community
Fund also is in the near future,
though Tribal reps already have
been playing a strong advisory role.
Duane Hussey, Development
Construction Coordinator for the
Tribe's Housing Division, and
Brent Merrill, Public Information
Officer for the Tribe, have joined
the board as advisors in their areas
of expertise.
Although the Tribe's Community
Fund has not yet been approached
by the group for financial help, it
likely will be once the Ford Foun
dation grant comes through.
"If the Ford Foundation comes in,"
said Hinchcliff, "then others will
things, along with the schools, that
we can offer," said Tonya Mishler,
Sheridan City Councilwoman, and
project Board Member. "If you have
children, the first thing you ask is,
what are the schools like? And then,
what kind of library do you have?
To me, it's one of the best things a
city can offer its citizens."
For Mark Siegel, Assistant Head
master at the Delphian School, a
K-12 day and boarding school in
Sheridan, the library project is part
of an effort to "see the communities
flourish. We're part of these com
munities," he said.
Small communities sometimes
have difficulties attracting profes
sional people. "Professionals add to
the community," said Siegel, "but
professionals come because they
want a (better) quality of life. This
is one more example of a way to
improve the quality of life here."
For Gary Baune (pronounced
'bonnie'), another project Board Mem
ber, and also an Engineering Tech
nician at the Federal prison in
Sheridan, the project offers the prison
another way to maintain friendly
relations with the local community.
"The library committee is going to
request, in writing, labor from the
prison," he said, for jobs like
"cleanup, landscaping, possibly
some trade-type labor, if it's al
lowed." Because inmates have been us
ing Sheridan Library services for
years, Baune said, "this is more like
payback. There's a huge burden
that the inmates put on the local
library system."
The project has a lot to offer in
simple economic terms, too.
"Both buildings (Sheridan and
Willamina libraries) are old," said
Angie Barry, "so both Sheridan and
Willamina are looking at putting
money into the buildings, and I
know that Sheridan can't afford
what we are looking at. We just
did major repairs to the heating and
air conditioning units - it was work
we couldn't wait any longer to do."
Those recent repairs cost the city
$6,300 and except for the current
library budgets serving Willamina
and Sheridan, the cost of
the new project will be en
tirely donated.
Plans for the new library
project call for the $6.8 mil
lion price tag to be contrib
uted, and in addition, the
cities' current library bud
gets will shift over to fi
nance transportation for
the new project. Specifi
cally, the two cities' library
budgets plus rider fares
will pay for a shuttle bus,
a bus driver and insurance
on an annual basis, ac
cording to Willamina
Mayor Rita Bailer, also a
project Board Member.
As envisioned, the
shuttle will travel between
Sheridan, Willamina and
possibly Grand Ronde with
the library facility serving
as the hub.
Barry also insists the project is a
great way to bring a good feeling
in the community. "There used to
be jobs and money here. Today,
they have jobs that don't pay as
well. They're discouraged. This is
a great way to have communities
work together and feel better."
The effort has been underway for
years, stretching back to the City
of Sheridan's effort in 2002 to seek
public funding for a new library.
Many in the local communities
don't yet know much about the
project, said Hinchcliff. Public in
formational meetings are still ahead
with the next one scheduled for the
evening of September 21 at
Willamina City Hall.