'Shocking turn of events': Josephine County commissioners terminate community library's lease

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — The Josephine County Board of Commissioners unanimously agreed to terminate the county’s lease with the Josephine Community Library’s central branch in Grants Pass on Jan. 6.

The library received a 30-day notice from the county following the decision and has until Feb. 6 to vacate the building or negotiate the terms of a new lease. The library called the vote “a shocking turn of events.”

“This abrupt decision undermines community trust and investment,” library director Kate Lasky said in a statement issued on Jan. 7. “Terminating the lease with just 30 days notice disregards these contributions and the essential services the library provides to thousands. We deserve a fair and respectful process.”

Commissioner John West said during Monday’s meeting that the county pays $22,000 to $25,000 per year to maintain the library building. Under the library’s now-terminated lease, the community library paid the county $1 per year to rent the building. With the county in need of funding to repair a leaking roof at the Josephine County Jail, West said that the library needs to pay market value to rent the space at 200 C St.

“The library had a great deal for quite some time, but the board’s job is to look out for the taxpayer and look out for the county, and the problem is we have a failing jail roof,” West said.

West argued on Monday that the library’s shift to an organization-run community library in 2017 nullified a section of the county’s charter, which requires it to cover the library’s support and maintenance expenses. The Josephine Community Library District was formed in 2017 through a permanent tax on assessed property value within the library district’s boundaries.

“The discussion preceding the vote failed to consider that in the late 1990s, citing Measure 50, the Board of Commissioners shifted a 33-cent library levy to the general fund to pay for public safety — an increase in the county’s property tax of 57 percent,” the Josephine Community Library said in a statement. “The County then absorbed that levy into the permanent tax rate, raising it from 25 cents to 58 cents. Except for maintenance of the Grants Pass branch, none of that money goes towards supporting the library.”

West said that he expects the library to work out a new lease that will bring in more funding for Josephine County.

“I think it would be in the best interest of Josephine County and the taxpayers of Josephine County to give the library a 30-day notice and bring the parties back to the table,” West said. “One dollar a year is not sufficient.”