Lake Oswego has two task forces planning a new library and the fate of the current downtown site. Neither group is charged with studying whether to renovate the existing building.

The gap has drawn public criticism. Resident Ruth Bregar, writing in the Lake Oswego Review on Sunday, Oct. 11, called the omission glaring. "What is noticeably absent is a THIRD task force to look at the feasibility of saving our current library and bringing it up to modern-use standards," Bregar wrote.

The 27,000-square-foot library at 706 Fourth St. in the First Addition neighborhood was completed in 1983. It was built smaller than voters intended. In 1974, residents approved a bond for a 35,000-square-foot building, but site constraints forced a 23% reduction, according to the Lake Oswego Review.

The building now faces seismic deficiencies, water intrusion, elevator failures and grit falling from the ceiling in the children's area, according to the city's library strategic plan page. A 2024 assessment by the firm CIDA estimated that fixing those problems would cost roughly $10 million. That price tag covers only structural and accessibility repairs at the library's current size. It would not expand the building or add new spaces.

The city has spent more than $2.5 million on library maintenance over the past decade, according to a statement from the city's Library Visioning Team published on the Old Town Lake Oswego Neighborhood Association website.

Two task forces, one assumption

In May, the City Council approved a phased public process for long-range library planning. The council's stated 2026 goal is to develop a strategy for "an expanded and modern library facility, prioritizing the West side of town," according to the city's Future Library Task Force page.

The Future Library Task Force will evaluate potential new sites and recommend a scope and location to the council. Applications closed Aug. 28, and the city said applicants would be notified of selection in October. The group's first meetings are not expected until December, with work extending through 2027.

The Library Site Reuse Task Force is studying what to do with the current downtown property "after the library is relocated." It held its first meeting Aug. 26 and its second Sept. 30. The group of up to 20 members includes representatives from neighborhood associations, the downtown business community, the Planning Commission and the Library Advisory Board. It plans to meet about six times through April 2027.

Neither task force's charter includes evaluating a renovation-in-place option. No public statement from the city explains why renovation was not included in either charter.

Costs of a new library remain unknown

At a July 7 study session, Library Director Melissa Kelly recommended a site of 2.5 to 3.5 acres that could hold a two-story building more than twice the current library's size, the Lake Oswego Review reported July 10. The cost of a new building and the value of the current site have not been determined.

The council has discussed urban renewal funding as a possible financing tool. In a July study session, Mayor Joe Buck said he did not see a path to a new library without generating money from the current site, according to the Review's July 10 report.

Lake Oswego voters rejected a $14 million library bond in 2012 by a margin of 58% to 42%. That proposal envisioned a roughly 60,000-square-foot downtown library with a total project cost of about $35 million.

Renovation debate enters council race

The library's future is also surfacing in the November council election. Candidate Bryan Guiney told the Lake Oswego Review in an Oct. 9 Q&A that residents deserve a clear comparison of renovation versus new construction, including costs, benefits and neighborhood impacts, before a bond measure goes to voters.

Resident Glenn Newman made a similar argument in an Aug. 15 opinion piece in the Review, writing that both task forces are premised on demolition and relocation.

The public cannot offer spoken comment at Site Reuse Task Force meetings but can submit written comments to [email protected]. The Future Library Task Force is expected to begin meeting in December.