By Michelle M. Winner
The Mountain Times
On Thursday, June 13th, the Board of Clackamas County Commissioners held its business meeting attended by twenty-five Hoodland Library supporters, many of them members of the Hoodland Women’s Club. Representatives of the Sandy/ Hoodland Library Advisory Board and the Mount Hood Livability Coalition were here to present their testimony in support of funding the rent costs of the library and proposing a permanent home for the Library. At $25,000 a year for the next five years, it is a step towards the goal of a new, permanent home for the library funded by Clackamas County.
A memorandum on the issue presented to the County Administrator in November 2022 resulted in meetings with the County in 2023 and a site visit by Commissioner Mark Shull and County Administrator Schmidt in September 2023. Commissioner Shull motioned to fund the requested rent on January 16, 2024, but the Board tabled the issue.
The most profound part of the request for funds supporting the housing of the Hoodland Library is the inequity and disparity that Hoodland has historically shouldered. To comprehend the depth of this unfair treatment by the County, here is the issue based on public statements and data presented at this June 13th meeting by the library supporters.
In her public comment, Lynne Pollard, Hoodland representative for the Sandy/Hoodland Library Advisory Board, said, “ In 2008, as part of the Measure 3-310 forming the Library District, responsibility for the operation of three county libraries, Clackamas Town Center (Sunnyside), Oak Lodge and Hoodland, was transferred to the cities of Happy Valley, Gladstone and Sandy. Capital contributions were limited to those set for in the 2009 IGA (Intergovernmental Agreement).”
Since the 2009 IGA agreement for the three libraries, the county has enriched two with nothing provided to the Hoodland Library. Happy Valley/ Sunnyside received a turnkey library, including the building and the land, at zero cost to them. Oak Lodge and Gladstone have received millions from the county towards two new buildings. Kathleen Draine, a Library District Advisory Committee (LDAC) 2018-2023 member, said, “Over the past 15 years, the County has been significantly more generous to both the Sunnyside and Oak Lodge libraries. Hoodland Library has been ignored.” She explained that the County renovated a building in Sunnyside and transferred the ownership to Happy Valley at no cost. The total assessment of the land and the building in 2015 was $7.5MM. For a new library under construction for Oak Lodge, the County contribution is $15.25MM. And what about the last of the three libraries under this IGA? Zero for any housing costs (rent) or a permanent building for Hoodland.
How is the Hoodland Library funded? Hoodland is an unincorporated area of Clackamas County with no local governing body. Under the IGA, the City of Sandy administers the Hoodland Library. Hoodland and Sandy have two separate library budgets. Out of the district revenue distributed to Hoodland, Hoodland must pay rent for their library space, which leaves less for services and limits operational hours. “Hoodland is deemed by the County and State to be a ‘branch’ of Sandy, even though it is not viewed by Sandy that way and should not be. Hoodland is a distinct Service Area, made up entirely of unincorporated residents, but Sandy manages its library,” said Kathleen Draine.
Monies raised from the library tax on property value in Hoodland are collected by Clackamas County and redistributed based on census population figures. Jeri McMahon, community supporter for Hoodland Library, explained in her testimony, “In fact, tourism in Hoodland costs the library funding (monies). As a destination for tourism, the very high density of second homes and STRs (Short Term Rentals) here means that a significant amount of tax revenue leaves the district and is not available to the Hoodland Library.”
The County has not provided a permanent home for the underserved Hoodland Library. Jeri McMahon compared, “ If Hoodland received a capital infusion equivalent to that given to Oak Lodge, adjusted per capita, it would be over two million (dollars). We ask that you recognize the inherent disparity in the county’s treatment of the three libraries and remedy it by paying Hoodland’s rent for the next five years, allowing time to develop a more permanent solution. The rent requested in a proposal by Commissioner Shull is $125,000 over five years.”
After the public comments, which were 100% in support of funding the Hoodland Library, Commissioner Shull again motioned to fund the rent. Commissioner Paul Savas immediately asked to table the motion, stating that the issue is more complex and that commissioners need to hold a series of work/policy sessions. He said the funding formula in the IGA needs to be recalibrated. This sentiment was echoed to a degree by the other commissioners.
Vice Chair Commissioner Ben West called himself the swing vote, and although he recently visited Hoodland Library to learn about the issues, he pushed for more discussion. Chair Tootie Smith, attending virtually, said she wanted a policy discussion with staff directed at providing details on this funding issue (libraries in general). Commissioner Martha Schrader asked Shull how to fund the one hundred twenty-five thousand Hoodland is asking for and preferred not to vote on it today.
Commissioner Shull countered, “I do not think this is a complex issue. I think Hoodland Library is a unique situation. Like Commissioner Savas said, this issue has been going on since 2004. Well, as I recall, the year is 2024. It is time to get something fixed. This library is a civic heart of one of our growing areas of Clackamas County that requires and asks for very little from the county government. I don’t think that pushing twenty-five thousand out per year for five years to the Hoodland Library is going to cause any great consternation from any other library in the District.” Commissioner Shull added that he intends to work with Hoodland Library supporters to “enlighten and affect the thinking” of the board members. He wants to re-introduce his January 16th, 2024, motion to fund the Hoodland Library again on June 25th at an Issues meeting with the Board and hopes he will be successful. To view the entire video of the meeting: https://youtu.be/qiXjbVGxhI0?si=QSWbUzsBW9HJI3bW
Teresa Peltier of the Sandy/ Hoodland Library Advisory Board summed up the importance of Clackamas County Commissioners equitably supporting the Hoodland Library. “Cultural Passes, custom book bundles, partnerships with local schools and nonprofits – the Hoodland Library team does so much. Just imagine the many ways the library could provide even more with its rent paid by the County. The library is one of a community’s most sought-after, visible, welcoming, accessible and nourishing spaces.”