Voters Support Deschutes Public Library Bond Measure
Posted By: Tina Walker Davis
Date Posted: 11/4/2020
Voters approved Bond Measure 9-139 to construct a world-class Central Library as well as double the size and collection of the Redmond Library and remodel and update existing libraries
Deschutes County voters supported the library’s bond measure to expand and improve libraries across the county with a 52.26% majority. The $195 million bond measure will fund the design and construction of an approximate 100,000-square-foot Central Library to serve all Deschutes County residents. Bond funds will also pay for doubling the square footage of the Redmond Library and will expand and update existing libraries in Downtown Bend, East Bend, La Pine, Sisters and Sunriver.
“After six years of planning and meeting with more than 6,000 community members, we are very pleased to put our vision into action and provide outstanding library spaces and services for decades to come,” said Library Director Todd Dunkelberg. “We are eager to create designs to update and expand buildings and services to better serve all residents throughout Deschutes County.”
The Central Library will be constructed on a 12-acre parcel off Highway 20 and Robal Road. Final design is slated to begin by spring of 2021. Design planning for an expanded Redmond Library will begin in late summer 2021. Dunkelberg estimates it will take four years to complete the Central Library project and up to two years to complete the expanded Redmond Library. Improvements to the existing libraries in Bend, La Pine, Sisters and Sunriver will occur after completion of the two larger building projects in north Bend and Redmond.
“This extraordinary victory is the culmination of many years of gathering community input, analyzing alternatives, and creating a strategic plan to meet the current and future needs of our customers,” said Deschutes Public Library Board President Martha Lawler. “We are grateful the residents of Deschutes County share and understand our vision and we thank them for their support. We are excited to continue to transform lives in Deschutes County.”
For more information on the library’s vision for future spaces and services, please visit https://www.deschuteslibrary.org/about/visionprocess