City Council - Committee Of The Whole
City Council - Committee Of The Whole
Mon, April 27, 2026
Agenda items
Vote records
Discussion summary
Transcript
Meeting summaryAI-generated
City Council Committee of the Whole — April 27, 2026
This was a brief afternoon Committee of the Whole session with all seven council members present. The meeting covered one action item on a cybersecurity grant and one informational presentation on the Central Library renovation, followed by an executive session on property acquisitions and a potential litigation matter.
Agenda Bill 24910: State and Local Cybersecurity Grant Program
IT Director Don Berg and cybersecurity analyst Joshua Knight presented two projects funded through a reimbursement grant from the State and Local Cybersecurity Grant Program, administered by Washington State's Technology Solutions Team in coordination with the Emergency Management Division.
The two projects are: (1) a Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) gap assessment, which will review business practices related to payment cards as the city implements a new utility billing system; and (2) a Zero Trust Network Access system to harden access to city network infrastructure — a project Berg noted as increasingly relevant given the current global cybersecurity environment. Council approval was required before any reimbursement-eligible work could begin.
There was no substantive discussion or questions from council members.
Vote: Moved by Council Member Cotton, seconded by Council Member Hammill. Passed 7–0. The recommendation will be forwarded to the full council for final action at the evening session.
Agenda Bill 24911: Central Library Interior Renovation Update
Library Director Rebecca Judd presented a detailed update on Phase 2 of the Central Library interior renovation. This was an informational item only — no council action was taken.
Background and usage: Judd opened with a snapshot of the library system's robust usage: 1.2 million physical items and 600,000 digital items circulated in 2025, nearly 500,000 visitors across four locations, and rankings in the top 10 for circulation per capita among Washington state libraries and the top 5% nationally. The Central Library building opened in 1951 serving a city of 34,000; the last major renovation was in 1985 when Bellingham had about 50,000 residents. The city now has 97,000 residents. Phase 1 was completed during COVID in 2020–2021 and addressed the main floor, adding study rooms, restrooms, a dedicated program room, elevator upgrades, and a book sorter.
Phase 2 scope: Key elements include a full renovation of the youth spaces (untouched since 1985), including new finishes, improved sightlines, ADA-accessible shelving, and relocation of the teen space from the main floor to the lower floor adjacent to the children's area. The main floor will be reconfigured, moving the public computer area into the vacated teen space and repositioning the help desk. A new small conference room with a glass wall will be added. HVAC systems will be upgraded throughout, and a dedicated server room and IT infrastructure will be added. Full building air conditioning was determined to be cost-prohibitive — approximately $3–4 million over budget — though the electrical system will be upgraded to allow for future cooling additions. Staff spaces on the upper floor will also be renovated.
Budget: Total Phase 2 budget is $8.53 million, funded through a state grant, a $1.3 million federal community project grant sponsored by State Representative Joe Timmons, $2 million in Real Estate Excise Tax (REET) funds for HVAC, and a private fundraising campaign through the Whatcom Community Foundation. The Friends of the Library recently made a donation bringing the campaign total to $2.5 million, with approximately $1 million still to be raised.
Timeline: Design is being completed this spring; bidding goes out in late summer. The Central Library will close to the public in late 2026 or early 2027, with a projected reopening in late 2027. During closure, branch hours at Fairhaven, Barkley, and Bellis Fair will be expanded; a temporary program space at Bellis Fair will host storytimes and community events; and all library materials will remain accessible via holds and digital collections.
Phase 3 (exterior): Future exterior work — painting, window updates, ADA access improvements, and entrance refreshes — is estimated at $4.5–5 million. $850,000 in federal funding secured through Representative Rick Larsen's office is pending an award letter and will come before council for formal approval once received.
Council discussion: Council Member Huthman praised the community-building role of libraries and asked about the dropped air conditioning plan; Judd confirmed cost was the barrier but noted the electrical upgrade preserves a future pathway. Council Member Lilliquist observed that this phased approach is delivering meaningful improvements at a fraction of the $50–90 million replacement proposals discussed in prior decades, and asked whether the underutilized lower floor of the Fairhaven branch could see more use during the closure; Judd confirmed expanded hours would help but staffing constraints limit dedicated programming there. Council Member Hammill recognized the Library Board of Trustees, staff, and Friends of the Library for their contributions and passion.
Vote: Informational only. No action taken.
Old/New Business
Council President Stone deferred her items to the evening session in the interest of time.
The meeting adjourned into executive session covering one potential property acquisition (approx. 5 min.), a potential litigation matter (approx. 10 min.), and three additional potential property acquisitions (approx. 3 min. each), with a planned return at 5:00 p.m. to adjourn before the 7:00 p.m. regular council meeting.
Key Takeaways
Cybersecurity grant approved 7–0: The city accepted a state reimbursement grant to fund a network access hardening project and a payment card security assessment, timed alongside the new utility billing system rollout.
Central Library will close for renovation in late 2026 or early 2027, with a targeted reopening in late 2027; residents can still access collections via holds, digital resources, and campus partnerships during the closure.
Phase 2 renovation budget is $8.53 million, with roughly $1 million still to be raised privately; full building air conditioning was dropped as cost-prohibitive, though infrastructure for future cooling was preserved.
A federal exterior renovation grant of $850,000 is expected imminently and will come before council for formal approval — watch for that item in upcoming meetings.
Executive session followed on multiple potential property acquisitions and a litigation matter; no public outcomes were reported.
AI-generated summary from voice-to-text transcript. Not the official record. Verify important details with the source documents linked above.
What happened at this meeting
Old/New Business
The chair asked if there were any items for old and new business; no council members raised items at that time. The chair indicated they had a few items but would bring them forward during the evening session in the interest of time.
Acceptance of a grant from the State and Local Cybersecurity Grant Program for cybersecurity projects
Staff presented the acceptance of a grant from the State and Local Cybersecurity Grant Program administered by Washington State Technology Solutions Team for two cybersecurity enhancement projects: a PCI DSS gap assessment and a zero trust network access system. IT Director Don Berg explained that these projects focus on hardening network access and implementing a new payment card system alongside utility billing upgrades. Council Member Cotton moved to approve acceptance of the grant and authorize the mayor to enter into the grant agreement, which was seconded by Council Member Hamel and passed unanimously 7-0 with no questions or discussion.
An update on Central Library interior renovations
# Central Library Interior Renovations Update
Library Director Rebecca Judd presented Phase Two of the Central Library's interior renovation project, noting the nearly 75-year-old building serves a growing city of 97,000 residents and ranks in the top 10 nationally for circulation per capita. Phase Two construction is scheduled to begin in late 2026 or early 2027 and continue through late 2027, with the library remaining open during most of the project but closing temporarily to the public; during closure, branch hours will expand at Fairhaven, Barkley, and Bellis Fair, while all materials remain accessible through holds and 24/7 digital access. The $8.53 million project includes renovated youth spaces (first since 1985), updated staff areas, and infrastructure improvements to HVAC and IT systems, with funding from state programs ($2 million), a community project grant sponsored by Representative Joe Timmons ($1.3 million), real estate excise tax ($2 million), and private fundraising ($2.5 million), though staff noted a $1 million gap remains to be closed. Councilmember Huffman raised concerns about the decision not to include full air conditioning due to cost, while staff confirmed they are upgrading the power grid to enable future climate upgrades. A subsequent Phase Three exterior improvement project, budgeted at $4.5-5 million with $850,000 in federal funding secured by Representative Rick Larsen, is also planned pending council approval.
Library Director Rebecca Judd presented Phase Two of the Central Library's interior renovation project, noting the nearly 75-year-old building serves a growing city of 97,000 residents and ranks in the top 10 nationally for circulation per capita. Phase Two construction is scheduled to begin in late 2026 or early 2027 and continue through late 2027, with the library remaining open during most of the project but closing temporarily to the public; during closure, branch hours will expand at Fairhaven, Barkley, and Bellis Fair, while all materials remain accessible through holds and 24/7 digital access. The $8.53 million project includes renovated youth spaces (first since 1985), updated staff areas, and infrastructure improvements to HVAC and IT systems, with funding from state programs ($2 million), a community project grant sponsored by Representative Joe Timmons ($1.3 million), real estate excise tax ($2 million), and private fundraising ($2.5 million), though staff noted a $1 million gap remains to be closed. Councilmember Huffman raised concerns about the decision not to include full air conditioning due to cost, while staff confirmed they are upgrading the power grid to enable future climate upgrades. A subsequent Phase Three exterior improvement project, budgeted at $4.5-5 million with $850,000 in federal funding secured by Representative Rick Larsen, is also planned pending council approval.
Agenda items (3)
Procedural (3)
3ProceduralOld/New Business
This is an open time slot for council members to bring up any additional topics or business that wasn't included elsewhere on the agenda.
What happened
The chair asked if there were any items for old and new business; no council members raised items at that time. The chair indicated they had a few items but would bring them forward during the evening session in the interest of time.24910ProceduralAcceptance of a grant from the State and Local Cybersecurity Grant Program for cybersecurity projects
The city is accepting money from a state grant program to pay for cybersecurity improvements that will help protect city computer systems and data.
What happened
Staff presented the acceptance of a grant from the State and Local Cybersecurity Grant Program administered by Washington State Technology Solutions Team for two cybersecurity enhancement projects: a PCI DSS gap assessment and a zero trust network access system. IT Director Don Berg explained that these projects focus on hardening network access and implementing a new payment card system alongside utility billing upgrades. Council Member Cotton moved to approve acceptance of the grant and authorize the mayor to enter into the grant agreement, which was seconded by Council Member Hamel and passed unanimously 7-0 with no questions or discussion.24911ProceduralAn update on Central Library interior renovations
City staff will provide an update on the progress of the renovation work being done inside the Central Library building.
What happened
# Central Library Interior Renovations UpdateLibrary Director Rebecca Judd presented Phase Two of the Central Library's interior renovation project, noting the nearly 75-year-old building serves a growing city of 97,000 residents and ranks in the top 10 nationally for circulation per capita. Phase Two construction is scheduled to begin in late 2026 or early 2027 and continue through late 2027, with the library remaining open during most of the project but closing temporarily to the public; during closure, branch hours will expand at Fairhaven, Barkley, and Bellis Fair, while all materials remain accessible through holds and 24/7 digital access. The $8.53 million project includes renovated youth spaces (first since 1985), updated staff areas, and infrastructure improvements to HVAC and IT systems, with funding from state programs ($2 million), a community project grant sponsored by Representative Joe Timmons ($1.3 million), real estate excise tax ($2 million), and private fundraising ($2.5 million), though staff noted a $1 million gap remains to be closed. Councilmember Huffman raised concerns about the decision not to include full air conditioning due to cost, while staff confirmed they are upgrading the power grid to enable future climate upgrades. A subsequent Phase Three exterior improvement project, budgeted at $4.5-5 million with $850,000 in federal funding secured by Representative Rick Larsen, is also planned pending council approval.
Additional votes recorded in minutes
Recommend acceptance of State and Local Cybersecurity Grant Program grant
aye 7
Daniel Hammillaye
Edwin H. "Skip" Williamsaye
Hannah Stoneaye
Hollie Huthmanaye
Jace Cottonaye
Lisa Andersonaye
Michael Lilliquistaye
Verbatim transcript available
93 transcript segments indexed
Okay. So, welcome back. We're going to move forward with the Committee of the Whole. You know that all council members are present today. We at least have a quorum in seats, so we will move forward. Um the first agenda item before the Committee of the Whole is agenda bill 24910.
City of Bellingham Committee Of The Whole minutes April 27, 2026, 3:25 PM Chair: Hannah Stone Phone: 360-778-8200 Members: Hollie Huthman, Daniel Hammill, Email: ccmail@cob.org Edwin H. "Skip" Williams, Lisa Anderson, Web: cob.org/council Michael Lilliquist, Jace Cotton City Council committee meetings Standing committee members receive reports and information, ask questions, and vote on a recommended action for consideration by the full Council at the regular meeting.
There is no public comment period during committee sessions. Call to order and roll call Council President Stone called the meeting to order at 4 p.m. Present: Council President Hannah Stone, First Ward Council Member Hollie Huthman, Second Ward Council Member Daniel Hammill, Third Ward Council Member Edwin H.
This is acceptance of a grant from the State and Local Cybersecurity Grant Program for cybersecurity projects. The city has been awarded a grant from the State and Local Cybersecurity Grant Program administered by the Washington State Technology Solutions Team in coordination with the Emergency Management Division of the Washington Military Department for two cybersecurity enhancement projects.
"Skip" Williams, Fourth Ward Council Member Lisa Anderson, Fifth Ward Council Member Michael Lilliquist, Sixth Ward Council Member Jace Cotton, At-Large 24910 1. Acceptance of a grant from the State and Local Cybersecurity Grant Program for cybersecurity projects Summary: Don Burdick, IT Director, and Joshua Knight, Senior Information Security Analyst, presented the grant award from the State and Local Cybersecurity Grant Program for cybersecurity projects.
This reimbursement grant is specifically allocated to two projects. So, Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard, this is PCI DSS, gap assessment and a zero trust network access system. So, approval of the grant by the City Council is required before any work eligible for reimbursement can commence.
So, for this item, I'm first going to turn to Don Berg, who's the Information Technology Services Director for the City of Bellingham. Thank you. Uh Don Berg, IT Director. Um here with Joshua Knight, our cybersecurity analyst as well.
The grant will fund two projects, Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) gap assessment and a zero-trust network access system. Council Members discussed the grant and asked questions.
Action: Jace Cotton / Daniel Hammill moved to recommend acceptance of the grant and authorize the Mayor to enter into the grant agreement. MOTION CARRIED 7-0. Page 1 of 2 24911 2. An update on Central Library interior renovations Summary: Rebecca Judd, Library Director, provided an update on the Central Library interior renovation plans and timeline.
Um this is uh an annual process that we attempt to do every year with the IT department. We identify projects that particularly focus on the city's cybersecurity resiliency or um practices. Uh these two projects in particular are very relevant for this year.
Council Members discussed the project and asked questions. 3. Old/New Business Summary: There were no discussion items for Old/New Business. Council moved into Executive Session at 4:30 p.m. to discuss five items until 5:00 p.m.
Um making sure that we harden our the access into our network systems. Um We'd started this last year and it's even more relevant now with the particular situation in in the world uh today. And then the PCI DSS, we are also implementing a new payment card system along with our utility billing system.
And so, part of this will be reviewing that and uh alongside our business practices related to payment cards and all that. So, the two of us are here for any questions you may have, but otherwise these projects we are moving forward with and um the state is administering this grant for reimbursement once we are completed with the project.
1. Potential property aquisition 2. Potential litigation 3. Potential Property Acquisition 4. Potential Property Acquisition 5. Potential Property Acquisition Adjournment There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 4:46 p.m.
Thank you very much. Bring it to committee for consideration and questions. Council member Cotton. Uh exciting and I move to approve acceptance of the grant and authorize the mayor to enter into the grant agreement.
Second. We have a motion by Council member Cotton and a second by Council member Hamel. Any questions or discussion? Seeing none, I'll call the question. All in favor will say aye. Aye. Any opposed or abstentions?
Okay. Seeing none, that passes 7-0 and I can bring forward that recommendation this evening. So Okay. Thank you very much. The next item before the Committee is agenda bill 24911. So, this is an update on Central Library interior renovations.
Bellingham Public Library is moving forward with phase two of the Central Library interior renovation project. This is an important step in updating the building to meet the needs of today's community.
This revitalization of the nearly 75-year-old library is currently in the design phase. Construction is expected to begin in late 2026 or early 2027 and continue through late 2027. The Central Library continues to remain open regular hours for most of this year but noting that it will be closed during the renovation.
Um so, this afternoon staff will present an overview of the project. I'm going to turn this over to Rebecca Judd, who's Library Director for the City of Bellingham. Try again. >> [laughter] >> It's a pleasure to uh be here to share an update on the Central Library renovation.
Again, I'm Rebecca Judd, Library Director. And lot to share. Um just a little bit about us. Uh in 2025, the Bellingham Public Library, we circulated 1.2 million items, uh physical items and 600,000 digital items.
So, very well-used library. We welcomed nearly 500,000 visitors at our four locations. We hosted 47,000 computer sessions. Registered 10,000 new borrowers to the library. Uh we offered 1,300 programs drawing over 30,000 attendees.
And a couple of statistics that we're especially proud of, we are ranked in the top 10 as circulation per capita among public libraries in Washington state and that's a statistic that we've enjoyed for many years.
And also ranked in the top 5% in circulation per capita among all public libraries nationally. So, today we're going to talk about the renovation, upcoming renovation. The Central Library is a 75-year-old building serving a growing city.
So, here you can see a picture of the building in 1951. That's when the Central Library first opened at this location and that was serving a population of around 34,000 people. Our last major renovation was in 1985 when Bellingham was around 50,000 uh residents.
Uh and then we completed the first phase of our interior renovation uh during COVID in 2021. And then here we are um 2026 and 27, phase two, we're completing the interior renovation. As you can see, the Bellingham population's about double it was since our last renovation at 97,000.
And then looking forward, we're looking at the exterior renovation for the building. Okay. So, just going back a little bit in time, I sometimes say that this was one of the silver only silver linings of COVID was that we were able to renovate the main floor of the library while the library was already closed to the public.
Um but some of the things that we were able to accomplish during that um 2020-2021 renovation, main floor seating areas, um main floor spaces, new carpet, new paint, new ceiling tiles. Um just a refresh.
Expanded the seating area, which you can see pictured here. Uh we added uh two study rooms, which get a lot of use on our main floor. And we also moved our uh program room, our skill share space into its own dedicated place.
Uh we added two main floor restrooms. We never had restrooms on the main floor of the Central Library. And we added uh I don't have a photo here, but we added a book sorter in the back room that where all of our materials helps us manage those 1.2 million items um and separates the books into different bins for their next place.
Uh and then we did two uh elevator upgrades, our main elevator and our freight elevator. >> [snorts] >> Okay. And then I'm going to talk a little bit today about our um key elements of phase two coming up here.
We've got renovated youth spaces, going to be a highlight of this project. Safe and welcoming public spaces, updating our staff spaces and some infrastructure improvements to our IT and HVAC systems. Okay.
Renovating the youth spaces, so these have not been renovated since 1985. So, they're going to get an overall refresh, carpet, paint, new furniture, ceiling tiles, LED lighting. Um we're going to be um improving the sight lines, so you won't walk into a hallway on the lower floor.
That whole area will be opened up. Um we're moving the teen space from the main floor down to the youth area on the lower floor so that you can have uh there's just a seamless transition from the children to the teen area.
That's something that we've been hoping for for a long time. We're renovating the multi-purpose room, so I'll show you where that's going to be. And we are making some uh ADA improvements, so our all of our bookshelves in the children's area will now be wheelchair accessible.
And we are renovating our ground floor restrooms, so we're going to be uh using a new design. >> [snorts] >> And here's a little uh sort of schematic of where things are going to be changing. You can see a lot will be the same when you come in.
You'll still see the children's area to the right. But uh over to the left will be the teen area. Um below that, the multi-purpose room as you're going towards the the stairway and then you can see where those restrooms will be uh a different orientation, but in that same location.
And then a second key element for this project is safe and welcoming public spaces and I wanted to talk a little bit about some work that's going to be done on the main floor. We are going to be moving the teen area downstairs and so that's going to leave some room on the main floor for some relocation of the main computer.
So we're moving the computer area to where the teen space is now and then we're moving the help desk over where the public computers are at this time. So just doing a little bit of relocation of um programs on the main floor and then we are also looking at adding another small conference room.
So that space where the skill share is now will have a glass wall added and a door and an ability to reserve that space. So right now it's open but when it's closed off like that will be able to add another small conference room for public meeting spaces.
And we're also adding one more restroom on the main floor. I have here pending budget. We are still going through the design process right now but we did get a favorable cost estimate recently so looking forward to hopeful that we'll be able to incorporate all of these aspects into the project.
And then another key element of this project is that we will be updating staff spaces. So one thing to just mention about the central library is that it not only is it one of is our biggest library in our system but also the service center for the library.
So all of the magic that happens with getting books to in into our system and moving around our system happens at the central library and the upper floor is a staff area. So we'll be doing the same renovation you know carpet and paint and ceiling tiles and lighting that we're doing on the other floors.
We'll be renovating the floor plan a little bit and improving workflow and functionality. This is a photo of our inner inner library loan specialist Carmen and she currently is working in a in a hallway.
So we're we're looking at forward to creating better spaces for our staff so that they can provide better service to our public. And then finally in terms of key elements to the project we are going to be doing some system improvements.
So all of the floors currently we have some areas that are not heated very well in our lower floor. So all the heating will be updated. We'll be improving the ventilation. Cooling the entire building proved to be cost prohibitive but we are going to be able to add cooling in some spaces the multi-purpose room and some other areas.
And then the library our central library is really the main computer lab for our entire community and so it has extra IT needs and we will be adding some a server room and some dedicated spaces for IT equipment as part of this renovation.
And then a little bit about the project we have 8.53 million dollars that's dedicated to the phase two of the central library renovation. 2 million of that came from a state program. And 1.3 million 03 million came from a local community project grant that was sponsored by representative Joe Timmons.
So very grateful for for the funding from the state. We have 2 million dollars in read funding that's supporting our HVAC improvements. Real estate excise tax funding and then we're engaged in a private fundraising campaign right now with the Whatcom Community Foundation and we've raised actually this should be updated.
We just got a donation from our friends of the library so we are now at 2.5 million and so we are working to close that gap on the final 1 million that's needed for this project. That's a photo of our friends right there.
Talking with our community so just working on this project we've been talking about this building for many many [clears throat] years but recently we've engaged in strategic planning in 2019 a facilities master plan in 2022 and then most recently and there's a photo here of our youth renovation advisory group and that group has been very engaged in helping us do design work for our 1% for the arts and also will be helping us inform some color choices and some other design activities for this project.
So that's been a really joyful part of this endeavor. Okay things that we've heard being able to gather together in community and learn together is so important for people. Story time saved our life as parents and as a family.
Connection with each other is incredibly important. Raising brand new babies is the hardest thing to do. Many people can't afford to take parenting classes but at the library parents can learn for free about how they can interact with their children at home.
And then this last one is from one of our teen youth advisory group for the renovation and she said the library is such a personal place for me and that's why she wanted to be involved in the the design.
Okay as Council President Stone mentioned we are our timeline is still um that we are completing the design this spring. We are going to be going out to bid in the late summer. The central library will be closed to the public late this year or early next year but we are still open now regular hours.
And then in late 2027 is when we are estimating we'll know more when we get the bids but this our estimation of when the central library will be reopened to the public. All right so where are we going to be while the building is being renovated?
We were able to we will be expanding our branch hours at Fairhaven Barkley and Bellis Fair. We were able to secure a temporary expanded space at Bellis Fair for programs that'll be our main site for story times and other programs and community meeting space.
We're looking at additional programming sites for our youth programming. And one thing that I just wanted to highlight this is not something new but we have a really wonderful campus connections program so you can pick up holds and you can return library materials at our academic libraries that are located here in Bellingham at Western BTC and Whatcom Community College.
So this is one of the questions that I receive a lot what's going to happen to the collection when we are closed to the public. Um we will all of the material is still going to be available so there's nothing that's going to be boxed up for the library renovation.
We will have but we also won't be moving the entire collection that's at central you know to another location. So they'll be materials will be available at those smaller branch spaces as we can make space and then they'll but anything in our collection will be available via via hold.
So you can place a hold and we'll we'll get it to you. And then our digital collections of course are open 24/7. Okay and then looking ahead to phase three so we have some planned exterior improvements for the library.
Refreshing the painted and painting the brick envelopes so that could use a spruce up. Updating the exterior windows. Updating the lighting. Refreshing the main entrance here and the children's entrance.
ADA access for the children's entrance entrance and the refreshed refreshing the flagpole plaza which is a little bit out of screen here for the in this image. We anticipate that the budget for the exterior improvements is going to be about 4.5 to 5 million.
We were able to secure 850,000 in federal funding so that was um due to the efforts of representative Rick Larsen. We are still waiting to receive the award letter. We expect that at any time and at that time the that award will be that grant amount will be coming forward to council for official approval.
And then we'll need um funding to complete the rest of the exterior of the project, but if the timeline aligned, we are hoping to get some work done when the building is closed um for the interior work.
And then finally, Lee Memorial Park. You can see here um looking at working with the Parks Department on future Lee Memorial Park updates and looking at an improved connection between the park and the Children's Library.
Just a quick note about our team. So, we're working with Miller Hull Architects. Um we have the privilege of working with Caleb Savage from the Public Works Department. Uh Jen VanderPloeg is our project manager.
This project uh touches a lot of departments in the city, and so really grateful for our partners in legal and mayor's office and uh IT. So, this is uh certainly a one city project. Um we have um support and guidance from our Library Board of Trustees, and we have one of our trustees here today, Christy VanNess.
Um and a lot of support from our Friends of the Library. They are our biggest donors so far to our fundraising effort. Um and then all of you and all everyone in our community who is um been supporting us along the way as we are renovating this important building.
And then I just wanted to conclude with why we're here. Um investing in our in the next generation, so we have um spaces for our youngest learners to thrive. Welcoming and inviting public spaces, so we have a gathering place for all.
Creating a better place to work for so our staff can serve our public, all of you, better. And then building community together, so creating a place as you can see in this photograph where everyone is lifted up.
And uh we will be keeping everyone informed on the website um in our e-newsletter. So, lots of ways to stay in touch with the project, but uh the best way to stay informed about um new developments and uh ways to uh new project developments will be through our websites.
And also uh happy to uh answer any questions. Thank you very much for the presentation. This is an exciting time and thankful that this will be able to move forward. Um Councilmember Huffman. Hopefully this is a quick one.
Um uh thank you for the presentation. Very excited about these renovations. Um also I think it's a great thing to remind people, as you did, that that libraries are more than such just books. It's really community building space.
Um clearly the the little ones in that last uh slide can't even read yet, so um but, you know, it's always great to have somewhere to take your little maniac when you don't feel like there's anywhere else to go and it's raining.
Um so I'm I look forward to the to seeing those renovations. Um quick question, hopefully uh you mentioned that the air conditioning won't be feasible. I seem to remember early on in planning about renovations that air conditioning seemed like such a a highlight to the plan that um people were hopeful about, not only for comfort in the summer, but also climate resiliency and and health and safety.
Um can you talk a little bit more about what happened with that? >> Yes. The cost estimate for the the uh air conditioning, the full HVAC system, was about three or four million dollars over what we had um available for the project budget.
So, it was just the the costs were just really prohibitive for the entire building. Is there potential to add on later? We are going to be it looks like um we are going to be able to upgrade our power um grid our power uh exchange, so that um we can be able to um make future upgrades.
Councilmember Lilliquist. A comment and a quick simple question. Uh the comment is I've I've been around long enough that I've seen 50, 70, 90 million dollar proposals to uh you know, improve or replace the library that required enormous translocation, moving of all the storage uh and stacks.
Um I'm really impressed and pleased with how this phased approach is actually bringing such great improvements in functionality and services and space uh at a much uh smaller price tag. Um so, these numbers may seem big to others, but they're way smaller than what is we've talked about in previous decades.
My small question has to do with the Fairhaven Library. The downstairs library, it's a beautiful, interesting space and it really hasn't been used much. In this transition, will there be possibilities to use that space to add functionality that may be missing if the when the main library is closed?
That's a great question. We will I think just by expanding the hours at the Fairhaven Library, that space will get more use. Um I don't think we'll be able we're we're not going to be able to add staffing, so we won't be able to specifically staff that floor, but it will be available for meetings and other uses during this time.
Um but I agree that the Fairhaven Library has got underutilized space and it's a beautiful building. Yeah. Councilmember Hamel. Yeah, I'll I'll be brief in uh consideration of time. Um it's very clear that the library is one of our most beloved um assets and amenities in in Bellingham.
It's well loved. You can see it from and respected um from the level of um assistance from the federal uh government from uh Congressman Larsen to state uh support from Timmons and others. Um I do want to call out um a few groups here because I think that they're they reflect the heart and soul of the library, and that is the Board of Trustees, um who volunteer their time and provide governance and leadership, which I think is um super valuable and important.
Um the staff members that that are there every day making sure that patrons get what they need. And then the Friends of the Library. During a tour with uh Director Judd, I was introduced to some of the the Friends of the Library, and just it was very clear the impacts that they have when it comes to um to the library and uh the materials that they were able to secure.
And just the the investment of passion into into that I think is really uh important. So, I just want to acknowledge that. Any other comments or questions from council members? Okay. Um seeing none, this item is on the agenda for information and discussion only today.
Um so, no action to be taken by council at this time. You did mention that the grant, assuming that that is forward from the federal government, that that item will be coming forward for formal approval or consideration by the council um hopefully in the in the short term, but um otherwise, [snorts] thank you so much for the update, and we look forward to progress reports along the way.
So, best luck to you and your team as this work commences. So, thank you. So, that concludes the Committee of the Whole for this afternoon. So, um are there any items for old and new business? No? Okay.
I have a few, but in the interest of time, I will bring those forward this evening. Um so, we have executive session next, which we have several items before us in executive session. The first is a potential property acquisition.
This will be with Rosenblatt for approximately 5 minutes. Then we have a potential litigation matter with Herb for approximately 10 minutes. Then three additional prop- potential property acquisitions with Rosenblatt, each for approximately 3 minutes.
So, estimated at 25 minutes with discussion um we'll just put it at 30. 25, 30. Yeah, I'll plan to come back at right at 5:00 um to adjourn. So, until that time, we will um so, I'll be back to adjourn after executive session.