SEQUIM — Contractor bidding has opened to expand and renovate the 40-year-old Sequim Library.
Bid documents were published in the Peninsula Daily News, Seattle Times and regional construction journals to seek a contractor for the approximate $6.143 million construction project at 630 N. Sequim Ave.
The selected construction outfit would add about 3,800 square feet to the existing 6,255-square-foot building, according to the legal notice. The expansion would include a new roof, HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning), electrical and sprinkler systems, parking and an on-site stormwater bioinfiltration pond.
Sealed bids will be received up to 2 p.m. Feb. 21 and opened shortly thereafter at the Port Angeles Library.
Noah Glaude, executive director of the North Olympic Library System (NOLS), said via email the design team of SHKS Architects of Seattle still feels good about the construction cost estimate and that, come Feb. 21, they’ll “have a much better understanding of expected project costs.”
Library trustees agreed at their Jan. 25 meeting to transfer $614,300 from the NOLS Capital Reserve to the Sequim Capital Reserve account to serve as a 10 percent contingency for the project during construction, Glaude said.
When complete, trustees could keep funds in reserves for future maintenance or designate them to other library facility needs, according to library board documents.
Staff estimate the new library space being completed in March 2025.
Glaude said work by Hoch Construction of Port Angeles to renovate the former Brian’s Sporting Goods at 609 W. Washington St., Suite 21, into a temporary space for the Sequim Library during construction is going well.
The current Sequim Library will remain open through March 9 before closing for three weeks so the library’s contents can be moved to the temporary space. It will reopen there on Monday, April 1.
More information is set to come in February about the closure, move, temporary library and operations, library staff reported.
“Staff are working hard to plan the move and minimize disruptions to patrons and the community,” Glaude said.
Trustees agreed on Jan. 25 to hold a tentative special board meeting on March 9 at the Sequim Library to approve a contract with a construction contractor. A special event is also being planned for that day to celebrate the current library’s last day before construction begins, with more details to come, Glaude said.
Olympic Moving & Storage was contracted by library trustees to relocate books, equipment, shelving and furniture to the temporary space. The library system’s Bookmobile is anticipated to make additional stops during the closure in Sequim, and book drop-off bins will be moved underneath the covered area of the temporary space, Glaude said at a previous meeting.
A two-year lease of about $151,000 goes through July 21, 2025, for the temporary space to accommodate construction delays, staff report.
The total project cost is estimated to be more than $9 million, Glaude said, and so far NOLS and the North Olympic Library Foundation (NOLF) have received many donations to the project in December to bring total donations as of last week to a little less than $6.2 million.
The total includes about $2.6 million from NOLS Capital Reserves (timber revenues) and more than $3.58 million from donations and grants, Glaude said.
Library leaders expect NOLS will “utilize non-voted general obligation bonds to bridge the funding gap,” Glaude said.
For more information, visit nols.org/Sequim or contact Glaude at director@nols.org or 360-417-8500, ext. 7717.
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Matthew Nash is a reporter with the Olympic Peninsula News Group, which is composed of Sound Publishing newspapers Peninsula Daily News, Sequim Gazette and Forks Forum. Reach him at matthew.nash@sequimgazette.com.
