SEQUIM — Instead of asking taxpayers to foot the bill for a new, $8 million Sequim Library, the North Olympic Library System will spend some money from its own savings to fix up the old place.
The 5,700-square-foot branch at 630 N. Sequim Ave. is small for the Dungeness Valley’s swelling population, system director Paula Barnes has said.
And since last year, she’s been talking with the Friends of the Sequim Library about building a nearly 15,000-square-foot book haven.
That would have necessitated a bond issue and a property-tax increase; not something Barnes, and the Friends thought would fly in the current economic downturn.
Fortunately for Sequim library users — and those who’ve yet to explore their local branch — the library system’s board of trustees decided last week to allocate $120,000 from its capital-improvements fund toward what Barnes calls a facelift.
That will include “refreshing the collection, eliminating clutter, and adding new paint, new furniture and new signage,” Barnes noted.
