News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
Negotiators will take a different tack in attempting to resolve a dispute between the City of Sisters and the Deschutes Public Library District.
The city is insisting on being paid some $20,000 in back rent. The city says it needs to charge rent to cover maintenance of the facility. Otherwise, the city argues, the city residents are paying twice for the library -- once in taxes to the library district and again in upkeep of the library.
The library district says it's willing to pay for specific maintenance charges, but won't pay rent. The library district doesn't believe the city can legally charge rent, claiming that would violate the terms of the Library Services and Construction Act grant that built the library.
The city withdrew an offer to sell the district the land upon which the library sits because the rent issue has not been resolved.
Mayor Steve Wilson and Library Director Michael Gaston have been butting heads over the library's status for months. Both acknowledge that a meeting of the full board and council might be more productive.
"Our strong personalities may be a stumbling block to the conversation process," Wilson said.
The DPLD Board of Directors and the Sisters City Council will meet in the coming weeks to try to work around the impasse.
Wilson said the two governing bodies need to talk about the long-term future of the library in Sisters. Gaston says the library district wants to transfer the equity in the current facility into a new library.
"Our goal is either to expand the current building or build a new, larger building," the library director said.
Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.
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