Library funding measure wins approval

Sisters Library will see upgrades and expansion in the coming years in the wake of voter approval of Measure 9-139 on the November ballot.

The measure won 52 percent of the vote to pass.

The expansion of Sisters Library is among multiple projects envisioned for the $195 million bond funding, which will also include construction of a new main library.

The Sisters projects will provide more open and flexible spaces for community uses from after-school tutoring to craft activities to book-club gatherings and small-business meeting space.

Linda Davis, a Sisters resident who sits on the Deschutes Public Library District Board of Directors, said the voter approval validates six years of planning work.

“Of course I’m thrilled, as is the board,” she said.

The timeline of the projects has yet to be fully laid out. Davis expects that timeline to be clearer after the board meets this week.

“I think it’s possible that the smaller branches will see their improvements before the big building is built, because they are smaller and more manageable projects,” she said.

Plans for the new library and branch improvements had been polling at 80 percent approval when the Library District initially proposed its plans. The board had delayed going to the voters when the coronavirus pandemic hit, unsure of how the public-health crisis would effect the economy and people’s outlook.

“We decided that the worst thing that could happen — with all the work we’d done — is that they would say ‘no’,” Davis said.

As it turned out, voters said “yes” by a comfortable margin, allowing the Library District to move forward with plans that will carry it well into the 21st century.

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Jim Cornelius, Editor in Chief

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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