Multnomah County updates library bond projects; oversight committee reports no major audit findings

Multnomah County officials on the commission briefing schedule on Jan. 23, 2025, updated the Board of County Commissioners on the status of the library capital bond program voters approved in November 2020 and received the annual report from the independent Library Bond Oversight Committee.

The briefing covered near-term milestones — the North Portland Library certificate of occupancy and planned Feb. 8 opening events; the structural “topping out” at the 95,000-square-foot East County Library; and the Nov. 13, 2024, groundbreaking for the St. John’s project. Library Director Annie Lewis said the bond “focused on expanding and modernizing our spaces for our community who loves its libraries,” and noted Multnomah County Library’s heavy use: staff cited the system as “the 4th highest circulation of urban library systems across the nation.”

The oversight committee, which is required by the ballot measure, presented its annual findings covering budget management, schedule and project progress, workforce diversity and community engagement. Randall Edwards, who led the committee’s report, summarized the measure’s voter authorization: “In November of 2020, measure 26,211 passed overwhelmingly to update, renovate, construct, and refresh our library facilities by authorizing the County to issue a $387,000,000 general obligation bond.”

Why it matters: County staff and the oversight board said the program is advancing major capital projects across the system while tracking workforce and contracting goals intended to benefit historically disadvantaged firms and build a more diverse construction workforce. Commissioners pressed staff for follow-up data on temporary service usage during closures and on dollars subcontracted to certified firms.

Program finances and audit County staff reported the library capital bond portfolio continues to be managed within the bond program’s restricted funds. In staff’s quarterly update Deputy Director Kate Vance described the program budget as $457,500,000 and said recent revenue included earned interest and Energy Trust of Oregon incentives. The oversight committee’s presentation listed the original $387 million general obligation bond plus a bond premium reserve of $50,700,000 and reported a total of $445,700,000 when including interest income and outside donations; committee members said those extra funds came from favorable early bond sale timing and other sources.

The oversight committee highlighted that roughly $218,100,000 in bond funds had been spent by the end of the last fiscal year and that about $31,500,000 in uncommitted contingency remained. Moss Adams performed the required independent procedural financial audit and “found no significant issues,” the committee said; an enhanced audit scope focused on project-level change processes was reported as still in progress.

Schedule, construction and workforce equity Staff said the program has compressed its schedule to reduce exposure to inflation and market escalation, and the committee reported the overall bond remains on track to complete within the voter-authorized term and is, by the committee’s measure, ahead of the original plan by about two years. Presenters acknowledged ongoing external risks including permit review delays and supply-chain and labor market pressures.

Staff and project leaders emphasized workforce-equity outcomes under the Regional Workforce Equity Agreement (RWEA). Deputy Director Kate Vance and program director Mike Day pointed to portfolio-level gains: the bond portfolio is “exceeding the apprenticeship and social equity goals,” they said, and the program has recorded roughly 450,000 cumulative trade hours across projects. The program reported subcontracting about 31% of work to certified disadvantaged (referred to in presentation as “COVID”) businesses, representing approximately $57,000,000 to date.

Supplier-diversity officer Maggie Chavez told the board the county is coordinating with regional partners to address barriers for nonunion subcontractors — including access to health insurance — by connecting firms to pooled insurance options and other supports so they can compete on county projects.

Community engagement and art Staff described extensive public engagement built into project scopes and budgets. Program staff and oversight committee members said thousands of community touchpoints informed design decisions, paid engagement programs (youth and adult design advocate stipends) and local public-art commissions. Presenters highlighted North Portland’s historic renovation, the Black Cultural Center within North Portland Library and site-specific artworks by artists Kaim Tolton Davis, Sade Du Bois and Melanie Stevens.

Service continuity and commissioner requests Commissioners asked for follow-up details on service impacts during branch closures and on disaggregated usage of temporary service points. Staff said the library does not collect demographic data on patrons tied to use but can report home-library location and usage statistics for temporary sites such as the Hawthorne holds and other pickup locations. Commissioners also requested the dollar amount disaggregation for subcontracting to certified firms (the percentage figures were provided during the briefing) and more specificity on milestone timelines for projects that experienced permit delays (Belmont was discussed as having roughly a six-week permit delay). Staff agreed to provide those follow-ups.

Discussion vs. formal action No formal motions or votes were recorded during the briefing. The oversight committee delivered its annual report and the board received the report; committee members disclosed service and recruitment needs for future oversight membership. Commissioner Prim Edwards and other commissioners thanked the committee and staff for oversight and community engagement work.

What’s next Staff noted the North Portland opening celebration on Feb. 8, 2025, and continued construction milestones through 2026 for the remaining large projects. The oversight committee urged continued transparency and community involvement as projects transition into operations and recommended the county consider future capital investments as the current program completes in 2026.

Ending Library leadership and oversight committee members closed the briefing by reiterating the program’s goals of modernized library spaces, workforce diversity and deep community engagement and committed to the follow-up data requests raised by commissioners.