Washington County requests 60-day plan after 5 Oaks Museum staff furloughed and operations disrupted

Washington County commissioners on Feb. 17 heard that 5 Oaks Museum staff were furloughed after a November–December funding disruption and that county staff will return to the board within 60 days with a plan to assess the museum’s collection, storage needs and budget implications.

Assistant County Administrator Anne Ober, joined by facilities officials, told the board the museum notified the county in December that it had initiated emergency measures and furloughed staff. “In December of 2024, we were contacted by museum staff to inform us that they were being furloughed and that the museum board leadership was initiating an emergency measures process,” Ober said.

The county funds 5 Oaks in part with lottery dollars and has historically provided a contribution; Ober said the most recent allocation to the museum was reduced this year and that staff have not recommended a midyear increase to lottery allocations. “I believe that the museum is continuing to cover those costs, but they will run out of money soon,” Ober told the board.

Facilities Division Manager Greg Wyman described the accommodation and legal framework for the site at Portland Community College’s Rock Creek campus. “The term expires on 06/30/2028 with the right to extend for an additional 50 years of term. And our rent is a minimal or a nominal $1 per year,” Wyman said. Under a 1979 ground-lease arrangement, Washington County funded construction and owns the building for the duration of the lease; if the lease terminates, ownership would revert to PCC as the ground owner. A 1987 three-party agreement transferred building fixtures and the collection to the County Historical Society (now 5 Oaks Museum) on condition that the organization continue to operate the facility as a museum.

Staff provided the board with the county’s initial inventory estimates and cost signals. The county’s preliminary assessment lists roughly 14,000 written items and “probably 20,000-ish” photographs; staff characterized those counts as approximations. The museum uses archival software that board members said had not been migrated recently; a board member reported the one-time cost to move the archive to a cloud-hosted instance is about $1,600. County staff estimated an initial Iron Mountain retention-storage cost on the order of $10,000 per year if records were boxed and stored offsite while assessments proceed. Staff also said an initial, very rough valuation of the entire collection is “well over $300,000,” but emphasized that the county had not completed professional appraisals.

Oregon Historical Society staff, according to county staff, advised that local nonprofits and museums should be offered the opportunity to accept items before any items are sold or otherwise disposed of. Ober said county counsel is examining what items constitute county records that must be retained versus museum property that could be declared surplus if the county takes ownership.

Commissioners pressed staff on immediate protections for the building and collection. Commissioner Willey said it was “a little bit of a shame” the museum’s financial shortfall became so acute without more advance warning and urged the county to at least fund immediate measures to keep heat and security on and to complete a cloud transfer and inventory. Several commissioners asked who was currently paying utilities; Ober said the museum remained responsible for utilities but had limited funds and that staff had not yet taken steps—such as changing locks, recapturing the lease, or placing utilities in the county’s name—that would transfer liability to the county.

Ober and Wyman outlined the next steps staff will take if the board directs them to proceed: coordinate with PCC, work with county counsel on lease and access issues, inventory and professionally assess the collection, consult with regional museum partners and the Oregon Historical Society, estimate short- and long-term storage and conservation costs, and return to the board with a proposed timeline and budget. Staff committed to present an initial plan and recommended checkpoints to the board within 60 days.

No formal termination of the lease or transfer of ownership has occurred; staff emphasized they have not put utilities in the county’s name or changed locks and that any such steps would follow county-counsel guidance because they alter liability.

The board directed staff to develop the plan and return with estimates and recommended checkpoints within 60 days; commissioners expressed support for prioritizing protection of the collection and for consulting local museums and the Oregon Historical Society before any disposals.

The county will bring any decision to surplus or retain valuable items back to the board for formal action, as required by county policy.