Council approves updated wording for Mount Angel library endowment after donor review

The Mount Angel City Council approved updated wording for the library endowment fund after the library director presented wording changes prompted by recent donations and legal review.

"The original funds may only be released by permission of the donor, first of all, that's not a good idea anyway," Jacqueline, the library director, told the council as she explained the need to modernize and clarify the fund's release provisions. She said the endowment was started in 1993 by Mount Angel Telecommunications, which is now defunct, and that two substantial donations had been received in the past two years.

Jacqueline said she had discussed acceptable language with Tom Baumann, the library advisory board and the city attorney before presenting the final draft. A councilor moved to approve the updated wording and a second was made. The clerk led a roll call in which Councilor Ott, Councilor Vasquez, Councilor Hofer, Councilor Astorga, Councilor Donnie, Councilor Meriwall and the presiding official recorded "Aye." Councilor Dieter was recorded as absent. The motion passed on the recorded roll call.

Jacqueline asked the council to review and approve the wording as presented; she said the changes aim to allow appropriate use of endowment funds while protecting donor intent. She did not present changes to specific disbursement mechanics or dollar amounts during the meeting; those remain governed by the adopted wording and any relevant donor restrictions.

The council did not identify further conditions during the vote; the updated wording had been reviewed by the advisory board and the city attorney as described by the director.