New Library depends on our local funding

Your donations – our collective contributions – open the new library. Two years ago a new La Conner Regional Library was a gleam in the eyes of a few people. A year ago the state legislature provided $500,000, a bet that the total $3.74 million needed for construction would be raised by June 2019. It wasn’t, but now the state is about to double down, adding another $720,000 and extending the deadline for using the first appropriation.

That’s a long way from gleam and dream. Local fundraising contributions have been critical, including today’s “Library Giving Day.” That extends through April, so make your donation after reading this .

Almost $2.5 million will have been raised by the end of June.

The La Conner Library Foundation, led by Susan Macek, and the Town of La Conner, with Mayor Ramon Hayes championing and Administrator Scott Thomas doing the heavy lifting of grant writing, are having the Town apply to Skagit County for $500,000 in economic development funding.

County Commissioner Ron Wesen was part of the La Conner delegation to Olympia in February. Let him know you appreciate his support and that he is needed to deliver on this coming grant request.

The Library and the Town are counting on that $500,000.

That gets the pot up to almost $3 million by the end of the summer. The Foundation’s estimate for the building built, door opening ribbon cutting is $3.74 million. Where will the final $750,000 or so in the major donor line item come from?

The local community, the Town of La Conner, Skagit County and the state of Washington have all stepped up, performing admirably.

Now, stick a pin on Town Hall on a Skagit County map and draw a circle with a 10-mile radius.

Here is another number: 50 years. Great communities have great library buildings, structures that support the heart of a community for generations into the future.

To get the library our children’s children deserve – as well as adults, parents and otherwise – corporations and institutions in the greater La Conner area need to step up and show the leadership that makes them great members of our community.

We are all in this together. Institutions that were staked in La Conner 50 and more years ago need to gaze into the far future and consider this vital community need that will continue to make La Conner great on a daily basis for the next 50 years.

Timing is everything. This is National Library Week. This year’s theme: “Libraries = Strong Communities.”

The time for our larger neighbors and partners to strengthen La Conner by fully funding the new library is now.