Mount Vernon offers public first look inside new library commons

The public got to peek into the Mount Vernon Library Commons Project, under construction across from the Skagit County Courthouse, with a series of tours on Saturday afternoon.

Designed for climate resiliency and as an integral community hub for the next 100 years, the $53 million facility will feature a 4,000-square-foot children’s library, the largest one north of Seattle; a teen and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) center; study rooms; a computer lab; and quiet reading spaces.

The building’s commons area will be highlighted by a 300-plus person conference center, large meeting room, and commercial kitchen. Construction is expected to be completed in June.

Over $50 million has been raised for the project. Additional fundraising is under way to furnish and equip the library.

“It’s a legacy for all of us and a statement of our community values,” former Mount Vernon Mayor Jill Boudreau told a sold-out audience at the Lincoln Theatre Saturday night attending a program headlined by best-selling author and libraries supporter Timothy Egan.

Boudreau confirmed what tour participants had learned earlier in the day---that the new library building will include a three-story parking garage with more than 75 EV charging stations and nine E-bike lockers for commuters who cycle to work.

The no-fee parking garage will draw vehicles off more congested areas downtown, Mount Vernon City Library Director Isaac Huffman said.

The sustainable building will be earthquake resistant and serve as an emergency disaster shelter for 1,000 people and refuge for those seeking relief from extreme temperatures or smoky air.

“It has taken extraordinary funding efforts,” Boudreau said. “It took unwavering optimism that a $53 million project could happen in a city of 36,000 people. And we’ve done this project without raising property taxes.”

Boudreau said more than 40 grants-in-aid were sought throughout the library planning process.

The new library is envisioned as a place where people can gather and learn together, sporting more shelving and reading areas than available in the present library building a couple blocks away.

Weekly News correspondent Adam Sowards, among those who participated in Saturday’s tour, has reported that the new Mount Vernon library is planned as a “community connector.” Founding Father Benjamin Franklin considered libraries as sources of civic improvement.

“It will be flexible for all sorts of different gatherings,” Huffman said. “We’ll have as many opportunities for interaction as possible.”

Mount Vernon Library Foundation President Suzanne Butler, who once owned a bookstore on First Street in La Conner, praised the yeoman work required to transform the new library from what many saw as an impossible dream.

The four-story structure is being counted upon to take downtown Mount Vernon to the next level – literally and figuratively.

“Well done, Mount Vernon,” Butler told those attending Egan’s presentation. “Every one of you has skin in the game and it’s the best game in this town for a long time.”