Hundreds gather for Mount Vernon Library Commons ceremony

Well over 500 Mount Vernon and Skagit County residents cheered the ribbon cutting ceremony of the $61 million Mount Vernon Library Commons building Saturday morning.

The loudest acclaim and applause throughout the program were recognizing city and HKP architectural firm and other contractors' staff.

Jill Boudreau, Mount Vernon mayor from 2011-2023 and project administrator for the Mount Vernon Library Commons since 2023, was the master of ceremonies. She received a standing ovation as well as a plaque from Mayor Peter Donovan and was cheered by the crowd, who repeated the phrase "Nevertheless, she persisted," when Donovan had the crowd share in the reading of the plaque.

Boudreau and a bevy of speakers championed the federal, state and county grants and loans that, with public donations, funded the project, the largest in the city's history, she said. Boudreau and Donovan stressed that city taxes were not increased to fund the project. They, and all speakers, championed the environmental features that brought government financing.

U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell noted the Commons won $26.8 million in the first transit oriented development loan from the Department of Transportation. "Literally, Skagit County and Mount Vernon are making history in the United States of America," she said. The federal program provided below market-rate financing.

Speakers emphasized what Boudreau shared first: the 78 eV charging parking spots in the 276 public parking structure sitting on top of the library commons is the largest publicly owned eV charging station in the country. Second Congressional District Representative Rick Larsen (D-Everett) called it a milestone he wanted to see exceeded. In championing President Biden's Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and noting "every day is infrastructure day in the Pacific Northwest," he said "this is what $50 million (in federal dollars) looks like. None of it is yours. It is all from Texas. Thank you Texas."

Senator Patty Murray and Gov. Jay Inslee spoke by video messages, Inslee noting that over $20 million came in state funding.

Christopher Coes, representing Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, pointed out that "more than a trillion dollars in U.S. infrastructure is going up in rural America" and this largest eV charging station in the U.S. is in rural America and represents the future here, not just in urban centers.

Julie Blazek and her firm, HKP Architects, designed the Commons, which she called a model of sustainability that will have a far reaching impact. The passive house design "is the first publicly bid kind of its building in the country," she said and will be a model attracting designers to study it.

The Commons was designed to be a magnet for city residents, incorporating public library services, community center space, a commercial kitchen, public restrooms, structured parking and a park and ride and transit stop. The city's website calls it a "critical community connector; offering a place for seniors to gather, an early learning hub, access to digital literacy, new business incubation, employee training and the necessary tools that strengthen democracy by addressing knowledge gaps."

Cantwell exclaimed, "I know exactly what a library means. It's a place where kids can start their dreams. ... Libraries and common places are where we gather, where we share ideas" She and Larsen won $3 million for construction of a young adult STEM center, computer lab and a community meeting room.

After an hour of speeches Donovan finished, saying, "don't lose the underlying theme. Government can work when it is done right and for the right reasons, when it works for the people and benefit of our businesses."

He passed out golden scissors to the elected officials and design and construction managers. They lined up behind what seemed a 50-foot-long ribbon and on "three" cut it. The crowd then streamed in for a look at the new monument to their better future, if they take advantage of it.

The ribbon has been cut but the library is not yet open. On the city's library website Monday was posted: "We are waiting for that last bit of construction to get done. As soon as we are able, we are going to be open to the public again!"

The city will announce its opening at mountvernonwa.gov/175/Library.