By Garrett Christensen on Friday, September 6th, 2024 in More Top Stories Northeastern Oregon News
NORTH POWDER – In late December 2023, the City of North Powder announced that it had been awarded a $1,207,060 Community Development Block Grant to fund the construction of a new city library. Since the initial announcement, planning work has continued, with the city setting a tentative bidding deadline of February 2025 and construction start date of sometime in April 2025.
In subsequent updates, North Powder has also indicated the new library will likely be much larger than the existing one, potentially double the size. However, according to a comment from Mayor John Frieboes in the most recent newsletter, the library will, due to issues with seismic upgrades, be an entirely new, standalone building rather than an extension or remodel of the current library, which itself is built off the old fire station building.
This new building is planned to be constructed next to the old fire station and library. Currently, the city estimates that preliminary design work will be finalized by the end of the month, with work then beginning on a cost estimate.