North Powder’s new library is nearly complete, it just needs a new librarian
By Garrett Christensen on Tuesday, February 10th, 2026 in More Top Stories Northeastern Oregon News
NORTH POWDER – Just over two years in the making, the City of North Powder’s new city library is nearing completion, it just needs a few finishing touches and, most importantly, a new librarian to bring it to life. Soon enough, North Powder residents will have a brand-new space in the heart of their community.
For those unfamiliar, the city initially received a 1.2-million-dollar Community Development Block Grant from Business Oregon in late 2023 to fund the construction of a new library. The plan was originally to make use of an old city hall bay, but the required seismic upgrades were determined to be too expensive and were not covered by the grant. As such, the city went with a full standalone design instead built adjacent to city hall.
A near-final design for the library was formally unveiled to the public on October 3, 2024. The city accepted bids in spring 2025, and officially broke ground on May 15, 2025, with work progressing on schedule.
According to North Powder mayor John Frieboes, work on the new library is nearly complete. Construction on the building itself is finished and the city has occupancy. While North Powder is waiting on some more bookcases, along with some other elements, the most pressing task left to before moving in is getting a new librarian onboard.
When fully open, North Powder residents can expect a modern, 2,000 square foot facility with full ADA access, including door openers, a single flat grade for the whole building, and accessible restrooms. As Frieboes commented:
“It’s going to be very inviting. It fits in. It’s going to be new and so much better of a facility than what we had previously. We’re very fortunate to be able to get this block grant to be able to do that.”
Frieboes did note that the design had to be scaled back somewhat from the initial reveal in 2024 in order to fit the grant budget (not helped by it being a prevailing wage job), but the overall footprint of the building remains the same. As the two buildings are conjoined, the city also plans to repaint City Hall to match the new Library.
Frieboes also wanted to give special mention to Nick Ducote, the grant writer on the project who worked incredibly hard to make the new library possible for the city. In the meantime, no ribbon cutting date is formally planned, but Frieboes noted that an open house will be organized once the library is fully set up.
To learn more about the project and the original plans, see our previous article here.
