The Josephine County Board of Commissioners voted yesterday to invoke a 30-day termination notice on the Josephine Community Library District in order to force it to renegotiate the lease on the building it uses in Grants Pass.
During a General Discussion on Monday afternoon, Ron Smith was elected Chair of the Board of Commissioners and Chris Barnett will serve as Vice-Chair, but it was recently recalled Commissioner John West who clearly ran the meeting.
West opened the discussion on the library lease by stating that is was JCL's choice not to attend. He said the county library became a "community library" when the district was approved by voters in 2017 and, as such, it no longer is protected by the Josephine County Charter.
West said the Charter does not say the county has to supply maintenance and other services to the library district for free. He said that the $1 per year lease has been in effect for several years, adding that the county spends around $22,000 a year for maintenance and the building needs over $120,000 for roof repairs and an HVAC system replacement.
The current building lease agreement with Josephine Community Library District expires at the end of 2025, but West told his new colleagues that the agreement has a one-party termination clause that allows it to give a 30-day notice to end the lease. He said that will force the district to renegotiate what he called "fair market rent." Property Manager Helene Lulich was consulted to help determine what the rent should be going forward.
As one of his final acts as Commissioner, West made the motion to terminate the lease and it was approved unanimously by the two new Board members.
