In February 2014, major foundation issues were discovered in the current library building. Due to the cost of repairs, the age of the facility and other facility deficiencies, city council chose to pursue building a new facility instead of repairing the current location.

In September 2014, city council created a library steering committee consisting of representatives from the Library Foundation, Friends of the Library, city staff, and the council. The committee was formed to assist the council with the new facility.  In addition to the library steering committee work, public opinions and input were solicited throughout the entire process.

In 2015, the library created a three-year strategic plan to identify current and future services which included a goal of obtaining a new facility.

In April 2015, the Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Coos Bay contracted with Hacker Architects to conduct a needs assessment for a new facility.  The final needs assessment was presented in September 2016.  It included square footage, some space planning, and cost estimates.

The library steering committee attempted to find a new location in downtown but unfortunately could not achieve that goal. After widening the search, land was purchased in 2018 by the Urban Renewal Agency on Ocean Blvd.  This piece of property is large enough for the building and parking, all of which is out of the flood and tsunami zones and won't require extensive geotechnical stabilization.

In 2019, the library steering committee recommended contracting with Cascadia Consulting Partnership to conduct a funding feasibility study.  The feasibility study explored potential, local donations, foundation and governmental grants, and a general obligation bond (GO Bond).   Live interviews, an online pulse survey, and a telephone survey were conducted.  The main question the report needed to answer was - is it feasible for the community of Coos Bay to secure $18.6M to construct a new library in the next five years?  According to the study, it is feasible through a combination of funding options including a GO Bond.  Before the bond is placed on a ballot there will need to be a robust educational program, as well as applying for available grants and conducting local/private fundraising.  The consultant recommended placing it on the ballot for the November 2020 election. The issue was discussed during the January 28, 2020 city council work session and at the February 4, 2020 city council meeting.  The city council approved placing the bond on the May 2021 ballot.

In February 2020, the Council approved moving the public bond request to the November 2021 ballot based on an approved project funding strategy which included seeking 50% of the project funding from the state through a capital projects funding allocation from the legislature which was scheduled to be decided in May / June 2021.

In early 2021 the Council exploring another possible location, in John Topits Park, for the needed new library facility considering. On March 1, 2021 the Council approved the Topits Park area. 

On July 6, 2021, after learning the city’s request for funding from the legislature had not been approved, the Council held a special council meeting with the library steering committee.  After much discussion it was the consensus of the group to postpone the bond for two years; but continue to move forward on seeking funding, working towards becoming shovel ready, as well as undertaking some necessary improvement projects at the existing library in an effort to slow down the deterioration and make the building last until a new building could be built.

On July 21, 2021, the Library Board members discussed when the bond should be placed on the ballot.  The board strongly felt that to maintain momentum with the project, the bond should be done in May 2022. In addition, this election date coincides with a primary election so the cost of putting the bond on the ballot would not be the sole responsibility of the City.  City Council agreed to place the bond on the May 2022 ballot.

After a Statement of Qualifications (RFQ) process and panel interviews in November 2021, Hacker architectural team was chosen to help determine the exact location in John Topits Park, provide design services and project estimates. Work began on the siting in mid-December 2021, including initial soil samples with various stakeholders to confirm the findings of the 2016 Facility Needs Assessment.  Public meetings were held on January 12, 2022, to obtain public input on the siting.

At the January 18, 2022, City Council meeting, Councilor Miles presented the steering committee’s recommendation for a site within Topits Park to the City Council.  The recommendation was the site known as “The Ridge”.  It is located near the current parking, bathrooms, and playground. Hacker has completed a 50% schematic design for the project, including a 3D visual walk-through of the design which can be viewed at:  Hacker Architects - Fly Through.

Throughout the numerous prior years, an exhaustive site search resulted in fifteen different sites being reviewed and vetted for potential relocation of the library facility, ultimately landing at the John Topits Park site which was posed to the voters at the May 2022 primary election.  The results of that election were not in favor of the bond passage, with a total vote count of 4,015 and 2,431 against / 1,584 for.  With 11,166 registered voters able to cast a vote, the results indicate greater community education may have positively impacted the results.

The Library Steering Committee is recommending a community poll be performed, perhaps using a polling firm that has experience with similar community issues, as well as having a consultant develop costs estimates for alternative sites within both the downtown area and potential location somewhere between a downtown location and the John Topits Park location.