Library district retains architects

The Fort Vancouver Regional Library District has retained FFA Architecture and Interiors Inc. of Portland for pre-design services on library facilities in Washougal, Woodland and Ridgefield.

The decision follows a district-wide facilities study by planning consultants BergerABAM. The facilities study, completed in 2013, ranked library facilities in Washougal, Woodland and Ridgefield as high priorities for either replacement or enlargement. The library district has 16 branches or other outlets districtwide.

Nancy Tessman, the library district’s executive director, said the district considered six proposals for the pre-design work from bidders across the country and one from Vancouver, B.C. It will pay $74,500 for the work, she said.

FFA Architecture stood out because of its considerable experience with rural libraries in Washington and Oregon, and because of its understanding of the district’s desire for strong community involvement, Tessman said. FFA — then known as Fletcher Farr Ayotte PC — was the architecture firm for the district’s Three Creeks Community Library, which opened in 2002, and it has experience with more than 40 library projects over the past 15 years, mostly in Washington and Oregon, according to the library district.

The company’s work will include gathering data and input about community needs, conducting public and stakeholder meetings and focus groups in each community through the summer, sharing a preliminary report with the public in August, and presenting a final report to the library’s board of trustees in September.

The district wants to work with the local communities on a funding plan for library improvements identified in the study process, Tessman said. “Those communities have very small libraries that are not adequate to meet needs of communities now,” she said.

Additional information, including meeting dates and opportunities for participation, will be posted at www.fvrl.org on the Planning and Projects page.