Timeline of Lease Dispute
Dec 19 2024
County Commissioner West issues a request to meet on December 23 regarding rent for the Grants Pass library building. Library legal counsel Charles E. Bolen responds the same day, stating that the proposed dates provide inadequate notice and that Library Director Kate Lasky is unavailable during the holiday week. He describes the timing as “unusually egregious” and recommends rescheduling the meeting for mid-January, "when stakeholder availability is more likely."
Dec. 20, 2024
Commissioner West requests the meeting be rescheduled to Monday, January 6, 2025. Library Director Kate Lasky and legal counsel were unavailable that day and offered six alternative dates in January 2025 when both she and the library’s legal counsel would be available: January 16–17, January 23–24, and January 30–31.
Jan. 3, 2025
The library announces that it will not attend the January 6 meeting, citing lack of legal counsel and inadequate notice.
Jan 6, 2025
The county schedules and holds a meeting despite knowing in advance that neither the Library Director nor legal counsel would be available on this date. Commissioners Barnett, Smith, and West vote to terminate the library's lease with only 30 days' notice. Commissioner West falsely claims that library leaders have been reluctant to negotiate and that the vote is only meant to get the parties to the table.
Feb 11, 2025
The 30 days' notice having passed without any fanfare, the commissioners announce they will discuss the terms of the lease during their Feb. 11 meeting. After the library's lawyer advises them they should discuss the lease in executive session, they table the discussion with no resolution. The Grants Pass Friends of the Library holds a read-in rally outside the courthouse.
Mar 13, 2025
After months with no official communication from the commissioners, long after the 30 days' notice, a meeting is scheduled for March 21. Library leadership finds out the night before that the meeting has been canceled when a constituent posts a screenshot from Commissioner Barnett saying that the meeting has been canceled.
Mar 25, 2025
Having heard nothing from the commissioners after the scheduled meeting, the Josephine Community Library District Board sends them an official letter proposing new lease terms.
Apr 4, 2025
County Legal Counsel Wally Hicks responds to the proposal, citing the need to relocate departments as a result of a potential sale of the Dimmick property. He suggests that the county is looking at storage for library materials should the library be evicted.
May 5, 2025
The library board once again sends a letter to the commissioners proposing new lease terms. The library board receives no official response to the letter.
May 21, 2025
Library Director Kate Lasky meets with Commissioner Barnett and presents terms for a renewed lease. Commissioner Barnett mentions the meeting to his fellow commissioners but does not discuss the new terms and fails to put the item on the agenda.