-All right. Well, welcome everyone
and thank you for joining us to celebrate the reopening
of the Green Lake Branch.
It may look the same on the outside,
maybe a new coat of paint or two,
but over the last 18 months,
we have kept the promises we made to the Green Lake community
in 2019 library levy.
We have made this building safer with a seismic retrofit
to protect people during earthquakes.
We've made it more comfortable, reliable,
and green with an electric HVAC system
to provide air conditioning and improved ventilation,
prevent unplanned closures during the summer,
and significantly reduce our carbon emissions.
We've made it more accessible with a new mobility ramp,
elevator, and restrooms.
And we have made it more useful to the community
with new study and conference rooms,
a community gallery for local artists,
and the renovated meeting room we're in right now.
This is a major community investment and a complex
and intentional project.
The library is proud to have preserved the historic character
of the Green Lake Branch
even with these significant modifications.
We know it will continue to be a vital community resource
for decades to come.
For their fine work,
I would like to thank Dennis Reddinger, the library's head
of facilities and capital improvements,
and C.J. de Leon, who managed this project.
I also want to thank our principal architect, Matt Aalfs,
of BuildingWork Design,
and our general contractor, Matt Vernon,
president of Kassel Associates.
The library CIP team now turn their attention
to the university branch,
which will undergo similar renovations starting next year,
then soon to be followed by the Columbia branch.
The Freemont, Queen Anne,
and West Seattle branches will also receive HVAC upgrades soon,
funded by a recent $6 million FEMA grant
to replace old fossil fuel furnaces
with new electric HVAC systems. When we are done,
every Seattle library will have air conditioning.
An increasingly important community amenity
with the increased summer temperatures
we've seen in recent years. Capital improvements like these
are only possible when people come together
with a shared purpose and vision for the future.
I want to recognize this group
of dedicated leaders and partners
that are here today because they know libraries matter.
They make our lives better
and they make our community and democracy stronger.
From the library's board of trustees,
today we are joined by board president, W.
Tali Hairston, board member, Faith Pettis.
Thank you for your leadership and support.
It's an honor to have state representative Gerry Pollet
of the 46th Legislative District here today.
Thank you to District 6 councilmember, Dan Strauss,
and city-wide councilmember,
Tanya Woo for being a part of today's celebration.
From the mayor's office,
we are joined by Deputy Mayor, Greg Wong.
Thank you, Deputy Mayor, for all of your support.
Jessyn Farrell, Director
of the Office of Sustainability and Environment is here today.
Her office has been instrumental
in helping us reduce the library's carbon footprint,
and helping our neighborhoods adapt to climate change.
We are also joined by Jennifer Chao,
Director of Department of Neighborhoods,
and Sarah Sodf, the city's Landmark Preservation Officer.
Thank you for your help
and support through this historic project.
I'd also like to recognize Lily Kinyon,
from US Senator Cantwell's office,
Marielle Trumbauer
from congressional representative Jayapal's office,
Chris Lovings, here on behalf of Director Mike Fong,
from the Washington State Department of Commerce,
and Wendy Sikes, from the Seattle City Councilmember
Maritza Rivera's office. Finally, it's a real pleasure
to be here with our partners
from the Seattle Public Library Foundation,
which supports some of the library's most innovative
and effective initiatives.
Thank you to Brian Lawrence, foundation CEO,
and the foundation board members here today,
Board President, Sarah Stanley,
board member Jeannette Flory-Sagan, board member,
Sharon Hammel and emeritus board member, Pat Walker.
The success of this project owes a great deal
to the foundation for its leadership and support.
Their swift actions alerted state legislators
to the library's funding needs for this project,
and ultimately led to the state
including in a $1.9 million funding
for capital improvements.
And the foundation, along with our friends at 4Culture,
made their own generous contributions to this project,
allowing us to refurnish the public spaces upstairs.
Foundation support makes a lot of things possible
for the library
and we are deeply grateful for their partnership.
Again, thank you all for being here today.
I know the community will be happy
with the renovations and upgrades
we have made to Green Lake Branch.
It's important to remember that these projects take time.
They take great care, and they take funding.
As we look forward to the development
of a 2026 library levy,
capital improvements will be a top priority
to ensure we invest wisely
in our treasured neighborhood libraries.
We are very glad to be inviting the community back
to the Green Lake Branch today.
Now, I'd like to introduce our first speaker this morning.
Please welcome library board president, Dr. Tali Hairston.
[ Applause ]
-Thank you, and thank you to Chief Librarian Fay,
fellow members of the library board,
and everyone gathered here in support of our public libraries,
and to celebrate this achievement.
On behalf of the library board,
I want to acknowledge how well library leadership and staff
have navigated this very challenging year.
Since early 2023 when this project started,
the library has weathered many challenges
including things like staffing shortages
and a ransomware attack that took systems completely offline
completely offline for months.
Through all of that,
the library continued operating and providing core services,
checking out books to patrons with pen and paper
when necessary, rebuilding it's IT infrastructure on the fly,
even using printed newspaper to communicate to staff.
Also, the library kept
this major capital improvement project moving forward,
working through obstacles and delays until it was complete.
The library demonstrates its commitment to service
and to the community in ways
the public sometimes will never know about.
One benefit of being on the library board
is you get to see this commitment in action
behind the scenes.
This morning, that commitment is on full display
as we reopen the Green Lake Branch
and welcome the community back inside.
This is a big deal for the people and families
who live here.
And when a local library closes even temporarily,
the neighborhood feels it.
There are very few places that are free and open to all
where we can connect and engage with each other.
Where we can strengthen our social bonds.
Even if you don't' go to the library very often,
the libraries reinforce a sense of community.
They remind us that we're not alone
and that we are a part of something bigger than ourselves.
I remember the last time
the Green Lake Branch reopens back in July of 2021,
seems long ago,
as we were slowly emerging from that thing, the pandemic.
The branch reopened for about two days a week.
The patrons and staff didn't care about that.
Patrons were excited to be back in the community
and around other people,
having been socially isolated for a year,
and Green Lake staff were too.
They said it felt like being back home.
And even if patrons seemed most excited by being with others,
they still browsed the shelves and checked out books,
and asked when programming would return.
They missed the enrichment the library provides.
The opportunities to explore and imagine.
To be entertained.
To learn new things, or see them from a different point of view.
All these opportunities will be ready and waiting for patrons
when we open the front doors of the Green Lake Branch today.
I find that extraordinary and expiring -- and inspiring.
Libraries exist to make lives better.
That's their entire purpose and it's an honor,
on behalf of the Board, to see that happen today.
Thank you.
[ Applause ]
-Thank you Tali, and Deputy Mayor,
I'd like to invite you up as well, Deputy Mayor Greg Wong.
-Thank you, Tom.
And thank you Chief Librarian Fay.
Thank you, Dr. Hairston; everybody in leadership here,
for all your amazing stewardship of our libraries.
You know, I wasn't going to say the word,
"ransomware," but since Dr. Hairston went there,
I'll say there's some silver linings to all clouds, right?
And one of the silver linings to that experience,
I think for us,
was really reinforcing to us the importance of our libraries
to our community.
That was a loss that was felt on a very personal basis,
by individuals,
by families who really, really, wanted their e-books.
Who really wanted access to the computers,
to just be in this space that we call our libraries.
And that really speaks to me as to the importance of libraries
and why Mayor Harrell and the whole administration
is so excited for this reopening.
You know, I remember actually being a kid
and coming up to Green Lake and swimming at the dock,
and then coming over to the library
after going to Albertsons for a donut,
and then come over here and you get some books.
and you take them back to the dock and you'd read.
And when I was a parent,
I'd bring my kids over to the community center
and then bring them over to the library.
It's the heart of the community. Not just this community,
but our communities across the city,
and that is just of the utmost importance.
So, we're so thankful to everybody
who took part in this renovation.
You know, we're a UNESCO city of literacy.
We say that a lot.
And it has tremendous meaning to us, and tremendous pride.
We have so many things as a city
that we are known for around the world.
And being a city of literacy is one of those.
Another thing we're known for
is being one of the most sustainable cities.
Here, at the Green Lake Branch,
we're able to marry those two policy priorities
and those two values into one place,
creating a safe library with seismic upgrades,
a green library with carbon reductions along
with support for all of the literacy and activities
that take place here.
You know, we also say often that libraries are free,
and that's one of the most amazing things.
But I kind of want to actually counter that a little bit.
They're free for the users,
but they're actually a reflection of investment.
A reflection of investments by our tax payers
in supporting the levies.
A reflection in investments made by our city government,
our state government, our federal government,
and providing grants in doing so.
They are where we're putting our dollars.
And it's because we see their importance
for everybody to come, to build their skills,
to build their knowledge,
to expand their creativity and their imagination.
To be a place for all,
and to be a place for everyone to grow
and become a better person every day.
So, on behalf of Mayor Harrell,
on behalf of the City, thank you for being here
and congratulations on the opening of this branch.
[ Applause ]
-Thank you, Deputy Mayor,
and now we'll hear from District 6 councilmember, Dan Strauss.
-Thank you.
Good morning, I'm councilmember Dan Strauss,
elected by the people of Magnolia, Freemont,
Finny, Green Lake, Greenwood, Crown Hill, Ballard,
and many other microneighborhoods,
and I represent the entire city of Seattle.
I do want to thank Committee Chair,
Maritza Rivera for having her staff here today.
Libraries are the -- and community --
libraries and community centers
really are the heart of our city.
It's a place where people learn to -- can gather together,
you know, like in this new room here, as well as learn.
I am a -- I learned to read at Seattle public schools
and at the Ballard Branch library.
What we have here today, this present moment that we are in,
we are connecting the past with the future of
how libraries work.
And what I mean by that is, I -- Green Lake library,
in particular,
is one of the oldest buildings in our city's inventory,
much like the Green Lake community center.
To be able to bring it up, not only to code,
but into market --
putting a mark down for how the future of buildings
should be is a very difficult task
to take on when renovating such a historic building.
I can tell you, in our work with the Green Lake community center,
it is going to be very difficult
for us to be able to replicate
how well it was done here at the Green Lake library.
I'm experiencing something
I have never experienced before in the Green Lake library.
And that is an air-controlled room.
It is neither too hot, nor too cold.
And I can tell you that a lot of the work
that my office has done in the district
has been working with District 6 residents, Seattle residents,
understanding why it was so hot in the summer
and why it was so cold in the library.
If it is too hot or too cold, it is harder to learn to read,
to gather the very foundation of what a library's here to do.
I'm a huge -- as you can tell --
a huge supporter of libraries in our city.
My District 6
office is connected to the Ballard Branch Library,
and it's just an amazing partnership
to get to see how so many Seattle residents and visitors
alike interact with our libraries.
And what I mean by the past and the future,
again, is we're taking a historic building,
we've renovated it,
and when we're looking about the carbon --
the decarbonization and the accessibility attributes
that have been added to this Ballard --
or this Green Lake branch library.
We look, we also have EV charging.
We know that this is going to be something
that even SDOT is behind the libraries as far
as EV charging goes.
And so, this is another moment where this is really,
one Seattle coming together to do this project.
Office of Sustainability and Environment,
the small and mighty team
that helps support all of our other departments,
Director Farrell, thank you for all of your work here.
As well as the partnership between the library board,
because it is not just a standard city department.
As well as, I can't help
but thank the Emmy Award winning Seattle channel for bring --
being here,
insuring that our civics' moments are broadcast
and recorded for all posterity.
And so, with this I'm very excited to be opening,
what I consider,
even though it's an old building
that retains a lot of the character of Seattle,
it is the new Green Lake Branch Library.
Thank you. [ Applause ]
-Thank you Councilmember, and next please,
welcome citywide councilmember, Tanya Woo.
[ Applause ]
-Hi.
My name is Tanya Woo,
and I represent you on the Seattle City Council.
Congratulations Chief Librarian Fay
and the Green Lake community on the renovation and reopening
of this historic and very beautiful Green Lake branch.
And thank you for inviting me to a celebration today.
Libraries, as you've heard, are the heart of our communities.
They are safe, welcoming spaces
where the community can come together
and where everyone belongs.
To me, libraries were a safe haven.
I would go to the library every day after school,
and on weekends my favorite books were The Hardy Boys,
and Nancy Drew mysteries.
My little sister always made sure she got her hands
on the latest Babysitter Club series, and Goosebumps.
And then I would steal them from her when she was sleeping,
so I could read them myselves -- myself.
But I love the library and it's very much a part of my story,
part of our story,
and making sure that we continue telling our stories.
Especially in this historic building
where every part of this building tells its own story.
And be able to communicate that through generations
is just simply amazing.
So, Councilmember Maritza Rivera is the Chair
of the library's committee.
I am the Vice Chair of this committee --
the Libraries, Education, and Neighborhood's Committee.
I've appreciated the opportunity to learn more about the library
and how it keeps us connected,
keeps us engaged related to arts
and keeps us learning and talking to one another;
how it connects us.
Many community meetings are here.
This is a gathering space.
It's so important that it's connected as well
to the Green Lake across the street.
And over this year,
we've seen how library has navigated
during a hiring freeze, a tough budget cycle,
a ransomware attack,
and we've heard directly from Chief Fay and his staff
about the challenges facing the libraries
and the support they need from the city council
and from the city as a whole.
And so, a pledge to make sure
that library hours and programming will be first
and foremost in this year's budget discussions,
when it comes to vital services the library provides
is not just budget issues and matter of priorities,
it's a matter of importance in our lives
and our next generation, these generation lives,
in terms of access to our shared stories,
and making sure that that history continues going forward.
Thank you. [ Applause ]
-Thank you Councilmember, and I would be remiss,
I noticed another board member, a board of trustees member,
Ron Choo snuck in here,
and Ron, thank you for all of your support as well.
[ Applause ]
Next we'll hear from Director Jessyn Farrell
from the Office of Sustainability and Environment.
Jessyn. -Good morning.
As Tom just said, I'm Jessyn Farrell,
Director of the Office of Sustainability and Environment,
and I am so delighted to be here today to celebrate with you
this beautiful, beautiful building.
I'd like to start by thanking Mayor Harrell
for his commitment to bold action on climate change.
He recently signed into law building
emissions performance standards
to decarbonize all of our city's largest buildings.
That includes the buildings
that are part of the city of Seattle's portfolio,
including this building.
And he is committed to working across our departments
to make sure that we're able to reach our climate goals,
decarbonize buildings like this one.
I also wanted to thank Councilmember Strauss and
Councilmember Tanya Woo
who are here today,
they have been such champions for our work
on the Seattle City Council, and we can't do this without them.
And finally, let's give a big round of applause to Tom Fay.
[ Applause ]
You may not know this,
but he was recently invited to go to the White House
to talk about the work
that is happening here at the city of Seattle.
And we are so grateful for his leadership,
for the leadership of library staff and library board.
Let's give all of them a big round of applause too.
[ Applause ]
And we've had a chance to talk about
how important libraries are to the fabric of our community,
to our own lives.
Libraries are also a really important part
as we're combating the effects of climate change.
Obviously, to decarbonize our buildings,
that's really important.
And the public libraries have been doing that
with many branches, like the NE Seattle branch,
really exciting to have fully decarbonized that facility.
That's going to be taking many metric tons of carbon
out of our atmosphere every year.
This facility is going to be taking 20 to 30 metric tons
of carbon out of our atmosphere. For those of you
who want a little library research project upstairs,
you can figure out how many cars is that going to take off the --
or how many -- what is the equivalent of
how many gas-powered cars that's going to take off the road.
And then the other piece of the importance of this work
is investing in our community resilience.
It's not just that we need to decarbonize our community
and our buildings,
but we now really need to adapt to the effects
of climate change: heat, smoke, floods.
And our buildings are really important spaces.
This particular facility is such an important space
so that people can come and have clean air to breathe.
In a smoke emergency can come,
as Councilmember Strauss was saying,
a climate-controlled space where it's not too hot, not too cold,
to be able to do homework,
to research job openings,
all the important things that are part of our library system.
And finally, I'd just like to mention an access to green jobs
in a city that's so expensive,
investments in middleclass jobs like green jobs,
to electrify,
to upgrade HVAC systems are so important,
and the library system is an important part of that.
So, again, I'd like to congratulate everyone
who's been a part of this,
and I'm just delighted
that this is just another step in achieving our climate goals.
So, thank you very much.
[ Applause ]
-Thank you Director Farrell.
And now, please welcome Director Jennifer Chow
from the Department of Neighborhoods.
-Thank you so much, Tom. Good morning, everyone.
It is a joy to be here today,
to celebrate the reopening of the Green Lake library.
A beloved, Carnegie library
that has served this community for over a century.
I want to extend my gratitude to the Seattle Public Library Team,
the architects,
and everyone who contributed to preserving this landmark's
unique character,
while modernizing it for future generations.
I would like to especially acknowledge Sara Sodf,
our City Historic Preservation Officer, and Erin Doherty,
our Landmark's Coordinator.
Sara, Erin,
and their teams played an invaluable role
in guiding this project,
ensuring that every step of the renovation
honored the library's historical significance
while integrating essential upgrades.
I would like to recognize the Landmark's Preservation Board
for their dedicated work.
The Landmark Preservation Board approved this project in 2002.
Supporting seismic retrofitting --
I'm going to go into my subject matter expertise.
I'm not; I'm just going to name them:
Mechanical upgrades, accessibility improvements,
and thoughtful modifications to circulation areas and shelving,
allowing the library to meet contemporary needs
while honoring its heritage. Their insights were crucial
to ensuring the best rehabilitation practices
for this beloved space,
and their commitment to preserving Seattle's heritage
makes our city stronger.
Seattle Public Library has been an exceptional steward
of its historic branches,
and Green Lake Library is a shining example
of that dedication.
The Seattle Public library team has worked diligently
to maintain the productive use of their landmarks,
preserving these spaces and vital resources
for our community.
Libraries like Green Lake are more than a building.
They are spaces for learning, gathering, and connecting.
They hold the memories and heritage of the community,
representing Seattle's commitment to protecting
the places that hold meaning for people.
Through preserving our libraries,
we're also preserving access to knowledge, culture,
and community resources
that are a part of the livelihood of Seattle residents.
Historic preservation in Seattle is about people.
It is about protecting spaces
that hold the history and stories of our communities.
It is about belonging.
Thank you again to everyone involved,
and for helping to write the next chapter
of the Green Lake library.
It takes a village,
and this work ensures
that it remains a beloved community landmark
for many generations to come.
[ Applause ]
-Thank you -- thank you all for your kind words today
and your support of the library.
And I -- before I close this part of the program,
I want to make sure we thank our staff.
They have been working through this project
for months and months,
sometimes waiting in frustration for the project to complete.
Or, in some cases,
waiting for things to be warmed up in case --
and in cases where they were working before,
our wonderful HVAC system was in here.
So, that's everyone from the drivers
who are lugging material in and out of here, our teams,
obviously who managed the project.
Our regional manager is here today, Dawn Rutherford.
Make sure you wave, Dawn.
[ Applause ]
She leads all the teams in this region.
[ Applause ]
Allen, who is the operations manager,
who I know is probably running crazily,
trying to get things ready to go upstairs.
Darth Neilson,
who's our assistant director of public services,
who obviously oversees all of the branches
and the central library as well.
Thank you to all of those folks.
Again, we have Rob Gannan here,
who's our director of administrative services,
he oversees capital improvements and number of other elements.
Rick Sheridan, our director of strategic advancement.
Kay Tang, who is our director of library programs and services.
She oversees nearly 600 staff in this library system.
So, a big thanks to all the staff
for getting this work done.
It is a major accomplishment anytime you can open a building,
be it new, remodeled, and -- or --
and/or gently used, as this one is.
So, at this point,
we'd like to invite all of you to join us out front
at 9:55 for the official ribbon cutting ceremony,
and for my colleagues here,
we'll head upstairs if you have time to be here.
And this concludes our remarks.
So, thank you all for coming out and celebrating with us.
[ Applause ]