Birch Bay Vogt Library Express reaches funding goal

After years of working to secure funds for a library in Birch Bay, Whatcom County Council has given the Whatcom County Library System (WCLS) the remaining money needed for a library express.

The WCLS announced county funding of $315,000 to support construction of the Birch Bay Vogt Library Express in mid-December. Whatcom County Council approved the six-figure sum after executive Satpal Sidhu recommended the county dip into its American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds.

The funding, combined with a $2 million grant from the state of Washington and a flurry of private donations collected with help from Friends of the Birch Bay Library, came after years of petitioning state government and two narrowly failed elections. The 1,700 square-foot library express will be renovated in the existing Vogt home, at 7948 Birch Bay Drive.

“This is smaller than we originally envisioned, but we do think it’s going to bring the full possibilities of the library to Birch Bay,” said Christine Perkins, WCLS executive director. “It shows our commitment to this community and we think they’re going to end up with a lovely facility that their whole family can enjoy.”

The WCLS purchased the property from the Vogt family in April 2017, and was originally proposed as a full-service library to replace the bookmobile serving the community of currently 10,000. In 2019, the Washington state legislature approved a $2 million grant for construction, but further funding stalled when voter support did not reach a required 60 percent supermajority in the November 2021 and February 2022 elections.

By the summer of 2022, WCLS submitted a request for the state grant to be used to renovate the historic Vogt home, rather than construction of a new library. After the request was originally denied, the Friends of the Birch Bay Library took a trip to Olympia to plead their case.

Perkins said meeting face-to-face with government officials was crucial to secure funding.

“I definitely believe that having local citizens go down to Olympia and talk to the legislators was really important,” Perkins said.

After showing the state government how desperately the fourth-most populated community in Whatcom County needed consistent library services, the funding was approved in April 2023.

Now with funding secured, renovations on the historic homesteaders’ abode can begin. The “express” portion of the library means the library will be closer in size to the Point Roberts and Sumas branches, and feature an order pickup room available when staff isn’t present.

Perkins said the library express will be able to provide more than the bookmobile services. 

WCLS is still in the early phases of construction planning, Perkins said, but expects renovations to begin on the Vogt home in 2025 once an architect and contractor are selected.