Over a decade of community effort will be realized when the Birch Bay Vogt Library Express breaks ground this June.
The Whatcom County Library System (WCLS) Board of Trustees approved a bid by Summit Construction on Tuesday that will renovate the old Vogt family homestead into Birch Bay’s first library. The Bellingham-based company was the lowest of the six bidders, at a little over $1.4 million.
WCLS Executive Director Christine Perkins said construction will start in early June and is expected to last about six months. The library at 7948 Birch Bay Drive should open to the public by the end of the year, she said.
Perkins sees the library as a place where Birch Bay residents and visitors can take advantage of the location’s waterfront views with their favorite book.
“It’s a feeling of gratitude that the library is moving forward,” Perkins said. “We’re excited for community members, not just in Birch Bay, but in the county. We think this will be a destination.”
The Birch Bay Bookmobile, currently open 3-7 p.m. Wednesday in the library parking lot, will be moved to another location in Birch Bay during construction, Perkins said.
Renovations will improve accessibility on the first floor, increase parking spaces and create public restrooms. A card reader will also be installed so patrons can access the library when staff isn’t on site.
The library will have a limited browsing collection, computers and a meeting area for book club discussions and story times. Its porch and front lawn overlook Birch Bay, where patrons can read and hold public events.
Creating a library for Whatcom County’s fourth largest community has been years in the making.
In February 2015, a group of library supporters first met to discuss funding a library, later forming as the Friends of the Birch Bay Library to raise money on behalf of WCLS. Birch Bay residents Gary and Cindy Lou Vogt offered to sell their family’s 1913 home to the library system the following year.
In 2018, architects unveiled plans for a modern $6.5 million library that was inspired by the Vogt home. The Washington State Legislature approved $2 million for the library, but supporters still needed $4 million.
WCLS put out two ballot measures to create a Birch Bay taxing district for the remaining funds, but both measures failed to reach a 60% supermajority in November 2021 and February 2022. The measure was 26 votes shy of passing in February 2022.
Library supporters went back to the drawing board, and the WCLS downsized the plan to renovate the Vogt home into a 1,700-square-foot library. Whatcom County provided the remaining $315,000 to the library system in December 2023.
The renovation was expected to be completed last year but ran into permitting challenges, Perkins said. WCLS will release more information on construction as it nears, she said.
Correction: This article was updated May 21 to correct that the Vogt house was sold to the Whatcom County Library System, not donated. We regret the error.
