In response to your article, “Old Nokomis building may find a new home in Redmond,” which appeared in last week’s issue, neither myself nor any member of the Nokomis Club participated in any discussion or decision to move the building elsewhere. Although at my own initiative in February 2014, I spoke with Bart Phillips, CEO of OneRedmond, the purported owner of the Nokomis building, and twice with Redmond’s historic preservation officer. No further conversations with any official about the Nokomis building, Redmond’s first library building, ever took place.

Anxious to settle the Nokomis building matter, the mayor, acting on his own volition, convened an exclusive meeting on June 29 with two representatives of the Redmond Historical Society. On July 7, a staff report the mayor had requested was delivered to the City Council, who then voted to move the building away from Redmond’s historic downtown. The council meeting was held just two days before the Nokomis Club appeal began in protest of the city’s decision to allow demolition of the Nokomis building.

The council’s decision to move the building far from the original location that made it important jeopardizes its eligibility as a nationally registered historic place according to Greg Griffith, deputy state historic preservation officer with the State Department of Archeology and Historic Preservation.

The Nokomis building has been eligible for inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places for 17 years. Because historic preservation is a national program administered by the U.S. Department of the Interior, the Nokomis building’s status gives it the same protection against adverse conditions, such as relocation, as a nationally registered historic place.

Since there has been absolutely no discussion with me about the building disposition by any city official, the Nokomis Club has never negotiated or agreed to any financial arrangement regarding relocation. In fact, the City of Redmond’s adopted Comprehensive Plan states in policy CC-30: “Acquire historic properties when feasible.”

The property, once the back garden of Irene and Alfred Brown’s home, was donated specifically for Redmond’s first library building. The site is as significant as the building itself.

Let’s save the Nokomis Building for community use as the women of the Nokomis Club of Redmond have long desired.

Alexa Munoz,
President of the Nokomis Club in Redmond

Thank you for printing my letter about the campaign kick-off for mayoral candidate, Steve Fields in your July 10 edition (pages 4 and 5).

I was somewhat taken aback by the editor’s note added into my submission as it directed readers to the Nokomis story on pages 2 and 3. I did not consent to the insertion of the note, which was bad enough. In addition, the story regarding the Nokomis building was not accurate in reporting the commentary and decisions of the Redmond City Council during their July 7 meeting.

During that council meeting, Rosemarie Ives, former mayor of Redmond and community activist spoke during the “Items from the Audience” segment about the Nokomis building and read a few selections from the roughly 25 pieces of correspondence sent to the city, including stories of children from Redmond Elementary being escorted from the school to the building (at that time used as the town library). Women were granted the right to vote in 1920 and just 14 years after that in 1934, the women of the Redmond Nokomis club petitioned the WPA for funds to build the second portion of the building — the library. It was noted in Ives’ speech that not only is the building of historical significance, but the property as well.

Council members on the whole were supportive of the move, however it was very clearly stated that the city would only be donating the park property if the funds for moving the structure were privately raised. One council member suggested that the amount necessary to move, stabilize and make the building functional for public use was “a rather high cost” for a building that is “not a landmark, but a building of historic interest.”

Mayor Marchione clearly stated that there would be a time limit in which the funds (for moving the structure) would need to be raised in order for the city to continue the donation of the park land and that there would be no delay of the permitted project by Natural & Built Environments (NBE) while the funds were being raised. NBE has offered to spend roughly $40,000 to incorporate “elements and materials from the Nokomis building” into the new development. A placard and a few pieces of lumber in a meeting room is a poor memorial to the women of Redmond who provided the town with its first library.

The city may feel that $600,000 is a “high cost” to maintain a piece of our city’s history, but losing our past is a price that we should not be willing to pay.

Paige Norman,
Redmond