$3.4 Million Could Be At Risk

By Patric Hedlund

It is a question asked around the mountain for months: "Isn’t the library supposed to start construction sometime soon?" In fact, there was hope as recently as last summer that ground-breaking would start this spring, with interior finishing to be underway by the end of 2007. But a snafu with the Bakersfield architectural firm of Harley Ellis Devereaux has slowed progress and threatens to jeopardize $3.4 million in state grant money, which is disbursed only when Kern County has met its goals on schedule, county sources said during interviews last week.

On Tuesday, March 28 the Board of Supervisors voted to dismiss the firm and assign the project to another.

Diane Duquette, tireless Director of Kern County Libraries, is a Mountain Communities resident "This branch library building is a dream I’ve been working on for over 15 years," Duquette said at a Parks and Recreation Commission meeting in Frazier Park Thursday, March 22. She has been warning county divisions about the slow down in meeting schedules.

It was reported that the firm was hired Jan. 24, 2006 and did not meet the county’s expectations that building would begin within a year.

Duquette said county officials moved Tuesday to hire a new architect, Charles Walton and Associates, and must move forward as quickly as possible to show the state the money should be retained for this project.

While waiting for the supervisors vote, well-known Frazier Park resident and retired Kern County Sheriff’s Deputy Frank Williams said, "I would hope our county supervisor, Mr. Watson, steps up to the plate to demand this project be completed as soon as possible; and that he holds people accountable for past mistakes and sees to it that this doesn’t happen again."

As Director of Libraries, Duquette has successfully built seven new branch libraries, overseen dozens of remodels and development of at least six leased facilities, making her one of the most seasoned construction administrators on Kern County’s staff.

This is part of the March 30, 2007 online edition of The Mountain Enterprise.

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