📂 THE PUBLIC RECORD — UPDATE

THE BIGGER PICTURE IS STARTING TO EMERGE

CITY PROPERTY • PUBLIC MONEY • $58 MILLION BOND • OPEN QUESTIONS

Updated August 8, 2026

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As LCC continues reviewing Lincoln City's property records, budgets, deeds and planning documents, a larger picture is beginning to emerge.

Lincoln 44 is only one piece of it.

With a November 3, 2026 vote involving up to $58 million in general-obligation bonds for a City Hall/Driftwood Public Library project, LCC has been looking at a much simpler question:

WHAT DOES THE CITY ALREADY OWN?

And:

WHAT HAS BEEN SPENT ACQUIRING PROPERTY?

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📊 THE NUMBERS SO FAR

LCC's ongoing review has currently identified:

🏛️ 78 CITY PROPERTIES

🌲 32 VACANT OR UNDEVELOPED

📍 18 ACQUIRED WITHIN THE LAST FIVE YEARS

And based on purchase information identified in the records reviewed so far:

💰 $24,873,450

IN IDENTIFIED PROPERTY PURCHASE COSTS

⚠️ That is not the City's current property value.

It is also not money sitting in a City bank account.

It represents acquisition costs identified through the property records LCC has reviewed so far.

The review is continuing, including work to determine the total acreage represented by City-owned property.

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🗳️ THE NOVEMBER BOND QUESTION

City materials have outlined three City Hall/Library alternatives:

OPTION 1 — MODERNIZATION

Estimated project cost:

$31.5 MILLION

OPTION 2 — EXISTING-SITE REDEVELOPMENT

Estimated project cost:

$45.1 MILLION

OPTION 3 — NEW ALTERNATE SITE

Estimated project cost:

$58 MILLION

City materials have described a potential authorization of up to:

💰 $58 MILLION

in general-obligation bonds.

For the $58 million option, City materials have presented an estimated levy of approximately:

$1.07 PER $1,000 OF ASSESSED VALUE

for approximately:

30 YEARS

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🧩 WHERE LINCOLN 44 FITS

Lincoln 44 was purchased by the:

URBAN RENEWAL AGENCY OF THE CITY OF LINCOLN CITY

Recorded consideration:

$1,025,000

The City has stated that the property was purchased for a future:

5-MILLION-GALLON WATER RESERVOIR

Lincoln 44 has also been associated with:

CITY HALL/LIBRARY OPTION 3

Those are two separate facts.

The records identified so far do not establish that Lincoln 44 was purchased specifically for City Hall.

They also do not establish that Option 3 had already been selected when the property was purchased.

But the overlap makes the timeline worth documenting.

When did Lincoln 44 first enter City Hall/Library planning?

When did negotiations for the property begin?

When was it identified as the potential Option 3 site?

How much planning had occurred before the three alternatives were presented publicly?

Those remain public-record questions.

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💰 THE $1.726 MILLION QUESTION

Another number remains unresolved:

$1,726,000

City budget materials identify this amount under:

“LAND PURCHASED” — CITY HALL OPERATIONS

Budget materials carried that appropriation into the:

2026–27 FISCAL YEAR

Meanwhile, the recorded consideration for Lincoln 44 totals:

$1,025,000

The numerical difference between those amounts is:

$701,000

But that does not establish that the two figures belong to the same transaction.

At this point, LCC has not located a record connecting the $1.726 million appropriation directly to the $1.025 million Lincoln 44 acquisition.

Until a record establishes that connection, the figures should be treated separately.

Which leaves an important public-record question:

❓ WHAT PROPERTY IS THE $1.726 MILLION APPROPRIATION FOR?

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🧾 PUTTING THE RECORD TOGETHER

Here is what LCC is currently tracking:

🏛️ 78 identified City properties

🌲 32 identified as vacant or undeveloped

📍 18 acquired within the last five years

💰 $24,873,450 in identified property purchase costs

💧 $1.025 million recorded Lincoln 44 acquisition

❓ $1.726 million City Hall Operations land appropriation still being traced

🗳️ Up to $58 million associated with the City Hall/Library bond proposal

These numbers do not necessarily come from the same funding sources.

They cannot automatically be substituted for one another.

Property already owned by the City may also have legal, funding, infrastructure, deed or operational restrictions affecting how it can be used.

But the information exists across separate:

• deeds

• budgets

• meeting packets

• financial records

• planning documents

Putting those records together gives residents a clearer view of the City's overall property picture.

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🧾 SHOW THE CHECKBOOK. SHOW THE LAND.

The records raise several factual questions worth answering:

What property does the City currently own?

How many total acres does that represent?

What was paid to acquire those properties?

What are the vacant properties being held for?

Which properties were purchased using restricted funds?

What restrictions apply to those properties?

Which properties could potentially be considered for future City needs?

What is the $1.726 million City Hall Operations land appropriation for?

Where does Lincoln 44 fit into the City's long-term plans?

These questions do not determine how anyone should vote.

They provide information residents can consider when making that decision for themselves.

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🔎 WHAT LCC IS WORKING ON NEXT

🔎 Total acreage of City-owned property

🔎 Property-by-property acquisition information

🔎 Funding sources for major acquisitions

🔎 Intended uses of vacant City property

🔎 Lincoln 44 Purchase and Sale Agreement

🔎 Lincoln 44 appraisal and closing documents

🔎 Timeline showing when Lincoln 44 entered City Hall/Library planning

🔎 Identification of the $1.726 million City Hall Operations land appropriation

🔎 Additional records related to the three City Hall/Library options

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📂 THE PUBLIC RECORD

The original Lincoln 44 investigation remains below.

We're leaving it there intentionally.

As additional records are located, readers should be able to see:

WHAT WAS KNOWN

WHAT WAS STILL A QUESTION

WHAT WAS LEARNED NEXT

That's the purpose of following the public record.

NO ACCUSATIONS.

NO ASSUMPTIONS.

SHOW THE CHECKBOOK.

SHOW THE LAND.

FOLLOW THE RECORD.

Lincoln City Connect

LCC reviews the records. You decide what they mean.

Lincoln City Connect is an independent community information resource and is not affiliated with the City of Lincoln City.

📂 THE PUBLIC RECORD

LINCOLN 44: RESERVOIR LAND, CITY HALL/LIBRARY — OR BOTH?

PUBLIC MONEY • PUBLIC DECISIONS • SOURCE DOCUMENTS

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🔎 WHAT THE RECORDS NOW SHOW

Lincoln County property records confirm the purchase of the property known as:

LINCOLN 44

The buyer was:

🏛️ URBAN RENEWAL AGENCY OF THE CITY OF LINCOLN CITY

The acquisition was completed through two recorded transactions:

JLT Lincoln 44, LLC

💰 $471,500

JHC Lincoln 44, LLC

💰 $553,500

TOTAL RECORDED CONSIDERATION:

$1,025,000

Both deeds were signed July 16, 2026 and recorded with Lincoln County on July 20, 2026.

The recorded documents identify the Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Lincoln City as the buyer.

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📌 WHAT IS DOCUMENTED

✅ DOCUMENTED

The Urban Renewal Agency purchased Lincoln 44.

✅ DOCUMENTED

The recorded consideration totals:

$1.025 MILLION

✅ DOCUMENTED

The City has stated that Lincoln 44 was purchased for a future:

💧 5-MILLION-GALLON WATER RESERVOIR

✅ DOCUMENTED

A 5-million-gallon reservoir was already included as a project in the Nelscott Urban Renewal Plan.

✅ DOCUMENTED

Lincoln 44 was also identified as the property associated with:

🏛️ CITY HALL/LIBRARY OPTION 3

while the acquisition was still being negotiated.

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💧 THE RESERVOIR CONNECTION

The City's stated purpose for the Lincoln 44 acquisition is a future water reservoir.

A 5-million-gallon reservoir was already contemplated in the Nelscott Urban Renewal Plan.

That provides a documented basis for acquiring property for water infrastructure.

But Lincoln 44 also appears in another major City planning discussion.

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🏛️ THE CITY HALL/LIBRARY CONNECTION

Lincoln 44 was also identified as the site associated with:

CITY HALL/LIBRARY OPTION 3

Before the Lincoln 44 purchase was completed, the City was asked where Option 3 would be located.

The City's response indicated that the property was being negotiated with the seller and Urban Renewal and that the location could not yet be disclosed because the transaction had not been completed.

Then the transaction closed.

The property was identified:

LINCOLN 44

That establishes a connection between Lincoln 44 and the Option 3 planning process.

It does not, by itself, establish that Lincoln 44 was purchased specifically for City Hall or the library.

And it does not establish that City officials had already selected Option 3 as the final project.

But it does make the timeline important.

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🧩 THE TIMELINE QUESTIONS

The key question is:

WHEN DID LINCOLN 44 ENTER THE CITY HALL/LIBRARY PLANNING PROCESS?

More specifically:

When did the City first begin evaluating Lincoln 44 for a new City Hall and library?

Who identified or selected the property for consideration?

When did negotiations to purchase Lincoln 44 begin?

Was possible City Hall/library use already being contemplated when Urban Renewal began negotiating for the property?

When was Lincoln 44 formally associated with Option 3?

How far had Option 3 planning progressed before the alternatives were presented publicly?

Those aren't accusations.

They are questions the public record should be able to answer.

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💰 THE OTHER NUMBER: $1.726 MILLION

Lincoln 44 is also being tracked alongside a separate unresolved City budget appropriation.

City budget materials identify:

$1,726,000

under:

“LAND PURCHASED” — CITY HALL OPERATIONS

Budget discussion indicated that funding connected to an anticipated land purchase was carried into the new budget year after the transaction did not close as expected.

Now compare that with the documented Lincoln 44 transaction:

LINCOLN 44 RECORDED CONSIDERATION

$1,025,000

CITY HALL OPERATIONS LAND APPROPRIATION

$1,726,000

NUMERICAL DIFFERENCE

$701,000

But the difference alone does not establish that these amounts belong to the same transaction.

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⚠️ KEEPING THE TWO RECORDS SEPARATE

At this point, LCC has not located a record establishing that the $1.726 million City Hall Operations appropriation was used to purchase Lincoln 44.

So they should remain separate unless documentation connects them.

That leaves another important question:

❓ WHAT PROPERTY IS THE $1.726 MILLION LAND APPROPRIATION FOR?

That question remains open.

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📑 WHAT LCC IS LOOKING FOR NEXT

🔎 Lincoln 44 Purchase and Sale Agreement

🔎 Final closing statement

🔎 Appraisal associated with the acquisition

🔎 Funding source for the $1.025 million purchase

🔎 Records showing when negotiations began

🔎 Records showing when Lincoln 44 entered City Hall/Library planning

🔎 5-million-gallon reservoir site plan

🔎 City Hall/Library Option 3 site plan

🔎 Any planned roads or additional development associated with Lincoln 44

🔎 Records identifying the $1.726 million City Hall Operations land appropriation

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📂 WHY THIS MATTERS

A $1.025 million public property acquisition is worth documenting on its own.

But Lincoln 44 also intersects with several major public planning issues:

💧 Water infrastructure

🏛️ City Hall

📚 Driftwood Public Library

🛣️ Future transportation infrastructure

🏠 Future development

💰 Urban Renewal funding

At the same time, a separate $1.726 million City Hall Operations land appropriation remains unresolved.

That does not mean all of these projects or funding sources are connected.

It means the records deserve to be viewed together so residents can understand the sequence of decisions and where public money is going.

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🔎 HOW LCC LABELS THE RECORD

DOCUMENTED

Supported by a public record.

CONFIRMED

Verified through more than one reliable source or an official record.

UNCONFIRMED

Information LCC is still working to verify.

QUESTION

Something the available public record does not yet answer.

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NO ACCUSATIONS.

NO ASSUMPTIONS.

FOLLOW THE RECORD.

Lincoln City Connect

LCC reviews the records. You decide what they mean.

Lincoln City Connect is an independent community information resource and is not affiliated with the City of Lincoln City.