LIBERTY LAKE, Wash. – The city of Liberty Lake is engaging with residents to explore the possibility of building a new library and community center. This initiative is part of several projects the city is contemplating, but the question remains: how will it be funded?
Liberty Lake City Council members emphasize the importance of community input. Jed Spencer, a city council member, said, “Everybody I’ve talked to, the first question they ask is ‘well don’t we already have a library?’” This highlights the need for dialogue about the potential project.
At Wednesday night’s meeting, a non-binding vote will determine whether the proposed library project will appear on the November ballot. If approved, discussions on financing the project will follow.
Chris Cargill, another city council member, expressed the need for community feedback, stating, “They may say yes, they may say no. But we’d like to know that as soon as possible so that we can make other arrangements in the event that they do say no or we can continue in the event that they do say yes.”
The proposed location for the library is an empty field at Liberty Lake Town-Square, with an estimated cost ranging from $12 million to $15 million for the three-year construction project.
Liberty Lake City Administrator Mark McAvoy acknowledged the complexity of such large-scale projects, saying, “Anytime you talk about large-scale projects, whether it’s a road, a park, a library or something else there’s going to be trade-off discussions that have to happen. This is no different than that.”
A poll on the Liberty Lake Community Facebook page shows mixed reactions, with some residents supporting the idea of a new library while others express concerns about city debt and potential tax increases.
Spencer noted, “So at this point, this is our best mechanism to get a pulse from the community to decide. Do we want to move forward? Is this something we’re all willing to pay for now through a tax increase rather than put this on the shoulders of our kids?”
The city council aims to gather as much community input as possible to make an informed decision on the library project.
