Wasilla pledges up to $1.3M to expand West Hill Public Library

The Wasilla City Council on Wednesday adopted Resolution Serial No. 2530 to support an expansion of the West Hill Public Library and to commit up to $1,300,000 toward an estimated $3,000,000 construction cost.

Library Director Zane Trish presented the project goals in council discussion and said the upgrade would add space for staff workstations, processing and public services, and would create capacity to add operating hours over time. Trish told the council the library currently operates about 40 hours per week with 12 full-time equivalent staff and that the state’s public library assistance grant definition begins at 50 hours per week for communities over 10,000 population; the city’s population figure places the library near that threshold.

Council Member Graham said council members toured the library and supported the proposal’s operational and efficiency improvements. Council Member Crafton asked whether the expansion would immediately add staff; Trish said the building expansion creates capacity for future staff increases and would make it feasible to add hours without overburdening current employees, but that additional FTEs would be evaluated after the expansion.

Public comments included an appeal from Jeanne Trishinski, Friends of the Wasilla Library president, who said the facility has seen heavy use (the group cited roughly 107,000 annual visits) and asked the council to “jump start” the project. Several council members said the project responds to demonstrated public demand and long-term growth expectations.

The council approved the resolution without objection. Staff said project planning and next steps would continue through the library director and the city’s capital projects processes.