Liberty Lake staff present three Townsquare library/community-center concepts; public outreach planned

City staff and consultants presented three conceptual designs on July 15 for a new Townsquare library and an attached “community flex” space at Townsquare Park, offering options ranging from an 18,000-square-foot library-only building to a 23,000-square-foot library-plus-community venue. The council and staff agreed to gather public feedback at summer events and return a summary to the council in early September.

The proposal matters because Townsquare Park was purchased and developed with the long-term aim of creating a civic center; supporters say a combined library and meeting space would make the park a year-round destination and provide meeting rooms, teen space, technology access and a small playground.

Consultants reported that the city’s online survey drew 772 responses — “the most survey responses the city has ever gotten” — and that the three deliverable options fit the program priorities staff supplied: medium and small meeting rooms, a dedicated teen area, expanded stacks and space for emerging technology including a podcast studio and a “library of things.” The three conceptual price estimates presented on July 15 were: $12,930,000 for the largest library-only option; $15,620,000 for the larger library plus a roughly 4,000-square-foot community flex space; and $13,810,000 for a library with a smaller (about 1,000-square-foot) flex room. Each estimate included soft costs.

Consultant team members described tradeoffs among the concepts: the largest option (library plus larger flex space) offers the most flexibility and the greatest capacity for large events and future staff growth but carries the highest total project cost; the compact option preserves more open book-stack area and storage but sacrifices natural light and internal visibility and has the highest cost per square foot; the library-only option meets core program needs at the lowest total cost but provides no formal community flex space.

City staff laid out a next-step outreach plan. Staff said they will bring the concepts to Barefoot in the Park on Aug. 2, hold an open house at the library the evening of Aug. 7, display concepts at the Aug. 23 farmers market, and return public feedback to the council on Sept. 2. Staff advised that the project timeline and community engagement mean a November 2025 bond measure is not feasible; staff recommended using the additional year to refine designs, pursue grants and run an outreach and ballot campaign for a subsequent November general election.

Council members asked about cost containment and staging. Several council members said they favor the option that includes a community flex space but urged staff and consultants to explore ways to compress or combine meeting rooms and flex space so the ballot ask would be smaller and easier to win. Staff noted the city already holds roughly $3.8 million toward the project and that playground construction was included in cost estimates (consultants indicated a playground at Townsquare of the size shown in the concepts is roughly $200,000).

Consultants emphasized that the shown plans are conceptual and still flexible; they recommended the council select a preferred concept after community outreach, then advance design and fundraising. Staff also flagged that detailed architecture, permitting and an agreed financing approach would be needed before any bond measure is finalized.

City leaders said they will stage public input this summer and use the results to refine a single preferred plan in September, then pursue fundraising, grant searches and a campaign strategy before placing a bond measure on a future November ballot.

You can expect staff to return on Sept. 2 with consolidated public feedback and a recommended concept and timeline for a formal decision.