Trustees briefed on Town Square plan to combine library, community center and public market

At the February meeting of the Liberty Lake Library Board of Trustees, trustee Michael summarized a City Council proposal, introduced by the mayor pro tem, to place a new library and community center at Town Square and to develop a Liberty Bay public market as part of the same project. The roughly sketched plan would provide about 11,000 square feet for the library and about 8,000 square feet for a community center; a preliminary combined cost estimate was $14,250,000. No formal decision has been made.

The council discussion that Michael described built on prior work and a set of stated guiding principles: an upgraded and expanded library, completion of Town Square, community amenities and community input, and attention to low cost to taxpayers or value for taxpayers. Michael told trustees the council discussion also included consideration of selling the city-owned Legacy Church building and applying proceeds toward a new project.

Michael summarized earlier figures the council reviewed for the Legacy Church property: original purchase cost of about $2,100,000; additional code- and compliance-related costs estimated at $3,000,000; a remaining timber/renovation project estimate of $2,790,000; and a combined investment figure presented at approximately $7.8 million, while the estimated current market value cited in the presentation was about $3.5 million to $4.0 million. Michael said the council discussion did not specify every component included in those valuations.

City staff and trustees noted grant and timing implications. Michael said the library had applied for a state grant tied specifically to the Legacy Church site, worth roughly $900,000; if the council pursues the Town Square option and the city sells the Legacy Church building, that grant would need to be readdressed and the library would likely have to reapply in a future cycle. Michael said he will seek clarity from the state grant administrator on the next application cycle and timing.

Trustees and staff were told the council planned two upcoming sessions related to the proposal: a facilities master-plan presentation on Feb. 18 and a special council meeting scheduled for Feb. 25 to discuss the Town Square proposal in greater depth. Michael and staff said council members expressed strong interest in at least exploring the plan, and that any decision to proceed with a new building would likely include community outreach and could be placed on a November ballot if council directs it that way.

City staff cautioned that the Town Square square-footage figures and cost totals presented in the early proposal are placeholders that must be tested in a formal project-development process. Mark (city staff) told trustees the facility master plan effort focuses first on how existing city facilities can accommodate growth; separate proposals, like a new Town Square building, would follow a different project-development path and require further analysis of needs and costs.

Next steps described to trustees were council review of the facilities master plan, the Feb. 25 special meeting on Town Square, additional community outreach, and further staff analysis of grant and funding options.