Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Community Survey topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Survey: Liberty Lake residents report high life satisfaction but place less importance on the library
Summary
City Administrator Mark presented 2026 community survey results showing 90.8% of respondents at least somewhat satisfied with Liberty Lake’s quality of life, while the share naming the library among top factors fell to 60.6% from 78.8% in 2025; staff recommended a patron-specific survey to get more granular data.
City Administrator Mark told the Liberty Lake Library Board that the citywide 2026 community satisfaction survey shows residents remain largely satisfied with quality of life, but fewer respondents listed the library as a top factor in that judgment.
Mark summarized the top-line results: “Overall, how satisfied do you feel about your quality of life in Liberty Lake? The 2026 answer of those who are at least somewhat satisfied is 90.8,” he said. He added that the share of survey respondents who identified the library as a factor in their quality-of-life rating dropped to 60.6% in 2026, down from 78.8% in 2025.
The decline prompted board questions about timing and context. A trustee suggested the dip could reflect recent council debate about library funding; the trustee said the fielding window followed closely after that council action. Mark cautioned that the city’s high-level household survey does not include contextual questions that would firmly connect the drop to any single event, and recommended a follow-up patron-focused survey. “We would propose to do that kind of on an alternating time schedule,” he said, describing a patron survey aimed at service-level feedback in summer months.
Mark also noted some positive movement: satisfaction with core city services rose to 78.1% in 2026, up from 74.4% in 2025, and the perceived quality of the library service itself increased by roughly four points. He said the city sent the household survey to roughly 5,100 residential addresses and received about 420 households that answered at least one question (approximately an 8% household response rate), with about 396 households answering every question.
On capital planning, Mark said the library remains on the city’s 20-year capital facilities plan but was programmed beyond 2030 based on actions taken during budget development; he said council action would be required to reslot the project earlier. He also outlined grant-seeking options and said being on the capital plan helps the city compete for certain grants.
The board did not take formal action on the survey results; staff said they will pursue a patron-specific survey to gather more granular operating data and return to trustees with findings.
