 |
Pamela Mogen understands that you should never judge a book by its cover.
Maybe that’s why Mogen, head librarian for the city of Liberty Lake, remained encouraged about the possibilities of an abandoned warehouse purchased by the city last year as the future site of a municipal library. The Liberty Lake City Council approved the acquisition of the one-story, 37,400-square-foot structure, once occupied by Northern Technologies, for just under $2 million last July. Renovation of the space – which would also house the Liberty Lake police department – would run another $675,000.
“Right now, it’s just a warehouse,” Mogen said after the council’s affirmative vote. “But we’re working on renovation ideas.”
Some five months later, Mogen and her staff are preparing for a move to the building about two miles away from the library’s current home.
“It was difficult to see at first, because it was just a shell,” Mogen said. “I’ve never even been involved with building a house before, so it was a little bit daunting.”
Mogen worked with representatives of Bernardo-Wills Architects in arranging the interior design, a process that involved lowering the warehouse ceiling, adding carpet, partitioning off rooms and layering walls with warm colors like olive green, brown and orange. Liberty Lake City Engineer Andrew Staples designed the floor plan.
“Initially what we were looking at were two existing rooms and one large bay,” Mogen said. “It didn’t really resemble a library – just a lot of pillars and concrete.”
The new library, expected to be ready later this month, will include a meeting room for up to 50 people and individual study spaces. The building represents a three-fold increase in square footage compared to the old library.
“We’ve gone from a warehouse to a fantastic space,” said Doug Smith, Liberty Lake’s director of planning and community development.
The portion of the building that will be occupied by the police department – approximately 18,000 square feet – required less work since it is situated in Nothern Technologies’ former administrative offices. Liberty Lake Police Chief Brian Asmus presented city officials with a list of facility options last February after the 2008 municipal budget placed a new home for the police precinct as a top priority. The department has been sharing space with City Hall to this point. Asmus and his officers – there are now nine on staff – patrol the city of around 8,000 residents.
Last April, over 61 percent of voters in Liberty Lake decided against a capital facilities bond that would have raised $9.8 million for a community center/library in the heart of the city.
“The failure of that vote was very disappointing,” Mogen said. “ I don’t think there was an understanding of the potential benefits of the project. A lot of people were left wondering, ‘Where in the world do we go from here?’”
Smith said the city still hopes to build on the 6.4 acres of land originally slated for the library/community center. He estimated that the library’s newest home would be utilized for seven to 10 years.
|
|
By
Craig Howard
