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It was just over a year ago that a $9.8 million capital facilities bond earned less than 38 percent of the ballot in Liberty Lake, shelving plans for a new library and city center. At the time, many library proponents saw the vote as a major setback in the campaign for a building that would replace the original municipal library deemed too small for the expanding community.
“The failure of that vote was very disappointing,” said Pamela Mogen, Liberty Lake head librarian. “I don’t think there was an understanding of the potential benefits of the project. A lot of people were left wondering, ‘Where do we go from here?’”
Last July, the Liberty Lake City Council answered that question, approving the purchase of a 37,400-square-foot warehouse once occupied by a manufacturing company called Northern Technologies. The city paid just under $2 million for the space and set aside $675,000 for renovation costs.
On Monday, after months of excavation, hammering and painting, the new Liberty Lake Library was officially opened to the public. The 9,000-square-foot venue includes reading areas, meeting rooms and staff offices around the perimeter. Thousands of neatly stacked books – organized on shelves purchased at a discount from California – comprise the heart of the library.
Over 150 people showed up for the library’s opening day. Some 4,300 residents of the area now have library cards.
Adjacent to the library is the new Liberty Lake police precinct encompassing 18,000-square feet of the former warehouse. Police Chief Brian Asmus said the department will likely be moved in by the middle of the month.
“We’ve gone from a warehouse to a fantastic space,” said Doug Smith, Liberty
Lake planning and community development director. “I think this is a public investment that will pay tremendous dividends for our community.”
Mogen said the transformation has been impressive.
“This entire area was nothing but concrete floors and girders a few months ago,” she said. “It’s amazing how you walk into an empty shell and see this change. We’ve tried to create an ambiance here.”
Mogen worked with representatives from Bernardo-Wills Architects in organizing the interior design which features warm colors like olive green, rustic brown and orange. Other upgrades included lowering the ceiling, adding special lighting fixtures and wall-to-wall carpet. Liberty Lake City Engineer Andrew Staples designed the floor plan.
There are still a few details to be addressed such as signage and furniture in the main meeting room, Mogen said. Still, for library volunteers like Kristie Garner, who has helped clean shelves for the past week, the new space represents a building the community can take pride in.
“It’s fabulous,” Garner said. “There’s such an open, airy feeling here. I think it’s going to be a huge success.”
It was back in May 2002 that the original municipal library opened, stocked by books donated by local residents. A nonprofit group called the Community Library Council was a catalyst in the effort to launch the project and in a matter of months, over 6,000 books had been collected.
As the collection and the city grew, the library wasn’t able to keep up, Mogen said. Prior to the move, approximately 20 percent of the library’s materials were being stored in the basement.
Liberty Lake Mayor Wendy Van Orman, who has served on the City Council since the city incorporated in 2001, said the community’s commitment to the library has been “overwhelming.”
“I’m in total awe of the progress we’ve made,” Van Orman said. “When you go from volunteers gathering books to this amazing library, it’s pretty incredible.”
By the time Mogen was hired in December 2003, the city was putting aside $259,000 for the operation of the library. Some $20,000 a year was designated for the purchase of books.
While the city still has hopes for the 6.4 acres of land originally earmarked for a new library building, the refurbished warehouse – now a state-of-the-art library of its own – will definitely fit the bill, Mogen said.
“I’m confident that people will now know that Liberty Lake has its own library,” she said.
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By
Craig Howard
