Growing population puts city in different category
Liberty Lake has moved beyond Small Town USA and into mainstream municipality.
During Tuesday’s City Council meeting, Doug Smith, director of planning and community development, said Liberty Lake’s population increased to 5,255 – pushing it over the 5,000 benchmark that defines small cities.
“We’re in the same category as Seattle now,” Smith said, adding that could be good news and bad news when it comes to competing for grant money.
The growing city will soon have The Home Depot to boost its retail tax base.
Smith informed the council that The Home Depot building permit will be finalized today. The approval will launch phase one of a commercial project called The Village at Liberty Lake.
Located on 47 acres, the project hinged on final approval of the home-improvement store and is expected to attract millions of dollars in retail development.
The Home Depot Inc. was extremely cooperative in making landscaping and other exterior modifications to address the city’s emphasis on aesthetics, Smith said after the meeting.
“Home Depot was a real pleasure to work with in their concern for the community’s aesthetics,” he said.
The city is drafting a bid request to obtain architectural services to develop an overall site plan for the 6.4 acres of land the city recently purchased for $1.75 million.
Council members discussed increasing the scope of the bid to include a half-dozen properties owned by the city. The Liberty Lake Municipal Library Board, city staff and council members are offering suggestions for the range of services that may be needed.
Mayor Pro Tem David Crump, who was standing in for Mayor Steve Peterson, backed Liberty Lake Sewer and Water District’s water conservation measures by insisting that city staff continue running conservation tips in its monthly newsletter.
Although information promoting conservation ran in May’s newsletter, it was missing from June’s and was not planned for July’s.
Crump pointed out that the city’s long-term water rights situation is ongoing, despite any improvement in water table levels for the region.
“A one-time touch in a newsletter isn’t going to get us where we need to be in the next three to four years,” he said.
Liberty Lake is a growing city dealing with limited water rights. Washington State Department of Ecology hasn’t issued new rights for years, so Liberty Lake needs to address its growing population through a combination of water conservation and securing agricultural rights.
Sewer Commissioner Tom Agnew informed the council that transfer of agricultural water rights in Rocky Hill will be done in a lump sum next year, instead of in parcels starting immediately.
Agnew said the timeline still works for addressing community development needs.
In other news, the city obtained a $4,000 grant from the Washington state Department of Natural Resources to inventory trees and educate the community about tree care.