Residents speak up on community center use

With the din of chattering children down the hall, community members joined the City Council at Liberty Lake Elementary School Tuesday night to discuss preliminary plans for the city’s future community center and library.

About 75 adults listened and some shared their thoughts on the project, which is still in planning stages. Some were adamant that the area not include a public safety building, which would possibly house an EMT station or handle some police functions.

“The original intention, when this property was purchased, was to create a community center and not a group of government buildings,” said one audience member. His comments were met with applause. “This is not a municipal center, it’s a community center.”

Several speakers said the public safety building should be located off the property, as sirens would disrupt the peaceful flow of the park.

Gary Bernardo, the lead architect for the project, said these meetings are important to deciding the uses for the property.

“It’s better to have these conversations now, instead of waiting until everything is built,” he said.

Any community groups that want to have their input known can contact Liberty Lake City Hall and schedule a meeting with the architectural team, said Mayor Steve Peterson.

After the discussion, the waiting children re-entered the room to hear Peterson declare May 2, 2006 as “K Kids Day,” in honor of the several dozen children participating in the Kiwanis Kids program in the community.

Several children wearing orange K Kids T-shirts came forward to receive medals and a signed copy of the mayor’s proclamation. After the presentation, most of the children and their parents left the meeting.

Hima Yerraguntla, a new resident of Liberty Lake and employee at Itron, was appointed to the Library Board of Trustees by the mayor during the meeting.