Liberty Lake City Council ousts library board member, stunning some councilmembers

A year after a controversial ordinance and power struggle between the Liberty Lake City Council and the city’s library board of trustees, city council on Tuesday decided not to reappoint a library trustee.

In a decision that stunned some on council, council members voted 4-3 not to approve Mayor Cris Kaminskas’ appointment of Kim Girard for a second term on the library board.

Council members Wendy Van Orman, Chris Cargill, Mike Kennedy and Jed Spencer voted not to approve Girard for the position, while council members Annie Kurtz, Dan Dunne and Linda Ball voted to approve the appointment.

Kaminskas was absent from the meeting for personal reasons, though she wouldn’t have been able to vote or veto the board’s decision.

It’s the same split from last year, when the council approved a controversial ordinance giving it final say over potential policy changes from the library board. Trustees, including Girard, were some of the voices speaking opposed to the ordinance for fear it would lead to a slippery slope to book banning and a lack of autonomy in library decisions.

Ball wasn’t on council at the time, but she said she opposed the ordinance.

Those who voted in favor of the ordinance said they were reaffirming the City Council’s role in government as elected officials responsible for overseeing boards of appointed positions.

After the vote Tuesday, those who voted to approve Girard’s appointment were visibly surprised to see four hands raised denying the appointment. Those in the minority praised Girard’s contributions to the library system, including volunteerism that went well beyond her trustee duties.

“That last vote is outrageous; I don’t understand it. Kim is a wonderful citizen,” Ball said at the meeting. “I’m sorry, I’m stunned about that.”

Even more shocking to Kurtz was the lack of discussion before the vote. It’s the first time in her five years on council that the body has declined a mayoral appointment, she said.

“To suddenly have four people vote to not pick somebody that the mayor recommended for appointment without any explanation and no discussion is absolutely not transparent and, in my opinion, lacks integrity,” she said at the meeting. “It lacks courage, and I don’t think it shows leadership.”

Only after the vote did Kennedy explain his decision, while the other three “no” votes chose not to elaborate.

Kennedy said the council needs its boards and commissions to support the council and help them make decisions, not engaging in “name calling” or threats to sue the city.

“What we don’t need is competitors, what we need is completers,” Kennedy said.

In public comment after the vote, Girard told the board she never made such threats.

In public comment, library Trustee Brad Hamblet and Director Jandy Humble both said they were disappointed to see the vote, pointing to Girard’s pertinent experience as a former school librarian and hours of volunteer time spent working on recent projects. Humble said on one recent project, volunteer Girard works more than her, a paid city employee.

“I will feel a significant impact not having her on the library board. I’m very disappointed,” Humble told council.

Cargill, on the prevailing side of the vote, said in an interview he wasn’t motivated by personal feelings against Girard or last year’s events; rather, he wanted a “clean slate” on the library board to give more citizens a chance to sit on the board.

He said Girard is “very well-qualified” and has been effective during her term, but it was time for “new blood on this particular board.”

“I just felt like it was best for the city to have a fresh start on the board of the library and make sure we have a clean slate,” Cargill said.

Cargill said he did not coordinate with other prevailing council members before the vote. Asked why he didn’t speak up at the meeting, he said he often doesn’t address his vote when approving or disapproving mayoral appointments to boards and commissions, and he isn’t required to.

The meeting was also creeping up against its curfew, and Cargill said he didn’t want to take up the time, though council often moves to extend meetings beyond the deadline of 10 p.m.

When considering appointments, Cargill said he looks at each individual’s experience to determine if they would be a good fit for the body to which they’re appointed.

“To me, it’s not a rubber stamp situation. I look through, look at the qualifications of the individual, I look at the background,” Cargill said. “I also ask myself if it would be in the city’s best interest to have them move forward.”

Kaminskas is skeptical that the majority vote wasn’t “retaliation,” motivated by Girard speaking out against the ordinance, she said.

“To retaliate against a board member who works so hard and is so good at what she does, for speaking up against what the council was asking for and speaking up for the library,” she said.

In addition to Girard’s soon-to-be-empty seat, there are two more vacant seats on the library board Kaminskas is in the process of filling. She said she has a couple of applicants selected to fill those roles, pending council approval.

“If they come up with a reason to not appoint them, what’s left?” Kaminskas said. “They’re not gonna force me into appointing a person who’s going to ban books.”

Kaminskas said she was considering reappointing Girard for her seat, though she hasn’t made up her mind.

Kurtz is concerned about the library’s future considering the ordinance, movement on the board of trustees and potential budget changes that may pull library funding.

“If there isn’t sort of a balance on the board of trustees, perhaps we’re getting ourselves into a situation where they’re not following the general practices of libraries,” she said.

In evaluating future trustee positions, Cargill will continue to evaluate them on a case-by-case basis, he said, considering experience and qualifications as he always does.

“Hopefully, there will be a new candidate put forward and provide some fresh perspective and a clean slate to that particular board,” he said.