Liberty Lake asks residents if they want a new library. But the vote isn’t binding

Liberty Lake residents will have a chance to offer their city council some advice on the November ballot on the future of its library.

The City Council decided to ask residents if they should build a new library. But the vote is not binding and does not offer a source for paying for a new library.

Supporters of a new library say a new community space is needed to accommodate a larger and still growing population.

“The library as it currently is configured, and the current space there, in which is about 9,000 square feet, is actually built for a population of about 9,000,” said Liberty Lake Mayor Cris Kaminskas. “We are currently at a population of 14,000 and expected to grow to 22,000 over the next 15, 20 years.”

The current library also functions as a meeting place for the community, but more space is needed given the expanding population, she said.

“There is much needed community space. We don’t have any hotels here in Liberty Lake that have a room that holds space for large meetings,” Kaminskas said.

City Councilwoman Linda Ball said building a new library would also allow the city police department to expand into the library space.

“People want a new library, because libraries are not just a place to go get a book anymore,” Ball said. “The police department does need to expand to fit our population projected to be around 22,000 as well, so that would allow them to move into the library spaces that’s currently there in the same building.”

Although the vote would not increase taxes, opponents of the proposal say it would be the first step to doing so.

“Proposition 1 asks us to approve a new city library with a staggering price tag of $12-15 million as part of a larger project with an estimated cost of $28.7 million,” said a statement against the proposal in the Spokane County Elections Guide attributed to Steve Anderson, Nathan Wehrman and Jared Von Tobel. “This is more than we spend on preventing property theft, keeping our kids safe and road maintenance combined. We understand the difference between what’s necessary and what’s merely desirable.”

The opponent s also said funding a library isn’t essential need for the city.

“Focus on core responsibilities, eliminate debt, and save responsibly before pursuing luxury projects,” the three opponents wrote in their statement.

Supporters stress that the proposal is only to determine the public’s desire on a new library. Even if they want one, at least some members of the City Council hope building it can be done without raising taxes.

“The council does have authority to raise property tax up to a certain amount,” Kaminskas said. “In my mind, that’s not good practice. If your property taxes are ever affected, you need to go back to the voters.”

Instead, Kaminskas wants to fund as much of the project as possible through grants and funding from local businesses.

“There are so many grants out there, Bank of America, the Gates Foundation, Amazon, huge companies always have grants for things like this that are available,” Kaminskas said. “But unfortunately, until we know what the project is, we can’t apply for them. So the plan is to have a group, a grassroot group of citizens, trying to get out the correct information about the project.”

Current public reaction to the proposal has been mixed, Kaminskas said.

“It’s a crap shoot right now,” the mayor said.

“If you look at an online community page, which is a private page, which is, you know, not an official way that the city takes input, overwhelmingly, people seem to be saying no. But you know when in other circles, when I talk to specific candidates who are out canvassing right now for the November election, this is a big topic that they talked to people about, and the feedback I’m getting is that people are overwhelmingly in favor of it.”

Ball points out that more detailed information will be on the November 2026 ballot, where voters will make a more informed decision.

“It will be on the ballot this November of 2025, but that’s all it is ,” Ball said. “It’ll go on a ballot in the 2026 midterms, and it will have more information. It’ll be flushed out. We will have, you know, a number and more information.”