March 18, 2024
The Liberty Lake Splash
PO Box 363
Liberty Lake, WA 99019
Phone: 509-242-7752
News Blog Business Community Opinion Sports

More News

March Marvel-Calvary a catalyst for historic Gonzaga run

Daughters of The American Revolution
The Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) is a volunteer women’s organization that has been dedicated to historical preservation, education, and patriotism for over a century. Across the United States, there are over 3,000 chapters supporting an estimated current membership of 200,000, with over one million total members since their founding in 1890.

HOA’s have different rules what it means for Police and streets
The city of Liberty Lake is known for its winding paths, street trees and homeowner’s associations. Recently, however, residents of some neighborhoods have been questioning the services they receive from the city, particularly police patrols and traffic enforcement.

Vietnam Veteran Pat Payne Receives his Combat Infantry Badge
Spokane Valley resident and Vietnam Veteran Pat Payne personifies bravery, resilience, and a profound commitment to supporting his fellow service members. Having served in the Vietnam War, Pat received both the Bronze Star and Purple Heart medals for his exceptional contributions and sacrifices. Unfortunately, at the time of his service discharge, a key ‘box’ was left unchecked, and he did not receive his Combat Infantry Badge or CIB until fifty-six years after leaving Vietnam.

Return Ticket Home; Fisher helped establish LL city roots
In the acclaimed 1940 novel, “You Can’t Go Home Again,” author Thomas Wolfe paints the picture of ambitious writer George Webber who leaves his rural hometown roots to seek fame and fortune in New York City.

At Home on Air – Media fixture Owsley relishes local roots
Sean Owsley’s first big break in the media world came when he was living in a modest apartment on Skipworth Road in Spokane Valley.

Spokane Valley Library employee is recognized by the Library of Congress
Spokane Valley Library was recently honored to receive a Certificate of Appreciation from the Library of Congress for its involvement in the Veterans History Project. The Library of Congress recognized the library's continuous dedication to preserving the stories and experiences of our nation's veterans. As part of this recognition, Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers presented a Certificate of Appreciation to Jeremy Mullin, a local resident actively involved in the project.

Council social media training degenerates into confrontation
Spokane Valley City Council training on policy regarding social media accounts and use of the city’s logo turned from benignly informative to heatedly combative after an exchange between two council members at the Jan. 9 meeting.

Central Valley School District Prop. 1

Eat, Shop, and Be Merry

Water Works

2023 Candidate Guide

Sporting in Liberty Lake

Closing the Chasm

Congratulations First Ridgeline High School Graduating Class of 2023

2023 Liberty Lake Kiwanis Yard Sales are Coming!
Click here to register today! Only $15 to get into the printed and online guide!

Public Safety Raised to New Level

Parks and Art Commission

Looking Ahead to 2023

Eat, Shop and Be Merry

New city administrator

Liberty Lake Kiwanis Yard Sale Interactive Map!

Liberty Lake Kiwanis Yard Sale Guide - Now Available!!

Conrats 2022 Senior Graduates

Pavillion Park

You Are Invited

Destination Liberty Lake

Liberty Lake's Lego Home

Making and Impact 2022

Search the News Archive Search the News Archive

Group studying new pool, library, community center
7/22/2015 10:22:20 AM

By Craig Howard
Splash Contributor 

Even before Liberty Lake incorporated as a city in 2001, resident-based movements helped form the direction for civic pillars like Pavillion Park and a renowned trail system. 

These days, those who call Liberty Lake home are still a source for ideas and energy in the realm of community development. 

At Tuesday night's City Council meeting, the governing board received an overview of activities by a task force comprised of citizens who have met for several months to discuss options for a trio of potential capital facility projects. The list includes an aquatic center, library and community center. 

City Administrator Katy Allen, who has helped facilitate the group, said the goal is to have recommendations ready for council in time for its retreat next month. On July 22 (today) Allen will join representatives of the task force on a tour of area community centers. 

"This is a diverse group that is providing us with feedback about facilities we should consider," Allen said. "We want the task force to make recommendations and have council vet out what the options are." 

Allen told council that while up to 15 residents have contributed to the discussions, a core team of five has emerged since the task force initially formed. A community survey last year was the first step in identifying the city's facility priorities with the aquatic center garnering the most response. 

Allen said that while emphasis has continued on the pool, the group's agenda needs to maintain balance.

"We've talked about the pool a lot," she said. "We need to talk about the community center and the library too. It will be better to make a decision with all those facilities in mind."

After council receives the recommendations, the next step would be to consider design concepts and funding strategies. The financial piece could include a bond vote. 
 
"We need to look at operation and maintenance costs along with furniture, fixtures and equipment," Allen said. "There's a lot involved."

Pavillion Park upgrades prompt change order
While most of the improvements at Pavillion Park were completed by July 3, City Council is still mulling over some of the costs associated with the project. On Tuesday, Allen said the upgrades – which included a new concession stand, expanded restroom facility and added storage space – ran around $12,000 over budget after tax. 

"All in all, the project came in 4.1 percent over budget," Allen said. "Remodels like this normally have a 10 percent contingency. We had no contingency on this project."

The approved budget for the renovation stood at $293,490.72 with the final cost ringing in at $305,583.41. Allen pointed out that improvements at the Liberty Lake Ballfields came in at around $26,000 under budget, meaning the city still saved nearly $14,000 between the two projects even with the Pavillion Park overage.
 
Some of the most costly changes at the park had to do with increasing a door size and shifting metal siding to cedar at a price of just over $3,200. Council Member Odin Langford emphasized that while Mayor Steve Peterson can sign off on costs of $5,000 or less without council approval, the surplus costs at the park surpassed that number. 

"In the future, the strategy should be to have all these questions answered ahead of time," Langford said. "We need to establish some consistency here."

Council Member Bob Moore said bringing such costs before council "is a matter of transparency." 

Allen said the numbers could have simply been included in the vouchers that appear before council each meeting in a lump sum but felt "it was important that the council knew about it."  

"I realize it is never good to bring a change order to council after the fact," Allen said. "This is a reminder that we need good documents, a good design and a good budget." 

Ultimately, council decided to bring the change order back to the Aug. 4 meeting for a vote. Dan Dunne and Shane Brickner were in the minority.   

"We all understand this needs to be paid," Langford said. "I'm simply asking that we move forward with consistency."

Public hearing on 2016 budget
Finance Director R.J. Stevenson presided over the first public hearing involving the 2016 city budget on Tuesday. Additional hearings will be held on Nov. 3 and Nov. 17.

"This is a chance for the public to address issues and concerns and what they would like to see in the budget," Stevenson said.

Peterson is expected to present his version of the budget to council on Oct. 20. If all goes as scheduled, the budget would be approved by Dec. 15. 

In reviewing budget numbers from this year, Stevenson said revenue is up 5 percent from 2014, led by an increase of 16 percent in utility tax income. Revenue from building permits is already at 73 percent of the projected budget at the year's halfway point.

On the flip side, expenditures are 23 percent higher than last year, spurred by a 2 percent hike in wages at City Hall, a bump in parks department staffing and the purchase of police vehicles. Stevenson emphasized that although spending is up to this point, the number still represents only 44 percent of the established budget for 2015. 

In other city news:
• Allen said there is still a need for additions to the concession stand including a mop sink, drain board and hot water dispenser. She said the Liberty Lake Kiwanis has talked to municipal representatives about covering the cost of the improvements with the city paying for installation at an estimated pricetag of $5,000.

• The city has received some inquiries about renting the concession stand for events. Allen said Parks and Recreation Coordinator Michelle Griffin is working on a system to facilitate such requests.

• Peterson and Council Member Hugh Severs missed Tuesday's meeting with excused absences.

• A portion of Molter Road, between Country Vista and Valleyway, will be closed from 3 to 10 p.m. this Friday for the vintage car show associated with the weekend's Barefoot in the Park festivities. The city has posted a detour map on its website at www.libertylakewa.gov.  

• In his finance committee update, Brickner reported that the Henry Road/I-90 interchange had been included in the state transportation budget passed earlier this month. 

• The city has paid Greg Dorn – brought in to consult with the city on the comprehensive plan and sign code – $11,400 for 81.5 hours to this point. Brickner said Dorn "is not only doing a great job but at a very reasonable price." 

• The annual council retreat will take place on two dates this year – Aug. 18 and Sept 1 – both at 6 p.m. at City Hall. The agenda includes discussion of the comprehensive plan, sign code, aquatic facility, community center and library as well as the capital facility plan and council priorities. 

• The city has collected $11,000 so far this year from rental charges at municipal properties. In 2013, council voted to charge for use of facilities like Pavillion Park, the arboretum and Rocky Hill Park. 

• Allen said the city has had preliminary conversations with representatives from the state Transportation Improvement Board about funding support for an upgrade of Appleway Avenue from Molter to the city limits as well as a roundabout at Mission and Molter. 

• The city has been dealing with an unusually high bee problem this summer, Allen said. An on-call pesticide contractor has been addressing the issue. 

• Council unanimously approved the county hearing examiner's recommendation to move ahead with the Trutina preliminary plat, which is the latest phase in Greenstone's River District development. 

Advertisement

Copyright © 2024 The Liberty Lake Splash | Print Page