Community center, budget progress

The “glacial speed” of city government, as Liberty Lake Mayor Steve Peterson sometimes refers to it, moved a little Tuesday night on two major items before the City Council.

That forward movement occurred around the design of the library and community center and the city’s proposed 2008 budget.

Gary Bernardo and Matthew Jacoby of Bernardo-Wills Architects of Spokane returned with an updated conceptual site design and floor plans for the building to sit on the 6.4-acre property at Appleway Avenue and Signal Road.

Following their presentation the architects were asked to further develop preliminary floors plans and prepare architectural renderings of the exterior of the building.

“These drawings will provide an overall view of the architectural design of the facility,” Jacoby said.

Bernardo-Wills Architects will also develop a preliminary cost estimate for the proposed facility.

“The cost analysis will focus on the construction costs for the building and the surrounding site work,” Jacoby said.

Simultaneously the city council will be looking at ways to fund the project.

“We’ve always talked about multiple streams of financing opportunities, not just a bond,” Peterson said. “Now we need to put together a funding package.”

Regarding the 2008 budget, Arlene Fisher, Liberty Lake’s director of finance and administration, outlined the city’s latest revised estimates.

“The council got a more defined look at the budget,” Fisher said.

The updated budget is projected to be $14.1 million, up almost 13 percent over the revised estimated 2007 expenditures.

The budget includes general fund expenditures of $5.8 million, up 3.6 percent over 2007.

The public can pick up a copy of the budget at City Hall, or call 755-6700 to have it mailed. There will be two public hearings on the budget, Nov. 6 and 20.

Other council business

“A special city council meeting is set for Tuesday at 7 p.m. to interview and select a replacement for the City Council Position 4 vacated by Joanna Klegin. The two candidates are Phil Hamm and Odin Langford.

“The city council passed a resolution supporting the Proposition No. 1 Spokane County advisory ballot proposition on extending Conservation Futures Tax on the Nov. 6 ballot.

“Linda Graham of the Spokane Conservation Districted updated the council on its activities.