Spokane City Council considers future of the former East Central library — again

The future of the former East Central Library is again up in the air.

Whatever decision is reached, the restarting of the at-times controversial deliberation also spells uncertainty for the Spokane Police Department’s south precinct, which was housed in the former library last summer.

On Monday, the Spokane City Council unanimously agreed to ask community organizations to pitch their vision for what they would do if they could lease the former library. The request for information will begin no later than March 6, with responses required by July 10.

Before any decision is made, a community open house will be held to review the proposals so residents of the East Central neighborhood can weigh in on any prospective new tenants.

The second bite at the apple was championed by Councilwoman Betsy Wilkerson, who along with Councilwoman Lori Kinnear represents District 2, which contains the East Central neighborhood. Wilkerson has been consistently critical of the process by which the police precinct was moved into the former library last year.

The former library, located at 524 S. Stone St., was too small to continue meeting the needs of a growing population, and was too hemmed in by surrounding properties for an expansion to be feasible.

Instead, it was replaced by the nearby Liberty Park Library, which opened in November 2021.

The Hive, a learning space and creative center, was also built just north of the Libby Center on the other side of I-90, in an attempt to provide community services on both sides of the highway that has split the community in two.

Once those facilities were opened, the city still had to decide what to do with the now-empty former library.

Toward the end of 2021, the City Council asked for the community to weigh in on what should go into the building, with pitches ranging from a police precinct to a cultural center.

Freda Gandy, executive director of the nearby Martin Luther King Jr. Outreach Center, said at the time she would like to see a police precinct in the former library, pointing to a number of concerning incidents in the area.

The police department’s south precinct at that point was located on the second floor of a nunnery at St. Ann Catholic Church.

Councilman Michael Cathcart and Mayor Nadine Woodward led the effort to relocate the precinct to the empty library, citing a rise in crime blamed on Camp Hope, a large homeless encampment that had been created in the neighborhood in late 2021.

Cathcart and Woodward argued that many neighbors, and particularly businesses in the area, had called for additional police presence to help mitigate property crime.

Wilkerson had bristled at the notion of locating the police precinct in the former library, fearing it would perpetuate an image of East Central as low-income and crime-ridden.

“Others would like that to be an economic engine to activate that campus, because it is in the heart” of the neighborhood, Wilkerson said.

She had said, however, she would support the decision that the neighborhood supported.

In 2022, the council had been poised to request proposals from community organizations.

It was reported the police had already quietly started to move into the space at the request of the mayor.

Despite prior statements that the final decision would be made by the council, Woodward had decided to move forward.

Because the former library is a city-owned building, city officials said it was within the mayor’s purview to make that call.

Woodward pointed to the results of an informal survey through the ThoughtExchange program, which overwhelmingly showed support for using the space to house police.

“Neighbors have overwhelmingly welcomed police officers working in their neighborhood,” Woodward said in a statement at the time.

The decision took council members by surprise, and Wilkerson and Councilwoman Karen Stratton strongly criticized the mayor’s unilateral move. In response, the council drafted an ordinance to take away Woodward’s authority to locate police precincts without council approval in the future.

Monday’s vote, which received support from all council members, including Cathcart, is a second chance for the city’s legislative body to have a role in deciding what is located in the former library.

The City Council’s Equity Subcommittee will review proposals to ensure they reflect the culture of the neighborhood or otherwise provide essential services that the area lacks.

Proposals also will be vetted by financial stability, affordability of services for residents, and prior experience serving the demographics of the neighborhood.

Jac Archer, organizer for the Peace and Justice Action League in Spokane as well as Spokane Community Against Racism, had criticized what they called a flawed community outreach effort prior to the relocation of the police precinct last year.

This time should be different, they said.

“I really hope it will be the inclusive process that was promised and promoted by the city council,” Archer said. “The most important thing, whatever the old East Central Library becomes, it does so through a transparent community process that is not cut off or stymied by any political agenda.”

For some, however, the prospect of the police precinct being pushed out is concerning.

“It does appear that crime statistics have come down dramatically, though not to the level of before (Camp Hope),” said Doug Trudeau, outgoing president of the East Spokane Business Association. “Do we think the precinct is 100% responsible for the drop? Not at all, but it contributes.”

Trudeau said the association is not necessarily opposed to relocating the precinct, but does not want to see law enforcement services interrupted. If the council decides to move the precinct, a new home needs to first be prepared, he added.

For its part, the police department is happy with the current home of its south precinct, department spokeswoman Julie Humphreys wrote.

“The current South Precinct is optimally situated to meet the objectives of officers being both accessible and visible – both objectives are important for public safety,” she wrote.

Until recently, the building only housed seven people, including three neighborhood resource officers, two detectives, a lieutenant and a captain.

After the police department’s recent reorganization to prioritize patrol, there are 46 officers working out of the former library, Humphreys said.

Woodward, meanwhile, is steadfast that her decision was the right one.

“The Mayor’s perspective continues to be that the precinct is meeting a community need and desire,” city spokesman Brian Coddington wrote.

Coddington added the mayor has offered to work with the council on locating alternative spaces for some of the other services being considered for the former library, such as for the Spokane Association of Hispanic Business and Professionals.