Library Board still pursuing CF branch move

The Flathead County Library Board is moving forward with a plan to relocate the Columbia Falls Branch Library to Glacier Discovery Square, despite the county commissioners’ recent decision to remove a $1.9 million earmark for a new library.

The commissioners had set aside the money for the 2017 fiscal year in their five-year capital improvement plan, but in August pulled the line item out, agreeing with Commissioner Pam Holmquist’s statement that “right now the county should stick with the buildings they have.”

Flathead County Library Director Kim Crowley vowed she wouldn’t be deterred by the commissioners’ decision.

“This is not a plan that has failed,” she said in August.

The Library Board in late September approved a list of action items it feels will lead to a decision on the suitability of Discovery Square for an expanded Columbia Falls library.

The Columbia Falls library has been located at Columbia Falls City Hall since 1973 and with a 54 percent increase in checkouts over the past five years has outgrown the space.

Crowley outlined the board’s action plan at a meeting with the commissioners on Wednesday.

It’s a step-by-step work plan, starting with confirming the viability of Discovery Square and reviewing the structural and mechanical elements of the building.

The library system still has $100,000 set aside in its capital budget for the Columbia Falls expansion.

Once that commitment is reaffirmed, the Library Board would get commitments for $200,000 from the Flathead County Library Foundation and launch a fundraising campaign to raise at least $800,000 to complete the project.

At that point, probably in January, the Library Board would make another presentation to the commissioners to ask for support.

Another crucial element of the plan is reconfirming pledges of at least $400,000 in startup money from the Columbia Falls community. That was money pledged by citizens and businesses who support the restoration of Discovery Square, a former bank building that’s a centerpiece and gathering place in downtown Columbia Falls.

The idea to relocate the Columbia Falls branch library to Discovery Square was pitched by the First Best Place organization about four years ago as the county Library Board was considering an expansion of the existing library at City Hall.

The Columbia Falls City Council held a work session in January 2011 to determine the level of community support for relocating the library, but there was no clear consensus about how to move forward.

The Discovery Square building is appraised at around $490,000. Relocating the library to that facility would nearly double the space to more than 9,000 square feet.

Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or by email at lhintze@dailyinterlake.com.