Steering committee to decide the fate of Renton Public Library building

Published 11:01 am Thursday, July 14, 2011

Now that Renton City Council voted to move the downtown library to the former Big 5 location on Third Avenue, what will become of the building over the Cedar River?

The City of Renton is asking the public to help decide the next use for the building by creating a steering committee.

There is no limit to how many people can serve on the committee, which will convene over the course of approximately six months. Steering committee members will decide what day of the week they will meet at the first meeting and in proceeding meetings they may hear from guest speakers and tour relevant sites.

Mayor Denis Law has appointed Terry Higashiyama, Community Services Department administrator, “to oversee the public process and engage all interested citizens to share their opinions and suggestions and contribute to the plans for a city-defining landmark,” according to a press release.

“It’s an important thing that the people feel connected to the process because the citizens own the building,” said Higashiyama in a phone interview.

There are no plans to sell the building and the discussion for its intended next use is wide open at this point, she said.

A decision to make seismic and other upgrades to the building hasn’t been made.

City of Renton staff is working with consultants and researching what upgrades might be needed. They will present the results to the steering committee which will in turn make recommendations to the City Council based on what they would like to do to the building.

One must be a citizen of Renton to be on the steering committee.

For a steering committee application visit the Liberty Park Library Building webpage at rentonwa.gov or call 425-430-6600. Completed applications should be mailed by July 29 to City of Renton, Community Services Department, 1055 S. Grady Way, Renton, WA.

For more information contact Diane Wagner at 425-430-6600.