Renton officials trying to figure out how to give voters say in library location

Published 6:13 pm Tuesday, April 3, 2012

Renton residents may get their chance after all to vote on the location of a new downtown library.

However, more than $1 million could be lost from previous and current work on the new downtown location if a new course is set, a city spokesman said late Tuesday afternoon.

City Council President Rich Zwicker, Mayor Denis Law, Jay Covington, chief administrative officer, and City Attorney Larry Warren met for much of Tuesday to try and figure out how to give the public its say and still fulfill the city’s obligations to the King County Library System.

“The petition is basically dead; the spirit behind it is not,” said Kelley Balcomb-Bartok, a city spokesman, referring to the citizens’ initiative the council voted 4-3 against adopting Monday night.

“The council took action last night to address a citizen petition that is invalid due to a number of legal requirements, and fails to address contractual agreements that we’ve had in place for some time,” said Mayor Denis Law in a news release. “Nonetheless, a good number of Renton citizens have expressed their desire to have an opportunity to vote on where the downtown library will be located, and it’s never been the intent of the council to ignore public opinion. We’re going to explore some options with the council to see if we can meet our obligations while also providing our residents with an opportunity to vote on the issue.”

All plans to relocate the downtown library have stopped, so that council members can speak with all parties involved, according to Balcomb-Bartok.

Zwicker will most likely bring forth a discussion of options at Monday’s City Council meeting that gives Renton voters the ability to choose between the Big 5 location and the current site.

Warren had written a memorandum weeks ago to the mayor and council explaining why he thought the initiative was invalid. His earlier advice is not being reassessed; the advice was specific to different parts of the petition that was “declined” by the City Council Monday night, Balcomb-Bartok said.

According to Balcomb-Bartok, Zwicker had strong feelings about Monday night’s council meeting and felt the need to approach the mayor and other executive staff.

“In my opinion the initiative placed before us was invalid,” said Zwicker. “Those of us on the council who voted to concur with the administration’s recommendation did what we had to do. That said we are sensitive to the public concern about our library. I am committed to exploring our options, both legal and otherwise, to determine if there is a way we can bring this to a vote of the people.”

Council members were expected to explore all their options leading up to next Monday’s meeting.

One possible idea would give voters some way to vote for the Big 5 location or the current location, not open it up to new sites, said Balcomb-Bartok.