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The Priest Lake Public Library Board of Trustees is calling for letters of interest from persons interested in serving as a board member.

• Trustee Seat 1 term expires May 2023. This is a 6 year term of office and the new term would expire May 2029.
• Trustee Seat 2 term expires May 2023. This is a 2 year term of office and the new term would expire May 2025.
• Trustee Seat 3 term expires May 2023. This is a 2 year term of office and the new term would expire May 2025.
• Trustee Seat 4 term expires May 2023. This is a 4 year term of office and the new term would expire May 2027.

March 17th is filing deadline for trustee candidate petitions. Completed paperwork needs to be turned into the library district clerk (director) by this date.

March 24th is filing deadline for trustee nonpartisan write-in candidate petitions.

NOTICE OF FILING DEADLINE FOR PRIEST LAKE PUBLIC LIBRARY DISTRICT TRUSTEE:

Notice is hereby given: That declaration of candidacy for the office of Trustee Seat No. 1, Trustee Seat No. 2, Trustee Seat No. 3 and Trustee Seat No. 4 of the Priest Lake Public Library Board must be filed with the library district clerk (library director) whose address is 28769 Hwy 57, Priest Lake ID 83856 no later that 5:00 P.M. on March 17, 2023 for the May 16 election. Such declarations are available at the library at 28769 Hwy 57, Priest Lake ID 83856, on the library website priestlake.lili.org or at the office of the County Clerk in Sandpoint at 1500 Hwy 2, Suite 124 Sandpoint, ID 83864. Individuals who run as nonpartisan write-in candidate must file a declaration of intent no later than 5:00 P.M. on March 24, 2023.

If you are interested in being a trustee, please reach out to the library. You can pick up your packet that includes a Declaration of Candidacy & Petition of Candidacy at the library or you can print the forms by clicking the link here.

Applicants must reside in the library district and must be a registered voter in the district.

Please drop by the library, letters of interest to include physical address, phone number, and the above completed packet paperwork OR send to Priest Lake Public Library, 28769 Hwy 57, Priest Lake ID, 83856.

Come be a part of planning for the future!

Join us for another year of the Idaho Teen Reading Challenge, hosted by ICfL!

Teens ages 12-19 (or who will be twelve by the end of April) are qualified to participate in this reading challenge. Participants are given 10 categories to choose books from, and seven months to complete 8 different books from 8 different categories.

Stop by the library anytime to pick up your reading log, bookmarks, and the full list of categories. Happy Reading!

The Priest Lake Public Library District (PLPLD) Board of Trustees would like to formally address allegations, letters to the editor, and recent correspondence happening in the Priest Lake community.

First and foremost, the library has not sold and is not moving to the elementary school.  A suggestion was brought before the board about the possibility of expanding to a different location.  Several potential locations were suggested, and one suggestion was the vacant lot adjacent to Priest Lake Elementary.  An informal presentation was presented at the local school board meeting on May 18 to determine if the School Board would be interested in pursuing discussions with the library.  The PLPLD Board has not made any motions to move the library.  The PLPLD Board strongly believes any library expansion will be community driven; including design and possible change of location.

Second, to address the allegations the PLPLD Board is in violation of Idaho State Statute 33-2707 (the Beacon op-ed 7/12/22), this statue applies to libraries looking to expand outside of their district boundaries.  Throughout Idaho, libraries can and do move locations within their district and there are many library districts in Idaho who lease property from public entities, including school districts.  This has been confirmed by PLPLD legal counsel, ICfL, and the Idaho State Tax Commission, all of which the PLPLD Board has consulted.

The PLPLD Board of Trustees is glad our community is talking about the library and wanting to learn more about the expansion.  The board is ready and willing to listen to fact based and constructive ideas from the community and our patrons in order to improve the Priest Lake Library.  We are forming a scoping committee and holding a public meeting in the near future for community input.  Unfortunately, we have to cancel the July 26 public meeting until the entire board can be in attendance.  In the meantime, we encourage interested community members to apply to be on the scoping committee or contact the Library Board’s trustees with constructive ideas.  The application and trustees contact information can be found on PLPLD website at www.priestlake.lili.org or at the library or by clicking this link—> Expansion Committee Application . We look forward to growing the Priest Lake Public Library District with you.

-Priest Lake Public Library District Board of Trustees