Letter from the Priest Lake Library Board of Trustees to the Priest Lake Community

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