Residents in Liberty Park have been pushing for a library in the eastern part of the city for many years, but it has remained a dream that stayed just outside their grasp.
A proposal surfaced in 2025 to build a library facility next to the Sicard Hollow Athletic Complex for an estimated $9.2 million, including $7 million of public money, and Liberty Park residents and library officials were energized.
But as the City Council analyzed all city needs and debated priorities, the new library came out on the short end of the stick once again. The City Council in September instead approved spending $9 million to put artificial turf on the baseball and softball fields at Liberty Park and renovate that complex…