9 reasons we’re betrayed by Boise’s Library Facilities Plan

Thank you for your commitment and leadership in helping Boise develop the best library facilities plan for its citizens, in trying to realize the vision “A City for Everyone”.

As you know, myself and others have been vocal regarding the need for the City to prioritize a library branch in West Boise. Facilities planning has been in progress for more than 2 years now, with Group 4 having won the contract just over two years ago, and the library staff continuing to develop the plan since the contract completed last year.

I frequently attend or tune in to Library Trustee meetings. In the January meeting I was encouraged to hear Library Staff and Trustees talk about having a proximity goal for library service, though no goal was set during that meeting. Questions were raised about what library service, at least in terms of proximity, looks like in other cities. In response to this discussion, I revisited research I did on this exact question in 2023, and improved it, and emailed the Library Director and Trustees my research on February 6th.

In the Library Trustees meeting on February 11th, Library Director Dorr had a lot to say about proximity goals, square footage goals, and how she believes anticipated growth should affect facilities planning. She believes a West Boise library branch should not be a priority for the city. The library trustees approved her recommended goals, without question.

Of course, as a long term West Boise resident who has been vocal about this for some time, this was all super frustrating. They’ve made a plan that leaves West Boise shut out for another generation.

I’m attaching my notes from the Feb 11th meeting — including my thoughts regarding different aspects of the presentation. I expect the February 24th presentation from Director Dorr will be very similar. I’m also attaching the message I sent Director Dorr and Trustees regarding comparable cities too. It would be nice for someone to read it, as it does not seem library staff or trustees did.

Since Wednesday, I’ve thought about the reasons this whole process has me upset. Here are the reasons:

1. The facilities study did not evaluate the area(s) of greatest need for a library
The 2024 facilities study, paid for by citizens through tax dollars ($300k), concluded that people across the city make use of multiple libraries, without recognizing access is very unequal for close to 30,000 West Boise residents. A public records request to find communication with Group 4 yielded only the contract signed with the city, which had few specifications, and presentations made in public meetings. The results of the facilities study from Group 4 have not been published publicly. Perhaps an extension was signed, maybe it is still ongoing? It’s unclear.

2. The library director does not believe West Boise residents deserve equal access
Library Director Jessica Dorr, hired by the city to run the city’s libraries and realize the city’s vision, prefers to expand existing facilities, or build a library in SE Boise, where people don’t live yet, rather than provide a library where residents have been living for 30+ years with poor library access (nearly 30,000 residents west of Five Mile Road). Doesn’t Boise deserve a library director who believes in the vision Boise has adopted, A City for Everyone?

3. Staff are exaggerating building costs to make feasibility seem impossible
To make it appear impossible to build a new library without voter approval (library projects > $25 million require majority voter approval), building costs seem to have been deliberately inflated. The facilities study put the cost of a new library at $32 million. The beautiful Bown Crossing library is the city’s newest library, and it was completed for $8 million in 2017. Using the Mortenson construction cost index, an $8 million project in 2017 would be $13 million today.

4. We were told we would need to raise the money
Despite all existing library branches being built largely with public tax dollars, when we were permitted a few minutes to present our petition to the Boise Library Board of Trustees in September 2023, the concluding message was: if you can find the funds for a public library, maybe there’s a shot. Otherwise, we don’t see it happening.

5. Tens of millions of dollars set aside for library development have gone to other projects
The city allocated significant capital funds for rebuilding a new downtown library. After the main library project failed, instead of recognizing that there was a sizable part of the city without a library, where a branch library could be built for a small fraction of the cost of the new downtown library project, the money all went into other projects.

6. The city seems to ignore West Boise in general
You know the hip traffic box art around town? There isn’t a single traffic box adorned with cool public art west of Maple Grove.It’s not uncommon for Boiseans, and even city employees, to not recognize that Boise extends all the way west to Eagle Road – and beyond.

While it’s true that the city is completing the final phase of McDevitt Park in West Boise (hooray!), the park had been in its current unfinished state for 25 years. The project wasn’t prioritized until there were (a) multiple appeals made at city budget hearings and (b) interest was expressed to Parks and Rec about the feasibility of building a city library on 2 vacant acres of this youth sports complex. According to the city almanac, 47% of residents in District 1 (West Boise) live within a 10 minute walk to a park, vs 70% city wide.

7. Petition? What Petition?
1,300+ Citizens from West Boise – and other parts of Boise – signed a petition recognizing the gap in library services, requesting the Mayor, City Council, and Library Staff fill the library services hole in West Boise. Citizens from West Boise had strong participation in the 2024 online survey and the 2025 library listening sessions. There were West Boise residents at all 6 “listening sessions” expressing a desire to have a library branch in West Boise. Even though these listening sessions were the public input aspect of the facilities plan, the sessions explicitly focused on questions besides location and accessibility. Public participation seems to have made little impact on decision makers’ thinking.

8. Library trustees do not represent Boise equally
It’s not even close. I understand there are no library trustees who live west of 36th Street. At times they’ve expressed awareness of the request of West Boise citizens for a library, but by and large they’ve simply gone along with Director Dorr’s direction.In the January 2026 library trustees meeting, Trustee Nikki Panterra asked about library coverage in comparable cities. This was cited again later in the meeting. In the next meeting, on February 11th, Director Dorr stated that there’s no “industry” standard for library access. There was not a single word of discussion on the topic.

On the morning of Feb 6th, 5 days prior to the trustees meeting, I emailed the library trustees and Director Dorr a detailed analysis on the subject (see attached). I first did this analysis on comparable cities in 2023 prior to launching a petition, then refined it to improve the quality of the maps and make them interactive. I received a reply from Director Dorr on Tuesday thanking me for my communication but indicating it was too late to be included.

In the past two years, citizens from West Boise have applied to be seated on the library board of trustees. None have been selected.

The city actively promotes public transportation, which I appreciate, and less driving. It recognizes that not everyone has access to a vehicle for transportation. It tracks statistics on this. Yet when planning library locations, staff look at locations in terms of driving time. They’re pushing for a 3-mile radius (which still excludes parts of West Boise). They don’t want to adopt a 2-mile proximity goal, which really shows the service problem we have in West Boise.

We have to wonder as West Boiseans are we welcome in Boise? Do city staff and city hall care what we think? If staff had a predetermined outcome with the facilities study, why waste time and money on a mirage of “public” feedback. When the public spoke, they ignored it and buried the input.

Again, thank you for your commitment, leadership, and service to the residents of the City of Boise. I hope that when City Council meets with Director Dorr and Library Trustees on February 24th, Council will request equitable city library services and reject any plan that does not prioritize a library branch in West Boise.

Director Dorr will be confident in her recommendations and analysis on the 24th, and I expect her presentation will be similar to the presentation made to Trustees on Feb 11th. Please see the attached notes I took on this meeting.

Sincerely,

Mark Salisbury, Founder, Citizens for a Library in West Boise

These additional West Boise residents reviewed this message, made additional suggestions, and requested their names also be included:

Steve Berch

Jennifer Gravel

Kathy Graham

Scott Adams

Allison and Spencer Adams

Lynn Thayer

Nancy Szofran

Gary and Vonnie Dufault

Tammy Rampton

Bonita Biegalke

Jennifer Froerer