Citizens for a Library in West Boise,
I just wanted to provide an update on events this week.  On Monday we talked to the news media outside City Hall.

West Boise Residents at City Hall on Monday, Feb 23, 2026. Photo credit: Brady Caskey, Idaho News Channel 6

​​From left to right: Larry Ice, Mark Salisbury, Jeff Majors – representing West Valley Neighborhood Association, Kathy Graham – representing Centennial Neighborhood Association, Peggy Ice, Jasmin Smith, with her son.

On Monday Idaho News Channel 6 aired this story.
On Tuesday, Boise City Council met with Library Staff and Trustees for a joint planning meeting.  You can watch the meeting on YouTube.  Grab some popcorn though, it’s just over 2 hours long!  (But just the last half hour is where we have a discussion taking place, with council members sharing their thoughts).
Multiple news outlets covered the meeting this week:
Though the city is still working on developing the facilities plan, with some members of City Council in favor of a West Boise library branch, and some supportive of a plan that adds square footage in whatever manner is the easiest, there were some really positive things, in my opinion, from this meeting:
  • For the first time, we have the city showing a hypothetical library branch along Cloverdale road:

Boise Residents’ Proximity to Libraries — including hypothetical Cloverdale Branch. Image credit: City of Boise

  • 1:41:30.  Council Member Luci Willits asked some great questions for council members to consider “What role does public feedback play in this process?  If the city only wanted to expand current locations, why did we ask the public if they wanted anything else?  I’d like to ensure that public feedback is included in this; we have 32,000 people that don’t live within library access that have asked for library access.  As a council we have a responsibility to listen to those folks.  I appreciate that others have access.  You’ve got an entire community that asked for something, desperately wants it, and has been asking for 4 years.  To change the algorithm now to square footage, is not consistent with what the city has done before.  If we know we’ve done a fairly decent job with a 3 mile radius, great, let’s take a victory lap.  We haven’t, with the 2-mile radius.  What I know about this city, when we dream big, we can make it happen.  When we have an entire section of the city, and the numbers back it up, it would be a disservice to ignore them.”
  • 1:55:50.  Mayor McLean challenged staff to show what a plan would look like that sets a goal of a library branch within 2 miles of residents.   “I’m going to ask that the library take this on in the way that [the] parks department has taken on a 10 minute walk to the park.  At the end of the day, we hope, we aspire to, and we’re using heat maps, to ensure that every kid in the city can walk to a park within 10 minutes…  If we set a goal of 2 miles, and ultimately I’d ask that that be the goal.  We can’t do it all in one day.  Council is very comfortable with that.”

I believe that Mayor McLean is aware of the west side of the city, in a way that we have not seen before.  She’s aware that the facilities plan is intended to be for the next 20 years.

What’s next?  We have an idea about how we could encourage our younger citizens to show city leadership that this is important to them.  Stay tuned.  If you’re a homeschool parent, or know of a homeschool group, please reach out to me — I’d love your help in this also.
Thanks,
Mark Salisbury
Founder, Citizens for a Library in West Boise