MOSES LAKE — The city of Moses Lake will maintain the existing funding level for the Moses Lake Public Library for 2026 and will not ask NCW Libraries for more money next year. City officials will be evaluating the building in 2026, and Mayor Dustin Swartz said city residents will be invited to be part of that process. 

“I would like some community involvement and community outreach to occur while we (are working) on the assessment, because I have a feeling we’re not necessarily going to enjoy what we get out of the assessment. I’m just being honest,” Swartz said. “I love the building personally, but I understand time marches on.” 

The city owns the library building and pays for its maintenance; $70,000 has been allocated for the library in the 2026 budget, Swartz said. The city is expected to receive approximately $47,800 from the library district in 2026. The city owns and maintains the building, and NCW Libraries pays for the staff and library materials. City officials considered asking for more money from NCW Libraries for next year, but decided against it after talking with library board members Thursday.  

Swartz said that, as far as he is concerned, he’s not interested in closing the library, and Council Member Mark Fancher agreed with that.  

“There’s been a lot of negative, and I think unfounded, rumors and gossip,” Fancher said. “I think I can say, as a longtime resident of Moses Lake and Grant County in general, the library is important to the community.” 

Swartz said the city is running a deficit in its general fund and is looking at all options to balance its budget rather than use up its reserves. When city officials reviewed expenses, the library was one of the places the city is losing money, he said.  

“It really is just about the dollars and cents of the matter,” Swartz said.  

Fancher said he agreed with that, too, and that city officials will be taking a hard look at the existing building. 

“I don’t want to dump a whole bunch of money into something that’s not going to have a life,” Fancher said. “We’ve got to make some hard decisions pretty quick, before we enter some long-term agreement on something that’s not going to have a life.” 

Fancher said while he’s only one vote, he preferred coming to an agreement for 2026 and looking at the library’s future from there. 

“We have a lot of heavy lifting, including (involving) the community, and what they think this thing should look like. And what would their investment in this be?” Fancher said  

Moses Lake is one of 30 communities in the NCW Libraries district, which includes Grant, Okanogan, Douglas, Chelan and Ferry counties. Barbara Walters, NCW libraries executive director, said the library is funded through a property tax assessment levied in all five counties. That complicates any effort by the library district to raise more money, she said. 

“We have 30 locations that we would have to increase the (tax assessment) rate for, and we also are in financial need, and that’s just not possible for us,” Walters said. 

All 30 libraries are being remodeled as part of a multi-year refurbishment project, including Moses Lake, and NCW Libraries trustee Kathleen Allstot, Ephrata, said its administrators want to be sure they won’t be fixing up a building that might only be in use for a short time. 

“Each of our 30 buildings is quite unique, and yours is very unique,” Allstot said. “One of the things, when we’re talking about refreshing and reimagining spaces, is that we ask if we’re going to come in with (a remodeling project), we want you to be there in 10 years. If you’re thinking you don’t want to be there in 10 years, we want that conversation.” 

In partnership with a nonprofit, NCW Libraries installed a Narcan vending machine at the Moses Lake library in late 2024, which became a subject of protest and controversy. The machine was removed earlier this year. Council member David Skaug asked that NCW Libraries include language in the contract with the city that the machine won’t be brought back. Walters said library district officials would accept that change. 

    Moses Lake City Council member Mark Fancher said city officials will be evaluating the Moses Lake Public Library facility, and the city may be facing some tough decisions as a result.