Proponents of keeping the downtown library over the Cedar River have gathered enough signatures to keep their efforts alive.

The King County Elections Office told the Renton Reporter late Wednesday afternoon  the group had gathered enough signatures to validate its initiative.

The group now has 6,383 valid signatures, eight more than the 6,375 needed to validate the initiative.

With just 10 days to do so, the Citizens for the Preservation of Renton’s Cedar River Library collected an  additional 2,108 additional signatures after their months-long signature drive fell short. The group submitted the last batch of names to City Clerk Bonnie Walton on March 12.

In all, the group submitted 9,399 signatures which the elections office checked. Of those signatures, 1,083 were not eligible to vote in Renton and 1,060 weren’t even registered to vote in King County.

The petition asks that library improvements for a downtown library occur at the existing location and not at any other location unless the alternate location is approved by a majority of Renton voters.

Next, the City Council will decide how to proceed with the initiative at their next meeting 7 p.m., April 2, when the initiative appears on the agenda.