The $37-million bond measure for a new library stands a 50-50
chance of passing, but impassioned residents and a couple of city
councilmen have vowed to wage the
”
uphill battle.
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The $37-million bond measure for a new library stands a 50-50 chance of passing, but impassioned residents and a couple of city councilmen have vowed to wage the “uphill battle.”
It’s been 42 years since voters passed a bond to build the city’s cramped library, and about as many people showed up at Monday night’s council meeting to push for another bond. The council voted unanimously to place the financial measure on the November ballot as the crowd waved multi-colored neon signs with the words, “Yes We Can,” “Si Se Puede” and “A Great Library for a Great Community.”
Even former City Administrator Jay Baksa sat among the crowd with his own sign: “http://library4gilroy.com.” The grassroots group Library4Gilroy recently appointed Baksa as the chair of its steering committee, and the cadre of volunteers works closely with the city’s Library Commission and Voz de la Gente, another community group with deep ties in the Latino community.
“We will dedicate ourselves over the next 90 days to see that this happens,” Baksa said. “We thank you this evening for your support. We know this is going to be a battle.”
Library Commission Chairwoman Phyllis Armenta likened the idea of keeping the same leaky library building to “sending a high school senior to school with the same outfit from their first day of school, busting out of the seams.”
But buying a $37-million wardrobe means residents will have to pay an average of $24 per $100,000 of their property’s value once a year until 2040, according to city estimates.
“That means not drinking four of five lattes a month,” said Bob Sigala, a local retiree with union ties who used to work for Rebekah Children’s Services and now serves on the city’s Parks and Recreation Commission.
But conservative activist Mark Zappa said he would drive the property tax point home among others in a ballot argument he plans to author with the blessing of the Silicon Valley Taxpayers’ Association.
This could prove detrimental for the new library: “There is a lack of community consensus, and any resulting opposition may jeopardize the bond’s ability to be successful,” said Bonnie Jean von Krogh, an associate with the Lew Edwards group, a consultant the city hired in June for $83,000 to get the word out.
Passing a bond requires at least two-thirds voter support, and Zappa will still be going up against at least 41 percent of voters who said they would “definitely vote yes” for the library bond, according to a $20,000 survey conducted by Fairbank, Maslin, Maullin & Associates during the middle of July. It was the second such survey since January, and it rehashed nearly the same results.
Of the 400 voters surveyed last month, about 66 percent responded positively when asked to support a new, earthquake-safe library to replace the crowded, seismically unsound structure. Von Krogh said that figure was the most reliable projection, but the level of voter support dropped to about 50 percent when those surveyed considered their increased property taxes. And after hearing all the positives and negatives, support buoyed back up to 60 percent. The survey had a 5-percent margin of error
“The economy is really being felt by folks here in Gilroy. Nearly two-thirds of respondents cited gas and food prices and unemployment concerns,” von Krogh said. The Lew Edwards group has sent out two mailers, held meetings with community groups and commissioned the survey.
Library4Gilroy and La Voz de la Gente will aim to take advantage of the high number of voters expected to turn out in November. La Voz will hold a six-hour get-out-OUR-vote training session beginning at 8 a.m. Saturday, at El Portal Leadership Academy, 277 IOOF Ave.
Von Krogh said these community groups would need about $60,000 and about 50 volunteers to help win the battle, but Sigala disagreed. The pro-library groups have been working for two months, he said, and have “key people in key positions” who will help run a successful campaign for less than $20,000.
“We know what we need to do and what we need to do it, and I think we can do it,” Sigala said. He added that neighbors knocking on each others’ doors outweighs expensive marketing campaigns, and before the meeting ended Monday night, Councilmen Dion Bracco and Perry Woodward said they would walk streets to help the cause, and Bracco said he would help financially, as well.
“I hope none of you faint, but I am going to agree with Councilman Gartman,” Mayor Al Pinheiro joked. He also voiced concerns about his “gut feeling” that the bond measure will fall short of the necessary two-thirds support.
Councilwoman Cat Tucker pointed to the Garlic Festival as an example of how “the community can do this,” she said.
“All right, let’s get to work,” Pinheiro said at the end of the meeting.
By the numbers
-16,226: Number of voters in Gilroy
-66: Percent of voters likely to approve library bond measure
-50: Percent of voters likely to approve bond after considering increased property taxes
-2/3: Fraction of voters necessary to pass a bond
-75: Percent of Democrats (49 percent of Gilroy’s electorate) who support bond
-79: Percent of Latinos (33 percent of Gilroy’s electorate) who support bond
-70: Percent of voters between 18 and 29 who support bond
-71: Percent of women voters (54 percent of Gilroy’s voters) who support bond
Source: The Lew Edwards group survey
