Gilroy’s decision to pay its library bond consultants Wilson
Group another $20,000 to rework the city’s third and final try for
state library funds feels like throwing good money after bad.
Gilroy’s decision to pay its library bond consultants Wilson Group another $20,000 to rework the city’s third and final try for state library funds feels like throwing good money after bad.
Apparently, City Councilman Bob Dillon agrees.
“The best way to describe this is desperation,” Dillon told reporter Eric Leins. “It’s unlikely at best for us to win the grant. Apparently, there are needier cities than Gilroy.”
We’re not convinced it’s a wise move to spend another $20,000 on what amounts to a long-odds lottery ticket that the city is hoping against hope will pay off in a $12.7-million dollar jackpot. Just $91.8 million remains in the Prop. 14 fund to be distributed in March.
We think that money would be better spent exploring alternative ways to fund a new library, which we agree the city desperately needs.
The current Gilroy library, built in 1975, is 13,000 square feet. The city would like to construct a 52,000 square-foot library, which officials say would meet Gilroy’s needs for the next two or three decades.
So, in the spirit of thinking outside the box, here’s our modest proposal: City and library officials should talk with South County Housing about using a portion of the old cannery, which SCH is considering purchasing, for a public library. Forging a unique public-private partnership on the library facility – especially at this location near affordable housing, downtown and public transportation – might make the project eligible for other funding sources. It’s certainly worth spending some city staff time or perhaps the $20,000 that’s headed to Wilson Group’s bank account to investigate.
Placing the library downtown is a good move, library siting experts say, because libraries need to be in highly visible, easily accessible locations … downtown Gilroy certainly meets that description better than the civic center, which is nestled in a residential neighborhood.
The library would serve as a catalyst for more downtown development, would increase pedestrian foot traffic for other businesses, would serve as a northeast cultural anchor opposite the proposed cultural center in the southwest end of downtown.
Residents of the proposed affordable housing project would probably welcome the library as a “commercial” neighbor, both as a convenience for themselves and because the patrons are likely to be quiet.
Finally, moving the library out of the civic center has another bonus: Once the new library is complete, the old library could be razed and turned into parking for the Gilroy Police Station – eliminating the need for the expensive underground parking garage the city’s currently planning for the new station.
A library at the old cannery site – maybe it’s a crazy idea, but it just might work. And it’s certainly no crazier than spending another $20,000 on a library bond money bid that almost no one expects to be successful.
The city needs a new library, and it’s becoming clear that the Prop. 14 bond money won’t be heading to our fair city. It’s time to find a way to make the much needed larger library a reality, not a lottery pipe dream.
