The state has run out of money for library construction and
renovation, so if the city wants to replace its antiquated and
over-crowded county library, it will have to dig deeper at a time
when other major city projects are already on hold and more lie on
the horizon.
Gilroy – The state has run out of money for library construction and renovation, so if the city wants to replace its antiquated and over-crowded county library, it will have to dig deeper at a time when other major city projects are already on hold and more lie on the horizon.
Library officials from the city and county – which leases the 31-year-old library building at the corner of Rosanna and Sixth streets from the city in exchange for county books, staff and computers – will tackle the issue Wednesday evening at the Senior Center.
It will be an important brain-storming session after the city’s three unsuccessful bids for state library construction funds between 2002 and 2004, said Lani Yoshimura, Gilroy’s eighth librarian since 1907.
The state had $350 million to dole out for library renovations after Californians approved Proposition 14 in 2000. But other areas with no libraries or severely outdated facilities received the money, and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger state library funding by about $15 million in August to tighten the budget.
“There is no more money available now,” said Santa Clara County Librarian Melinda Cervantes. “Given the economic climate and the Governor’s budget cuts, I would not wait [for state funds], especially Gilroy since its fully designed library will only cost more the longer the community waits to build it.”
Cervantes was referring to the estimated $30 million for Gilroy’s new two-story, 54,000-square-foot library. Under Prop. 14, the city would have paid 35 percent of the construction costs if it had won construction money. But now it will have to finance the entire project, most likely by issuing bonds.
This wouldn’t be necessary if Sen. Joe Simitian’s (D-Palo Alto) $4 billion library renovation bill wasn’t stalled in the Appropriations Committee. The bill addresses the California State Library’s identification of $8 billion in project costs for 662 libraries for the 2007-2016 time period.
The Gilroy library makes the cut this time around, but the bill’s chances of passing through the Senate remain slim, city officials say.
Councilman Dion Bracco said even though the city will have to foot the bill, something should be done.
“We just barely missed out on state construction funds,” said Bracco, who represents Gilroy on the Santa Clara County Library Joint Powers Authority, which effectively runs the local library. “But the library is one of most important things that need to be done. I put it way ahead of the art center,” which is already on hold and estimated to cost about $25 million.
“I was really surprised to find out what kind of shape our library is in, and nobody seems to care,” Bracco added.
Nobody except regular patrons such as Ivanora Oran, 25, who works for a battered woman’s shelter in Gilroy and was using one of the library’s computers to access the Internet Tuesday afternoon.
“The library still looks the same from when I was 5. In 20 years, it hasn’t changed,” Oran said. “It’s too small for the people and the books, and everything seems outdated.”
Perhaps nobody is more affected by the dilapidated facility than Yoshimura, who said the library often doesn’t have enough seating during the after-school hours to accommodate patrons.
Library Commissioner Phyllis Armenta said the library’s leaky roof and unreliable heating and air-conditioning system deserves as much attention as the city’s sidewalks or the potential acquisition of Gilroy Gardens.
“A lot of people put the library in the back of their minds unless they’re using it all the time. They don’t realize how busy and crowded it is,” Armenta said. “It gives a real opportunity to lower-income people, so I would hope that it would rank high up with sidewalks, malls and Gilroy Gardens.”
While relying on locally generated property taxes and a special library tax for 80 percent of its revenue, the library receives the remaining amount from the state, library fines, interest income and private donations.
If it can scrape together the funds for the new project, the city stands to make $6 million back over 30 years from the county’s lease, but the deal depends on the very existence of the new building that Facilities and Parks Development Manager Bill Headley will oversee.
“The library transcends most interests groups in the community,” Headley said. “The state may never be there … We have to boot strap it and dig down deep and decide what’s important to us locally.”
