|
In This Issue...
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Capitola Library Supporters Brave the Rains to Help Decide Future of Local Branch
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Capitola Library Supporters Brave the Rains to Help Decide Future of Local Branch
City-Owned Rispin Mansion Site Favorite in Straw Poll at Meeting
By Mary Bryant
Capitola has a small branch library, located on the corner of Wharf Road and Clares Street. Even though modest in size, the existing library is one of the area's most popular branches in the region.
While the library site and building are owned by the city, it is run by the countywide Santa Cruz County library system.
Santa Cruz County's library collective operates 10 facilities from La Selva Beach to Boulder Creek, with its larger branches located in Aptos, downtown Santa Cruz and Live Oak.
Sponsored by three area cities and the county government with financial backing from a voter-approved sales tax, the system has developed a robust following in a place that clearly adores its libraries.
However, this year, despite the extra sales tax, the library system has had to cut operating hours 54 percent in the wake of budget mistakes and a steep economic downturn.
The system's new library director believes it will be years, if ever, before the open hours for area branches will be fully restored.
"This community loves its libraries. … The reality is we can't get them all open [the same number of hours]," Santa Cruz County Library Director Teresa Landers said.
Still, with a decided sense of urgency, residents, Capitola council members and library officials met on Oct. 13 in the midst of a record-breaking October rainstorm to talk about what a new Capitola branch library might look like – including locations of a new branch, how it would be funded, what's important to offer and its style.
subhead]What's the hurry?
The short answer is that many of those in attendance that evening believe that the city should use the money and available land it has in its redevelopment district, instead of waiting for a new library a decade away. The city is contracted with the county to build a library by 2018, by which date it might be difficult to fund and more expensive to build.
While the mid-October meeting covered lots of issues, the questions of when, what and where to build Capitola's new branch was the main topic.
Former Capitola councilman Mike Termini was clear about his thinking.
"We want our own library and we want it now," Termini said.
A Series of Town Hall Meetings Begins
Library Director Landers is hosting a series of town hall meetings during the next several months to get to know her system's stakeholders better. The next are in Felton Oct. 28 and then at the Aptos branch library on Nov. 5, starting at 6:30 p.m.
Landers is taking the same set of questions to each town hall. Capitola was the second, and she expects different answers from each community.
For instance, Scotts Valley has already bought a facility and is launching a million-dollar makeover. That city's challenge, according to Landers, will be to build a library that is much larger but won't require any additional staffing.
Impossible? Landers says the idea isn't that unthinkable. She believes Scotts Valley will triple the space with the same staff.
"Any new facility would be an investment in efficiency," Landers said.
How do you make efficiency? That answer is technology.
"There is an investment in technology and that is where we need to find the money," Landers said.
She added that just offering members the chance to self-check their books would make a huge difference. She had seen branches move from 25 percent self-check rates to 85 percent in a short time, but for now the system's reduced staff "is more than maxed."
With reduced hours why is staff so taxed?
Landers said a new report to be released at the end of October will show that while hours have been cut, library patrons have borrowed their books anyway.
Library branch hours may have been cut 54 percent, but the circulation (number of books borrowed) has only dropped 10 percent.
Landers said at this point, even the idea of closing branches wouldn't help the situation – there's just so much demand that more layoffs can't be considered.
Location, Location – For Now Books Take a Back Seat to Site Planning
In Capitola, there is a lot of talk about a new library facility.
— Capitola City Manager Rich Hill wants his council to consider purchasing an existing vacant office building at 4140 Jade Street. Those negotiations are ongoing. And while an existing building might prove cost effective, some at the meeting believe the location is less than perfect – in a straw poll of attendees the Jade Street site failed to garner a single vote for "best" location for a new library.
— An ad hoc committee of past and current Capitola officials wants to consider building a new library sooner, and wants to use the city's approximately $3 million in redevelopment funds for the project. Many in the group would like to see the library at one of the two city-owned properties on Wharf Road.
— A competing project – a proposed private partnership with developers to build a boutique hotel and restore what remains of the 1920s Rispin mansion at the city's six-acre Wharf Road site – stalled after a two-alarm fire in May as well as for lack of capital, leaving the city's $3 million in redevelopment funds potentially available.
— Building a library better guarantees funding in part because the current redevelopment agency balance wouldn't be otherwise allocated to a different project. Also, besides the fact that the cost of building is much lower presently than likely would be the case in 2018, site choices may be still more limited by that time. There are already few vacant parcels in the city, with only two owned by the city that are potentially suitable.
What does Capitola want in a library?
About three dozen residents answered a variety of questions put to the group by newly hired library director Landers. The crowd included four of the city's five council members – only councilman Kirby Nicol was absent.
First District Supervisor John Leopold was in the audience, along with retired supervisor Jan Beautz. Leopold also is a member of the library oversight committee.
Former Capitola mayor Tony Gualtieri was also on hand, along with former city manager Susan Westman. These two, along with Termini, have been part of a self-proclaimed ad hoc committee to advance the early construction of a new Capitola branch and make suggestions about what site the city should select.
The two Wharf Road sites were popular, where the library is now and the big city-owned Rispin property across the street. Many said the creekside locale and associated ambience were a plus, while others noted that the current Capitola branch serves Soquel patrons who might not want to travel across town along the 41st Avenue corridor to fetch their reading material.
But the best reason was money. The city's $3 million redevelopment funds are generally limited to a site inside the RDA boundaries. The only two sites that fit that criterion are the Wharf Road properties.
What do Capitola citizens want in a library?
According to Councilman Dennis Norton, "something reflective of lifestyle design."
According to Gualtieri, citizens want "to have a really good-looking civic building."
And while the night's survey showed participants wanted services for young readers and a portal to the online world, a comfortable place to visit was the top priority.
|
