The Orange County Register is reporting that the Grand Library Mayor Steven Choi desperately wants as his legacy could cost taxpayers as much as $220 to build and about $12 million a year to operate. If the city leaves the county library system, it will have about $20 million to play with so running the library shouldn’t be a problem but building it certainly is.
From the story:
Last month, Choi asked city staff members to bring to the City Council’s first meeting in February a rough estimate of the cost of constructing, furnishing and operating a new library, as well as a breakdown of funding available.
About $175 million to $212 million would be needed to build a library facility of 222,000 square feet, the space that would bring the ratio of library space per resident up to the 0.86 square feet per capita recommended in 2006 by the city’s Library Services Advisory Committee, according to the staff report.
Operation and maintenance could cost $12 million annually, the report stated, based on estimates of costs from other central libraries.
The city has $37.2 million available for capital costs; by 2024, conservative estimates show $322.3 million will be available, according to the report. That includes $50 million a steering committee for the library project has pledged to raise.
Choi, still clueless about his personal popularity or support for the proposal, seems surprised about the sign campaign to stop what his opponents called “The Library Boondoggle.”
From the Register:
The mayor said he was shocked when he found out about the sign campaign, and was suspicious that his opponents are taking advantage of the proposal, to score political points.
“There must be a linkage to political motivation against me personally,” he said “It’s not the library issue.”
It’s unlikely an average citizen felt so opposed to the proposal as to purchase and put up hundreds of signs along the town’s thoroughfares, he said.
Sources close to Choi say the Mayor believes getting the library underway is his springboard to higher office. A number of city leaders have encouraged Choi to focus on remodeling and expanding Irvine’s existing libraries, but Choi just doesn’t want to hear it and wants a Moby Dick in the Great Park that will likely benefit his neighbors in Woodbury better than those in Northwood, University or Woodbridge neighborhoods. For the city’s young people to use the library, public transportation routes will need to be established.
Choi is going to have a very tough time making a case for a massive library if, less than three weeks after the state of the city address, he announces he is running for Assembly.
Meanwhile, the mysterious group the Irvine Villages for Fiscal Responsibility has another email out urging residents to convince Choi to find a new plan. Mayor Pro Tem Jeff Lalloway is included on the email this time, but he and Christina Shea where not included under the council members to contact as they were likely “no” votes. If the Republicans split 2-2, Beth Krom becomes the dealmaker or deal breaker.
Here’s their latest missive:
| Irvine Villages for Fiscal Responsibility |
| Dear Irvine Resident:
It happened in our beautiful neighboring city of Newport Beach. In 2008, the citizens of Newport Beach voted to build a new civic center in Newport Center for a rough estimate of $60 million. Unfortunately, after the vote, City Council minutes and planning documents show the scope of the project changed dramatically and projected costs quickly mounted. The City Council revised plans on their own, with no oversight, voted on “add-ons” such as a pedestrian bridge, new parking garages, decorative landscaping and sculptures. The city’s new civic center, dubbed the “Taj Mahal” by many, ended up with a $135 million price tag. By the time Newport Beach pays of all of it – with the cost of financing it over t30 years – the total bill to taxpayers will be well over $220 million, city finance documents show. This past November, Newport Beach taxpayers showed three councilmen the exit door (including the popular sitting mayor) over their anger at the mismanagement and high costs of the civic center. Sound familiar? Mayor Steven Choi and the rest of the Irvine City Council need to be stopped. We continue to need your help before the February 10 City Council meeting to stress to Mayor Choi and the City Council to end this fiscal boondoggle. We ask you to send Mayor Choi, Mayor Pro-Tem Jeff Lalloway, Councilwomen Beth Krom and Lynn Schott a message by writing a letter or email, or calling their offices and stating your opposition and asking them to vote NO to Mayor Choi’s big government library “pet project.”
_______________________________ |
| Mayor Pro-Tem Jeff Lalloway and Councilwoman Christina Shea expressed their concerns about this project and we are confident they will vote no. We need your help to convince the remaining Council members mentioned above.
Have elected officials not learned that taxpayers pay attention? Join us in speaking out AGAINST big government, wasteful spending of our tax dollars, feeding the egos of elected officials and their pet projects, and speaking FOR fiscal responsibility, transparency and good government for the people and by the people. Like Newport Beach, we need to be prepared to vote out those, like Larry Agran, who try to squander our hard-earned dollars. After the $200 million dollars that Larry Agran and his colleagues wasted on NOT building the Great Park can Irvine and our fellow taxpayers afford another at-least $150 million on a municipal Library our city does not need? Stand with us and demand that no politician or his ‘pet projects’ are ever more important than the financial health of our City ever again. Thank you. |
Dan, I will be eagerly awaiting to see how the last of the Agranistas votes on this issue.
The existing library system in Irvine reinforced by UCI, seems to be working just fine and at a reasonable cost. In doing my graduate work, I frequently used the library at UCI and found it to have everything I needed.
As a taxpayer, I am adamently opposed to building a Taj Mahal that we don’t need nor have the finances for, solely to reinforce the ego of any person or group. I encourage the Council to go back to their original list of projects for the Great Park, assemble them in whatever priority they choose and forget the library boondoggle.
Well, the vote is not in, but am listening to Beth Krom speak on the library. I must say I am impressed with her input so far. Hopefully she will be voting to table the library boondogle. Keep up the good work Beth.
So first they left out Lalloway on the names of people to write their concerns too and now they are leaving out Shea. Sounds like this group is working with or at least communicating with Lalloway and Shea to go against Choi. Now that the election is over, we really see that those 3 don’t really get along.
“Where there is no vision, the people will perish.” It sounds like the council meters opposing the library have no vision other than $ and votes :(. If Irvine really aspires to be a model community some type of a state of the art information facility – not just the libraries we currently have – is required. This is a no-brainer. A metro library is not a waste of tax payer dollars. A modern metro library will create more jobs, inspire imagination, provide vibrant and safe spaces where the arts, sciences, cultures can meet, meld, grow, and make our world a better place. Why would anyone oppose this?
I’d rather see existing library branches expanded and improved. There’s land at each location to expand on or there’s always adding floors upwards if the footprint won’t allow extra expansion.
The Katie Wheeler being the exception.
A massive library will create short term construction jobs but not that many full time positions.
One question though — would the massive Library be for Irvine residents only or can anyone in the county use it?
Just looking at something out of the box. Wouldn’t it make better sense for Irvine to take over a building such as the Verizon building ( just one example for discussion) as and example which is more centrally located and actually be more accessible to more citizens and then in future have a small satellite library in Great Park area.