Posted by William, a resident of the Atherton: other neighborhood, on Apr 11, 2012 at 6:11 pm

Some comments and feedback for the ALBSC,

Thank you for asking for our comments, questions,giving feedback.

What if 75% of the town prefers to simply fix the seismic concerns with the existing library and keep the park the way it is? Will the council and ALBSC respect what the residents want?

What happens to the existing seismically challenged library building? Will fixing it become the town's expense or will the library still have to put that in its budget?

Does the EIR suggest a stop light at Watkins and Middlefield? How much does that cost and who pays for it?

With Menlo Park and Redwood City's library so close, why is another county library needed?

How will the $90,000 a year in park rental income be replaced?

Where will the park shop, offices, and storage areas located in the Main House be relocated?

Posted by Peter Carpenter, a resident of the Atherton: Lindenwood neighborhood, on Apr 11, 2012 at 8:54 pm
Peter Carpenter is a member (registered user) of Almanac Online

More questions that need to be answered:

1 - Is there sufficient data to support the need for an expanded library in order to justify the Town spending millions of dollars on a new library?

2 - Can library funds legally be used to create community meeting spaces?

3 - Could some of the $8 million, which are clearly burning a hole in the pockets of the Town, be used to replace/expand the existing structure and then the balance used to expand Menlo Park and Redwood City libraries - since they are all part of the same library system?

4 - Do the citizens, who own the park and who have funded the library fund, want to give up an important part of the current park to accomodate a library?

5 - Would the library fund pay the Town for the fair market value of the land it would be using in the park?

Posted by Joseph E. Davis, a resident of the Woodside: Emerald Hills neighborhood, on Apr 12, 2012 at 11:33 am

Unfortunately, libraries are about as obsolete these days as the Post Office.

Posted by William , a resident of the Atherton: other neighborhood, on Apr 12, 2012 at 12:44 pm

Peter,

The surplus funds could go to Menlo College's new library. The City of San Jose and San Jose State did a joint venture library.

Our questions have been posted for months on the Almanac Blogs however no one from the council nor library task force has answered them.

The current library is cozy and runs a surplus. Will the new library run a defecit once all these extra costs are added in?

Posted by Q&A , a resident of the Atherton: other neighborhood, on Apr 12, 2012 at 1:59 pm

This reminds me of High Speed Rail, no one has presented what the budget would look like to cover all the extra town expenses of adding turn lanes, traffic lights, lost rental revenue, replacing existing park offices, upgrading the old library, etc...

Then what does the new library cost to build and staff?

Is ther enough money. If they can use the funds to build a community center in the park, can they build the center next to the existing library?

Hopefully somebody from the Library Task force will post the answers on this blog.