Portola Valley: Library hopefuls switch sights to school site Portola Valley: Library hopefuls switch sights to school site (May 04, 2005)

By David Boyce

Almanac Staff Writer

There's apparently little steam left in the week-old idea of using Portola Valley's Historic Schoolhouse as the town's meeting hall and as a temporary town library over the two years while a new library is being built.

The governing board of the Portola Valley School District may be amenable to making a temporary library of a 2,500-square-foot one-story former kindergarten building -- now used for storage -- on the campus of Corte Madera School, said Town Councilman Steve Toben. The current library is about 3,500 square feet.

The move would have a price tag, but during a Town Council meeting last week the mayor put off cost discussions until after the school board makes a decision.

The matter is set for discussion at the school board's Wednesday, May 4, meeting, which begins at 7 p.m. in Room 1001 at Corte Madera School, located at 4575 Alpine Road. Mr. Toben said he will attend the meeting with community activist and benefactor Bill Lane.

Enthusiasm for the school site has been growing among members of the ad hoc Library Task Force, said Mr. Toben. "The school board is going to get a very enthusiastic juggernaut of support for this," he said.

The current library is to be abandoned June 1, based on a structural engineering report that found the building vulnerable to collapse in a major earthquake.

Refurbishing the school site could be a "non-trivial cost," said Mr. Toben.

Town Administrator Angela Howard mentioned in passing a rough estimate of $100,000. The paint on the windows would have to be scraped off and an opening cut into the wall separating the building's two classrooms.

Mayor Ed Davis quickly changed the subject, citing a need for more information. Town Center spending can be a sensitive topic, given that the town has just $4.5 million reserved for a project estimated at $15 million, with fundraising plans yet to be decided upon.

Lenora Ferro, co-president of Friends of the Library, said her group has heard from "hundreds of people." While aware of the need to keep a lid on spending, she is pressing the council to look again at its priorities and weigh the value of a library to the community.

E-mail a friend a link to this story.