State library funding in 2006 probable for Escondido

By: QUINN EASTMAN - Staff Writer | Thursday, February 10, 2005 11:58 PM PST ∞

ESCONDIDO ---- To stay in line for $20 million in expected state bond money for an expansion of Escondido's main library, city officials have to refrain from spending $10 million in matching funds for the library on a new police headquarters.

That's what the state's Library Bond Act manager, Richard Hall, told about 80 supporters of the Escondido Public Library at a lunch meeting at the library Thursday.

Escondido's application, which narrowly missed approval in a third and final round of competition for funding from the 2000 state Library Bond Act, will stay "frozen" in anticipation of a bond measure that will go before California voters in June 2006, Hall said.

"Your odds are better than any of the previous three cycles of the 2000 Bond Act," he told his audience. But to stay eligible for a share of the $600 million bond measure scheduled for 2006, which a majority of California voters would have to approve, city officials need to maintain their financial commitment to the library.

The city had applied for $20 million in state money to help pay for an expansion of the 44,000-square-foot main library at 239 S. Kalmia. The proposed library would be 86,000 square feet and include an underground parking structure.

But in November, the California Public Library Construction and Renovation Board, which allocates state library bond funds, decided not to give money to the Escondido project.

After that decision, a majority of City Council members said the $10 million the city held in reserve for its share of library construction costs should be used to pay for a $50 million police and fire administration building. Escondido voters approved an $84.3 million bond measure in November that raises property taxes to pay for the administration building, as well as several new fire stations.

Proposition P, the November bond measure, raises enough money through increased property taxes to build the public safety buildings without using the $10 million earmarked for the library expansion.

After the city lost out on state library funding in November, however, a majority of council members said they could reduce the tax burden on property owners somewhat by switching the $10 million from the library project to the police and fire building fund.

However, that switch would kill Escondido's chances of getting state library funding in 2006.

Sam Abed was the only council member to attend the meeting Thursday. He said he had pledged before he was elected in November that he would vote to use the reserve money ---- if the city's application for state library money failed ---- to pay back the public safety bond, and he intended to carry out his pledge.

During the meeting, he asked Hall if the city's library application could be downsized, to reduce the financial squeeze on the city.

If Escondido wants its library expansion to be funded as soon as possible, the answer is no, Hall said.

As Hall's staff interprets the language of the 2006 bond measure, there is no need for unfunded projects to reapply, thus speeding up arrival of the money. But the city can't change its application if it wants to be considered in that first wave of funding, he warned. And the state librarian's office would not allow cities to back out of their commitments to provide matching funds, he added.

In November, state library officials rated 72 projects from around California that were vying for the construction funds. All but one of the 12 projects with a top rating of "outstanding" received money. Escondido's application was rated one step lower, "very good."

There are still about $130 million worth of unfunded "outstanding" library applications and $322 million in unfunded "very good" applications remaining after the 2004 competition, Hall said.

The 2006 bond measure earmarks $300 million to the 60 unfunded projects from the 2004 competition. So if Escondido is patient ---- and holds on to its $10 million ---- it has a more than 50 percent chance of getting state funding, according to Hall.

Escondido could withdraw its application and apply again later for a smaller amount of money, he said. That application could be considered a couple of years later, when state officials consider which newly submitted projects should receive the balance of the 2006 bond money.

Hall's audience peppered him with questions on how Escondido could demonstrate for state officials the strength of local support for the library expansion. Would private fund raising or letters to the California Public Library Construction and Renovation Board, which makes the final decision on state bond funds, help?

Both might make an impression on the board, he said.

Jerrie Quon, co-chair of the Escondido Library Endowment Foundation, said that any decision by the City Council to use the reserve money on another project would be like "harvesting organs while the patient is still alive."

"We're not dead yet," she said. "We still have a chance in 2006."

The library foundation has raised almost $200,000 of a pledged $3 million to help equip an expanded main library.

The City Council started to set aside money for the library and public safety construction in the late 1990s, said Assistant City Manager Jack Anderson. To have enough matching funds available to compete for the library bond, the city transferred about $6.3 million allotted to public safety construction to the library reserve. Anderson emphasized that the council has the authority to decide how the money should be spent, whether on libraries or police stations.

Contact staff writer Quinn Eastman (760) 740-5412 or qeastman@nctimes.com.

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