Expansion is in the works for the Castaic Public Library, to nearly double its size, thanks to a vote from the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors. It was approved on consent at their Tuesday meeting.
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The decision to purchase the Castaic Library’s existing building, in addition to the tenant space on both sides and the surrounding acre of unimproved land and parking space, has been in the works since 2006.
After the initial study was conducted in 2007, county staff determined that the proposed expansion would have no significant effects on the environment.
On Tuesday, the board approved a negative declaration to that effect.
The decision will both enhance the library for patrons and is more cost effective for the county. In County CEO William Fujioka’s letter to the board, it is estimated that the total cost would be $2,361,500, saving the county $403,072 annually in rent and insurance costs.
In June 2012, the board amended the Castaic Library’s lease to include the option of purchasing the property once the current landlord had completed a number of improvements. Those improvements are now underway, and have been since June 21, 2013.
The Castaic Library is currently being housed in a location in the same shopping center on Sloan Canyon Road.
When the improvements and expansion is complete, the library will have a total of 12,232 square
feet. Patrons will have access to current computer technology, a collection of approximately 60,000 books, an 80-seat community room and expanded reading areas, according to Fujioka’s letter to the board.
“The current library has been really popular, but we didn’t have a lot of seating space,” said County Librarian Margaret Donnellan Todd. “…Now there’s going to be a lot more study space. We’re going to be able to give the teens their own reading area… I think people are just going to see more library, which is what they’ve needed.”
Though the board was required to make a final decision by Dec. 19, the purchase will not take effect until all the improvements have been completed under the lease agreement.
The estimated completion date is summer 2014, according to Todd.
A full range of services are available at the temporary Castaic Library in the meantime. Click here for more information.
For current board meeting agendas and all related documents, click here.
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