On Wednesday, Sept. 16, the City Council voted to approve a $533,150 contract with South San Francisco-based Group 4 Architecture, Research + Planning Inc., which will design a 13,150-square-foot library at 251 Kings Village Road.
The contract was originally set for $667,510, but it was trimmed after the previous council meeting, when the city tightened its budget through staff reductions and a furlough.
The new library is slated for completion in June 2011. If it is not built by 2011, the city will owe $10,000 a month in rent to the Santa Cruz County Library Joint Powers Authority for the present library in the Kings Village shopping center.
Based on an agreement between the city and the county, the city’s redevelopment agency has saved money for nearly 20 years to build a new library.
Group 4 has 12 weeks to produce a design, which must be approved by the redevelopment agency and the Santa Cruz County Library Joint Powers Authority.
During the process, a community meeting will gather input about what folks want to see in their new library.
The meeting will begin at 7 p.m.
Oct. 26 at the Scotts Valley Community Center, 361 Kings Village Road.
$4,500,000 to buy the building
$6,700,000 cost to remodel only 13,000 sq feet of the building
$ 533,000 Architect fee for just 13,000 sq feet of building
$5,500,000 Interest payable on the bonds the City will issue to cover the full cost.
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$17,200,000 for a 13,000 sq foot library.
This works out to $1,307.98 for each of the library's 13,000 sq feet. Putting this into perspective, it costs every man woman and child in Scotts Valley $1,407.09 to build this. Couldn't we have gone for a little less expensive library?