I have just finished reading the column article about the (new) library in Scotts Valley (Cheri Matthews’ Year of Firsts, Page 10, Nov. 13). Let me list the reasons that it won’t work.
It makes too much sense.
Your problem is that you think like a business person and not a government worker or, worse yet, a politician.
I could visualize a snack bar with comfortable chairs, Wi-Fi, great coffee and great healthy sandwiches.
I could also visualize a room or two set aside for community gatherings, computer classes, nonprofit fundraisers, knitting classes, book clubs, journalism classes, etc.
I can see so many ways that the government of Scotts Valley could help pay for the library and at the same time offer valuable services to the community that no one else could offer.
Since no one in the government system thinks like a business person, they could sublease the food section off to one or two separate businesses. This could offer a good small business a new location at a reduced overhead cost and at the same time get in some good business skills that are so necessary to make money, as well as give the customers good-quality food and drink.
I could see the government making enough from this to be able to afford to hire several extra people, so that the library could be open every day in order to really satisfy the needs of the community without additional costs to the county.
Thank you for the great article, and I hope that I am wrong and that someone from the city of Scotts Valley and the county of Santa Cruz has more sense than I give them credit for.
If you are expecting this to be a Barnes & Noble atmosphere, you better think again. This will be a Scotts Valley version of a library, like a Scotts Valley version of a High School and take on the largest non-profit development debt in 20 years. It will be highly underfunded to staff and operate and be closed at least two days a week.
Libraries a neato. Spending money you don't have when your checkbook is negative is not so.
City Council Spending Sponsor: Jim Reed. You can reach him for comment on the city website.
This library is too much money, at a very bad time, and is only cover for a town center real estate grab.
I believe Mr. Reed thinks we are all stupid.
Mr. Reed, we know what you are up to.
In the case of the new library the Scotts valley City Council approved the selling of high interest Scotts Valley bonds to fund a project and in addition "borrowed" millions of dollars from the Scotts Valley Waste Water Fund to help with the $17 million price tag.
Anytime the City needs to go to this extreme to fund a project shouldn't they first present all the numbers to the taxpayers and get their consensus before proceeding?
At a time when the City Council is spending more each year than it takes in from taxes, do we really need to spend $17 million for Reed's library. Can't we get a really good library for much less than half that amount.
To put the size of this expense into perspective consider that $17 million is more than twice the amount in the City Annual General fund. Here are the facts regarding the cost for the library:
$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 is issuing 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.
Vice-Mayor Reed couldn't we have gone for a little less expensive library?