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Four years ago, the San Benito County Free Library and the San Benito County Board of Supervisors received a $10 million grant from the California State Library to expand its facility. The current library building, constructed in 1960, was last expanded in 1983.
The Free Library expansion project aims to increase the library’s public space from 7,000 to 15,000 square feet. This will allow the library to expand the adult, teen and children’s area. The library is planning to add small meeting rooms, laptop workstations and larger areas for job enhancement programs.
According to County Executive Officer Esperanza Colio Warren, the California State Library has extended the project completion deadline to Sept. 30, 2027. She also said the state has indicated a willingness to consider an additional extension if necessary.
She said the reason for the current delays is that the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) process was not completed and comments by the State Historic Preservation Officer still need to be addressed.
Colio Warren also said staff turnover occurred during these processes, which has also slowed progress.
In order to complete these processes, the county has completed a draft request for qualifications (RFQ) to find a qualified design engineering firm. They have also “prepared a request for proposals (RFP) to hire a consultant to complete the CEQA process and address the remaining SHPO requirements,” according to Colio Warren.
Colio Warren said it could take six to eight weeks before the RFQ and RFP are released.
“Our focus is on getting this project done the right way,” she said. “We remain committed to transparency, accountability and delivering a library expansion that will serve our community for generations to come.”
Even as Colio Warren affirmed that the county remains committed to the project, other project backers remain worried about the tight deadline.
“People see that the vision is there,” Friends of the Library president Tami Aviles said. “They see the library is busy. And most people I talk to are like ‘when’s that gonna happen?’ or ‘it’s long overdue.’”
Aviles said she believes even the new 2027 timeline is unrealistic. She said the library needs at least a year to move into a new temporary space while the construction happens and that the construction will take at least a year. The library has not begun moving out, she said.
According to project plans provided by Friends of the Library, the design-build contract RFQ/RFP was set to be approved in December 2024, but it is still awaiting approval from the Board of Supervisors.
Aviles said that the design-build contract RFQ/RFP was in legal review in June 2025, but was put on hold because of county budget issues.
The Board of Supervisors has approved more than $500,000 for preliminary architectural and design documents from Anderson Brule Architects Inc. These documents do not include the final design for the new library, which must be created by a separate “Design-Build Entity,” according to county Board of Supervisors staff reports.
On June 23, the supervisors approved an amendment to extend the contract with Anderson Brule.
Aviles said the project will be difficult to continue if the $10 million grant expires, considering the budget issues the board is currently facing. She added that Library Director Austin Curtis is looking into additional grants for the library.
Curtis told BenitoLink he could not comment on the new grant search at this time.
Meanwhile, 52 other library projects which also received grant money from the California State Library Building Forward Library Facilities Improvement Program are finished or nearly finished, according to the state library.
“Sixteen Building Forward projects have been completed, and an additional 36 projects are nearly finished. Completed projects serve the communities of Alhambra, Arcata, Buena Park, Chino Hills, Del Mar, Dinuba, Fullerton, Indio, Orland, Riverside, San Leandro, Upland, and Ventura County,” according to the program’s 2024-25 fiscal report.
On June 27, 2025, the Board of Supervisors nearly defunded the project but ultimately decided to find a way to reduce the project’s costs. Aviles said she felt the board’s action in June to extend the Anderson Brule agreement was the first time the board was in full support of the project.
“Being such a proponent of this project for nine years now, I can’t see anybody trying to stall it on purpose, but I do feel like this is the first time we’ve had vocal support from 100% of the board as well as the CEO,” Aviles said.
Supervisor Kollin Kosmicki said he was glad the project is moving forward.
“Although it has taken longer than we all hoped, this project will stand to greatly benefit the community,” he said in an email to BenitoLink.
Benitolink’s requests for comment from the rest of the supervisors on the library project have not been answered.
The BenitoLink Internship Program is a paid, skill-building program that prepares local youth for a professional career. This program is supported by Monterey Peninsula Foundation AT&T Golf Tour and Taylor Farms.
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