Lea este artículo en español aquí.
After years of scrambling to identify possible locations, the San Benito County Board of Supervisors unanimously voted March 10 to pursue additional funding and gather community input on plans to expand the county library at its current Hollister site.
County Executive Officer Esperanza Colio Warren said a $3.6 million grant, administered by the California Department of Housing and Community Development, is available from the federal government. It aims to address rising construction costs since the county first secured county library expansion funds four years ago, as well as a potential temporary relocation during construction.
The funding is not yet guaranteed, as the county is competing against 176 other jurisdictions. Colio Warren stressed that community involvement is crucial to the state’s block grant program.
“The same name tells you the story: Community Development Block Grant Program. Community involvement is a big piece,” Colio Warren said. “The more people that we have here striving to get this project done, the more feedback that we receive for them, the better case that we make to the state.”
In 2022, the county secured a $10 million state grant—which required a $5 million county match—to expand the library. But since then, leaders have been puzzling over where to do it. There was a proposal to place it in the old courthouse, but none of the plans there worked. Putting it on the first floor alone wouldn’t meet grant requirements, and using both floors would cost more than $15 million and require additional staff to operate. Since February, Colio Warren and county staff have been exploring the possibility of expansion at the library’s current site.
She told the board that another key aspect that could help win the block grant was designing a warming and cooling center in one of the library’s conference rooms. As heat waves become more common, libraries across the state are increasingly serving as cooling centers. Having one at the library, Colio Warren said, “will put us in a good position to be competitive.”
While construction takes place, the books would need to be relocated. Estimated rental costs for a temporary space run about $100,000, Colio Warren said. The supervisors suggested exploring partnerships and options that would be less costly. County Librarian Austin Curtis said one option could be the county’s bookmobile, which could bring books to schools while the expansion takes place. This will also be discussed at a public meeting on March 17.
Related stories
We need your help. Support local, nonprofit news! BenitoLink is a nonprofit news website that reports on San Benito County. Our team is committed to this community and providing essential, accurate information to our fellow residents. It is expensive to produce local news and community support is what keeps the news flowing. Please consider supporting BenitoLink, San Benito County’s public service, nonprofit news.
You must be logged in to post a comment.