Library, river park included in capital needs assessment

The Fallbrook library and the San Luis Rey River Park were among the capital needs included in the Capital Improvement Needs Assessment Program approved by the San Diego County Board of Supervisors on May 22.

The Capital Improvement Needs Assessment Program covers facilities projects slated for capital improvement between 2007 and 2012 but does not include funding for those projects. The supervisors’ 5-0 vote, however, also referred the program to the county’s Chief Administrative Officer to determine timing and funding mechanisms to implement the individual projects.

The plan includes approximately $1.046 billion in partially funded and unfunded priority projects along with currently funded and approved projects totaling approximately $250 million. Because the capital planning process which includes the Capital Improvement Needs Assessment Program focuses on facilities, road projects are not included on the capital improvements list. A Facilities Planning Board prioritizes projects based on criteria including benefits and linkage to the county’s strategic plan.

A total of 11 major unfunded and partially funded projects exceeding $9 million apiece were prioritized. The future Fallbrook Library tied for eighth with the future Ramona library. The Fallbrook library has an estimated total cost of $9.54 million, and officially $200,000 of that has been funded although the official county amounts do not include money raised by Friends of the Fallbrook Library.

Funding for County Library branches has been deferred due to the potential to obtain state funding. In March 2000 the state’s voters passed Proposition 14, which provided $350 million in matching funds to build and renovate public libraries throughout California. In July 2001 the supervisors authorized county staff to develop Proposition 14 applications for replacement libraries including the Fallbrook branch, but the California Public Library Construction and Renovation Board rejected the Fallbrook application for both the 2003 and 2004 cycles. After the Proposition 14 funds were exhausted the state legislature approved a proposed bond for additional library replacement and renovation, but the state’s voters rejected that bond during the June 2006 election. The county’s 2007-08 budget cycle will be the first one this century in which the county has no plans for state grants to fund local libraries.

If the 2007-08 budget includes funding of the new Fallbrook library, it would be scheduled for occupancy in summer 2009. The county has selected a site for the new Fallbrook library which is immediately to the north of the existing library building. In June 2002 the supervisors approved options to purchase the existing home on that site along with two-thirds of the property needed to meet parking requirements, and in July 2002 the supervisors approved the purchase of the remaining one-third of the parking requirement. In February 2003 the county’s Planning and Environmental Review Board granted a Major Use Permit for the proposed Fallbrook library and made findings that the project is consistent with the county’s General Plan and with the Fallbrook Community Plan, that the project is consistent with existing zoning which allows library services with the granting of a Major Use Permit, that the project complies with all of the findings of a Major Use Permit, and that the project would not have a significant effect on the environment. The current library totals 8,100 square feet, while the new library would encompass 17,410 square feet.

The San Luis Rey River Park ranked 11th on the major project priority list. Current funding for land acquisition and environmental review totals $8.18 million, and while the $11 million estimate covers the amount for 2007 through 2012 the cost for potential future open space acquisition is estimated at more than $25 million over the next 10 to 20 years.

The supervisors begin budget deliberations for the 2007-08 fiscal year on June 19.