Surplus library land funds shifted to construction

Surplus land acquisition funding for the new Fallbrook library has been transferred to the construction portion of the project.

The Board of Supervisors voted June 19 to transfer $95,999 from the library land acquisition budget to the library expansion designation.

“It’s all good news,” said Jose Aponte, the county’s Library Director. “All these indications are very positive.”

The land acquisition phase of the new library has been completed. The county had budgeted the $95,999 for the library’s share of the common parking lot on Alvarado Street, but because Friends of the Fallbrook Library had raised the money to purchase the parking lot share the county’s allocation wasn’t needed for that purpose. “That resource is now freed up,” Aponte said. “It’s been shifted to the capital.”

The library expansion work will include the demolition of the Johns Building on July 19, and Aponte noted that construction costs include cleanup and grading as well as the new building

itself.

The transfer of library funds was a recommendation of Supervisor Bill Horn. “The supervisor is very much advocating for the project at every level,” Aponte said.

Although the 2007-08 budget passed by the Board of Supervisors during a separate June 19 action did not include specific funding for new library construction, on May 22 the supervisors approved a Capital Improvement Needs Assessment Program which included the Fallbrook and Ramona branch libraries. “It’s a very high priority,” Aponte said.

“The next step is the funding,” Aponte said. “The elected officials get them funded.”

The supervisors have the authority to add expenditures to the 2007-08 budget if a funding source is determined, and while a mid-year budget adjustment would require four votes it is likely that all five supervisors will support the Fallbrook and Ramona libraries, which were tied for priority position on the Capital Improvement Needs Assessment Program priority list.

Since the decision is that of the supervisors rather than county staff, Aponte cannot provide an estimate of when the funding for the new library will occur, but the Capital Improvement Needs Assessment Program makes him optimistic. “We’re excited about the possibility there in Fallbrook, and the community deserves kudos for their continued support,” Aponte said.

On Thursday, July 19, at 11 a.m., Supervisor Bill Horn will be in Fallbrook to give the official signal to start demolition of the “Ellis-Johns House” at the corner of Alvarado and Mission Road where the new library will be constructed. The public is welcome to attend.