Serbian church may be used as site for temporary library
By Kara Chalmers
The city of Saratoga is engaged in negotiations to lease part of the St. Michael Serbian Orthodox Church grounds, at 18870 Allendale Ave., to house a temporary library while the Saratoga Community Library is expanded and renovated this summer, according to the church's parish priest, the Rev. Slobodan Jovic.
The city and the church have not agreed upon terms of a lease, but Jovic said he thinks a deal is probable.
"I think we are in the stage of technicalities to be discussed; some details need to be worked out," he said.
Saratoga City Manager Dave Anderson, who said he could not comment on the issue of a location for a temporary library, since it is a matter that the city council is discussing and considering in closed session, confirmed that the city is looking at part of the Serbian church's facilities as a possibility.
The library will be expanded and renovated, at its location on the corner of Saratoga and Fruitvale avenues, thanks to a $15 million bond measure Saratoga voters passed in March. Groundbreaking for construction of the new library is scheduled for August 2001.
If the city does lease space at the church, Jovic said it would not use any of the three buildings on site--a social center, a small chapel and a parish house--but would instead place portable buildings on other parts of the 4.5-acre property.
During the construction of the new expanded library, which is scheduled to last a year and a half, all regular church activities would still go on, although hours of library use would be modified so that it would be closed during Sunday services from 9 a.m. to noon, Jovic said.
Jovic said he could not quote the cost of a lease with the city.
"It's not possible to say anything, it's not a matter of how much money, it's a matter of improving the property for library needs and for our future needs," he said.
According to Anderson, the city has two options for a temporary library. It could rent an existing building, or it could place a number of portables, bolted together, at a site. He said the city has had difficulty finding an existing building to rent so far.
Anderson said portable buildings could total some 8,000 square feet, only a fraction of 18,000 square feet--the size of the current library--so the temporary library's collection will most likely be limited. The new library is expected to total between 47,000 and 49,000 square feet.
Anderson said that within the next few weeks a location should be finalized.
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Saratoga, California Since 1955
