Council picks architect for the city's new library
By Kara Chalmers
Plans for the new and improved Saratoga Community Library are under way. The Saratoga City Council has chosen an architect, BSA Architects of San Francisco, to provide architectural services for the library's expansion and renovation project. The contract, which the council agreed to on Aug. 2, is for an amount not to exceed $1,307,150, for services that include design, engineering and geological surveys.
Voters passed a $15 million general obligation bond measure, Measure N, in March for this project, which entails renovating and expanding the library in its current location on the corner of Fruitvale and Saratoga avenues. According to a staff report prepared by interim city manager Bill Norton, the city's general fund will cover the costs of the architect until the bond is sold.
In May, the council reconvened the library expansion committee. It includes three citizen representatives, one council member, the chairwoman of the library commission, the city manager; a representative of the Friends of the Saratoga Libraries, a planning commissioner; a heritage preservation commissioner, a public safety commissioner and a representative of the Santa Clara County Library. Saratoga Community Library head librarian Dolly Barnes and the city's administrative services director, Mary Jo Walker, are nonvoting members of the committee.
The library expansion committee prepared the request-for-proposals form for the library's design, and recommended the architect to the council. The committee will monitor the design and construction of the library.
In July, the council appointed Susan Calderon, Eva Giordano, Donald Johnson, Alan V. King and Norman Siegler to the citizen oversight committee for Measure N.
The bond will also specifically pay for more books, increased space for books, ensuring modern earthquake standards, quiet study rooms, rewiring to improve access to the Internet, additional children's programs, improved access to fire exits, extra seating, replaced lighting and improved access for people with disabilities. Groundbreaking is scheduled for August 2001.
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Saratoga, California Since 1955
