HomeMy WebLinkAbout2001-06-12 - AGENDA REPORTS - CYNCNTRY J DARCY LIBRARY (2)NEW BUSINESS
DATE:
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CITY OF SANTA CLARITA
AGENDA REPORT
June 12, 2001
City Manager Appro`
Item to be presented
SUBJECT: NAMING OF THE CITY'S NEW LIBRARY FACILITY IN
CANYON COUNTRY- "THE CANYON COUNTRY JO ANNE
DARCYLIBRARY, SANTA CLARITA, CALIFORNIA"
DEPARTMENT: City Manager
RECOMMENDED ACTION
City Council approve naming the City's new library facility in Canyon Country the
"Canyon Country Jo Anne Darcy Library, Santa Clarita, California;" and direct the
City Manager to draft a letter to the County of Los Angeles informing them of the
facility's new name.
BACKGROUND
The issue of library services in the Santa Clarita Valley has been discussed often
over the past several years with many discussions focusing on the inadequate
facility serving the Canyon Country community. Based on the needs in that
community and the lack of County resources to build a new facility, in 1999 the City
Council allocated $5.1 million in general fund revenues to build a new, larger library
facility.
The Council directed staff to work with TCP Management, the owner of the property
located across from the Edwards Theatre Complex, the County of Los Angeles and
the community to design a City facility that would better serve the growing
community. The City negotiated an options agreement with TCP Management for
the development of the facility as part of the larger commercial project, and
negotiated a lease agreement with the County of Los Angeles to provide library
services at the new City facility.
The new library is a 17,000 square foot, freestanding facility, which is more than
three times the size of the existing library. As a result of public input, several
recommendations were incorporated into the plans. For example, an outdoor
courtyard area, use of stonework and tiles throughout the project, unique
architecture, a strong emphasis on technology (with 16 computers and over 40 data
ports for Internet access on opening day), and increased landscaping were added to
FROWED Agenda Itemme.19
NAMING THE CITY'S NEW LIBRARY FACILITY
June 12, 2001
Page 2 of 2
the design. The City will provide the facility, bookshelves, office equipment,
including desks and chairs, as well as break facilities for County staff. The County
will provide staff, books and computers.
Mayor Laurens Weste has requested that the new facility be named the "Canyon
Country Jo Anne Darcy Library, Santa Clarita, California" in honor of long-time
Councilmember and community activist Jo Anne Darcy. Mrs. Darcy served as a
founding member of the Santa Clarita City Council, has served as Santa Clarita's
Mayor four times and has served as officer, founder and/or Chair of 38 service and
philanthropic organizations throughout the Santa Clarita Valley. Jo Anne's
dedication to library services in the Santa Clarita Valley have been unwavering and
are demonstrated through her Chairmanship of the City's Entrepreneurial Library
Council, her participation on the Special Task Force on Library Enhancement and
her appointment to the Los Angeles County Library "Special Council" on Planning.
In addition, Jo Anne was the founding President of the Santa Clarita Valley
"Friends of the Library" and was named "Woman of the Year Honoree and
"Founding President's Honoree." Jo Anne Darcy has worked for and with the
residents of the Santa Clarita Valley for decades and has done a tremendous amount
of work to insure the success of the Valley's library system. It is for these reasons
that Mayor Weste respectfully requests the new library be named the "Canyon
Country Jo Anne Darcy Library, Santa Clarita, California."
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1. City Council decide to name the facility another name.
2. Other action as determined by Council.
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