This is insane. The city doesn't have the money, and this wasn't a priority until John Arrillaga stepped up with this conditional "gift." For once, can't our City Council please just say NO? There's too much building and development going on as it is. Let's put our public dollars to work sensibly and equitably, i.e. on the Belle Haven branch expansion and other worthy projects, rather than a willy-nilly mad dash to break ground on a hastily-conceived main branch (which we don't need, anyway) just to use John Arrillaga's money. Odds are he'll be back; lord knows he loves putting his name on things.

It takes real audacity to put two items that support such disparate treatment of the East side and the West side of Menlo Park on the same agenda and particularly since the Belle Haven library issue is agendized as an information only item which probably precludes the Council from taking any action on that issue.


Will the Belle Haven residents tolerate this blatant injustice?

Recall?

Completely agree with Peter Carpenter. Menlo Park clearly is corrupted by Arrillaga's generous offer... even though they need money desperately it's still wrong to prioritized one project over another. Shame on you, Menlo Park.

I know where the City will try to find the extra 30 million for this unnecessary project....

Please send your comments about the Main Library project directly to City Council (city.council@menlopark.org). Whether you are for or against the project, please be civically engaged and give your input to City Council. My email to City Council is below:

Dear City Council Members,

As a concerned citizen of Menlo Park, I strongly urge you to graciously turn down Mr. Arrillaga's current library offer. While free money is tempting to accept, please consider the following:

In addition to the other consequences of accepting Mr. Arrillaga's proposal outlined in the Staff Report, pursuing the library project at this time puts Menlo Park's kids in continued danger. In order for staff capacity to be created for the unanticipated library project, at least two major Safe Routes-related projects will need to be further postponed. The Willows Complete Streets (aka Laurel Safe Routes Study) and the Middlefield/Ringwood/Ravenswood improvement project will be pushed back. Every day kids traveling to and from our City's schools contend with dangerous street conditions. How can we take on a nice-to-have library project when children's safety (and that of all of ours in town) is "postponed"?

What does it say about our City's values that we are willing to add more staff to our City's payroll to respond to a billionaire, but we are not willing to do so to address our transportation and Safe Routes issues? If Menlo Park is willing to increase staff capacity (which I think is absolutely needed), shouldn't we use that added capacity to address issues that are really affecting the day to day lives of our town's citizens instead of fast tracking a replacement to our currently adequate library?

The process and speed that this project is demanding are troubling.
- A new main library was not a City priority until this offer was presented.
- One City Council meeting was held to consider the offer. This City Council meeting took place in the middle of summer and many of the members of public who spoke on the topic were concerned that the main library would be funded and pursued before the Belle Haven library was improved. From what I witnessed, there was no overwhelming mandate from the citizens of Menlo Park to pursue the project. Most of the residents who spoke either lived in Belle Haven or were affiliated with the library in some way. Did you receive feedback from other residents of Menlo Park if they wanted to pursue this project? Did they understand the trade-offs associated with the acceptance of this proposal?
- The Staff Report recommends increasing the City Manager's contract award authority from $66k to $250k. Considering that City Council must approve many changes around town (see consent calendars), how is it that oversight will be waived for this huge project?
- The Staff Report recommends initially taking $1 million from the General Fund's unassigned fund balance without looking at other possible uses for that money. There is no consideration of what other projects could be pursued with $20 million. The library project is being evaluated in a vacuum.
- While "community input" will be solicited to share and seek some information/feedback about the project, it is the pursuit of the project itself that should have undergone significant community input.

Furthermore, the Staff Report mentions that there are significant staff vacancies in the Public Works Department. What impact does the constant re-prioritizing of projects have, not only on our town's ability to complete important previously prioritized initiatives, but also on staff morale?

The proposal from Mr. Arrillaga is tempting, but it is not something that should be pursued without a thoughtful consideration of the trade-offs and sacrifices that it entails. What good would a state-of-the-art library do if most of us in Menlo Park are unable to visit it because we are stuck in traffic? Wouldn't we rather have the ability to bike, walk and drive safely to our existing library, rather than have a fancy building that no one can get to safely?

Menlo Park is currently experiencing a transportation and housing crisis. The only library crisis facing our community is in Belle Haven. To spend City resources on a nice-to-have main library is to ignore the true needs of our community. We don't need a fancy new library right now. We need safe streets. We need more affordable housing. We need social justice.

Please do the right thing. Please consider this proposal at the proper time and place. If updating the main library, at this level, is truly needed, the community will let you know and we will find a way. Please don't let a seductive proposition guide our town.

Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,

Jen Wolosin
Menlo Park Resident

Let's hope Ray Mueller can bring this Council to it's senses.

What good is a great library if the children don't have safe streets to get there? Safety of our kids should be the #1 issue!

In a world where we increasingly use online materials.

is this REALLY a good use of the $20-30Million the city would need to spend. not to mention ongoing financial support?

The city has diminishing financial resources and faces a looming pension deficit.

in addition we DESPERATELY need a downtown parking structure to support the businesses there. I would rather see the city spend it's moeny on that than another obsolete facility.

"In a world where we increasingly use online materials.

is this REALLY a good use of the $20-30Million the city would need to spend. not to mention ongoing financial support?"

Absolutely not, especially given the strings attached.

I haven't had a need to go to the library in at least 15 years. Pretty much everything one wants to read is available SOMEWHERE on the internet. As time goes on, libraries will become less and less necessary. Libraries already are, and have been, scanning books into electronic form and making them available on line. Libraries of the future (if they even exist) will be small buildings with computer carrels for people with no internet to access books that are digital.

This is an absurd idea. Money was not budgeted for is this project and it puts other priorities in jeopardy. What good is yearly planning to keep the city healthy financially if you don't follow it. Furthermore the current library is still very functional and large enough. Parking is limited now because of the new gymnasium that was built a few years back right next door so both use the same parking area. To funnel money away from other areas of need is foolish and selfish by our council. Meanwhile the Belle Haven neighbors go without improvements in their own library and our streets continue to look like parking lots. Cmon Council lets not fix something thats not broken.