San Ysidro Library

For over twelve years the residents of San Ysidro have been waiting on the construction of a new library that can accommodate the community's needs. Currently, the CIP dedicated to constructing a new library proposes a 17,000 square foot, two-story building. The area required to accommodate this structure is 1.2 acres which would include the library and an accompanying parking lot. A feasibility study has been finalized and community outreach has been conducted. Although many locations were taken in account, it was determined that the most appropriate site to build a library is adjacent to Beyer Elementary School.

The San Ysidro School District had previously agreed to partner with the city on building a joint ­use library on the Beyer Elementary School site, however over the last couple of months the school district has informed the city that there may be hurdles that need to be overcome in order to have both the library and school built at this location. Given the size of the site, I believe there is ample space to build both the school and the library. The school district's architect simply needs to identify additional options. Upon receipt of this information I organized a Town Hall meeting on February 19, to provide the community with an update on the project and approximately 70 people attended the meeting. The community showed overwhelming support that the library should be built at the Beyer Elementary School site and that both buildings be built at the same location. There were three San Ysidro School District boards members present at the Town Hall who committed to reviewing the site again and addressing the community's concerns. In addition, community members stated their intent to attend upcoming San Ysidro School Board meetings to demand that this issue be addressed.

Currently, the library has $1.2 million in DIF funding and will receive $3 million from the FYI 3 lease revenue bond issuance. However, the current funding allocation is for the design portion of the project and additional funding for construction is still required. Additional funding opportunities should be utilized for this project, such as increased revenues and future bond issuances. In order to proceed with the project the city will need to establish a joint use agreement with the San Ysidro School District for the site use. It is critical that this new library is constructed to accommodate the needs of the community and is therefore one of my top priorities. I ask for your support in making this long overdue library a reality for the residents of San Ysidro.

For your information, I have included the San Ysidro Library Feasibility Study.

Thank you for your attention to this matter.

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