PHILANTHROPIST OFFERS TO FUND MUCH OF NEW LIBRARY

A local philanthropist’s offer to pick up most of the tab for a new main library in Menlo Park was lauded by some and questioned by others this past week.

John Arrillaga, a Portola Valley billionaire who has helped pay for three other buildings in the city’s Civic Center, recently called the city manager to offer to pay a big chunk of the cost to build a new library at the government center. The city has been talking about rebuilding and expanding the library since an operational review a couple of years ago found that the 1957 structure won’t adequately meet future needs.

A study completed in March estimated that a new library should be at least 11,000 square feet and would cost roughly $45 million. Arrillaga told city manager Alex McIntyre that if the city comes up with the first $20 million, he will pay for the rest, even if the price tag rises.

“He said, I’ll tell you what: You come up with first $20 million, I’ll do the rest,” McIntyre said last week during a discussion of the proposal before the city council. “If we can’t come up with $20 million, he won’t help.”

While the offer was praised by council members and many in attendance, some residents, particularly those from Belle Haven, said it exacerbates a disconnect between the city and their neighborhood.

Though Belle Haven has had a library branch since 1999, it is shared by students from the adjacent Belle Haven Elementary School who use it exclusively during school hours.

Some neighborhood residents are upset that an assessment for a new main library, which currently is 11 times larger than the Belle Haven branch, started before the city evaluated services in their neighborhood.

Resident Michael Hoff noted that the Belle Haven branch, at roughly 3,000 square feet, could fit into the children’s wing of the approximately 33,000-square-foot main library.

“I’m really sick and tired of the disparity we see in our community,” said Rachel Bickerstaff, president of the Belle Haven Neighborhood Association. “We are in Menlo Park and we want to be treated as such. … We just don’t want the Belle Haven Library to be put on the back burner.”

The council, in June, authorized a $100,000 study of the library branch and approved additional funding to expand its hours and staff time. The neighborhood wants a new library of roughly 14,000 square feet built at the Onetta Harris Community Center campus on Terminal Avenue; a resident has already constructed a rudimentary 3-D design for that library.

Lynne Bramlett, a library commissioner for the city, said Belle Haven residents “continue to be at the back of the bus” for city services.

“Belle Haven should come first,” Bramlett said. “We have an adequate property at the Civic Center. … Rebuilding this library would stall the process in Belle Haven.”

Osnat Loewenthal, who attended Tuesday’s meeting over concerns that an expanded main library could encroach on the adjacent Menlo Children’s Center, said she was baffled that the city didn’t explore putting the new library in Belle Haven.

“I’m wondering about this donation and the strings that are attached to it,” Loewenthal said. “I am questioning why not one of the sitings is in the Belle Haven area. I don’t understand it.”

The library didn’t consider building a new facility outside the Civic Center in its studies, McIntyre said, and Arrillaga expressed no interest in funding a library in Belle Haven.

“He was not at all interested in that,” McIntyre said, adding that he didn’t pursue the point because “you don’t look a gift horse in the mouth.”

Steve Haas, president of the volunteer-run Friends of the Menlo Park Library, called Arrillaga’s offer “a fantastic opportunity,” then added he hoped it wouldn’t detract from improvements to Belle Haven services.

Monica Corman, president of the Menlo Park Library Foundation, said Arrillaga’s offer would indirectly bolster the effort to build a new Belle Haven library.

“This would allow us to do fundraising for both libraries, but especially Belle Haven,” Corman said.

The main library needs to be rebuilt and expanded, according to a series of library studies dating back to 2014, because interior spaces are difficult to navigate, there’s a dearth of community gathering spaces and space for children and teenage users is insufficient.

Nick Szegda, assistant library services director, said the donation could speed up the process by years.

Arrillaga has also helped to rebuild three other buildings at the campus: the Arrillaga Gymnastics Center, the Arrillaga Family Recreation Center and the Arrillaga Family Gymnasium.

The council accepted Arrillaga’s offer Tuesday and directed staff to return to its Aug. 22 meeting with a more detailed plan and funding options from the Finance and Audit Committee.

Council members also asked staff to delay some projects and form a subcommittee to provide guidance for the new library. As part of his condition, Arrillaga asked city officials to “expedite their portion of the timeline to the extent possible,” according to a staff report.

Before the city can begin an environmental review of the project, it still needs to identify a site for it on the Civic Center campus, which it plans to do via an online survey and community workshop. Possible sites include the current library, the council chambers, the Children’s Center and the Alma parking lot. The new library would be a twostory building with underground parking.