New library on brink of opening its doors
Building is 90% done, public works official says
CAPITOLA >> By May, the new Capitola Library could be open.
Public Works Director Steve Jesberg said last week that the structure has progressed well and is approximately 90% done. All that is left is some work to the interior.
Due to COVID-19 and power lines that needed to be repositioned, the timeframe for the building’s completion was delayed by about a year.
“Construction never stopped, it just slowed down,” Jesberg said. “When COVID first hit we scaled back a little, but we were able to keep working without stopping.”
Costs, however, have stayed on schedule, Jesberg said.
“We had some change orders in the project,” he said of expenditure expectations. “We reduced the scope of the work and then added in some unanticipated (costs) as we went through… The price has gone up in contracting, but overall has been reduced by $300,000.”
Public Works anticipates finishing the library in March, at which time the Santa Cruz County Library District will occupy the building and furnish it. Jesberg estimates this will take approximately six weeks, and pandemic permitting, the public will be able to use the facility in May.
“We’re excited to finally wrap it up here,” he said.
Jesberg said the city has provided monthly updates to the library system, which was heavily
“Capitola really came together and stepped up to contribute in a bigger way than ever before to make our campaign such a huge success.” — Gayle Ortiz, owner of Gayle’s Bakery in Capitola
involved during the design process of the building.
“During construction we’ve had project managers work with them to make sure certain equipment going in is what (they) want,” he said. “We’ve been coordinating trying to get to the finish.”
Jesberg said that the public has already started to react to the building’s presence; mainly, the size of the facility has surprised them, he said.
“The size is what we worked out with the library district,” he said, adding that he attributed much of the confusion to how close the building is to Wharf Road. “It’s going to be a grand building, a great library once it’s completed.”
Mostly, the public has supported the new library concept. Toni Campbell of The Friends of the Capitola Library said Monday that nearly 500 gifts — donations plus inscribed paver purchases — have yielded just short of $700,000 toward the new library.
“These funds were raised by a capital campaign committee, a group of community members that was formed over three years ago,” Campbell explained. “The Friends of the Capitola Library was a donor to the capital campaign.”
Campbell and Gayle Ortiz, owner of Gayle’s Bakery in Capitola, cochaired the campaign.
“Capitola really came together and stepped up to contribute in a bigger way than ever before to make our campaign such a huge success,” Ortiz said. “It has every right to be truly proud when the doors finally open.”