MISSION VIEJO : Survey Shows Angle on Getting Library

A library survey has confirmed what many in the city already knew--that a slim majority of residents favor selling bonds to build a new library.

What the City Council has learned from the survey of 500 residents is how to appeal to the two-thirds majority needed to pass a municipal bond measure.

The survey concluded that the city must apply for other sources of funding for library construction--such as federal and state grants, corporate donations, community fund raising--before residents would be willing to tax themselves to pay for a bond measure.

Councilman Joseph Lowe said that residents might vote for a bond measure “as long as we went out and exhausted all other financial sources.”

The current, outgrown library is owned and run by the county. However, at a time when budget problems have forced many libraries in the county system to sharply reduce hours, county officials have made it clear they have no money to build a new branch in Mission Viejo.

The city subsequently paid $2.5 million for a library site near Marguerite Parkway and La Paz Road and in May set aside $50,000 to pay for architectural drawings.

Contacted by telephone last month, 72% of the residents surveyed favor building a new library. Some 21% oppose a library construction project, while 7% are undecided.

But when residents were asked if city funds should be used for construction, estimated to cost $5 million, support dropped to 57%, with 31% against taxpayers footing the bill and 12% undecided.

The survey numbers closely match the results of last November’s city elections, where voters were asked to support a library bond measure. Needing a two-thirds majority, the measure failed when only 56% voted for passage.

For the first time, the council this week also publicly considered letting the city operate the proposed library. Council members asked staff to prepare a report based on the following:

* Finding out the costs of running the current library by asking the county for a budget breakdown on the Chrisanta Drive building.

* Figuring how taxes collected from Mission Viejo residents to run the county library would be funneled back into a city-run facility.

* Calculating operating costs for libraries in cities comparable to Mission Viejo.

Council members also asked staff to obtain a written commitment for how much money the county is willing to contribute to the library project. In the past, county officials have said they would pass along proceeds from the sale of the current library building, which has been valued at about $1 million.