Closed since last May after a preliminary seismic evaluation found the building was out of compliance with municipal code, the Central Library will need to fortify its structure which was built wit…
Pasadena could soon ask residents to foot the bill for the almost century-oldand upgrade project through a potential parcel tax on the ballot next year. Closed since last May after a preliminary seismic evaluation found the building was out of compliance with municipal code, thewill need to fortify its structure which was built with unreinforced masonry walls now widely recognized as a safety hazard in even moderate earthquakes.
The evaluation found the library’s walls, built in 1927, were already showing significant cracks, and were not fastened to the structure’s foundation, floor beams or roof. At their Aug. 22 meeting, the Pasadena City Council received a presentation from Gruen Associates — which the city contracted in February to provide planning and environmental documents for the project — on possible approaches that will upgrade the building listed on the National Registry of Historic Places as well as bring it up to code. Gruen recommended employing a ‘concrete shear wall” approach to the project, which would replace the building’s inner bricklayer with a concrete wall that will reinforce the library’s outer brick layer, floors, and roof. According to Gruen the method, estimated to cost around $175 million, was the most cost effective that met design standards, and offered the quickest approval and construction times compared to other retrofit approaches that were considered. While a different method, the base isolation approach, would have offered more seismic protection — raising the library’s foundation to add isolators underneath ground floor columns that absorb earthquake impacts — it would also be more time consuming and expensive, adding about nine months to the project and requiring additional support structures to be constructed on the second floor. The City Council, like the Library Commission, Historic Preservation Committee and Design Commission before them, unanimously agreed with the recommendation. “The Central Library holds a special place in the hearts of Pasadena’s residents, and its retrofit and repair marks a pivotal moment in the city’s history,” Pasadena Mayor Victor Gordo said. “By fusing historical reverence with forward-thinking engineering and design, the City of Pasadena is steadfastly committed to creating a resilient and inviting Central Library that will stand for another century and beyond.” However, much of the item’s discussion at the meeting centered around not the design approach, but how to pay for the project’s currently unfunded construction phase. According to City Manager Miguel Marquez, staff will return before the council in October with a funding plan for the Central Library project, as well as comparable context on the city’s other capital improvement needs. While the city is actively looking for grants and other funding sources for the nine-figure project, it’s also exploring adding a bond measure to the November 2024 ballot that may be their best chance to make up the difference. Director of Public Works Tony Olmos said the city would have to prepare now to make it on the ballot on time, and is hoping to nail down a solid cost estimate for construction by next summer that would give residents a firm sense of how much they’ll be paying, should the financing fall to voters. “We would be concerned that if we put an estimate out there to the voters and got this funding, then the bids all of sudden come in way higher,” Olmos explained. “Then what do we do?” Officials said the current cost estimates have built-in contingencies and already account for inflation before the construction work starts and unexpected design changes. The council also entertained the possibility of writing the bond measure to also pay for other city capital improvement projects, like upgrading fire stations. However some council members warned that even residents who want to fund each project may not support lumping them all together in one bond measure. “We may want one parcel tax, for example, that funds the Rose Bowl, the library and everything else,” Gordo said. “But there’s a point where the community would not support it because its biting off more than we can chew.” Others also pointed out that voters could get ballot fatigue from the myriad measures and races anticipated for next year’s November election. In Pasadena, the City Council will have the mayoral seat, as well as the seats for Districts 1, 2, 3, 4, and 6 all up for election next year, according to City Clerk Mark Jomsky. “And if we’re going to contemplate a charter study, we’re talking about a number of measures that might be involved in that,” Jomsky said. “The county has already signaled that there are going to be a lot of measures on the ballot and they’re hearing from cities on that.” The city will also have to decide whether it will be a Pasadena-written measure or one sponsored by a separate “Friends of” group, as was the case with Measure L, the $41 parcel tax that has helped fund the library system since 1993. The city of Pasadena has ordered the closure of the Central Library at t 285 E. Walnut St due to seismic safety concerns in Pasadena on Wednesday, May 5, 2021. Just last year, Pasadena residents voted overwhelmingly to extend the tax another 15 years, which was to sunset in February. The vote, with nearly 85% approval, follows previous extensions in 1997 and 2007 which helped fund one-fifth of the city’s library system. If funding is secured by the time designs are expected to be complete in spring 2025, it’s estimated construction will take about three years, with the library anticipated to reopen in fall 2028. Gruen will provide the city council with a follow-up presentation on Sept. 11, with a community meeting scheduled for Sept. 21 at Robinson Park Recreation Center.
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