Calabasas to Help Finance Library in Agoura Hills

The Calabasas City Council has agreed to contribute $1.2 million toward the construction of a $6-million public library in Agoura Hills--the first such joint venture between two cities in Los Angeles County.

The 25,000-square-foot facility will replace the existing 7,500-square-foot Las Virgenes Library on Roadside Drive and will be stocked and staffed by the county. When it is completed in about three years, the library will house a collection of about 100,000 volumes and, local officials hope, end the need for Las Virgenes area residents to drive to Thousand Oaks or Los Angeles to find the books they want.

“It’s going to really be a quality library,” Calabasas City Councilwoman Karyn Foley said. “People now have to schlep over to the Thousand Oaks Library or go to a university library to get what they need.” The council unanimously approved the contribution Thursday.

County library officials long have wanted to replace the 22-year-old Las Virgenes Library, but never have had the money to build a new facility. Agoura Hills last year agreed to finance a 21,500-square-foot building on six acres of donated land on Canwood Street, across the Ventura Freeway from the existing library.

Calabasas’ cooperation will allow the project to expand by about 3,500 square feet, and when completed the library will house more books and have more staff than it would otherwise. Agoura Hills still will contribute about 80% of the construction costs, or about what it would have paid to build the smaller project alone.

The cooperation between the two cities is unique in Los Angeles County, and county officials said it could serve as a model for small cities seeking to upgrade their library services.

“It really does make sense to do it like this in areas where the cities are so close together,” said Phil Fleming, marketing director for the county’s public library system. “It’s a great way for cities to save money. It is an expensive proposition for a city to undertake a library, and if you can get another city to share the costs, so much the better.”

The Calabasas City Council last year voted against a similar proposal. At that time, however, the city was only a few months old and the council feared assuming too much debt too soon. It will cost the city about $130,000 a year to pay off the debt.

Mayor Pro Tem Marvin Lopata said council members wanted assurances that the county would not close the city’s satellite library or cut bookmobile service.