Bonnie Boe and her two young sons will spend a lot of time this summer at the Moorpark City Library.

The Moorpark mom was already pleased with the changes made to the existing building after the city declared its library's independence from the Ventura County library system in January.

She was more than happy to hear about the city's plans to build a new library.

"I think it's great," Boe said. "To have a bigger library, bring it on."

At the July 18 Moorpark City Council meeting, council members will likely authorize the architect, GKK Corp., to move forward with concept designs on a 25,000-square-foot library that will sit next to the planned new City Hall.

Assistant City Manager Hugh Riley said the major change in the City Hall plans came after the city takeover of the Moorpark Library from Ventura County's library system.

"We've looked at the city and the facilities, and it's a pretty foregone conclusion that we're going to need a new library," Riley said. "It's so small and tiny compared to what the city needs. A new library concept was inserted into the Civic Center Master Plan. We had to really go back and rethink everything."

As she was dropping off book donations in the Friends of the Moorpark Library drop box Tuesday, Moorpark resident Shelly Rodriguez said she loves the library with its additional computers, which were added when the city took over the library. She thinks it would be wonderful to have a bigger facility.

"Especially since a lot of the kids down here use the library so much," she said.

Estimated cost $8 million

The preliminary plan shows the L-shaped library as wrapping around a central courtyard within the overall Civic Center campus. In the coming weeks, a library planner will help the city develop a needs list for the project.

Riley estimates the library's cost at about $8 million but emphasizes the project has not been sent to an architect, so both the plan and the construction estimates are preliminary.

The entire Civic Center project's construction costs are estimated higher than originally calculated two years ago, Riley said. Initially, the project, which includes a two-story 35,000-square-foot City Hall building, was to cost from $15 million to $17 million. Riley now puts that estimate around $20 million, not including the library.

Utilizing a U-shaped plan

The Civic Center would be at the northwest corner of Moorpark Avenue and High Street. Its U-shape plan made up of two buildings would surround a courtyard area that faces High Street on the south. The east building in the Civic Center would become the library and sits just south of the existing library. The west building would house all of the city's administrative departments and the City Council chambers.

About 189 parking spaces will be constructed around the site, with stalls on the south, west and north sides of the Civic Center.

Riley said the city's staff has been surveyed repeatedly to determine what needs each department has for offices, storage and other amenities.

"We have to discuss the financing now with these new figures, but more than likely the City Hall will come first and the layout is designed so the existing library can be used until the new one is ready," Riley said.

Leaving a good impression

Councilwoman Janice Parvin said she's excited about the plans but wants to make sure the space fulfills the city's needs properly.

"We want it to look like our city," she said. "I'm excited that we will now have the right space for the people who work at City Hall. They will have more room to work. It's still not as efficient as it could be."

Councilman Keith Millhouse said it's important for Moorpark to have a City Hall that leaves a good impression with people.

"There's a certain amount of pride and excitement," Millhouse said Monday.

"We live in such a tremendous city and the City Hall is grossly outdated. It deserves a first class city hall."

— Jake Finch's e-mail address is alljake@hotmail.com.