Funding Booked Up for New Ramona Library
By Regina Elling

Jose Aponte announced that Ramona will be getting its new library. Photo by Darrel Kinney

The proposed new Ramona library has passed another milestone in its journey toward completion.

At an early December community meeting held by county officials planning the new facility, supporters of the library learned that more than $10 million has been earmarked toward the project.

"Ramona has an incredibly engaged community," says San Diego County library system director Jose Aponte. "And because the community is so supportive of the project, the county staff is really jazzed about it as well."

And the good news just keeps getting better.

"We will go forward to the county Board of Supervisors at the end of March," Aponte explained. "We will be working with approvals for funding to design and build the library, and also the mechanism for choosing the design/build team."

Together, these are two major steps that must be taken to keep the project moving forward.

"According to the County's 2007 Capital Improvement Needs Assessment Program, the estimated project cost is $10.72 million. After meeting with the supervisors, the next step is to go forward with the funding and authority to advertise and award," Aponte says.

Local residents who have been involved with the planning of the proposed new library since the beginning are eager to see their dreams of the Ramona Intergenerational Community Campus come to fruition. The campus will be home to the library, a senior center and potential youth groups.

Friends of the Ramona Library has been busy planning fundraisers to gather up additional money for the facility.

The new building has been in the planning stages for more than nine years.

"The length of time it has taken to get this far on the project is actually the silver lining of the cloud," Aponte says. "Had we completed this library earlier, we would never have been able to incorporate all the new technology that this facility will hold."

For example, the library will host more than 20 computer stations with Internet access, more than three times what is currently available.

"This is truly a state-of-the-art facility, within a technology-rich environment," he says. "Ramona has some very serious library and technology fans."

Other high-tech features will include a 2,000 square-foot public auditorium and a 3,200 square-foot community room with an art gallery.

The current library on Montecito Road was built in 1973 and is less than 5,000 square feet. The new facility, which will be built on land owned by the county between 12th and 13th streets, will be more than 20,000 square feet.

"Working on this project has been most rewarding," Aponte says. "We couldn't be happier with the progress."

For more information about the new facility, visit: www.ramonalibrary.org.