Deukmejian OKs $250,000 Grant to Restore Old Library

After receiving a barrage of letters from Eagle Rock community groups, Gov. George Deukmejian has signed into law a grant of $250,000 for restoration of the 75-year-old former Eagle Rock Library building.

The allocation was part of a bill bringing together California legislators’ pet spending projects.

Assemblyman Richard Polanco (D-Los Angeles) inserted the money for the library into the legislative package generally known as the “Christmas tree bill,” which was adopted on the final day of the legislative session. Assemblyman Pat Nolan (R-Glendale) also worked on behalf of the measure.

Although Deukmejian’s signature this week was anticipated, a dozen Eagle Rock organizations mounted a letter-writing campaign to ensure against an item veto. The governor deleted the same allocation from this year’s state budget in July.

The grant, when combined with a similar allocation of $230,000 last year, will still provide only about half the money needed for restoration of the Spanish Mediterranean building at 2225 Colorado Blvd., which was vacated when a new library was built in 1981.

Mike de la Torre, a deputy for Los Angeles City Councilman Richard Alatorre, said the next step for the city will be a $40,000 engineering study to determine the feasibility of converting the building into a community arts center.