Deal Struck for Library Land

Los Angeles County may finally get the land it needs to build a new library in Hacienda Heights, after promising to pay a local school district $40,000 a year for the use of school property, make hundreds of thousands of dollars in library improvements, and help maintain a school swimming pool.

It took 2 1/2 years to develop the library deal, which was strongly urged by Supervisor Pete Schabarum, who represents Hacienda Heights, an unincorporated community. The accord still requires approval by the Hacienda La Puente School Board and the County Board of Supervisors.

The 30,000-square-foot library would be built on a playground at Dibble School, which has been closed as an elementary school since 1984 and is being used for adult classes and other educational programs. The county is applying for state funding under Proposition 85, the library bond initiative, to offset some of the new library’s $7.6-million price.

Officials in the Hacienda La Puente Unified School District had been reluctant to lease the land to the county for several reasons. They said the county’s previous offer of $15,000 a year was extremely low compared with the $275,000 a year that the land would bring if leased to a commercial developer.

Also, some school board members said they wanted to leave the playground undeveloped in case the elementary school ever reopened. Some pointed to plans for a performing arts center, also proposed for the site.

But district Supt. James Johnson agreed to lease the site after the county made some concessions. The district found that it probably wouldn’t need to reopen the elementary school any time soon, and decided there was enough room on the playground for both the library and a performing arts center, Johnson said.

In addition to boosting its lease offer, the county promised to:

* Spend $400,000 on books, educational materials and improvements over five years to three libraries serving Hacienda Heights and neighboring La Puente.

* Pay $54,000 to maintain a swimming pool at Los Altos High School for one year.

* Keep the library open seven days a week.

* Work with the school district to electronically link the library’s catalogue and the schools, so teachers and students can conduct research, search for titles and borrow books by computer.

“The whole thing is so exciting I can’t stand it,” said Sandy Johnson, a school board member who earlier this year had suggested that the library be built elsewhere, such as at another elementary school or at a nearby park.

The current Hacienda Heights library, which may be converted to a senior citizens center if the county’s deal with the district goes through, is on La Monde Street, about a mile from Dibble. Officials say the 10,000-square-foot building has outgrown the rapidly expanding community. County Librarian Sandra F. Reuben said 55,000 people use the library each year, compared to 38,000 annually when the library first opened 18 years ago.