Library Expansion May Be Delayed
The long-awaited $1.9-million expansion of the main Torrance library may be delayed or conducted in phases because of city budget constraints, city officials said.
The City Council on Tuesday was expected to approve design drawings and a budget to enlarge the city’s Civic Center Public Library on Torrance Boulevard.
But City Manager LeRoy J. Jackson unexpectedly withdrew the proposal so that the city can study the project’s financing more carefully. The council will decide Dec. 3 whether to continue with the expansion as planned, said Philip S. Tilden, city capital projects administrator.
“One of the strategies may very well be to phase the improvement,” Tilden said.
The project would improve the library’s unfinished basement, increasing library space by one-third. In addition, sections of the existing library would be renovated.
City officials have set aside $835,000 for the project. But they were unsuccessful in obtaining additional funds from a state bond act earmarked for building and renovating libraries. Meanwhile, the city’s budget outlook has been clouded by a series of expensive police-related legal settlements as well as a decrease in tax revenues due to the recession.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
