Library’s Future May Be Past Due : Manhattan Beach: A committee recommends that the city, which is faced with a budget crunch, stop funding the Manhattan Heights branch. The City Council is scheduled to vote on the fate of the facility on March 30.

The struggle to keep the Manhattan Heights Library open may soon be over--and it doesn’t appear it will be a storybook ending.

Citing mounting economic hardships and the likelihood of more on the way, a blue ribbon committee urged the Manhattan Beach City Council Tuesday night to halt funding of the beach community’s only branch library and let the county close the 29-year-old facility on June 30.

“We were reluctant to make this decision and we are saddened by the likely closure of the Heights branch,” said Bill Fahey, head of the special library committee. “But in this time of fiscal deficits and diminishing contributions from the state and county, sometimes difficult decisions have to be made.”

The City Council is scheduled to vote on the library’s fate March 30, and at least two of the five council members already say they back the panel’s recommendation.

“I think the committee did a great job and they hit the nail on the head in terms of what we need to do,” Councilman Dan Stern said. “It’s painful to close the library and nobody likes to lose the service, but you can’t have something for nothing.”

“I think, financially speaking, the committee made the correct decision,” Councilman Tim Lilligren agreed.

The council formed the 10-member panel after Los Angeles County, facing its own budget problems, announced it was shutting down the Manhattan Heights branch and nine other county libraries last November. After community protests, the City Council appropriated $195,000 to contract county workers to keep the branch open through June 30. According to county estimates, it costs $400,000 annually to operate the branch library.

One council member is determined to keep the library open--at least for another year and, if necessary, at city expense. Councilman Steve Barnes concurred with four blue ribbon committee members who penned a minority report calling for funding the Heights library for a year, while a master plan for city libraries can be developed.

“I think this community is deserving of more than one library,” Barnes said. “It’s one of the things that makes our community great, along with our parks and schools.”

Barnes and Heights branch supporters reject the county estimates of the branch’s annual operating costs and say that figure could be “substantially lowered.” Library supporters say city reserves could be tapped to bankroll the library’s expenses for a year. To keep the branch open, the minority report said, the city should allocate up to 2% of the annual budget to support a local library system.

The debate, supporters contend, transcends mere monetary issues.

“There are essential services in a city, and if the Police and Fire departments are the arms and legs, then the library is the community’s heart and soul,” said Bob Walsh, a business and government consultant who helped write the minority report. “It’s hard to separate those three and they shouldn’t be.”

As regrettable as it may be, others say money is indeed the issue--and there simply isn’t enough to go around. City reserves should not be used to bail out the library, said Fahey, explaining the city is self-insured and needs the funds to protect itself financially.

To maintain the library without reserve money, Fahey said, would then require the city to either cut other city services or assess a $25 tax on households to pay for the library. Neither option would receive public support, he said.

According to the committee, 60% of the 3,600 local residents who responded to a survey rejected a tax increase or scaling back of other city services to keep the library open. But the survey, which was mailed to about 16,000 homes, also showed that 36% had used the branch library within the past year.

Even without the Heights branch, the city’s main library could handle the additional burden and still deliver better library services than most cities, Fahey said. Manhattan Beach would also still be slightly above the county standard based on a ratio of library space to population, he added.

To mitigate the loss of the Heights branch, the committee also proposed moving its 97,000 volumes to two neighborhood schools--Mira Costa High and Manhattan Beach Intermediate--and maintaining weekday afternoon and weekend hours for public use of these facilities.

Meanwhile, workers at the library are preparing for the worst while still hoping the minority report will rescue the branch.

“The minority report was very well-spoken,” Manhattan Heights head librarian Lynn Mohr said. “But they were trying to appeal to greater values than just money. It was very inspiring to read, but whether it will change the mind of any City Council members is another thing.”