MISSION VIEJO : Library Foundation Guidelines Approved

Despite some misgivings expressed by city staff, the City Council has approved guidelines for the Mission Viejo Library Foundation.

First proposed about a year ago, the agreement, passed on a 3-2 vote, establishes the foundation as an entity separate from the city government, and gives it $5,000 in seed money to continue fund-raising activities for a proposed library.

City staff members wanted more time to refine the agreement, saying the city needed to distance itself from the foundation for liability reasons, yet still retain some control over fund-raising.

The council also disagreed about whether the goals set for stocking and operating the library were too unrealistic.

Under the agreement, the library would have 180,000 books and be open 60 hours per week.

City officials said that many books could cost as much as $3 million and “we don’t even have funding sources yet to be able to establish any service levels,” such as hours of operation.

But a council majority felt the agreement simply set goals without committing the city to a specific level of service.

After working on the pact for about a year, it was time to establish the foundation as a separate entity, council supporters said.

“I hear colleagues and staff with legitimate concerns, but let’s get this going,” Mayor Susan Withrow said.

Councilmen William S. Craycraft and Joseph D. Lowe voted against the pact. Craycraft said he agreed with city staff’s reservations, while Lowe didn’t favor going ahead with the pact until the library had developed definite sources of revenue.

Foundation chairwoman Sherri Butterfield opposed a delay in signing the agreement.

“It felt like a prenuptial agreement with the complexity of the financial arrangements,” Butterfield said.