At its May 7 meeting, the City Council unanimously passed the color palette recommended by the Library Advisory Commission – parchment on the building with historical green as trim. Berta Steele will be working with Jack Schafer, Chair of the Historical Preservation Committee on finalizing the color scheme. Denise Sindelar from the City Staff is working on the specifications for the paint which will then be forwarded to the County who will be responsible for painting the building. Because the money to paint the building is coming from the Inman Trust, which is controlled by the County, the County retains the authority to do the actual painting.
The Council also accepted the proposed Library Strategic Plan on a 5 – 2 vote, with Jim Monahan and Neal Andrews voting against. Mr. Andrews would like to opt out of the County Library System and have the City run its own library system. At the suggestion of several Council members, evaluation criteria and methods of measuring outcomes will become a part of the implementation of the Strategic Plan. There was much interest in an East Ventura library presence and that will be a priority for the working group which will be appointed to implement the Plan. The County Library System is very cooperative and has already implemented or is in the process of implementing recommendations in the Plan.
The County Library Foundation is exploring funding sources for a Bookmobile which could be in operation before the end of the year. This is a stop-gap measure for East Ventura, but, at the least, there will be some library presence until a more permanent location can be established. Any permanent location will mean identifying sources of funding outside the City budget. This will be the focus of future community outreach efforts.