Library proposal for Kaiser center heads to voters

0 Comments | Oakland Tribune, Jul 20, 2006 | by Heather MacDonald, STAFF WRITER

OAKLAND -- A $148 million bond to turn the vacant Henry J. Kaiser Convention Center into the new main public library, build two new libraries and improve services at all of Oakland's branches will be on the Nov. 7 ballot.

The council's endorsement of a state-of-the-art main library at the Kaiser Center means a plan -- to transform the arena into a showcase for importers and exporters in an effort to thrust Oakland to the forefront of international trade -- is dead, at least for now.

"Kaiser is perfect for the main library," said Councilmember Henry Chang Jr. (At Large).

Council President Ignacio De La Fuente (Glenview-Fruitvale) voted against the proposal, and Councilmember Desley Brooks (Eastmont- Seminary) abstained. The vote came just before 3 a.m., after a 101/ 2-hour Council meeting.

De La Fuente said he voted no because the tax burden on Oakland homeowners is too great, and said he could not pass up the Bay Area World Trade Center's offer to invest a minimum of $50 million of private funds in the Kaiser Center.

Randy Avon, the group's senior vice president, told the council the organization had "fallen madly in love" with theKaiser Center, which features niches designed by Alexander Sterling Calder, father of the famed sculptor, facing Lake Merritt.

Because of a budget deficit, city officials shuttered the center six months ago.

Brooks said she favored the proposal from the Bay Area World Trade Center for the Kaiser Center, adding it would create much- needed jobs and build on the growth of the Port of Oakland.

"This is an opportunity to put Oakland on the map," Brooks said.

However, other council members said the Kaiser Center -- beloved by generations of Oaklanders -- should be used to benefit the public, rather than private firms.

"As much as I want you in Oakland, I don't want you at the Kaiser Center," Councilmember Jean Quan (Montclair-Laurel) told the group.

The council directed city staff members to help Bay Area World Trade Center officials find another suitable location in Oakland.

Avon told the council no potential location was off the table. Two potential sites under consideration include buildings in Jack London Square and another property near City Center in downtown Oakland, said Jose Duenas, Bay Area World Trade Center presidemt.

Councilmember Larry Reid (Elmhurst-East Oakland) said he hoped that if the bond measure is not approved by two-thirds of voters in November, the World Trade Center still will be interested in the Kaiser Center.

Several council members echoed Reid's concern about approval of the bond measure, which would add about $40 per $100,000 of assessed value to property owners' tax bills. The median home price in Oakland during June was $593,000.

"This is going to be a tough sell," said Councilmember Jane Brunner (North Oakland). "People are tired of taxes."

The $98 million main library plan calls for arena seating to be demolished to build four or five floors into the historic structure around a central atrium lit by a new skylight and restored windows. Only 110,000 square feet would be completed, leaving another 40,000 square feet to be finished when funds become available, officials said.

The new main library would feature dozens of computers, a cafe and a separate teen zone for high school students, according to the library's plans. The Calvin Simmons Theater and two ballrooms would be preserved, officials said.

The Kaiser Center, south of Lake Merritt between 10th and 12th streets, is at the heart of the city's effort to restore the lake's grandeur, paid for by a $198 million measure approved by voters in 2000. With the Oakland Museum of California and Laney College nearby, officials envision a new main library at the Kaiser Center as the heart of a new cultural district in Oakland.

In addition, the bond would expand the Asian, Dimond, Lakeview, Martin Luther King Jr., Piedmont Avenue and West Oakland libraries, and build two new libraries -- in the Laurel neighborhood and on 81st Avenue in East Oakland. City officials hope the Oak Knoll development in East Oakland will include a new library.

The cost of the revised plan is estimated at $163 million, and library officials hope the remaining $15 million will come from grants and donations.

Although Brooks said she favored a library bond, she said she could not support the $148 million plan because it did not expand the Eastmont library.

"There are two systems of libraries in Oakland, and this perpetuates that," Brooks said. "We'll have to make-do in the flats."