Monday, Nov. 17, 2008 | My community was blindsided by Mayor Jerry Sanders’ disastrous decision to possibly close seven libraries and ten recreation centers. I was one of the peasants at City Council who spoke against closing the seven libraries as a means of saving money for the city. Closing those libraries is like punching a nail into a tire and seeing it deflate. A community needs its libraries and rec centers the way a tire needs air. In an unprecedented economic crisis, you keep the libraries and rec centers open for the peasants. Andrea Tevlin, the city’s independent budget analyst, suggested cutting hours across the board.
Please explain why University City libraries will be closed for five years and La Jolla’s library is open on Sundays? The North University City library, a beautiful gift to that community, might as well be 30 miles away instead of three when it comes to children accessing it from south U.C. Five schools surround our South U.C. library. If I didn’t see and experience money for consultants, lawsuits, and whatever backroom City Hall chatter produces, I still wouldn’t consider this solution. All of the community activists who spoke already save the city money by volunteering many hours in rec centers and libraries. Factor that in, Mr. Mayor, please.