Vote Delayed on Library Landscaping

Concerned that the $608,000 price tag seemed high, Thousand Oaks Councilwoman Linda Parks has persuaded the City Council to briefly put off plans to improve the area around the Thousand Oaks Library.

The proposal for new landscaping, sprinklers and other improvements to the library--which was severely damaged by the Northridge earthquake and a subsequent outbreak of mold spores--will come back at the council’s next meeting in a more detailed version.

Councilman Mike Markey criticized Parks for not inquiring about the nature of the work before Tuesday’s meeting, saying she had not done her homework. But Parks said she wanted to hear more about the improvements--and wanted to give the public the chance to hear about them.

“It just seems like a lot of money for landscaping and sprinklers,” Parks said. “I want to know what the money is for and where it is coming from.

“I also feel the public has a right to know these things. That is part of my job.”

Thousand Oaks spent several million dollars repairing the library building after the earthquake and spore outbreak. The library, next to the Thousand Oaks Teen Center at Janss Road, closed in January 1994 after its ceiling caved in during the quake, then reopened a few months later, only to close due to the mold spores, which were potentially toxic.

It reopened in November.

City officials say most of the money for the outdoor improvements, like most of the money for the other library repairs, will come from the federal government and the city’s insurer, not its general fund.