Residents Continue To Decry Plans To Close Pleasant Hill Library

PLEASANT HILL, CA — Residents of Pleasant Hill protested at a City Council meeting Monday night and urged their elected officials to push back against the county's plans to close the city's library and sell the land it sits on before construction of a new library can be completed.

There are plans to open up a temporary collection at the Pleasant Hill Senior Center while the new facility is being built, but library users have cried foul over concerns about how that would affect access for children or seniors with mobility issues who are currently able to use the existing
library at 1750 Oak Park Blvd.

There have also been complaints about a lack of public communication during the planning process.

Supervisor Karen Mitchoff, who represents Pleasant Hill, said at a meeting in March that the county may be able to sell the property for $10 million to $15 million, and argued that the "best and highest use" for that asset would be to put it on the market.

The library is scheduled to close in August, but the new one isn't scheduled to reopen until spring 2021. During public comment, roughly 10 people asked the Council to reconsider their support for the plan and keep the existing library open until the new one's been completed.

George Wallace, 77, said he and his wife visit the Pleasant Hill library at least once a week, and sometimes twice.

"That library is vibrant," Wallace said. "There's a ton of kids, almost too many."

"We need to keep that open somehow, we really do," he added. "I hope you can find a way."

Whitney Baker, a Pleasant Hill resident and mother of three children, argued that the library was equally important to its youngest users.

"Having a place for children and young adults to come and connect is vital for the mental health and well-being of our community members," Baker said. "By closing this library, you are ruining it for us."

Despite consistent pushback during public comment, the library project was not on the agenda and the Council declined to take the matter up. They did, however, offer to meet privately with concerned members of the community to discuss it further.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE:

• Controversy Continues Over Pleasant Hill Library Project
• New Pleasant Hill Library: Council To See Early Design Images
• Plans To Close Pleasant Hill Library Lead To Controversy

— Bay City News Service