Changes are ahead for three major community buildings in Goleta.
The Goleta City Council recently talked about making long-anticipated changes at Stow House, the Community Center and Goleta Library.
The library is set to close on April 1 and re-open at 6500 Hollister Ave. in early June.
Elizabeth Saucedo, city librarian, said the city plans to use the library book van during the closure and is in the early stages of developing new book van routes in addition to the current stops in Isla Vista.
The city is also considering holding numerous programs at the Goleta Community Center during relocation. Programs include nursery rhyme dance time for toddlers, a mystery book club, a monthly writers workshop, and senior crafts happy hour.
Saucedo said they are already planning events and programs for the summer and finalizing the summer reading program calendar.
“I can promise it’ll be a very special summer, and I think our community will really enjoy the recreational and community components, and I think we’ll really see an increase in our literacy component,” Saucedo said.
Matt Fore, Goleta’s general services director, outlined two projects, which included electrical repairs at the Goleta Community Center and repairs at Stow House.
Fore said they will be working on developing plans to replace electrical panels and wiring at the Goleta Community Center, and then they will need to come up with funding to begin construction.
The city plans to hire a contractor in the next year to complete ADA projects and the restroom remodel. While work still needs to be done, Fore said they are planning to start assessments at other city-owned buildings.
“We’ve put so much time and attention into the Goleta Community Center, I’m excited to say we’re shifting our focus now; we need to start looking at the other buildings,” Fore said.
“We’ll be doing architectural, instructional and electrical assessments on other buildings like the Stow House and the train depot.”
City staff are looking to repair the porches at Stow House, as well as conduct architectural, electrical and structural assessments.
Fore said they plan to focus on the big structural issues at Stow House, along with fixing the porches, in order to keep the house in good condition. Once they have a plan of everything that needs to be done, Fore said they plan to complete work in $500,000 increments from capital funding or grants.
The city also plans to focus on local coastal development and amendments to the general plan, implementing required housing element projects, researching short-term vacation rental ordinance amendments, an application to change the city’s sphere of influence, and the Santa Barbara Airport Aircraft Noise Reduction Action plan.
