FRESNO COUNTY – After decades of waiting, Reedley and Clovis are finally turning the page on their outdated libraries, with plans for new, modern facilities just around the corner.
At the Oct. 8, 2024 Fresno County Board of Supervisors (Board) meeting, Chairman Nathan Magsig said he used to have doubts Clovis would ever get a new library.
“Clovis has been waiting for a new library since 2001,” he said. “This makes me very happy to see this day is here. It almost seemed like we would never get to this day.”
Supervisor Buddy Mendes’ district includes Reedley. Mendes said Reedley has been waiting nearly as long as Clovis for its new library.
Thanks to the county embarking on a first-of-its-kind project, Clovis and Reedley, whose current libraries are about 50 years old, will soon have new, state-of-the-art facilities that will be constructed at the same time.
Sally Gomez is the Fresno County Librarian. At the Oct. 22, 2024 Board meeting, Gomez explained why it is so important that the new libraries be built.
“The one thing I want to highlight is there are no community meeting rooms in either (existing) library,” said Gomez. “We are limited in the amount of programming we can do.” The new libraries will have community meeting rooms.
Gomez said the addition of community meeting rooms will allow the libraries to expand educational support programs for adult and teen learners.
She also said that the new libraries will facilitate the Summer At Your Library program that helps the summer slide – these are the months students lose their reading rates because they are not in school.
Supervisor Sal Quintero asked if the new libraries will have quiet rooms. “Yes,” said Gomez.
DESIGN-BUILD
Will Keaton works for the county’s Public Works and Planning Department and is the manager of capital projects.
At the Oct. 22, 2024 Board meeting, Keaton provided an update on the county’s six capital projects, including the Clovis-Reedley libraries project, which is the county’s first Design-Build endeavor. The traditional Design-Bid-Build method includes hiring a consultant/architect as part of the bid process. Design-Bid eliminates this step and entrusts the design and construction to a sole entity – in this case, Harris Construction, Co.
The Design-Bid-Build model typically favors the lowest bidder on a project. Under Design-Build, because the county deals only with the build entity, the county has more latitude when it comes to negotiating with the design and construction. And since Design-Build streamlines the entire process, the county was able to negotiate for the two libraries to be built simultaneously.
Keaton informed the Board that the county is on schedule to have the contracts with Harris signed when the Board meets on Nov. 5, 2024. Sonja Dosti, Communications Director for the County Administrative Office, said the county will have an announcement regarding the groundbreaking for the libraries once the contracts have been awarded.
