Though still about six months away from ground breaking, the new $8.6 million Felton Library has entered into contract with a local artist to grace the walls with colorful hand-crafted butterflies.
The Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors this week selected Lea de Wit, known for her both public and private venues, to create 170 wall-mounted and suspended butterfly sculptures. The county budget for the project is $108,000.
“Pollination will (also) be one of the themes of the park,” said Jim Mosher, Felton Library Friends
The new library, a 9,300-square-foot modern facility, located across from the Post Office, will replace the current space, the 124-year-old former Presbyterian Church at Gushee Street and Empire Grade.
Money to construct the new library comes from Measure S, a $67 million bond measure approved by Santa Cruz voters in 2016. Bond money will pay for furniture, fixtures, equipment, technology, design, and engineering.
The Felton Library Friends is also spearheading an effort to develop a 2-acre-parcel by Bull Creek into a nature exploratory area. Other organizations lending support include San Lorenzo Valley Water District, Valley Women’s Club and Santa Cruz County Parks.
The open space parcel will encourage art, gardening and an innovative children’s’ play area.
Mosher said the area comes with a price tag of about $600,000. His group has applied for a state grant that focuses on environmental education for $395,000, which will be awarded sometime next June.
Fundraising activities kick into high gear next spring with a garden tour of Felton and Ben Lomond.
“We’ll get strong help from the community,” said Mosher, adding that 40 people attended a community meeting Dec. 4 at Felton Community Hall that examined plans for the library’s interior.
Detailed interior plans, created by Berkeley-based Noll & Tam, will be available this spring, according to Mosher.
One thing is sure, the interior of the library will in no way resemble libraries of the past with their floor-to-ceiling shelves of musty books.
Patrons of the library will enter a “wired” space, ideal for phone docking stations, and plugging in electronic devices.
“It’s going to be a huge asset to the community,” Mosher said.
The county planning department recently gave the green light for moving ahead with the construction documents, a precursor for putting out an requests for bids from contractors.
