New Cordelia library gets $250,000 windfall

March 2, 2006

New Cordelia library gets $250,000 windfall

By Mike Corpos


FAIRFIELD - It's been a good-news week for the Solano County Library Foundation, as a huge chunk of money became available to help fund the new Cordelia library's opening-day collection.

An additional $250,000 was granted to the library's collection fund when the city's public facilities fee collections came in higher than expected. Fees collected depend on the number of new city building permits issued.

According to a news release from the library foundation, the additional money cuts in half the amount the foundation board needs to raise to fund the library's collection.

Originally, the board members committed to raising $500,000 for books and materials for the new library. That number will be reduced to $250,000, the release said. Another $250,000 was set aside in this year's library budget.

So far, the campaign has raised more than $100,000 in cash, pledges and in-kind donations.

Those donations include more than $8,000 in pennies and other coins - weighing more than two tons - donated by students at Fairfield and Suisun elementary schools.

Additional grassroots efforts are being planned to continue to raise money for the library's collection.

Scheduled for a December opening, the new library project is being funded by a $4.1 million state grant, with a 35 percent local match from Fairfield and Solano County.

Grant rules prohibit the grant money from being used for books and materials, so the board was left to raise that money on its own.

Reach Mike Corpos at 427-6977 or mcorpos@dailyrepublic.net