An idea that could have led to the reopening of four Aurora libraries shuttered this year is not financially feasible, according to a task force.
A task force from the Arapahoe Library District and Aurora examined reopening the libraries and bringing them and the other three current Aurora libraries into the Arapahoe Library District.
But it found that property taxes in Aurora would not generate enough money to run them — without significantly reducing services at existing Arapahoe libraries.
The task force also studied the feasibility of a separate library district for Aurora. But that, too, didn’t make sense, as Aurora voters in November rejected a new property tax for libraries and would have to approve creating a new library district.
Aurora shut down the Mission Viejo, Iliff Square, Hoffman Heights and Chambers Plaza libraries Dec. 31, leaving only three libraries to serve the city of 310,000 residents.
The Mission Viejo Homeowners Association is taking Aurora to court over the closing of its neighborhood library.
The HOA has a written agreement from 1973 in which the developer gave the city the land to build a library but it had to remain open for 50 years. City officials are disputing the length of time in the agreement.
The HOA is hoping to settle out of court and have the library reopened.
“We’re still trying to have a settlement, and hopefully the city of Aurora will listen,” said Mission Viejo HOA president Todd McMahon. “Our goal is to uphold the general plan of our community, which included . . . a library.”
The Arapahoe Library District also said it wouldn’t make sense financially to bring just Mission Viejo into its jurisdiction, district executive director Eloise May said.
The library district is considering placing some limits on folks from Aurora who use its libraries, but nothing has been finalized. Also under consideration is a library card for those who live in Aurora and are willing to pay a fee.
The Arapahoe district has libraries in Centennial, Byers, Sheridan and Englewood and also serves patrons in unincorporated Arapahoe County.
Tough decision. Read about the struggles that led to the
Carlos Illescas: 303-954-1175 or cillescas@denverpost.com
