Atherton council votes 3-2 for library in park

[Copied from the Almanac]

Atherton council votes 3-2 for library in park 
Council plans to meet to discuss master plan for town facilities


By Barbara Wood
Special to the Almanac

A topic that's typically as traditional as the flag and apple pie has split the town of Atherton and its City Council – a new library.

On Wednesday night, in a meeting that didn't end until early Thursday morning, Atherton's council members voted 3 to 2 to choose town-owned Holbrook-Palmer Park as the "preferred site" for a new library.

Mayor James Dobbie, Vice Mayor Bill Widmer, and council member Kathy McKeithen, who was on the task force that recommended the park site for the library, voted for the park site. Council members Elizabeth Lewis and Jerry Carlson voted against it.

The meeting was standing room only, with the council chambers packed with as many chairs as it could hold, and other rooms in the building also filled with those too late to grab a chair.

Before voting for the park as the probable site for the new library, and perhaps indicating the depth of confusion and split opinions this issue has caused, the council took another action that had been requested by those who don't want the library to be in the park.

The council members voted unanimously to schedule a special meeting, within the next two weeks, to discuss a master plan for all town-owned buildings and facilities.

A special meeting for the master plan had been requested by former Atherton Mayor Didi Fisher, who presented the council with a petition asking for the meeting signed by more than 300 residents.