City’s Library Plan Faces Budget Issues, Community Criticism
The city’s transition from county library services to a new, independent system has been long and bumpy—and shows no sign of getting any less complicated any time soon.
The transition was approved on July 23, 2024, on the basis that Irvine was subsidizing the system: the withdrawal went into effect July 1, 2025, with Katie Wheeler and Heritage Park going to the county and University Park receiving a temporary 5-year lease. On February 10, 2026, City Council voted to move to support an exploration of a possible buyout.
The May 12, 2026 meeting of the City Council regarding the exploration revealed divides between Councilmembers that were tied both to procedural measures and larger concerns regarding the budget. (Item 6.2 on the agenda, discussing the proposed framework for the creation of a nonprofit Irvine Public Library Foundation, was continued to the June 23rd meeting.) Discussion of the motion centered around wording about a professional appraisal of the property and its relation to the eventual resumption of lease renegotiation, as well as the involvement of Supervisor Katrina Foley and the county’s lack of interest in selling the property.
Councilmembers expressed concerns about the cost of a professional appraisal (whose potential cost was cited at between $10-12,000) given the time left on the lease and the county’s expressed disinterest in selling the property, as well as the city’s current $6 million deficit: the lease for University Park Library currently costs the city $40,000 per month with a 2% annual increase, and expires June 2030. Councilmember Mike Carroll recommended a “full court press” on Supervisor Foley. In lieu of a professional appraisal, he recommended a broker’s opinion of value, which he described as less formal and expensive.
Public comment on the item included several members with conflicting opinions on the necessity of an appraisal, the presence of Save University Park Library (Save UPL) members, including a group of preschoolers who signed a “We Heart UPL” banner and held it in chambers.
Michaela González Montaner, head of Save UPL, expressed the opinion that an appraisal would “clarify and justify a myriad of decisions”. She noted that “there will be public relations much the same way that community input has changed the narrative from the county” and framed the appraisal as a way to explain what is happening to the community.
The Council eventually moved to initiate negotiations with the county about the rental agreement and include within those negotiations a possible reevaluation, on the basis that a new evaluation might affect the valuation of the property given changing market rates. They also moved to use the old appraisal from initial negotiations as a starting point. Mayor Larry Agran said at the end of the meeting that the City Council had “a master plan that is going to be in the works” regarding the future of the city library system, adding that “this library will not be closed”.
It is currently unknown how the resignation of Sean Crumby as City Manager will affect the resignation process. When asked for comment on the issue, Councilmember Kathleen Treseder said that she hoped it did not and praised Crumby’s work on the consequences of separating from the county, explaining further that he was the person who informed her that the city only had about 65% of the budget needed to maintain the library system.
Treseder also stated that she regretted her vote, which was based on being “given misinformation from our then-City Manager” Oliver Chi: according to Treseder, Chi failed to disclose the county’s repeated attempts to contact him in order to perform renovation projects and provide services to Irvine libraries under the old system, then claimed that the county had failed to contact him about said projects.
Treseder also expressed faith in the negotiations while conceding that city staff’s exploration of a new appraisal was still in its early stages. She said that she was “interested in securing the library for a longer term” and shared community members’ interest in ensuring continuity of service at University Park Library. When asked if there had been any progress in the negotiations, she said that she did not think so, adding that she respected the staff working on exploring the possibility of renegotiation. She also spoke highly of Save University Park Library, saying its members were “very savvy” and that she was “glad that they understand the situation that we’re in”. Regarding the looming deficit, she said that having budget information before the renegotiation would be “very helpful”, and that at present the city had only 65% of the budget needed to maintain the lease.
Councilmember Betty Martinez Franco was similarly enthusiastic about the community’s advocacy for University Park Library, saying that they were “wonderful people” who are engaging on an issue they care about. She criticized the terms of the current lease as “outrageous”, stating that paying $45,000 over 5 years would be about $5 million in total.
2 Comments
Doug Elliott
August 3, 2026 at 5:43 pmThe article states that “the withdrawal went into effect July 1, 2025, with Katie Wheeler and Heritage Park going to the county ….” This is incorrect. Both facilities closed temporarily to facilitate the transition, and subsequently re-opened under City management. The Heritage Park Library is and has always been owned by the City, although the County previously managed it. The Katie Wheeler Library is, and always has been, owned by the County. It’s currently being leased by the City.
Michaela González Montaner
August 4, 2026 at 6:56 amThank you for this article and your interest in Irvine’s new public library system. I write to offer three corrections and an omission:
1. As Doug Elliot pointed out on Facebook, “the article states “the withdrawal went into effect July 1, 2025, with Katie Wheeler and Heritage Park going to the county ….” This is incorrect. Both facilities closed temporarily to facilitate the transition, and subsequently re-opened under City management. The Heritage Park Library is and has always been owned by the City, although the County previously managed it. The Katie Wheeler Library is, and always has been, owned by the County. It’s currently being leased by the City.”
2. There were no children present at the Council meeting mentioned. We had a poster with us that had been signed by a number of them.
3. As already covered in an edit to a recent Watchdog piece on this topic (https://irvinewatchdog.org/city-hall/opinion-do-we-need-a-hero/) when Councilmember Treseder later asked City Manager Sean Crumby to confirm publicly that he informed her “the city only had about 65% of the budget needed to maintain the library system” he said he never said that. Nevertheless, he has confirmed the library is critically underfunded (https://voiceofoc.org/2026/05/irvines-budget-deficit-could-lead-to-parking-fees-and-no-new-libraries/). Councilmember Treseder stands by her statement, which I, coincidentally, had heard from other reliable sources before she mentioned it on the Dias.
Finally, the article would benefit from a mention that negotiations appear to be underway in earnest as evidenced by item 1.1 of the July 28 Council Meeting when, in closed session, negotiators and Council discussed “Price and Terms of Payment” of the Katie Wheeler and University Park Libraries. Unfortunately there was no reportable action from the session so the public will have to wait a bit longer to find out how things are progressing (https://irvine.granicus.com/player/clip/7465, jump to 7:51).
To Nicole and anyone writing on this topic, first: thank you for your efforts to support a robust conversation about the future of Irvine’s library system. Second: IPL for All and Save University Park Library are eager to support discourse on this topic and share all manner of sources and background on this topic. Please feel free to contact us at [email protected] or [email protected].