Annual
Membership Meeting
June 15, 2013 • 3:30 - 5:30
at Virginia Avenue Park, Thelma Terry Center
Come meet neighbors, see what's happening in the Pico Neighborhood,
and ways you can get involved!
Pico
Blvd branch Public Library, ground breaking
at Virginia Park
Remarks by Irma Carranza, PNA Board
member |
This
is an exciting occasion for us in the Pico Neighborhood. On behalf of
the Pico Neighborhood Association and its members, we thank the founders
of PNA and the many board members who served throughout the years for
initiating the conversation and having the vision to see the pico neighborhood
with its own library. While it took many years to get here, we
are here today making this happen in our neighborhood. I thank current
PNA board members for their diligence in keeping the conversation alive
and the vision in sight. It's a testament to both hope and hard work.
That of a community to persevere and of a city to be responsive.The
Pico Neighborhood master plan created by residents in the early 80s
stated that residents wanted a supermarket and a library in the Pico
Neighborhood. Ralph's was built and residents could then shop
for groceries within walking distance of their homes and now we will
have - our library. This community asset will bring neighbors together,
much like what the creation of Virginia Avenue Park has done. We envision
parents bringing their kids here for story time, residents joining a
book club with their neighbors and the library being an important resource
for students. The new library is an opportunity to strengthen
school-readiness for the children in the neighborhood thereby
having longterm positive impacts for generations to come.
We hope the Pico library will be an opportunity for partnerships with
the nearby schools to ensure that students have access to the necessary
books to help them be successful in school. We hope that this will be
an opportunity for the SANTA MONICA MALIBU UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT
and Santa Monica College to work in collaboration with the Pico library
for the success of all students.
And, lastly but truly importantly, we want to thank former city manager
Lamont Ewell for working with us and city staff in prioritizing the
library, and to city manager Rod Gould who promised us this would stay
a priority and for all his work in seeing it through, despite the discontinuance
of the Redevelopment funding. In a time where libraries are closing
down in many other cities, the commitment of city leaders to build a
library in the Pico Neighborhood says a lot to our residents. It says,
"We believe this neighborhood deserves a library. The Pico Neighborhood
deserves to have what other neighborhoods in the city have, not
less." Thank you to all the Councilmembers, in particular Kevin
McKeown for his support and commitment to this project throughout the
years. Thank you to the various city department staff who listened to
residents during the community workshops, and to all the residents
who engaged in the process.
We look forward to working with Greg Mullen and the Santa Monica library
staff to have the inside of the library tell the history of the Pico
Neighborhood and the people who have lived here. This is what residents
requested during the community workshops. We look forward to seeing
book collections that are reflective of the demographics of the Pico
Neighborhood and programming that engages toddlers through seniors.
We can also use this opportunity to increase the city's intern program
by hiring locally for some of the positions that will make up the Pico
library staff and help to grow the internship program to its original
numbers as compared to when it first started in the early nineties.
It is a great day in the Pico Neighborhood! We look forward to a community
celebration at its opening next year!
Thank you very much.
Blessings,
Irma
_________________________________________
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