The Library Board is planning to address the issue of the Hunt Branch Library Rehab at a Virtual Meeting on September 9. The Hunt Branch Library is much closer to re-opening due to several significant accomplishments: they have attained National Register status, they have received a $2.5 million State Library renovation grant, and they have selected an arts and literacy programming partner, Heritage Future/ Arts Orange County.

Although the future for the Hunt Branch is looking very positive due to these achievements, the project still has several remaining major milestones.

The Library Board of Trustees called a special meeting to discuss one of these—the building’s architectural rehabilitation. The meeting will include a visual presentation from Save The Hunt, one of the groups that rallied community support for the project. The presentation will introduce rare photos, recent discoveries, and several relatively unknown resources that allow flexibility in restoration while saving the character-defining features that will be one of the key draws for visitors and fans of the building’s celebrated architect, William Pereira.

Save the Hunt is concerned that the public process should not be closed until the restoration issue is addressed. They want to avoid the fate of other Fullerton buildings and Pereira-designed properties that have suffered insensitive and irreversible changes. There is some question as to whether public input on the rehabilitation issues will be resolved before the City starts abatement and construction, as work is already scheduled to happen as soon as the last week of August.

The public is invited to attend the online special meeting of the Library Board on Wednesday, September 9, at 6pm at https://fullerton.legistar.com, or on Spectrum Ch. 3, or on U-Verse Ch. 99. For more information on the Hunt Library, visit www.SaveTheHunt.com.

The Hunt Branch Library in Fullerton.