Milpitas could see a change in its namesake library.
The City Council is considering renaming the Milpitas Library, which first opened in 2009 along Main Street.
What or who the library will be named after hasn’t been finalized yet. However, council members are recommending the building be named after former mayor Jose Esteves, who served for six terms between 2002 to 2008 and 2010 to 2016. His highlights while working on the council include construction of facilities including the library and senior center promoting city transit plans and developing the city’s economy.
“He is open and honored if his name was added to a naming list and if it was added and associated with any way with the Milpitas Library,” Renee Lorentzen, the city’s recreation and community services director, said during Tuesday’s council meeting.
Under city policy, the list of possible names will be deliberated by a city subcommittee in the upcoming weeks before the council’s final approval.
Councilmember Anthony Phan asked what options the council has if they don’t like the committee’s recommendation. “I don’t want us running around in circles,” he said, referring to the typical city process in which items that don’t initially get approval are sent back to a subcommittee for deliberation before appearing in front of the council again.
Staff said the council could vote to make an exception to council policy by dissolving the subcommittee and approving the name themselves.
There are several rooms and areas in the library that are named after notable figures, including the Cesar E. Chavez Reading Area, Martin Luther King Jr. Academic and Career Center and the Josephine Guerrero Children’s Activity Room. Guerrero was the first woman to serve on the Milpitas Planning Commission in 1954.
Once the city finalizes the name, there is a one-time cost to change the exterior sign on the building, which is between $25,000 to $40,000.
Although the library is property of the city, the Santa Clara County Library District operates its staff, along with any social media and marketing material. Whatever name the city decides, the district will continue using the Milpitas Library brand on its website or marketing material, according to city documents. The new name will be used for Milpitas only library community events, and any city based event flyers would have a special logo that includes it.
The district serves nine cities in the county including Campbell, Cupertino, Gilroy, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Milpitas, Monte Sereno, Morgan Hill and Saratoga.
There are several factors that can be considered for naming a city building, including a geographical identification like a street, school, or other descriptive names, the area’s geological features, a person, family or organization that has made a significant impact in the community or in the development of a street park or other facility. No seated city elected official can have their name added to a naming list or have a street, park or facility named after them during their term.