LA County Fire to Take Over Old Diamond Bar Library

The Los Angeles County Fire Department will take over the former Diamond Bar Library site on Grand Avenue.

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors Tuesday voted to transfer the property over to the department to be used as additional space for firefighters at the neighboring Station No. 120. 
The county owned the 9,859-square-foot building on the one-acre parcel, which is worth an estimated $1.5 million, according to county officials.  The agreement the supervisors approved calls for the Consolidated Fire Protection District of Los Angeles County to pay $1 for the library property.
“The County believes that in lieu of fair market value monetary compensation, (the) County will receive significant value from the proposed conveyance through the services provided by (the) Fire District, which greatly benefit the public and community at large,” wrote county Chief Executive Office William Fujioka in a letter to the supervisors. 
The old library was vacated in July 2012 when another one was built at the site of the new Diamond Bar City Hall on Copley Drive.
Diamond Bar City Manager James DeStefano briefed the council members Tuesday night on the supervisors’ vote. 
DeStefano said that Supervisor Don Knabe, County Fire Chief Daryl Osby, and Assistant Chief Dave Stone, who oversees the area that includes Diamond Bar’s fire stations, have been working on a plan to acquire the property with the city since the move to a new library was announced.
The transfer of the property will enable the Grand Avenue fire station to expand and offer a variety of additional serves to its personnel, he said. 
“The property stays within the county profile, its an asset to the fire department, and it is a betterment overall to the community of Diamond Bar,” he said.
The sign the Friends of the Diamond Bar Library donated to the site will remain there.  The new library and the fire department plan to use it for public service messaging, he said.