Santa Barbara County supervisors are weighing plans for a new Orcutt library and Oasis Senior Center, with estimated costs reaching nearly $44 million.
During Tuesdays meeting, residents urged the Board of Supervisors to move forward with the project, while county officials discussed ways to reduce costs and address competing financial priorities.
My plea to you is to give us the library that was recommended now 30 years ago, Orcutt resident Betty Rose Gunn told supervisors.
Santa Barbara County Director of General Services Kirk Lagerquist presented three construction approaches and two development options for the proposed project.
If full funding is secured, staff recommended the construction manager-at-risk approach, which brings a contractor into the planning process early to help manage costs and schedules. The approach also establishes a guaranteed maximum price before construction begins. The project is estimated to take about 38 months to complete.
Lagerquist said the county could consider two options.
Option A was kind of an unconstrained option at about just 20,000 square foot for a facility. The price tag was nearly $44 million, and you know, we put some financial constraint decision and we came up with a budget of $30 million. And so we came up with Option B, where we scaled back the project, reduced square footage to a little under 15,000 square feet, Lagerquist said.
As the county considers ways to reduce the projects cost, some residents are concerned the scaled-back option could leave the Oasis Senior Center out of the development.
Karla Shinnick, an Oasis member, said she was surprised the senior centers inclusion in the project was being questioned.
I was very surprised that there was even a consideration that Oasis was not going to be included in the funding. I had no idea that was even a possibility. I think the library is important, but I think Oasis is really important as well, and it encompasses all the seniors that may not get out to the library, Shinnick said.
Michelle Southwick, Executive Director of the Oasis Senior Center in Orcutt, said the current building has several maintenance issues and needs significant improvements.
Theres popcorn ceilings, theres leaking roofs and leaking windows, all sorts of issues with that building itself, the heating and the air, and everything else, Southwick said.
Southwick said losing the opportunity to expand the center could leave a significant gap in services for older adults in northern Santa Barbara County.
If we were not able to move forward, we would lose the senior center in Orcutt, Northern Santa Barbara County, Southwick said. We provided services to thousands, and it would be a huge hole.
As of Aug. 20, 2026, the project had nearly $6 million in committed funding from several sources, including $500,000 from the county’s General Fund, $550,000 in one-time cannabis revenue, about $815,000 in development fees, $2 million in federal HUD grant funding and $2.125 million in donations from Friends of the Orcutt Library.
Project records show approximately $3.83 million had been allocated to expenses, including property acquisition, project management and design work, leaving a reported balance of about $2.09 million in the Friends of the Orcutt Library donation funding.
The committed funding remains well below the estimated $30 million cost of the scaled-back option, highlighting the financial challenge the county faces as it considers how to move forward.
During Tuesdays meeting, Supervisors Bob Nelson, Steve Lavagnino and Roy Lee expressed support for moving the project forward.
However, Supervisors Laura Capps and Joan Hartmann raised concerns about prioritizing the development amid other county needs and financial obligations.
At this moment, I feel like we need to look at different needs that are weighing on and which ones go forward at which pace, Hartmann said. I dont feel I have the information today to really make that kind of decision.
Hartmann said she would be willing to consider the project after reviewing two five-year financial forecasts.
The Board of Supervisors plans to revisit the two development options after reviewing the countys five-year financial forecast. The future of the proposed Orcutt library and senior center will depend on how the county balances the projects cost with other financial commitments and community needs.