The move follows the city's recent delay of a project to make Herb White Way, a downtown thoroughfare, safer for pedestrians with measures that slow traffic because none of the bids fell within the budget.

The maximum the city will spend on constructing the library addition is $1.41 million, and the low bid was $1.79 million, according to Ron Nevels, the chief engineer on the project.

Both projects went back to the drawing board because planners introduced more features than the city could afford -- not because construction costs have suddenly risen, City Manager Joe Sbranti said.

"We were initially just going to do a few things, and that grew and we ended up with a larger scope," he said.

The cost mounted after planners included a new heating and air conditioning system and decided to rebuild the old portion of the library's interior so that it would be in keeping architecturally with the new wing.

"We decided not to repair an old (heating and air conditioning) system that was going to be undersized," Sbranti said.

Now the city will have to eliminate some features or determine how to build them more inexpensively.

"We're going to find ways to lower the cost and send them out for a rebid," Sbranti said.

The objective of the renovation will remain the same.

The 1,500- to 2,000-square-foot coffee shop will be accessible from the inside and outside of the library and could serve the City Hall and county courthouse at the Civic Center.

The community room would be available for public meetings of 25 and 50 people and will be much easier to secure than the 71,000-square-foot City Hall, Sbranti said.

Contact Rick Radin at 925-779-7166.