I am concerned about our City Council’s determination to move our city’s library from the current location on Stockton Avenue to the planned Plaza BART development. Hoping to start a community discussion of the issue, I wrote an opinion article which was printed in the March newsletter of the El Cerrito Democratic Club (ECDC). This is my personal perspective and does not reflect the position of ECDC.
Best Site for El Cerrito Library?
It’s time to get more people talking about choices for a new El Cerrito library. What about building our new library on the current site at 6510 Stockton Avenue? And there could be other sites.
For years, city officials have been saying that the Plaza BART Transit Oriented Development is the only possible site where a new El Cerrito Library can be built. This is not true, but it has been the basis for a library planning process that focuses less on the library and more on the Transit Oriented Development. Instead of giving residents a role in important decisions about the library, like the location, the city has proceeded as if El Cerrito residents have already chosen this site. At the few public meetings held about the library so far, residents have been invited to list features they would like to see inside this pre-selected library location.
This has not been an engaging, transparent, or thorough approach. The city will ultimately need voter approval to fund any new library. Is it wise or fair to frame the issue as the Plaza BART library or no new library at all?
I would like to see a new library that is safe, energy-efficient, technologically up to date and provides welcoming spaces for programs, tutoring and community meetings. I would like it to be a community library that focuses first on residents’ needs for books and information of all kinds. I don’t think that Plaza BART is the best location.
Let’s compare two options that do exist.
Location and Access
The Stockton Avenue site is easy to access, as shown by the high number of books being checked out from this library despite its small size. It is next door to Fairmont Elementary School, creating the opportunity for students and their families to walk over. It’s next to the Ohlone Greenway, making it accessible for bicyclists, walkers and BART riders willing to take a short walk. It’s in a central location that is safe and not very crowded except in the hour when school is dismissed. No new development projects are planned nearby. Street parking is available and usually easy to find. While the site has no dedicated library parking spaces, there is a parking lot behind the building where library patrons sometimes park and Friends of the Library book sales are held. The lot is owned by the school district, so its use is subject to negotiation.
The proposed Plaza BART library would occupy the ground floor of a multi-story apartment building at Fairmount Avenue and Liberty Street. The draft master plan displayed in January shows that the Plaza BART area is going to become very congested. Developers plan to remove 750 BART rider parking spaces and build 743 apartments in six buildings. The plan calls for replacing only 150 BART rider parking spaces and providing 266 resident parking spaces in parking garages. Here also, there are no dedicated parking spaces for the library. There would be time-limited street parking on Liberty Street. The city’s master plan for the area proposes narrowing Fairmount Avenue to support a goal of making the library a “destination” and a community gathering place. This site would offer easy access to people who live on the Plaza BART site or nearby and people who want to ride BART to the library. However, it would be very hard to access for El Cerrito residents and other library users who drive to the library.
Library Ownership and Management
The current library site is owned by the city.
The Plaza BART library would be in a leased space. The city would never own the land or building.
Under either option, the El Cerrito library would continue to be managed by Contra Costa County.
Size
The existing library is 6,500 square feet. The Stockton Avenue site is appropriate for a two-story stand-alone building with an area of about 12,000 square feet. This would roughly double our current library size.
The proposed Plaza BART library would have an area of 20,000 square feet. This would more than triple our library’s size.
Current Operating Cost vs. Proposed New Funding to Enhance a Bigger Library?
Currently, Contra Costa County covers the El Cerrito library’s operating budget of about $643,000/year, and makes decisions about staff, programs and materials. The city pays $46,000/year for extra staff hours.
The parcel tax drafted by the city in fall 2023 proposed a $22 million tax that would generate $2.5 million per year in revenue forever. Of this amount, $1.6 million is listed for construction and $900,000/year is for “library hours/program enhancement.”
Why would city taxpayers spend $900,000/year for library staff hours and programs? This is 20 times the $46,000/year the city spends now for expanded library hours, and the county provides a turnkey operation that includes all materials and programs. Would the city be handing over extra money to the county, which would then make the decisions about this spending? Also, who would make decisions about allocating space in a new, much-larger library?
Fair Comparison?
The city states that building a Plaza BART library would “save $10 million,” although no cost estimates were ever obtained for any other site.
My Google search indicates that construction of a free-standing library would probably cost $1,000/square foot. If that is accurate, a 12,000 square foot library would cost $12 million.
If the city paid $22 million for a 20,000-square-foot space, the cost would also be roughly $1,000/square foot.
The city should provide a proposed budget and revenue assumptions for the current Stockton Avenue site as compared to the Plaza BART site.
What is the best choice? Let’s give the community full information about both options and let El Cerrito voters decide.
Submitted by Betsy Bashor
El Cerrito Committee for Responsible Government (ECCRG) 
El Cerrito residents do not want a library; the City Manager and a small vocal group of residents want a library. Libraries are Contra Costa County assets, so why would El Cerrito want one, need to fund one, and have their own bond measure and construction costs? Research and book reading are done online by the vast majority of people. The city does not release the library surveys because the totality shows residents do not want nor do they need a library. The current library serves as child care for school kids and a drop off/pick-up point for parents. Get out of the library business and leave that to the County as it was designed. It is wasteful, pork spending, pet project of staff who do not even use the library as it is. It simply shows how tone deaf the city manager and her staff really are about; personal resume building instead of what is good for EC. They want a library so they can show the International City Managers’ Association, who send the CM and assistant CM on promotion, what they have done and get another BS award. It is time EC stop funding the resume, travel, and personal beliefs of a city manager and get back to the business of what is best for most residents, most of the time. With the 800 hours of travel time away from the office, I am amazed the city manager even has time for EC business. Well, I guess when you count the several hundred dollars a month she bills the city for her meals, one could say she spends time in EC to eat on the taxpayer’s dime. Amazing with a $230k salary, residents have to pay for her meals every month.
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Alvin, i agree with most of the statement. Consider this: maybe residents want a library but do want not it at this cost. Also, the tax more than covers the cost. Perhaps like other taxes, the city needs money to balance the budget. Ally.
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Thoughts?
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Basically, I agree with you Alvin. The availability of information on Internet has blown apart the whole value proposition of brick & mortar libraries. And considering the financial situation that EC is in, I really don’t think that a new library should be a pressing priority. It doesn’t matter that we can supposedly save $10 million at the BART location — if we need to impose a forever tax to fund the cost, then it’s a No from me. I voted in favor of measure V, and I’m wondering how the transfer tax is being spent?? My husband voted against it because he said that the funds were not being pegged to specific financial objectives (smart husband!). Now that I learn that EC is still in a bad financial state, I might need to attend the next Budget Meeting to learn even more about WHY?!
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I recall there were reasons why two-stories at the Stockton site would not work. I’m not sure what they were, though: Certainly accessibility, and maybe also the need for additional staff to monitor each floor?
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Perhaps, I imagine the crux of the blog is that no one seriously explored a remodel or other options. One option for accessibility is an elevator. Also, the library is funded through a forever tax that will blend into the city’s budget (as with the other 4 measures) to fund the budget deficits. Ally
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There was serious consideration given to enlarging the current site back in 2016 when Measure B was on the ballot. At the time, the city wanted a site near Portola Middle School but WCCUSD didn’t want to give up the property. Adding a second story to the Stockton site would not double the usable size since a fair amount of that space would need to accommodate the elevator. Bottom line is that the Stockton site is too small (at least to make a renovation worth the effort).
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Thoughts?
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It’s possible that the El Cerrito Library Foundation may have more detailed information about possible sites, costs, etc. Interested people could try contacting them.
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