A New Library Approach?
Building a new library at Plaza BART was one of the options for a new or updated library presented by the city manager to a new library task force on Sept. 8.
The five options were the same ones presented by consultant Griffin Structures Inc. before the June 2 election. El Cerrito voters rejected the Measure C library tax measure by a margin of about 70% to 30%.
Is Plan for Library at Plaza BART Still Viable?
Asked after the Sept. 8 meeting whether the city’s plan for a library at the Plaza BART transit-oriented development is still viable, City Manager Karen Pinkos said: “If we don’t have any way to pay for it then it can’t happen.”
She added that the city has talked with BART about whether another ballot measure is possible before TOD construction moves forward without a city library.
Measure Not Written By the City
Pinkos said the overwhelming ‘no’ vote on the ballot measure was not a referendum on the city’s plan to build a library within the Plaza BART transit-oriented development (TOD).
It was a vote on a citizens’ initiative that was not written by the city, she said.
“It was completely separate,” Pinkos said. “The city had nothing to do with it.”
Pinkos added that Measure C did not state that any new library must be built at Plaza BART. Also, the measure was written to cover library operating expenses only for ten years. The measure’s senior exemption was also criticized, she said. Uncertainty can also cause people to reject new taxes, she said.
“People voted ‘no’ on the ballot measure,” Pinkos said. “The task force themselves were saying, ‘We would like to know why people voted ‘no’ on Measure C.’ I’m not going to make an assumption on why people voted ‘no’.”
It’s Up the City Council and the Voters
“This is up to the task force,” Pinkos said. “It’s up to the City Council. It’s up to the voters. It’s not up to me.”
The next task force meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, Nov. 10 – one week after the Nov. 3 election in which El Cerrito residents will choose two City Council members.
Six candidates are running for two City Council seats.
The incumbents, Mayor Gabe Quinto and Carolyn Wysinger, endorsed the Measure C library tax (as did Mayor Pro Tem Rebecca Saltzman and Lisa Motoyama, who are not up for re-election). Candidates Kimberly White and Wally Nowinski were leaders of the campaign against the measure. The other two candidates are Mary Ann Jawili, who supported Measure C, and Forrest Lanning, who has not stated a position.
Members of the Library Task Force
At the Sept. 8 library task force meeting held at City Hall and on Zoom, the seven-member panel heard a detailed history of past library efforts, were offered suggestions for possible next steps, and posed questions as they considered how to develop a work plan.
The task force members are Amy Chen, Bethany Woods, Chelsi Sparti, Ian Bader, Rachel Rosekind, Tom Panas, and youth member Eden Rosekind. None of the members opposed Measure C and some were vocal proponents of the tax measure.
Mayor Pro Tem Saltzman said, “None of the vocal library opponents applied to be on it. We would have been interested.”
The in-person meeting drew an audience of perhaps a dozen people. The Rosekinds attended on Zoom.
Past Efforts Toward a New Library
Pinkos and Will Provost, assistant to the city manager, gave a detailed report on the city’s efforts to build a new library from 2002 to the present.
“On Thursday I will have worked for the city of El Cerrito for 25 years…and that’s how long I’ve been working on a library project,” Pinkos said.
At one point, the city had a plan to buy the building behind the current library at 6510 Stockton Ave. That building, next to Fairmont School and owned by the West Contra Costa school district, was leased by the city and used as the senior center. The city purchase never went through.
In 2016, the City Council selected the lower playing field of the former Portola school as the site for a new library, Pinkos said. That year, a measure to fund a new library got 63% voter approval – not the 66.6% required to pass the tax. (No library site was specified in that measure.)
In 2016, Pinkos said, the city began talking with BART about a possible library in the proposed TOD. Many talks were held over the years. Eventually BART asked its developers to draw up a TOD plan with a library, and one without.
In 2024, the City Council voted the goal of building a library at Plaza BART into the city’s strategic plan.
Collecting Outreach for 20 Years
In 2023 and 2024, the city conducted polls that showed that more than 50% of voters supported a new library, but not the two-thirds of voters needed to pass a library tax placed on the ballot by the City Council, she said. A $38,000 poll done for the city in 2025 showed similar results.
In May 2025, former council member Greg Lyman formally announced he had written a citizens’ initiative to fund planning and construction of a new library that would require only a simple majority to pass.
“We’ve been collecting outreach on the library for literally 20 years,” Pinkos said.
No Survey Data on Why 70% Voted ‘No”
For the Measure C election on June 2, 2026, Provost said data explaining why people voted ‘no’ is not available. While there is talk in the community that residents opposed the Plaza BART location, no survey was done. Provost said one possible option for the task force is to meet with Brian Godbe, who has conducted past surveys for the city.
All the task force members seemed to agree that they would like to know more about why voters voted ‘no’ on Measure C.
Bethany Woods said, “Looking at the data we have, I’m looking at 2025, 70%, but then we had the ‘Yes on C’ vote of 30%. Looking at the discrepancy, and do we know more? Could we get information from residents?”
Ian Baden said, “Somebody mentioned a survey for the most recent election and I would be all behind that because, good money after bad money and all that. Then the follow up is ‘What would it take to pass a budget measure?’ What would get you to vote ‘yes’?”
Rachel Rosekind said she realized that some neighbors and community members opposed Measure C, “but the returns were far more drastic than I anticipated.”
“I do think it’s important to take the pulse of the community and what they want to see in the library but also why they rejected the measure and what their concerns are, what the vision was for the library, what the perception of the city was in terms of its involvement. The city’s handling of finances was a big theme in the discussions amongst my neighbors.”
Tom Panas asked, “Is there a way to figure out what people’s three worst issues with the library measure were? We need to be addressing people’s concerns. That’s why we’re here.”
Amy Chen said she would also like to know more about why library ballot measures failed in the past and whether the reasons are similar.
Other Library Funding Sources
Task force members also asked about other sources to fund a new library, including donations and grants, or budgeting city money for a library building.
Told that no library grants are currently available and no money is earmarked for a new library, Chen asked, “Is it typical for a city not to budget any meaningful money for a library?”
Mayor Pro Tem Saltzman said the city is paying to keep the existing county-staffed library open beyond the hours that are paid for by the county, but money is not available for a new or modified library given other expenses and the council’s desire to maintain reserves.
Saltzman added that the library could be added to the list of projects in the Capital Improvement Program, although there is no funding at this time.
An Outdated Needs Assessment
Another common theme among task force members was that the 2014 needs assessment is outdated.
“A lot has changed since the pandemic,” Chen said.
Learning About Library Needs and Wishes
Chelsi Sparti said she wants to address concerns she has heard from residents about developers and “paired development.”
“When we’re pairing a library with housing, with a rec center, with a senior center, with a theater, with retail, what would that look like?”
Sparti said she liked the city’s offer to tour the current library, but would also like to tour “regional libraries, because that’s the vision.”
She said she wants to involve focus groups and would like to see a contest where people could use free software to design their own libraries
Sparti said she liked the city’s offer to tour the current library, but would also like to tour “regional libraries, because that’s the vision.”
She said she wants to involve focus groups and would like to see a contest where people could use free software to design their own libraries.
Amy Chen said she would also like to know more about why library ballot measures failed in the past and whether the reasons are similar.
Talking With the School District About Sites
Sparti noted that negotiations with the West Contra Costa school district were tabled and asked when the city and school district last spoke.
Pinkos said 2016 was when the district informed the city it would no longer work with the city on the Portola site. In 2017 the district ended the city’s lease for the senior center.
“So I would say the last time we talked about anything to do with land with the school district was 2017, and I’m open to talking with the school district,” Pinkos said.
During public comment, resident Jerry Figone urged support for a new library at the Portola site on Moeser Lane. He said he opposed Measure C because a library at a transit center across the street from a shopping center did not seem safe.
“The dream site for me is the Portola Middle School playing fields where the charter school is now. Having a library there kind of overlooking the Community Center with Cerrito Vista Park and the Contra Costa Theater and the pools, with a lot of seniors using the Community Center for a lot of senior activities…that is the dream.”
Needs of the Current Library
Task force members also talked about current needs of the 6,500 square foot library at 6510 Stockton Ave.
Rachel Rosekind said she wants to understand, “In the short term, what we can do to address the very real limitations of our current library.”
Tom Panas said, “I really wish we could spend some money on library fitness problems, seismic safety, etc. I just really want to know what are the issues we face in the next five years with our current facility.”
High Temperatures Inside the Library
The lack of air conditioning was discussed at length, with Contra Costa County Librarian Alison McKee saying that new OSHA standards will prohibit library staff from working if the building temperature is higher than 80 degrees. McKee said that 80-degree indoor temperature was almost reached on Sept. 8, the day of the task force meeting. That was also the day smoke from a prescribed burn on Angel Island blew into West Contra Costa.
(Supervisor John Gioia wrote on Sept. 9 that the Angel Island burn would not continue after the first day, saying most burning had been completed. He said the agencies had checked weather before the burn to determine winds. They concluded that it was likely that wind would blow smoke west towards the Golden Gate, but the wind direction changed at the last minute.)
Chelsi Sparti said the heat and smoky air strongly affected her personally and there will be more warm days in the future. She said she found no cooling centers she could go to.
Make the Most of What We Have
In public comment, resident Richard Brooks said it’s important to “make the best use of what we have.” He said there are inexpensive ways to address the OSHA concerns about temperature “in the near term.” For instance, he said, the city should take a look at portable air conditioning units.
Brooks said the city should make the most of the existing library. For instance, he said, the library could open more days to take advantage of existing capacity. Some libraries in Contra Costa have “self-service Sundays,” and that should be considered for El Cerrito, he said.
Recordings Are Available
Task force members said they learned a lot from the city presentation, which can be viewed along with a recording on the city website.
An recording annotated by Richard Brooks is posted on the El Cerrito Wire Facebook page.
How about the former Barnes and Noble site for the El cerrito library?
“We’ve been collecting outreach on the library for literally 20 years,” Pinkos said.
And yet she has no idea if residents think that BART is a good location for a new library, wonders if that's why voters rejected Measure C.
I mean, I'm not a highly paid award winning City Manager like Pinkos, but I do think that if I had been doing community outreach and collecting input for 20 years, I probably would have made sure to learn what residents thought about putting a new library on the southern border of town at a spot with the most challenging parking in town.