Library Task Force

The library at 6510 Stockton Ave.

After an evening of public comments about the library tax initiative, the City Council voted Tuesday to create a Library Task Force. It asked the city staff to return later with more details on how members will be selected and how they will go about their work.

The creation of a Library Task Force follows a successful effort to gather enough signatures to qualify a library tax initiative for the ballot in 2026. A council vote is expected Thursday on whether to place the measure on the ballot on June 2 or November 3, 2026. Adding the measure to the June ballot will cost $80,000 more than combining it with the November City Council election.

If passed by voters, the library tax measure would authorize a special tax of up to 17 cents per square foot of improved building area per year, or $340 per year on a 2,000 square foot house. It can be increased annually by the City Council based on cost-of-living measures.

A Need for “Clarity”

At Tuesday’s meeting, council member William Ktsanes said it was his idea to have a task force because “there was so much misinformation out there, honestly coming from both sides. And I felt that as we’re approaching the election whether it’s in June or November that it was important for the residents of El Cerrito to have as much accurate information as possible.”

“My goal was really to create as much clarity as possible,” Ktsanes said. “But very quickly this discussion became focused on having this task force really do its work after the vote…But what drove me to propose it was to get that information out before people voted. And I’m frustrated and disappointed.”

“I know the city has put together their information, but what people are really looking for is something they don’t feel is biased one way or another,” Ktsanes said. “And that is hard to achieve.”

Consistent With Other Task Forces

City Manager Karen Pinkos said that when the staff came up with a proposal for a library task force, they made it as consistent as possible with other task forces the city has appointed in the past, like the Landlord-Tenant Task Force. That group had equal members of tenants and landlords and roles were clear, she said.

In the case of the library, selecting people based on whether they are for or against the library tax seemed too narrow, Pinkos said. The task force should be about the future of El Cerrito’s library and not just about the library tax initiative, she said. And the council should have the ability to add to the scope of the work it does as it moves forward.

City Information Is “Trustworthy”

Council member Lisa Motoyama said that she is concerned about misinformation. However, she said, the misinformation does not come from the city.

“I just take issue with what you said, Council member Ktsanes, that the city put stuff on the website but that’s not trustworthy,” Motoyama said. (Ktsanes tried to interrupt, but Motoyama silenced him.) “That has to to be trustworthy. I am concerned that no matter what information we get out it will be distrusted.”

“I think there’s a number of times that folks have said things that are completely not true,” Motoyama continued. “And we’ve stated that they’re not true, but they don’t believe us because we are the city…I really appreciate all the people who said this should not be divisive.”

Task Force Selection

Motoyama said she’d like to see a task force that represents “a cross-section of the community” including different users of library services.

Council member Rebecca Saltzman asked questions about how members would be selected, how the task force would be assigned tasks and report back to the City Council, and how long the task force would last

“Say we get 50 or more applicants – all at-large positions for seven seats,” Saltzman said. “How would we handle that? I think there’s a lot of interest in this in the community.”

Council member Carolyn Wysinger said the city needs to create a standard and a rubric before inviting applicants. The usual process for appointing people to boards and commissions is too open-ended, she said.

“We need to be a little more savvy in the way that we’re approaching the application,” Wysinger said.

The council voted unanimously to create a library task force, and to have city staff bring specifics about it to a future meeting.

A Loss of Confidence?

During public comment early in the meeting, Lynn Watkins spoke about “eroding confidence in city government” which she attributed to city attempts to discourage consideration of alternatives to a Plaza Station Library. The proposed Plaza Station library would be built on the ground floor of an affordable housing building there and would cost about $37 million, according to a recent estimate.

For the past few months, library discussions have focused on the library tax initiative written by Greg Lyman, a former council member who is also treasurer of the Committee for a Plaza Station Library.

The initiative does not require that any new library must be built within the Plaza BART Transit-Oriented Development. However, the city’s strategic plan calls for building a library there. Four of five City Council members have said they support that library site.

Watkins said the city should have sought out residents’ input years ago.

Credibility and Transparency Concerns

“There are serious credibility and transparency concerns,” she said. “Why wasn’t a legitimate task force formed many years ago? Why was the so-called library workshop (in June 2024) actually a polished marketing presentation that clearly demonstrated the city’s bias? Why are you rushing to spend $80,000 to place this measure on the June ballot, wasting our city funds in this manner?”

During public comment, six speakers commented that they like libraries but oppose the specifics of the library tax initiative. Noting that it will cost the city $80,000 more to put the measure on the June ballot, these speakers opposed a June vote.

Justin Chang said, “We are all citizens wanting the same thing – a good updated modern library that is fiscally as well as structurally sound.”

However, he said, the proposed library tax is not specific about location, timeline, or cost. “It was initially promoted as $20 million then $27 million, now $37 million,” he said.

‘Trust Me, You’ll Like It’

“My analogy to this is like buying a new car,” Chang said. “Start paying me now. I don’t know what color, size, features, or when you’ll get it. Or even the final cost. But trust me you’ll like it. By the way, we will form a task force to insure you’ll like it. After you start paying.”

Tom Schrey said one stated city goal has been to create a downtown on what are now BART parking lots. Six apartment buildings are planned. “As for creating a downtown, the ground floor of a BART housing building that doesn’t provide dedicated parking just won’t have any downtown vibe,” Schrey said.

Margaret Cohea said she wants to see a comprehensive cost analysis before she votes.

“With that in mind, I support a November vote so there is time to educate El Cerrito residents…I encourage city leadership to respect differing views and to foster a common ground so that a positive community, rather than an angry community, develops,” she said.

“Very Fancy” Document Caused Suspicion

Olivia Eilson said she received a “very fancy” mailing about the library initiative. It listed reasons to support the initiative, but those were repetitive, she said.

“It made me suspicious because it seems that the City Council really wants this thing to go through,” she said.

“And as I read online about the financing of it I can see why you really want it because it would be a tax on El Cerrito people and it would start at a certain level but you could increase it yearly over 30 years or whatever.”

Libraries Saved Her Language

Chelsea Sparty first greeted the council in her native Wintu language.

“I can speak my language tonight because of libraries,” she said. “My relatives partnered with linguists, most of which are here at UC Berkeley, and library archivists to store our language in libraries throughout California.”

Sparty said she supports placing the measure on the June ballot, hiring a bond consultant, having a nonvoting member on the task force serve as an independent facilitator, and opening applications for the library task force now.

Applying for Grants if Tax Passes

Sparty and Claire Sheridan said one reason for expediting the library tax election is that, once tax funding is secure, the city can apply for grants “to reduce the overall burden on local taxpayers.”

Sheridan said, “This initiative has been years in the making and I’m here tonight to urge you to place the library measure on the June ballot.”

BART Library Commitment Deadline

Sheridan said an impact report states the Plaza BART developer “needs a commitment for a BART library by March 2027.” A June election allows more time for careful evaluation of options without losing the chance of a Plaza BART library.

‘Unconscionable and Undemocratic’

Barbara Chan said, “I want an updated safe library for all of our residents. However, I do not like the library tax initiative because it begins (collecting taxes) before there is a plan or a budget for a library…The city has the ability with this initiative to increase the tax without coming back to the voters for approval. That’s unconscionable and undemocratic.”

Trying to ‘Build Our Community’

Greg Lyman said, “When I drafted the ordinance and started collecting signatures it was with no intention of dividing our community. I am working to try and build our community, to make something that we can all be proud of.”

“There’s a lot of misinformation about the tax,” he said. “The tax is not increasing every year. The tax is to pay back the construction debt. So there’s a lot of misinformation. But a yes vote is for choices. A yes vote is for community. A yes vote is for our public soul.”

Quoting author Susan Orlean, Lyman added, “A library isn’t merely a municipal building. It isn’t merely a valuable resource for books…Libraries are more than that. Something essential and emotional, the public soul.”

‘The Only Way to Build a New Library’

Suzanne Balmaceda said the library tax initiative “is the only way to build a new library in El Cerrito. Without the tax you won’t even be able to fix up the 75-year-old library that we have now.”

‘Flawed and Ill-Conceived’

James Porter, an El Cerrito resident and UC Berkeley professor, said: “Libraries are my second home. El Cerrito deserves a great library. The current tax initiative will not produce the library that we all want. The plan on the table is flawed and ill-conceived, and it needs to be rethought from the ground up.”

‘Joyful About the Prospect’

Michelle Fadelli said she is “joyful about the prospect of a new library.”

Practical and Legal Objections

In public comment during the task force discussion, Bill Barrish said he would like “someone to directly and seriously address the practical and legal objections to this proposal.”

First, Barrish said the affordable housing building designated to hold the library, known as Parcel C West, has no funding and therefore “does not exist except as a concept.” How can the city’s library be built there?

Second, Barrish asked, why did the projected cost rise from $21 million in 2023 to $37.2 million after gathering enough signatures to qualify the measure for the ballot?

“That is a 77% increase,” Barrish said. “Nothing has increased 77% in that period of time.”

‘A Lot of Information Available’

Lyman said there is a lot of information available, including a library plan “that has been in place for more than ten years.”

“The task force can answer many questions raised tonight.”

A Framework for Reaching Out

Georgina Edwards said the task force should have a mission and should set up a framework to reach out beyond task force members to groups within the community “so people feel heard instead of bombarded with messaging.”