Updates

Libraries are the true heart of a community. They are places where people can gather, read, learn and share new ideas. There’s been a dream — let’s call it a 40-year-long dream — for the picturesque city of Larkspur to have its own grand library, complete with an outdoor community space and plenty of room for both indoor and outdoor programming including story time for kids, technology classes for older adults, study groups, reading programs and workshops.

Friends of Larkspur Library will host “Touch Trucks” at Redwood High School on Sunday, May 22. The event, which will benefit The Commons Foundation, will offer kids of all ages the opportunity to see and experience trucks of all kinds, including a fire truck, a garbage truck and more. Tickets go on sale April 15. 

Larkspur officials have agreed to assist with the funds needed to build a new library. The City Council unanimously voted Wednesday to match a state grant, the final step in the city’s grant application to the state for library projects. The application, filed March 21, seeks funding for a new $10.4 million library.

Larkspur officials are moving closer to a state grant application for a new library even as key project details remain unresolved. The City Council received an update on the project Wednesday. City Manager Dan Schwarz said the state library infrastructure fund has $439 million to distribute in matching grants for city library projects.

Larkspur officials have agreed to explore options to build a new civic campus on a municipal lot — including a library and city offices — and they’ll seek help from a state grant. The city recently received a $1 million injection from the state to help build a new library, a project that has been planned for more than five years. It also garnered the support of the Commons Foundation, a nonprofit that pledged to raise $5 million over three years to fund the project.

Larkspur could spend $10 million on remodeling its historic City Hall — or move it. Renovation is needed at 400 Magnolia Ave. after recent assessments indicated that parts of the building were nearing an end, Public Works Director Julian Skinner told the City Council Wednesday. Many repair and maintenance tasks have been complicated by issues with the building — which is deficient in accessibility, seismic structure, electrical and heating ventilation and air-conditioning infrastructure. The building also is plagued by a lack of adequate fire sprinklers, mechanical, electrical and alarm systems issues and an elevator that is out of date and unreliable.

The plan to build a new library in Larkspur has received a $1 million injection from the state. The library was among a handful of North Bay projects that were allocated a portion of the $264 billion state budget, Assemblyman Marc Levine announced. “Libraries are one of the most essential functions in our communities,” said Levine, a Democrat who lives in Greenbrae. “They serve both as a learning and job resources center, as well as living rooms for so many people in our communities.”

The Larkspur City Council unanimously passed two resolutions on Sept. 19 that will significantly help the vision of a new Larkspur library and community center come to life. Both resolutions, which include a request for design proposals and a future ballot measure for a tax bond, will help move the funding and planning processes forward.