San Rafael Launches Albert Park Library Design, Locks In Union Labor Deal

San Rafael's long-promised library and community center at Albert Park moved from ballot promise to design table Monday. The City Council voted 5-0 to hire an Excel Construction and SOM team under a contract capped at $6.5M, then voted 5-0 again to lock in a project labor agreement. The same council adopted a storm drain plan exposing a roughly $5.4M annual funding gap and heard tenants press for rent control.

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• $6.5M Phase 1 contract launches design of the Measure P-funded Albert Park library and community center.
• Project labor agreement approved 5-0 after a wall of building trades speakers backed it as written.
• Storm Drain Plan adopted 5-0, documenting about $9M in annual need against roughly $3.6M available.
• Organized tenants demand citywide just cause, rent control and a ban on RUBS utility billing.

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Albert Park Library Gets Its Design Team

Why it matters: This is the first major spending commitment on the library and community center San Rafael voters funded through Measure P in November 2024. Staff describe it as a generational project, with opening targeted for early 2034.

The basics: In progressive design-build, the city hires one team to design and later build a project, with the price set partway through. That price is a guaranteed maximum price, or GMP. The council authorized this approach in April 2026.

Where things stand: The contract with Excel Construction Corporation totals $6,178,706, plus a $321,294 contingency, for a total not to exceed $6.5M. Staff narrowed eight competing teams to three finalists before choosing Excel. Griffin Structures serves as the city's project manager.

The program calls for roughly 50,000 square feet of building plus about 31,800 square feet of outdoor space. Phase 1 runs from conceptual to schematic design, includes community engagement and ends with a GMP proposal. Conceptual design is due in June 2027, and the GMP is targeted for spring 2028.

On the division of labor, "SOM Architects will lead the design, and Excel will lead the preconstruction activities," said Edgar Lopez, design manager for the Excel Construction and SOM team. A team member said three early conceptual options are mainly structural, not stylistic.

The other side: Councilmembers focused less on cost than on control and expectations. Vice Mayor Rachel Kertz asked when the project would formally return to the council. City Manager Paul Navazio said nothing would prevent informational updates between formal milestones.

Councilmember Maribeth Bushey asked, "what is your strategy for handling disappointment in the feedback process?" Library and Recreation Director Catherine Cuffa replied, "it's about transparency in decision-making. It's about being clear what the trade-offs are." Councilmembers also asked how the design would trace back to Measure P's language.

Matthew Hartzell, Director of Planning, WTB TAM, supported the project. He asked the council to acknowledge the "segment of the Cross Marin Bikeway Regional Pathway Project that goes right through this project site."

Decisions and stakeholder impacts: Councilmember Bushey moved the resolution. It passed For: 5 (Colin, Kertz, Bushey, Hill, Llorens Gulati), Against: 0, Absent: 0. Library users and Albert Park neighbors now get a structured engagement process. Bike advocates have flagged the regional pathway early. "So actually seeing a path forward with this incredible team, I'm really excited about," said Mayor Kate Colin.

What's next: Community engagement begins during Phase 1. Conceptual design is due in June 2027.

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Building Trades Win Labor Deal for Library Project

Why it matters: The project labor agreement, or PLA, sets wages, hiring and work rules for building the library. It is the city's clearest labor commitment on a major capital project, and union leaders want the model extended to private development.

Where things stand: Staff held 12 negotiating sessions with the North Bay Building and Construction Trades Council and the North Coast Counties Regional Council of Carpenters. Negotiators used Marin County's PLA as a starting point. A staff member said "there are local hire provisions within the project labor agreement, and they go through 3 tiers," with the first tier covering San Rafael zip codes.

Councilmember Eli Hill called the agreement stronger than the county's. "By the numbers, this actually creates more opportunities for workers with experience and who are local," Hill said.

The labor turnout: Representatives from IBEW Local 551, Painters and Allied Trades Local 83, Plasterers and Cement Masons Local 300, Sheet Metal Workers Local 104 and the North Bay Trades Introduction Program all urged approval as written.

Carlos Flores, business representative, Painters and Allied Trades Local 83, said that on a past city project, "I came across wage theft at a really bad level." Frank Cuneo, director of the North Bay Trades Introduction Program, pointed to his program's pipeline into the trades. "Last month, we graduated 20 people at Novato Adult School, and 35% were women," Cuneo said.

Gary Bierbauer, business rep, Sheet Metal Workers Local 104, offered his own definition: "PLA, I like to say it stands for prevailing rate local hire and apprenticeship." John Medina, president of the North Bay Building and Construction Trades Council, urged "the housing and commercial developers to make the same commitment in this area."

Decisions and stakeholder impacts: Councilmember Hill moved the resolution. It passed For: 5, Against: 0, Absent: 0. Local union members, apprentices and pre-apprentices gain a defined path onto a multiyear public job. Contractors bidding the work will operate under the negotiated terms.

Councilmember Bushey connected the PLA to the economic hardship tenants described earlier in the evening. That link puts labor standards in the same conversation as the city's affordability debate.

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Storm Drain Plan Puts a Price on Aging Pipes

Why it matters: San Rafael's storm drain system is mostly pre-1950. The city needs about $9M a year to maintain it but has roughly $3.6M available. "We're looking at about a $5.4 million shortfall per year," said Assistant Public Works Director Joanna Kwok.

The basics: Corrugated metal pipe, or CMP, is a common older drainage pipe. Prop 218 is the California rule governing property-related fees, and those fees typically require approval before they take effect.

Where things stand: The plan, prepared with consultant Schaffhauser Wheeler, recommends:

• A 10-year capital improvement program.
• Raising the annual CMP replacement budget from $400,000 to $1.4M.
• A 24-year rehabilitation schedule for 12 pump stations.

Recent emergency pipe failures cost between $20,000 and $124,000 each. Only about 5% of the system has been inspected. "It took us like a whole month to inspect 5% of our storm drain system," Kwok said.

Robin Lee, consultant with Schaffhauser Wheeler, said AI-assisted pipe video review could speed inspections. Councilmember Hill asked whether failures would rise as pipes built to last 50 years reach 80. Staff said yes.

The other side: Councilmember Maika Llorens Gulati pressed for nature-based alternatives to simple pipe replacement. Lee said the region's bay mud limits that approach. "Nature-based solutions work really well in San Diego where you've got these sandy soils," Lee said.

Money trouble: The stormwater fee has not increased since 2001. "Our current stormwater fee is roughly 10% of what we actually need to accomplish this task," said Bushey. Funding options include a property-related fee, development impact fees and grants.

Navazio cautioned that "cities have had a difficult time implementing the property-related fee under provisions of Prop 218 because they get challenged."

Decisions and stakeholder impacts: Mayor Colin moved adoption. The plan passed For: 5, Against: 0, Absent: 0. Adoption creates no new revenue, but it sets the record for a likely future fee proposal. Property owners would bear any new fee, while flood-prone neighborhoods carry the risk of continued shortfalls.

"I am concerned about the fact that we are going to be in a very reactive mode and increasingly so," said Vice Mayor Kertz. "Stormwater infrastructure is invisible until it's not, and then it becomes extremely visible," Hill added.

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Tenants Bring Three Demands, Again

Why it matters: Members of Parent Voices and the Marin Tenant Power Committee came back as an organized bloc. Some speakers said they had attended repeatedly, and several spoke in Spanish through Wordly, an AI translation system the city is testing.

Where things stand: "We are demanding 3 interconnected protections," said Amaranta Silva, community organizer, Parent Voices California, and representative, Marin Tenant Power Committee. Those demands are:

• Just cause eviction protections citywide. They currently apply in the Canal neighborhood.
• Strong rent control with annual limits.
• An end to RUBS billing. RUBS, or ratio utility billing systems, split building utility costs among tenants by formula.

Kira, a Marin Tenant Power Committee member, added an eviction moratorium and price-gouging protections during extreme weather. She also asked for relocation assistance and proactive code enforcement.

Personal stories filled out the demands. Maria Peck, a public commenter, said she faces eviction because her building will be rebuilt. Mariana, a young resident whose family was displaced to a hotel, said, "today I have come again 3 times for tenant protection." Monse, a Parent Voices member, said, "Rent in San Rafael has gotten absolutely ridiculous."

Support came from a property owner, too. Lauren Hornline said she backs rent control while acknowledging trade-offs.

El Niño worries: Canal students with the Alcatraz Justice Youth Program asked for flood guidance delivered through schools. "Our parents have not received instructions on how to prepare for flooding or road closures," said Shaylee, a student participant. Navazio said staff are targeting outreach to the most vulnerable residents and urged sign-ups for multilingual Alert Marin notifications.

The other side: Leah Lamstein, a public commenter, criticized the council for accepting state housing mandates. She argued the planned developments will not house working families.

What's next: No action was taken. Navazio said "we will be bringing back to the council some additional work related to the emergency declaration," including anti-displacement recommendations.

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• Parking permit study: Item 2A, which adds outreach funding to update the city's 2012 residential parking permit policy, passed 4-1. Councilmember Llorens Gulati voted no, citing opposition at a prior community meeting. Staff said the item does not implement a permit program.
• Traffic cameras: Consent items 2B-2D passed 5-0, including five new signal cameras. Two commenters objected on privacy grounds. Staff said the cameras count vehicles, pedestrians and bikes and keep no recordings. Cameras are already on 62 of 95 signals.
• Opportunity Zones: The U.S. Treasury certified East San Rafael and downtown census tracts for the next Opportunity Zone round. Staff promised recommendations to protect residents.
• EV charger funding: The mayor reported $175,000 from PG&E, more than $40,000 from MCE and TAM, and nearly $423,000 in federal funds.
• Honors: The mayor proclaimed November Native American Heritage Month, recognizing the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria. The downtown Carnegie library renovation also won an American Public Works Association Project of the Year Award.

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Looking ahead: Watch for staff's anti-displacement recommendations tied to the weather emergency declaration, a likely stormwater funding proposal, and the library's conceptual design in June 2027.