Evicted from Hall Middle School, the Rec Department eyes Piper Park — and the price tag stops the Council cold

The Larkspur–Corte Madera School District wants back the office space it shares with the city's Recreation Department, and the answer staff brought to Council on Wednesday points to Piper Park, on the gravel lot near the west parking lot, the EV charger and the old public works trailer site. Four options were on the table: a rented mobile trailer (about $25,000 to set up and $25,000 a year), a rented or purchased 1,400-square-foot mobile classroom (roughly $65,000 setup plus $50,000 a year, or $400,000 to buy), a basic 2,400-square-foot permanent modular building at about $3.0 million, or a high-end steel modular structure at about $3.5 million. Both permanent options bundle in electrical upgrades, an EV charger and new public restrooms replacing the park's originals.

Public Works Director Julian Skinner put the raw number at just over $1,100 a square foot for modular construction, all-inclusive of design, consultants and staff time. Recreation Director Nick Stone set the stage with PlacerAI cell-phone data showing Piper drew 105,000 visits in 2024 — the most-visited municipal park in town — while City Manager Dan Schwarz took pains to note the city isn't tracking individuals.

The dais split. Council Member Paulson warned that building cheap now means redoing the work later, close to throwing money away. Council Member Guaraglia called $3.5 million overpriced and said he'd rather meet the minimum viable need. Council Member Margolis said she'd be comfortable at $2 million but wasn't sold on the restrooms as the best use of the money. Mayor Way defended the spending, calling Piper the main public use area the city has. Park & Recreation Commissioner Gene Fidel, speaking as a member of the public, backed the $3.5 million version and floated ice skating in the park someday; resident James Holmes called it ironic to evict one city department only to replace it a few years later with another city structure, and pushed the council to look harder at the library building. No vote was taken — staff will return with two permanent modular options, roughly 1,960 and 2,400 square feet, plus rebates, partnerships and measure funds, around Oct. 15.

One night later, the Parks and Recreation Commission learned about the plan mostly secondhand — and said so. Stone told commissioners he favors the higher-end steel-framed building because the community room is what makes the difference, and that not being able to offer a space for the community is difficult. Commissioner Fidell said this was the second time in six months an item under the commission's purview skipped the commission, and that several council members' comments revealed gaps about how the park system works that commissioners could have filled. Chair Harrison asked whether the building could be agendized so the commission could make a formal recommendation; Stone said he'd confer with the city manager and report back. A special meeting before the Oct. 15 Council date is the ask.

After an unpermitted event at Piper, commissioners start writing the park events rulebook — and a dance studio pitches Holi

Recreation Director Nick Stone brought commissioners a draft special events policy for city parks covering what counts as a "special event," fees, insurance and ABC/RBS requirements for alcohol, staffing, ADA access, portable toilets, food permitting, review of event marketing and logos, neighbor notification, and who signs off. Stone said he wasn't looking for a vote — he wanted an interactive discussion before anything goes to the city attorney. No action was taken.

The impetus was a recent Piper Park event that proceeded without ever reaching the commission. Commissioner Fidell pressed on where the line sits: if 500 people show up, can staff approve it alone; at a thousand, does the commission get a say — and why wouldn't an organizer extend the courtesy of presenting in the first place? Chair Harrison said closing Piper for an event is a non-starter given how heavily it's used.

The commission settled on no single head-count trigger. Vice Chair Baxter said 100 is probably too small, since a family reunion picnic can hit 100 people; Harrison said it's four or five qualifiers instead — park size, event size, public versus private, parking needs. Consensus: events should come to the commission before approval, and staff should explore whether the City Council will delegate approval authority to the commission.

The night also brought a live pitch. Ena, artistic director of Dance with Ena, asked to bring a Holi color festival to Larkspur, describing it as a celebration of love, the arrival of spring, good over evil and new beginnings. Elizabeth Pontius, marketing director at Bon Air, said the center would supply parking, restrooms, cleanup crews and setup. A revised policy returns after legal review.

Residents ask Larkspur to write a flag policy after the half-staff order for Charlie Kirk

Two residents opened Wednesday's meeting asking the council to adopt a formal policy governing when Larkspur lowers its flag to half-staff, pointing to the city's recent lowering of the flag after the death of Charlie Kirk. Anita Bach argued that under the U.S. flag code a local city can refuse a presidential half-staff proclamation, and called on the council to act to prevent a recurrence.

“It's imperative from my perspective that the city have a flag policy that you as the elected officials debate whether it's appropriate to display or not when a presidential proclamation is ordered.”— Steve Kaplan, during public comment

Steve Kaplan made the same case in procedural terms: the call should be debated by elected officials rather than happen automatically. A third speaker told the council residents would not be offended if it declined to lower the flag.

There was no agenda item and no action, but the idea landed. Council Member Kandell said he agreed with the last speaker and that the city should probably have some type of policy; Mayor Way admitted she'd benefit from a primer on flag rules.