Council asks staff to return with two options for relocating Recreation Department at Piper Park

The Larkspur City Council asked staff on Sept. 17 to return with two budgeted options for relocating the Recreation Department after the district asked for more office space.

Council members spent more than two hours weighing a range of temporary and permanent choices for a new recreation headquarters at Piper Park, where staff argue proximity to the park’s athletic fields and high daily use support on‑site space for programs, community meetings and storage.

Staff presented three families of options and associated costs. Public Works Director Julian Skinner said a permanent modular building that includes new public restrooms and upgraded electrical capacity to support events and electric vehicle chargers is the most cost‑effective long‑term solution because it combines work that would otherwise be duplicated: "It’s more cost‑efficient to build those replacement restrooms in this structure," he told the council, adding that a steel, factory‑built modular option was estimated at roughly $3.0–$3.5 million and would include utility upgrades and six new EV chargers.

Recreation Director Nick Stone told the council the park is heavily used and that those uses drive the design needs: "Congratulations, Piper Park is the most visited municipal park in town," Stone said, citing roughly 105,000 recorded stays of 10 minutes or longer in the most recent year of data shared with council.

Julian Skinner also reviewed lower‑cost or temporary choices: leased trailer units (staff estimated a fixed setup of about $25,000 plus roughly $25,000 per year in rent), larger modular classrooms available for rent (higher setup and annual rent), or purchased temporary units (estimates in the low hundreds of thousands). He warned that the site’s electrical constraints mean that adding EV chargers and stabilizing power for events could cost about $450,000 before any available rebates.

Council members debated the tradeoffs: a higher immediate cost for a permanent, finished building against the risk of spending on a short‑term trailer that would need replacement in a decade. Council Member Andre and others urged caution on spending, while some members argued that the park is the city’s principal civic green and deserves a durable solution. Council discussion repeatedly noted that bundling the restroom replacement and electrical upgrades with a permanent building produces cost savings compared with doing each project separately.

Public commenters urged the council to consider community fundraising, better large‑event fee structures, and onsite storage for event supplies. Gene Fidel, a Park and Recreation Commissioner and nonprofit director, encouraged the council to factor potential community contributions into funding plans.

Outcome and next steps: the council directed staff to return with two budget amendments/options for council consideration: a larger permanent modular option that includes restrooms and electrical/EV upgrades and a smaller permanent modular footprint (staff used ~2,400 square feet and ~1,960 square feet as planning references). Staff were asked to provide a clear cost breakdown, schedule (manufacture and site work), rebate and grant prospects, and programming impacts for each size. The council did not take a final vote on construction or financing at the meeting.

The city expects the modular procurement and site design process to take several months; staff estimated roughly four months of project development and up to eight months for offsite manufacture for a permanent modular building, before onsite installation.