The City of Richmond is proposing to transfer management of the Point Richmond Community Center (PRCC) from the Recreation Division to the Library division.
The proposed transfer, set to be discussed at the Tuesday, March 4, City Council meeting, would increase community access to the space with help from additional Library programming and significantly lower rental rates for community use, according to the city.
Located at 139 Washington Ave., the PRCC is a single multi-purpose room, equipped with a kitchen, a closet and a small office. W.E. Smith deeded the property to the city in
May 1960. Currently, the city’s Recreation Division operates the PRCC, which shares its building with the West Side Branch Library, located at 135 Washington Ave. The spaces are connected by a hallway and a set of bathrooms.
Recreation staffing levels and space constraints have not allowed for regular Recreation programming at the PRCC. While the space is available for rent to community groups, the Library hosts the most events in the PRCC by a longshot. From fiscal years 2021-2022 through 2023-2024, community groups like neighborhood associations and local organizations reserved the space 20 times. During that same period, the Library reserved it 208 times. The Library was provided with free reservations during this period, while reservations to community groups raised about $5,850 in fees over the three years.
A good amount of activity also occurs in the West Side Branch Library itself, a 1,754-square foot space. Last fiscal year, 6,614 users visited and borrowed 7,578 items. About 1,000 people attended events during that same period.
“In acknowledgment that the Branch Library is the PRCC’s most frequent customer, and
to facilitate additional City-sponsored events in the PRCC space to support reading,
writing and literacy, the Library and Recreation Divisions propose to transfer
management of the PRCC to the Library,” city officials stated.
The transfer would mean more use of the PRCC and would still accommodate many of the community uses that currently take place.
Community members would get a discount if the Library took it over, officials said.
During fiscal years 2021-2022 through 2023-2024, renters paid an average of $487 to use the PRCS. If the Library assumes management of the PRCC, those costs to community users will decrease dramatically, reflecting the Library’s community room rental rate of $12.50 per hour.
“Under the Library’s proposed management of the PRCC, rentals would need to fall under the Library’s Community Room Booking policy, which supports rentals by community groups, nonprofits, and government agencies but which does not allow for private rentals of Library spaces,” officials stated.
Community groups that have rented the space in recent years include the Arts of Point Richmond, Point Richmond Neighborhood Council, Richmond city departments and local clubs. All of these uses could continue following the transfer, at the Library’s lower rental rate or with cost waived, where applicable.
Some limiting factors about the proposed transfer is that rentals would be limited to Library operating hours, and food and drink, as well as access to the PRCC kitchen, would not be permitted. Any bending of the rules would need to be cleared through the Deputy Director of Community Services–Library.
The proposal appears on the City Council agenda for the upcoming meeting Tuesday, March 4.
