From: Sue Burrell
Sent: Sunday, January 19, 2025 1:36 PM
To: Lindsay Lara <[email protected]>
Subject: Fwd: Letter to Mayor Colin and City Council Members
Hi Lindsay,
I noticed after sending this letter on behalf of San Rafael Heritage, that we did not include an email or telephone number on the letter. If contact information is needed, please feel free to use my email or telephone. I am on the Heritage Board and in close touch with all of our leadership.
Thanks, Sue Burrell
---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Sue Burrell
Date: Sat, Jan 18, 2025 at 12:30 PM
Subject: Letter to Mayor Colin and City Council Members To: Lindsay Lara <[email protected]>
Cc: LESLIE SIMONS
Dear Lindsay,
Enclosed is a letter from San Rafael Heritage on the Measure P planning process. Please distribute it to Mayor Colin and to each Council member.
Thank you,
Sue Burrell
Member, San Rafael Heritage Board
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Sue Burrell
San Rafael, CA 94901
San Rafael Heritage
P.o. Box 150665, San Rafael, CA 94915
January 18, 2025
Mayor Kate Colin and
Members of the San Rafael City Council
1400 Fifth Avenue, Room 203
San Rafael, CA 94901 (submitted by email)
Dear Mayor Colin and Members of the San Rafael City Council:
We write to request that you include our organization, San Rafael Heritage, in the planning process to be initiated by the City Council within two years of the effective date of Measure P. San Rafael Heritage is the only organization specifically focused on historic preservation in San Rafael.
Our organization has long been concerned with the preservation and ongoing use of the Carnegie. In May 2023, we held a “This Place Matters” vigil in front of the library as part of the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s annual “May is Historic Preservation Month.” In September 2024, we met with Catherine Quffa, San Rafael Library and Recreation Director, to learn more about the current renovations and infrastructure work at the Carnegie, and their impact on the Carnegie building. Then, in November 2024, we met with Pamela Klein, Librarian II, and Daniel Avalos, Assistant San Rafael Library and Recreation Director, to learn about the work being done on the Library’s historical collections.
Our Board members bring to the planning process our energy, the knowledge we have from deep roots in the community, and our collective wisdom about re-conceptualizing historic spaces. We would very much like to play a role in helping the Council to create a plan for community input, as well as developing the ensuing proposal for future use of the Carnegie.
We know that you will have an enormous simultaneous undertaking in planning for the new Albert Park main library and community center. But in calling for a prompt planning process for the Carnegie, Measure P wisely ensured that its future use(s) will coordinate with and complement the larger efforts.
Thank you for your consideration. We would be glad to meet with you to discuss this further if that would be useful.
Sincerely,
The San Rafael Heritage Board of Directors
Leslie Simons, President
cc: Lindsay Lara, San Rafael City Clerk