The Library Committee asked staff to explore leasing or purchasing parking or green space from Watkins Funeral Home next to the Carnegie Library, but the City Manager’s June 18, 2026 memo clarifies that only City Council can authorize such negotiations and that talks are premature until a specific reuse for the library is chosen. Parking analysis shows the current 28-space city lot is short for continued library or restaurant use but largely adequate for a 10-unit residential conversion, making any additional parking acquisition highly dependent on the final use recommended to Council. If Council ultimately decides to retain and redevelop the property for a parking-intensive use, the City may pursue adjacent parking acquisition, including needs assessment, appraisal, and negotiation, potentially with legal support. This creates an early planning opportunity for real estate advisors, appraisers, parking and traffic consultants, and design teams who can help quantify parking demand, evaluate whether Watkins has surplus capacity under zoning, and structure a lease, purchase, or shared-parking arrangement once Council authorizes talks. Vendors should position themselves now so they can assist quickly if Council directs staff to pursue expansion of the site to make it more marketable or functional.

City stresses that a single reuse recommendation for the library must come before any approach to ad...