Office Hours in the Community - Feb. 1st

I am holding office hours in the community, one morning a month at rotating locations. The next session will be at BookBeat, 28 Bolinas Road, Thursday, February 1st from 8 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. No appointment is necessary. Feel free to stop by to discuss any issue of Town business.

Flood lawsuit interview

This morning, Channel 7 News paid us a visit at Town Hall regarding the class action flood lawsuit. A video of the interview can be found here: http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=local&id=4975763

POST Study report available

The POST study is now scanned and linked from the home page of the Town’s website. http://www.townoffairfax.org/

The Town Councils of Fairfax and San Anselmo have set the date of Wednesday, January 31st at 7:00 p.m. at Sir Francis Drake High School Student Center, 1327 Sir Francis Drake Blvd., San Anselmo, to hear a report on a study of consolidating the police agencies of the two towns. Consultants from the State of California Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) will be present to explain the findings of a study they conducted regarding the feasibility of consolidating some or all police services of the Towns and to answer questions from both Councils. The meeting is open to the public.

Letter to the Editor of the IJ - Flood Control Zone 9

Dear Editor,

I appreciate the front-page article “Fairfax objections snag Ross Valley flood control project” (January 23, 2007) and I would like to provide some clarification to make this article more complete and accurate. To clarify, the Board of Supervisors on January 22, 2007, adopted a resolution to amend the boundaries of Flood Control Zone No. 9 to incorporate the Town of San Anselmo and the Town of Fairfax, conditioned upon the Town of Fairfax’s deletion of condition 2 which was requesting final approval authority to Fairfax for any flood control projects within our jurisdiction. When the Town adopted its resolution requesting annexation into the flood control district at a meeting held on November 15, 2006, we did so in the presence of County officials, who understood our concerns with the district governance, local input and decision-making, and we all pledged to work together on solutions. It was not until January 12, 2007 that we learned that one of three conditions was not acceptable to County Counsel. We then called a special Town meeting on January 22, 2007 to discuss our approach to this new information. It was made clear at the Board of Supervisor’s hearing by our Mayor and Town Attorney that we are willing to work with the County counsel and flood control staff to amend our condition to be acceptable under the Flood Control and Water Conservation Code while maintaining the spirit of collaboration and consultation in the process of project planning. This was reiterated by Mayor Larry Bragman’s quote in your article, “We want to work with you. Put your hand out, and we’ll do what it takes to make that happen.” Instead, the article asserted that the Town would only join the flood district if we have the right of final project approval. This is no longer our position and this was explained at the Board meeting. Readers also may be misled by the citation of a proposed $22 annual parcel tax that is being proposed to make the district eligible for federal grants. The actual amount has not been decided upon but it will most likely be within a range of $125 for an average house based on the size of the parcel and land type, and these funds would be used to secure bonds and grant funding for the many projects which would be required over a time period of several years. Town Council and staff in Fairfax have been working actively and collaboratively for over a year as a part of Supervisor Hal Brown’s regional Ross Valley Watershed effort. We fully understand that on our own, we do not have the staffing necessary to research, design, manage and fund flood control projects of the magnitude required. We look forward to continuing to work on regional flood control, disaster relief, and emergency preparedness efforts to help all of our residents and the Ross Valley community move forward together on sensible and long-overdue solutions. The Town Council will soon be revisiting the flood control district annexation issue at its February 7^th meeting

Linda Kelly
Town Manager
Town of Fairfax

Police Consolidation Meeting

The Town Councils of Fairfax and San Anselmo have set the date of Wednesday, January 31st at 7:00 p.m. at Sir Francis Drake High School Student Center, 1327 Sir Francis Drake Blvd., San Anselmo, to hear a report on a study of consolidating the police agencies of the two towns. Consultants from the State of California Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) will be present to explain the findings of a study they conducted regarding the feasibility of consolidating some or all police services of the Towns and to answer questions from both Councils. The meeting is open to the public.

Special Meeting called for Monday night, Jan. 22nd on Flood Control District

The Town Council will hold a special meeting this Monday night, January 22nd at 8:00 p.m. in the Youth Center for the following item:

Consideration of the conditions of annexation into Flood Control District No. 9 per Resolution No. 2463, A Resolution of the Town Council of the Town of Fairfax Providing Concurrence to the Annexation of the Town of Fairfax into the Boundaries of the Marin County Flood Control and Water Conservation District

The County will be considering our request to annex into Flood Zone 9 at its Board of Supervisors meeting on January 23rd. County staff has informed the Town that they will not be recommending that all of the conditions of annexation requested by Fairfax be accepted. Specifically, the request that the Town of Fairfax have final approval over any flood control project in Fairfax is at issue.

Downtown Economic Development Ideas

At the January 13th Economic Development Advisory Committee meeting, the Committee held a general brainstorming session on potential ideas to enhance our downtown's economy. The ideas as captured on this document: http://www.town-of-fairfax.org/StrategicPlanning/EDAC_Ideas1-13-07.pdf

Town Meetings

We held a very lively and productive meeting of the Economic Development Advisory Committee (EDAC) on Saturday, January 13th. The Committee is made up of six local businesspeople plus the Mayor and Town Council Members. We held discussion regarding what is working in the downtown and how we can further improve on all we have to offer. We agreed that our nightlife, including bars, restaurants and entertainment, is the envy of other towns and the free parking that we offer is also an asset to the downtown. Further, our local culture includes the work of many artists who live in town and we should look for a way to showcase their art. We agreed that being proactive in seeking out businesses to come to town as well as help existing businesses thrive was an area the committee could have a role in. It was also noted that we are the home of the mountain bike, yet we do not capitalize on that and celebrate it locally as much as we could. The next meeting of the EDAC is scheduled for Saturday, February 17th at 9 a.m. in the Women’s Club, and we have asked the owner of the Marin Town and Country Club, Michael Mackintosh, to be present to share his development ideas and receive input and suggestions from the committee.

The next regular meeting of the Town Council is Wednesday, February 7th at 7:30 p.m. in the Women’s Club.

Suggestion Box Suggestion Summary

Thanks to everyone who has used the on-line suggestion box so far. The Mayor and I have read all of the suggestions and everyone who provided an email address was given a response. Here is a summary of the suggestions with a summary of the responses.

I suggest the Town of Fairfax note Dian Fossey's birthday, Jan. 16, 1932 in Fairfax, CA as a day to celebrate wildlife and habitat preservation. See the Marine IJ personals this next weekend. I have for the past two years given a scholarship in Dian Fossey's memory to a graduate of your local Drake high school and would like to encourage wider awareness of Fairfax's heritage in connection with Dian Fossey's life and work.

Response: This suggestion was taken and a proclamation was created and also sent to the Fairfax Historical Society.

The intersection in front of Fairfax Variety, is really becoming dangerous, especially during the evening commute hours.....the crosswalks need the flashing lights that activate when you push a button....also, the potholes on Broadway, in front of the Fairfax health club need to be filled.....other than that, I love living in this town and appreciate the suggestion box...keep up the good work.

Response: This suggestion was forwarded to the Police Chief for consideration. The potholes on Center are scheduled to be fixed Jan. 16-17.

The gutters from Scenic Trail to Fir Trail are still full of last years NY storm debris. Please have them cleaned.

Response: It is on Public Works’ to-do list.

My neighbors and I all have different ideas of where to go if there was a fire on Manor Hill. It would be helpful if the town would provide a flyer to people living on Scenic, Redwood, Ridge, providing a suggestion on how best to leave the area in case of fire.

Response: This was forwarded to Ross Valley Fire for a response.

Great addition to the communication between citizens and our politicians and administrators. Having an information box or suggestion/information box would be helpful. I'd be very interested in knowing what's happening with the Creek Bridge.

Response: We are working to reopen the bridge to foot and bike traffic within a week. We await the federal regulatory agency environmental process to approve the permanent repair through FEMA. We are enlisting the help of Congresswoman Woolsey’s office to assist us with the FEMA process. Once I hear anything, will post it on this blog.

I know the Creek Ave. bridge is being worked on. I hope it does reopen as those of us on Porteous Ave. like the idea of having a second route into and out of town. Until the bridge is completed, it would be great to have a stop sign at Creek/Porteous intersection (there is a yield sign there now) as many of the drivers turning onto Porteous do not feel the need to stop, or even to look to be sure there are no cars coming from Porteous. There will be an accident there sooner or later. Thanks. I like this suggestion box idea.

Response: See above regarding the bridge. On the stop sign, I’ve asked the Police Chief to take the issue to the Traffic Safety Committee for consideration.

Please do not allow parking along Sir Francis Drake as it is unsafe for children to bike to school which defeats the purpose of making a bike lane to cut down traffic. I currently drive my children around because of the lack of traffic safety.

Response: The current road striping plan for this area removed the street parking in front of the 2300 block homes and added three parking spaces nearer to the bus stop where the road widens, as a compromise. We are still studying the safety of this area.

As someone who spent 15 years in Fairfax, now that I have moved far away, I miss it. Please post LOTS OF PICTURES of everything in Fairfax.

Response: Unfortunately, the user-controlled software for our website does not allow us to upload photos on the home page. The host of the site has to do that for us, so it is a little cumbersome to change photos, but I’ll keep that in mind. I do have photo capability on my blog so I will try and post more photos there.

I read in the IJ that our unsung heroes at the police department have done a wonderful job again of protecting our community. Word in the neighborhood is that this latest case was directly related to another cultivation case, robbery and shooting in our small town and neighborhood. Those guys deserve all our support and recognition for the job they do. I will follow up with a letter to Chief Ken.

Response: Great! Has been forwarded to the Chief.

Potholes on Center are getting very bad - specially between old Albertson's market and the Fairfax theatre. Will Public Works fill these in or are there plans to repave the whole block?

Response: See above. They will be fixed this week. There is a plan to redesign the block to better link Center with downtown Broadway and repave through a grant. The work is to start in the spring, it’s my understanding.

Please fix the terrible pot holes on Center blvd near FairAnselm.

Response: They will be fixed this week.

Enforce crosswalk laws. Too many cars roll through crosswalks while pedestrians are still in the crosswalks downtown.

Response: Forwarded the suggestion to the Police Chief.

A link for those looking to move into the area: rentals, homes, etc.

Response: Suggested the use of Craigslist and respondent said they had found luck through the use of Marin IJ.

Ross Valley Watershed and Flood Protection Project Meeting

The third Ross Valley Watershed and Flood Protection community workshop will be held on Saturday, February 13, 2007 from 9:30 a.m.- Noon in the Drake High small gym.

A notice will be mailed to everyone in the Ross Valley.

http://www.town-of-fairfax.org/News/3rd%20RVW%20Workshop.pdf

Proclamation in honor of Dian Fossey

Dian Fossey (January 16, 1932 - December 26, 1985), a Fairfax native, was a famous ethologist who studied gorillas and was most remembered for writing the book, Gorillas in the Mist.

The Mayor has issued a proclamation in her honor, celebrating her life and contributions.

The idea to honor her contributions came from an on-line suggestion box submittal by Mr. Kit Kubitz that we honor Dian Fossey’s work and life on the anniversary of her birth, and Mr. Kubitz provided much of the research material for the proclamation.

Read the proclamation here: http://www.town-of-fairfax.org/News/Fossey,%20Dian.pdf

Cold Weather Alert

The National Weather Service has reported that temperatures will drop into the 20 and 30s Wednesday night into Thursday, followed by daytime temperatures in the mid 40s in most areas. On Friday and into the weekend, temperatures will drop further, reaching the high teens to low 20s in most areas at night, and continued daytime lows in the mid 40s.

The State is warning that exposure to extreme cold can be dangerous to your health. To protect yourself in extremely cold weather remember to wear several layers of clothing, travel with caution and be alert for the symptoms of exposure. Monitor family members and those around you who are at greatest risk from exposure, such as seniors, young children and people with underlying illnesses or chronic conditions.

Read the full alert bulletin:
http://www.town-of-fairfax.org//News//Cold%20Wx%20Alert.pdf

At Coffee Roasters on Wednesday

On Wed., Jan. 10th, I will be at Coffee Roasters at Bolinas and Broadway holding "office hours in the community" from 8-11:30 a.m. Please stop by if there's anything you'd like to discuss about Town operations or issues. This is the first in what I hope to continue as monthly sessions in rotating locations.

Council action last night

At last night's adjourned/special Council meeting, the big item on the agenda was the Sir Francis Drake Boulevard issue across from the 2300 block. Unfortunately, the design of the new sidewalk came at a cost higher than we had grant funding for so we had to move the crosswalk closer to the roadway (since we could not afford the design that would have placed the sidewalk further south and closer to the creek), and this resulted in the roadway being narrowed there. You may have noticed it. The Council last night approved a design to maintain bike lanes in both directions on SFD there, while relocating street parking for the residents in a location further west on SFD, closer to the bus stop. There will be a zone designated in front of the five homes in the 2300 block for loading/unloading and the temporary stopping of service vehicles. This was a difficult issue since we did not have ideal options and wanted to maintain as much vehicular and bicycle safety while minimizing the impact on the residents who live there.

Problem with Town website

We are having a little problem with our Town's website showing an image of our calendar over some pages. We are trying to get this fixed. We do not host our own website so we have to wait for external assistance to respond.

New Year = New ways to Reach Out & Listen

A big part of what we do at the local government level is respond to changing community needs. No government is closer and more responsive to the people than government at the city level. This blog was created to enhance our job of information-sharing with the community. Indeed, it works two ways: you need to share information and concerns with us so that we can better respond and share appropriate information with you. In 2007, we are launching two new ways for us to interact:

First, we have a new On-Line Suggestion Box which is linked on the home page of the Town of Fairfax at www.townoffairfax.org. You can send us suggestions for consideration and the Mayor and I will read all suggestions. You can even send them anonymously if you wish. I will periodically post a summary of suggestions on this blog. We may not adopt all suggestions but we will add them to our continuing conversation on how we can improve our Town to better reflect ever-changing community needs.

Secondly, I will be starting Office Hours in the Community once per month in rotating locations in the town. The first session will be this Wednesday, January 10th from 8 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. at the Coffee Roasters at Bolinas & Broadway. I will be there to listen and converse with anyone about Town concerns. Please feel free to stop by.

Happy Birthday, Blog!

Sunday, January 7, 2007 is the one-year anniversary of the Town Manager's Blog! I started this blog as a way to reach out to the community and provide information in a fast, accessible, user-friendly, non-traditional and fun way. This entry is now my 225th post to the blog.

The very first blog post I made was from the Fairfax Library. Since I started work three days after the big New Year's Eve Flood, and our Town Hall had been inundated with water, our internet connection was frequently down. And, since I had just moved here from Santa Cruz County, I had not yet had my home internet connection activated. The Fairfax Library staff was kind enough to let me use a back room staff computer on the Saturday of my first week on the job to finish creating this blog and posting the first few entries.

One year ago, I wrote on the first entry, "Part of my mission here is to promote proactive communication and responsiveness, and I look forward to making this blog a tool that enhances information sharing with the residents of Fairfax." I have truly enjoyed continuing this mission and providing information to the community in this way, and plan to continue this blog.

I'd like to share this photo with you of me (in the front row) with your Town Council - from left to right - Larry Bragman, Mayor; Mary Ann Maggiore, Vice Mayor; Lew Tremaine, Council Member; David Weinsoff, Council Member; Susan Brandborg, Council Member. This was after one of our Saturday strategic planning workshops, October 2006. It is a pleasure for me to work with such a caring and ambitious group of community leaders, along with a tremendously dedicated and hard-working staff.

Thank you, Fairfax community, for the privilege of being here to serve you.

Happy 1st Birthday, Blog!

Ross Valley Seniors meeting

Thursday, January 11th, is the first Ross Valley Seniors meeting of 2007:

Time: 11:00 AM
Location: Fairfax Women's Club
Program:
Introduction to Gentle Yoga, Sponsored by Yoga Loka of Fairfax
Lunch: Hearty Minestrone Soup from Good Earth Restaurant and Fresh Green Salad
After Lunch learn and play Mah Jong with returning guest instructor Diana Brown

All seniors are welcome! Annual Ross Valley Seniors Club membership dues are $20 and may be paid at the meeting.

Jan. 8th agenda packet posted

Due to the lateness of the hour, several agenda items from the regular January 3rd Council meeting were carried over to an adjourned meeting to be held on Monday, Jan. 8th at 7:30 p.m., at the Fairfax Women's Club, 46 Park Road. Agenda packet posted here. The major item to be considered at the meeting is:

Council direction regarding restriping of the roadway and enactment of parking restrictions/relocation of street parking on Sir Francis Drake Boulevard near the five homes in the 2300 block for bicycle and vehicle safety

Resolution - Violence Against Women Act

On December 6, 2006, the Town Council adopted the following resolution:

A RESOLUTION OF THE TOWN COUNCIL OF THE TOWN OF FAIRFAX CALLING FOR REVISION OF THE CALIFORNIA FAMILY CODE AND THE FEDERAL VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN ACT

I was requested to post a link to this document in order to make it more accessible. Here it is on the Town website:

http://www.town-of-fairfax.org/News/Reso_Family_Code.pdf

Adjourned Meeting on Monday, Jan. 8th at 7:30 p.m.

Due to the lateness of the hour last night, several agenda items from the meeting were carried over to an adjourned meeting to be held on Monday, Jan. 8th at 7:30 p.m., at the Fairfax Women's Club, 46 Park Road. Here are the items that will be considered at that meeting:

(The numbers are from the 1/3/07 agenda)

3. Approval of cash disbursements for December, 2006

5. Approval of Resolution No. 2468, a Resolution of the Town Council of the Town of Fairfax regarding Town position with respect to Association of Bay Area Governments’ (ABAG) Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA) methodology

6. Approval of Resolution No. 2469, a Resolution of the Town Council of the Town of Fairfax supporting a decrease in military aid to Colombia, Bragman

12. Discussion/Consideration of enactment of parking restrictions on Sir Francis Drake Boulevard near the five homes in the 2300 block for bicyclists’ safety, Bragman (this item will have a report of the striping options discussed at the meeting and will be listed first on the agenda)

14. Discussion and consideration of Marin Sanitary District #1's management of sanitary sewer line installation on Canyon Road, and Town involvement and/or action, Bragman/Weinsoff

15. Approval of Resolution No. 2471, a Resolution of the Town Council of the Town of Fairfax expanding the Youth Commission to include youth in the Ross Valley, Maggiore

16. Approval of Resolution No. 2472, a Resolution of the Town Council of the Town of Fairfax enacting Town Manager authority with respect to the appointment, removal or demotion of department heads per Ordinance No.718, Tremaine

On-line Suggestion Box

The Town now has an on-line "Suggestion Box." Simply click the link below and you may provide suggestions to the Town, anonymously if you so choose. All suggestions will be read by the Mayor and Town Manager and summaries will be posted on the Town Manager's Blog.

On-Line Suggestion Box

First date for community office hours

I've changed the first date of the Town Manager "Office Hours in the Community" as follows:

New date: Wednesday, January 10th from 8 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., Coffee Roasters, Bolinas & Broadway

This is a new venture to hold office hours in the community at various locations. I will be at the above location on Jan. 10th and I am available to speak with anyone who has questions or concerns about issues related to the Town of Fairfax.

Tree Recycling

Recycling your Christmas tree is easy! Simply put your Christmas tree by your garbage can on your regular yard waste pick-up day and Marin Sanitary will take it. Trees taller than 6 feet must be cut in half. Flocked trees will not be accepted.

If you wish to drop off your tree, you may do so at these locations:
- Marin County Fire Department, trees are accepted from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Woodacre Fire Station at 33 Castle Rock Road, Jan. 2-14.
- Ross: Marin Art and Garden Center, 30 Sir Francis Drake Blvd., Jan. 2-14.
- Kentfield: College of Marin in parking lot No. 12 south of gym, Jan. 2-14.
- Marin Resource Recovery Center at 565 Jacoby St. San Rafael, accepting trees through January.

Source: Marin Independent Journal